By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ticket sales for the new "Star Wars" movie were out of this world, racking up $183 million at box offices worldwide in the first four days of release.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," grossed an estimated $116.3 million across the United States and Canada.

The foreign total for the Twentieth Century Fox release stands at $66.7 million from 74 other countries, said Bruce Snyder, president of distribution at the Fox Entertainment Group Inc. -owned studio.

After opening on Thursday with $30.1 million from 3,161 theaters across North America, the fifth movie in filmmaker George Lucas' long-running sci-fi adventure franchise added $86.2 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period.

The three-day weekend tally ranks at No. 3 among all-time new releases, behind "Spider-Man," which opened with a phenomenal $114.84 million two weeks ago, and "Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Sorcerer's Stone" with $90.29 million last November.

"Clones" took four days to break $100 million, second only to "Spider-Man," which took three days in 3,615 theaters.

The last "Star Wars" movie to hit theaters, "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," a Wednesday opener in May 1999, took five days to reach the $100 million level. It earned $64.81 million in its first weekend, and ended up with $431.09 million -- No. 4 on the all-time list in North America.

'CLONES' ON FOREIGN OFFENSIVE

The Force was also strong overseas. In both Germany and Britain, "Attack of the Clones" set a studio record for Fox, and each ranked as the No. 2 opener of all time, Snyder said.

Fox, which is distributing the film by arrangement with Lucas' privately held Lucasfilm Ltd., opted to synchronize the international rollout because some foreign fans were a little impatient waiting for the film to reach them last time around, said Gordon Radley, president of Lucasfilm.

By early July, "Clones" will enter its final markets in Japan -- the world's No. 2 territory -- South Korea (news - web sites) and Latin America, he said.

The story follows the budding romance between the future Darth Vader (played by Hayden Christensen) and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the parents-to-be of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Lucas directed the film and co-wrote the script with Jonathan Hales. It was budgeted between $110 million and $115 million, Radley said.

The sixth and final installment will begin production next year with release scheduled for 2005.

After two weeks atop the box office, "Spider-Man" slipped to No. 2 with $46 million -- a record for a film in its third weekend, said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Sony Pictures Entertainment. The previous record was $33.3 million set by "Titanic" in January 1998.

With $286.5 million banked to date, Blake said the superhero adventure is on track to pass $330 million by the end of next weekend, which is the four-day Memorial Day holiday in the United States.

The Sam Raimi-directed film took 15 days to pass $250 million and 17 days to pass $275 million, breaking speed records of 19 and 24 days, respectively, set by "Phantom Menace." Sony Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp (news - web sites) .

"BOY" BOWS AT NO. 4

The top 10 boasted two other new entries. "About A Boy," a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant, opened at No. 4 with a solid $8.4 million from just 1,207 theaters. The Universal Pictures release played strongest to its target audience of women aged 30-plus, said a spokesman for the Vivendi Universal -owned studio.

It will expand to about 1,500 theaters next weekend as part of a counterprogramming gambit to draw audiences not enticed by "Spider-Man" or "Attack of the Clones." Grant plays a caddish London playboy who teams up with a youngster for their mutual benefit in the dating game.

Rounding out the top five, the Richard Gere romantic thriller "Unfaithful" (Fox) slipped to No. 3 in its second weekend with $10.3 million for a 12-day total of almost $30 million. Sony's teen comedy "The New Guy" fell two places to No. 5 with $6.5 million and a 10-day total of $17.3 million.

The low-budget romantic comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" edged up one spot to No. 10 in its fifth weekend with $1.2 million. Its total to date is $5.7 million.

The movie, which follows the story of a man marrying into a large, eccentric Greek-American family, was released by IFC Films, a unit of Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Rainbow Media.

In the limited-release world, the British World War II thriller "Enigma," which was co-produced by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, passed the $1 million mark in its fifth weekend of release. The film is playing in about 70 markets and slowly snowballing into a word-of-mouth hit, said T.C. Rice, president of distribution at Manhattan Pictures Intl. LLC.

According to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 films grossed $170 million, up 47 percent from last weekend, and up 77 percent from the year-ago period when hit cartoon "Shrek" opened at No. 1 with $42 million. New releases next Friday include the cartoon "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and the thrillers "Insomnia" and "Enough," starring Al Pacino and Jennifer Lopez, respectively.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the May 10-12 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Attack of the Clones .......... $80,027,814

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $110,169,231

2. Spider-Man .......... $45,036,912

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $285,573,668

3. Unfaithful .......... $10,013,104

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $29,535,202

4. About A Boy .......... $8,557,630

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $8,557,630

5. The New Guy .......... $6,478,078

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $17,305,157

6. Changing Lanes .......... $3,106,537

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $61,563,318

7. The Scorpion King .......... $2,912,675

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $85,191,780

8. The Rookie .......... $1,727,205

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $70,510,783

9. Murder By Numbers .......... $1,672,454

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $29,911,694

10. My Big Fat Greek Wedding .......... $1,135,207

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $5,669,706

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  The most popular science fiction movie series of all time has returned to the cineplex in a big way.  Spiderman, Jurassic Park, The Mummy, James Bond, and even Star Trek have their rabid fans, but the Star Wars saga is still the most consistent  performer at the box office.  Only the Star Wars movies can be re-released to the theaters and be successful.  E.T. the Extraterrestrial was the highest grossing film of all time for years and when it was revamped and released in March, no one cared.  It didn't help that the changes made to the film were wack.  If Titanic came out again it would not gross more than $50 million if that.  Only the magic of Lucas' 6 part (hopefully one day 9 part) series keeps people coming back over and over again.  In 1999, Star Wars Episode 1:  The Phantom Menace came out to a mixed reaction.  Hardcore fans of Star Wars who saw it as 7, 8, 9, and 10 year olds in 1977 were disappointed in what they saw.  Not enough action, plot twists were stupid, Jar Jar is silly, Jake Lloyd can't act, and too few Darth Maul scenes.  The average movie goer who likes Star Wars but does not obsess over it enjoyed the film and had a good time.  When it was over, Phantom had grossed over $430 million. How was that possible when it was so poorly received.  The simple answer is it's "Star Wars."  The people who complained about it the most saw it multiple times.  From a very non scientific survey all of my friends who hated Phantom Menace saw it at least 3 times in the theater.  It is an obligation, almost like a brainwashing.  This box office report started with my review of Episode 1, and this week I will give a second look to that film as well as the others, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.  Oh, and I have a full review of the newest movie, Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.  This will be a huge box office report for the most influential movies made in the last 25 years. 

STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE - FULL REVIEW

A long time ago in a era far far away there was a thing called a Serial.  Before a major motion picture starring Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, or Spencer Tracy, and sometimes after a few cartoons, a 10 to 15 minute mini movie would appear starring Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy, or even Batman.  At the end of most of these shorts the hero would be falling off a cliff in a car, crashing in a space ship, or drowning in a lake and you would have to return to the theater next week to see how the hero would escape certain death.  These popularized the so called cliff hanger where it looked like Dick Tracy went over the cliff, but next week you see that he jumped out of the car just before it crashed.  Then in 1958, Akira Kurosawa made a movie called The Hidden Fortress which inspired Lucas to get the financing to create the Star Wars saga.  Along with classical mythology ideas about heroes and villains the legend of Luke Skywalker and his various relatives and friends took the world by storm.  I became an instant fan of this movie as soon as I saw it back in 1977. Even though it was derivative of other stories, it was the most original thing I had ever seen. C3PO and R2D2 were very odd heroes, but their appeal was magnetic. Darth Vader was scary and way cool at the same time. James Earl Jones' voiceover work for Vader deserved Oscar consideration. I had never heard of Alec Guinness when I first saw Star Wars, but it was obvious that this guy is a big deal. Carrie Fisher was nice to look at, but she never could decide what accent she should use throughout the film. Harrison Ford became a mega star to the highest degree with his cocky portrayal of Han Solo. He played the character with an attitude as if he was making this stuff up as he went along. Ford went on to become one of the most popular actors of all time. Mark Hamill was a fresh faced newcomer who does an amazing job of taking wide eyed Luke Skywalker in the beginning and showing how he develops into the jedi who can take down an empire. His performance sometimes looks like bad acting, but it fits the part perfectly. My favorite character in the movie though is Grand Moff Tarkin played by Peter Cushing. He is more menacing than Vader and his demonstration of the power of the Death Star is still the most powerful moment so far in the series. The key to Star Wars success was more than just its amazing to this day special effects, it was the characters that somehow tapped into the hearts of young men and women who wanted to have a grand adventure and become heroes. Science fiction movies had never had never had great special effects to show what they wanted. Only 2001: A Space Oddessy came close to making it seem like the people were in outer space. George Lucas created Industrial Light and Magic and they created worlds that had never been seen before and aliens that were stranger than anything thought of by H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, or even Gene Roddenberry. From start to finish this movie changed the rules. "A long time ago in a galaxy far far way" that is at the beginning of each movie immediately sets you up because when you see flying space ships and exploding planets you think that you are in the future, but this is actually the past. Then the music fanfare hits and you find yourself humming it for the rest of your life. John Williams had just come off doing the soundtrack for JAWS which kept people from swimming, and he then follows it up with the greatest movie soundtrack ever. He is a musical genius that cannot receive enough accolades to properly appreciate his talent. The opening scroll was also different. Instead of a static straight text explanation or voice over, we had a slanted moving story piece that traveled into the stars. It was hypnotic. After the final line and the four dots, a little ship flies by and then you find out why it is moving so fast. A big ass star destroyer is all up in its area and it takes up the entire movie screen for nearly 30 seconds. Less than 3 minutes into the film, George Lucas owned everyone in the audience. The highlights to come were Vader breaking the soldier's neck, the death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Mos Eisley, Greedo, the Millenium Falcon, light sabers, the force, Tarkin, the Death Star, Princess Leia's cinnamon buns hairstyle, stormtroopers, jawas, trash compactor, the Sith, "situation normal, we're all fine here, how are you," Kessel runs, warp speed, Death Star trench, and the awards ceremony. In 1997, George Lucas released special editions of Stars Wars Episodes 4 through 6 that added and changed scenes in the original versions. Some changes were good like fixing up some of the matte lines in the special effects where you can see the outline of a spaceship when you are not supposed to. Some were bad like adding the lost Jabba the Hut scene in A New Hope even though Jabba's appearance did not match his later one in Return of the Jedi. And some were worse like Greedo shooting first which may be the worst edit in the history of film. I was disappointed in the special edition, but it is now the only one out there in wide release. The old version was just fine, and I can deal with a cardboard cutout of a stormtrooper than the horribly animated one in the 1997 version. Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope is still the best of the series and its end battle in the Death Star trench is still the greatest action sequence ever filmed. I cheer every time I see it. The final scene during the awards ceremony when R2 D2 and C3PO show up still gets me choked up. And before I forget, Chewbacca is da man. Final Review: 5 stars out of 5; 10 out of 10; A+; thumbs up.

To the hardcore fans of the Star Wars series, The Empire Strikes Back is the best thing since Darth Vader Pez. The character of Darth Vader was unstoppable in this film and his villainy is talked about to this very day. He became the baddest man in the galaxy and an unlikely "hero" to millions of kids around the world. It became cool to talk like him and then raise your hand to pretend to choke out your friends. Every year there is a movie that cribs the line, "Luke, I am your father" in some way. The other character to intrigue Star Wars fans is that of Yoda, the 800 year old jedi master who happens to be greener than Kermit and shorter than Danny Devito. His Yodonic way of speaking half backwards has been goofed on fondly for years. Somehow, this obvious puppet became one of the most beloved icons in sci fi history. I love this movie, but it is not the best Star Wars film, and in fact it was never even close. There are 3 main action sequences in the film with a lot of talking and pontificating throughout. The 3 main parts are the Battle of Hoth, the asteroid "never tell me the odds" chase, and the Luke vs Vader light saber duel. They are enough to make the film superb, but there are long stretches where the movie can test your patience. The Yoda stuff is great, but if you don't buy it or accept its necessity in telling the story then you will most likely fall asleep. However, I personally enjoy every moment of this film even the so called slow parts. Patience is a jedi virtue and one has to tap into that to get through some of this. All of the main cast from A New Hope are back with Hamill probably giving his worst performance in the series, but that may be because he was just coming off of major plastic surgery after almost losing his life in a car accident. Fisher has finally decided to go with a deeper version of her real voice in Empire and ditch the psuedo English accent she used in the previous film. Harrison Ford decides to look like he is acting and stays on the script more, but his best interactions are not with Fisher, but with Anthony Daniels in the C3PO outfit. Their moments are priceless. Peter Mayhew returned as Chewbacca and gets a little bit more to do in this movie and show off the characters mechanical skills. Poor Alec Guinness had to show up as Obi Wan's ghost and did not seem to be all that pleased to do it, but he makes it through even though I can see in his eyes him saying "I was in Bridge over the River Kwai damnit!" The star of this movie is really James Earl Jones' voice. There is no one who could have conveyed the evilness of Vader more than him. "You are beaten, it is useless to resist. Don't make me destroy you as Obi Wan did." Amazing stuff there. David Prowse who wore the Vader outfit in all 3 movies shoud be credited as well for his stunt work and general presence. In A New Hope, it had all types of aliens, but there did not seem to be any one with dark skin running around unless they had a hammer shaped head. Billy Dee Williams was hired to play Lando Calrissian to appease any social critics. Lando seemed to be a tacked on character, but his betrayal of our heroes led to the greatest Darth Vader moment ever when he used the force to block Han's laser gun shots and then snatch the gun out of his hand. "We would be honored if you would join us" rules all forms of coolness. This movie is loved for its dark tone with the bad guys winning every step of the way. When the movie came out in 1980, it made most people angry because the film ends in a cliffhanger. Luke's hand has been cut off, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite, and the Empire is stronger than ever. Fans had to wait 3 years to see how things would be resolved. It was a long wait, but resolution did occur. The Empire Strikes Back is a great movie and its AT-AT snowwalker battle on Hoth is enough to save the movie from any shortcomings. It also has the best light saber battle of all the movies including the newest ones. Empire is a great film, and I even liked the special edition version which added some Wampa beast and Cloud City detail that was not in the original. If only they could dub out the Luke scream at the end. Final Review: 4 1/2 stars out of 5; 9 out of 10; A; thumbs up.

Poor Return of the Jedi. Many people put this movie down as being terrible and not worthy of being part of the Star Wars saga. The main criticism can be summed up in one word - EWOKS. Those cute and cuddly creatures that seemed to be able to take down an armored stormtrooper with one strike from a rock anger fans more than any other thing in the stories. They wanted Lucas to have a planet of Wookies running around at the end taking down the empire, not Teddy Ruxpin. I never had a problem with the Ewoks, and quite enjoyed their antics. The reason they worked is because they were given something to do that showed that you should not underestimate your enemies or friends. They were also a welcome bit of comic releif after all of the heavy handed stuff in Empire and most of Jedi. If you don't like the Ewoks, there is still plenty of things to enjoy. The first third of the movie involves the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hut. Han was taken away by Boba Fett and delivered to Jabba at the end of Empire. Luke and his cronies hatched an elaborate plot to free him. Jabba was computer generated in the special edition of Star wars and was made to look half the size of Han Solo. In Jedi, Jabba had put on quite the weight and could not get around without the help of a moving platform. All of his dialogue is in Tattoonese or Huttese, but is very funny. A very memorable character who is fun and disgusting to look at all at once. His defeat though was a little too simple, but in a way set up the future potential of Princess Leia's untapped power. Hamill gives a great performance in Jedi as he has settled down and matured as an actor along with the character. Harrison Ford seemed to just stumble his way through the movie since he was getting better press in the Indiana Jones movies and Star Wars was starting to bore him at this point. Fisher gives her best performance since Blues Brothers here. All of the Star Wars movies have a slow middle section and this is no exception. Luke returns to Yoda as per obligated in the title, but no training occurs. This never made sense to me since his training to be a jedi was incomplete at the end of Empire Strikes Back, but by this movie he is acting like he has been a jedi master for 30 years. Luke's return is used to just clear up loose ends like who is Darth Vader and how does he really relate to Luke and Leia. The worst part of Return of the Jedi is not the Endor stuff, it is Yoda just wasting away. Poorly underwritten when it had to the potential to be amazing. This is a major problem I have with the whole series of movies. There is all of this talk of training to be a jedi, avoiding the dark side, and so forth, but so little time is spent on actually training these characters how to do what they do. Empire showed the most, but after Luke failed the raising the X-Wing out of the muck test, it looked like he would have least needed 20 minutes of screen time to get his act together. Not one second is spent on Luke learning how to be a jedi. He gets more training from the Emperor in this movie than Yoda or Obi Wan. Speaking of the Emperor, Ian McDiarmid steals the entire series with his performance in Return of the Jedi. It is another Oscar worthy effort that should have been recognized but alas was not. Coming off of Empire, the Darth Vader character seemed to be someone that no one could humble. Big mistake. When the Emperor arrives, Vader stays 2 steps behind him up until the end. Heck, I almost wanted to become a Sith after hearing his various jedi raps. To this day I can't decide who is more fun to imitate, the Vader voice or the Emperor's. This film was made to wrap up the main storylines from episodes 4 through 6 and it does that. Darth Vader becomes a good guy, which initially turned me off, but I then realized it had to happen to save his soul which is pretty deep. The special edition of this movie had a few good additions like the new Sarlac monster and some extra planet locations. But the one thing that made me the most angry between all three special editions was that Lucas decided to get rid of the Ewok victory dance song at the end of the movie. It was changed to some generic crap that made me scream out loud. I turn the movie off at that point now every time I watch it I am so angry. Return of the Jedi's other main problem is it seems like a remake of A New Hope. The Death Star is rebuilt, sort of, and it must be destroyed. A new device of mass destruction should have been made and not the same old thing. The Death Star was broke, and it did not need to be fixed. Lucas has a better imagination than to just re-use left over Death Star model pieces. Return of the Jedi has its critics, but they should remember the things that save this movie from being a failure. The entire Jabba's Palace sequence, the identity of "the other," the Emperor, Darth Vader's first appearance in Jedi, the speeder bike chase, Luke standing up to the Emperor, everything immediately after the line "so you have twin sister," Vader's skull, Vader's face, the name Annakin Skywalker (hmm, maybe not), and my personal favorite moment, Chewbacca actually speaking in Wookiese to Han about what has been going on since he was frozen in carbonite. As it would turn out, Return of the Jedi is not the worst movie in the series, but it is not the best. It was somewhat rushed and not thought out enough by Lucas. Thank goodness for the dark side. Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 8 1/2 out of 10; B+; thumbs up.

My first box office report was a review of Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace. You can check the beginning of the archives for my thoughts then. They are pretty much the same now, but I have a greater like for this film than dislike. Like the Ewoks in Jedi, Jar Jar Binks is a hated character to the hardcore fans of Star Wars. He was too comedic and stupid without a proper payoff to his character. His stumbling and bumbling did not make him heroic. His vocal characterizations are no more annoying than Sylvester the Cat, Porky Pig, or Roger Rabbit. If Jar Jar had developed into a stronger character, he would have been more accepted. C3PO is just as bumbling in the movies, but he gets to show his worth at the same time. Jake Llyod as Annakin "soon to be Darth Vader" Skywalker is also criticized for his wide eyed performance. Lloyd is no Haley Joel, and it shows. Lucas needed to calm that kid down and give him more time with an acting coach before turning on the digital cameras. This movie is all set up and when the next two are completed, it will probably fit together better. There are only about 2 really good action sequences in the movie while the rest is full of talk and talk and a chase here and there with little substance. There is no training of jedis ever in this film and it annoys me like it did in Jedi. Obi Wan is already a pretty established jedi master when the movie starts and needs very little coaching from Qui Gon. More of Obi learning the ways of the force if just for a few minutes in a montage would have been interesting in terms of establishing the character. If you had not seen episodes 4 through 6, Obi Wan Kenobi's character would mean nothing to you and that does not make any sense. The pod race scene and the final light saber battle between Qui Gon, Obi Wan against Darth Maul is very well done, but just showed how Maul was greatly underused and should have been fleshed out much more. Only Boba Fett gets less respect in the Star Wars saga. Ian McDiarmid returns as a young Emperor, now Senator Palpatine, but I am not sure if we are supposed to realize this or not. It is not made clear in the film if Palpatine and Darth Sidious are the same. The main problem with Phantom Menace above all other regular criticism is that it does not play like a prequel. You should be able to watch this movie before seeing episodes 4 through 6, but you can't really do it. Obi Wan is not established in any way, the jedi name is just thrown out there with no context, mitichlorians [sp?], trade federations, light sabers, Yoda, jedi council, and why we should even care is never properly explained or hinted to a degree that would make a newbie come back for a sequel or see the previously filmed movies. Phantom Menace needed to stand on its own since it was part one in the saga. As of right now, only Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope can be watched by itself without any background information. The story needed to be stronger and the threats established as great to make people care. The things that save it are its special effects, most people have seen the other movies and don't need the background set up, Ian McDiarmid's small role, Darth Maul's small role, the pod race, and the beginning of my love affair with Natalie Portman. As of now, The Phantom Menace is the weakest in the series. It is not horrible, but it has several flaws that could have nearly killed the series. Final Review: 2 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 out of 10; B-; thumbs up. I recommend it, because it is a necessary evil in telling the entire 6 part saga.

Ever since Luke Skywalker asked Obi Wan in A New Hope if Obi had fought in the Clone Wars, I have been chomping at the proverbial bit waiting for this movie to be made. Finally, we would get to see multiple jedis strutting their stuff in battle. Well, this movie is a great improvement over Phantom Menace, but it is not the full comeback this series needed after disappointing many people with the previous 2 movies. This movie takes place 10 years after the events of Phantom Menace with Obi Wan still teaching an 18 year old Annakin the ways of the force. Annakin shows that he is extremely powerful and if he can control his impulses he would rival Yoda in strength. Padme Amidala is no longer queen of Naboo due to term limits, and is now a senator. She is also a target of a assassination attempt. It is up to Obi and Anni to protect her from the dark forces that hope to tear down the Republic. This movie starts out with a much bigger threat than the whole trade federation mess in episode 1. The special effects are also the best ever put on film, or digital discs. Regardless of what one thinks of the plot or acting, the visuals alone will leave your mouth agape for the entire 2 hour and 15 minutes you are in the theater. George Lucas has pulled out every stop, start, go, pause, whatever you want to call it to make this movie look enthralling. It is amazing that probably 90 percent of the backgrounds you see don't exist in the real world. Most of the time the actors are performing in a blue room and the props are added in post. This over reliance on the visual look also hurts the film in that some of it still comes off too fake. The digital effects still can't fake human movement properly especially when mixed with computer generated creatures and a scene in a diner with a multi armed bulbous cook is a little to over the top in the animation department. I am still a fan of the more muppet look when it comes to interacting with humans since the actors have a better line of sight and give proper reactions to what goes on. As is tradition with these movies, the first 30 minutes are quite exciting, and then bam, we get about 45 minutes of slowly developing plot. Padme and Annakin are off on their own romantic journey while Obi Wan investigates the mystery surrounding the assassination attempts. Obi Wan's scenes are great and are exciting even when no action is occurring. Ewan McGregor is really good in this section of the movie and he has to do much of it while acting to many CGI characters and objects that are not there during filming.  This is the section where Jango Fett is fully introduced and he gets to do more in this movie than his son Boba got to do in the other films.  Their fight sequence helps save the center of the movie from losing the audience's attention.  Hayden Christensen has the daunting task of playing a young Darth Vader.  He tries hard and is successful when he has to show his dark side, but his good side of the force persona especially when he is hitting on Portman's Amidala is pretty weak.  There is no real moment that happens that gives Annakin and Padme a reason to hook up.  It is necessary to be in the film because of what we already know, but if you don't know that, then it all looks silly.  I will say it is not difficult to fall in love with someone who looks like Natalie Portman.  Since Padme is played by the same actress as it is odd to see the same person being all "how cute you look Annie" in Phantom to "I die a bit every day that we are not together" in Clones.  The jump to their romance is too quick.  When Clones starts she has not seen Annakin in 10 years, but now she wants to do him just because he has a long light saber.  I guess looks are everything.  Thank goodness Portman can wear the hell out of an outfit. She looks amazing in this movie and is right now the hottest female in movies.  Her final white battle outfit is a sight to behold especially when it gets ripped.  Four stars right there.  The jedi get to go into mass battle led by Yoda and an almost jive talking Mace Windu played by Samuel L. Jackson who looks a little bored, but still looks like he is having the time of his life playing this part.  Jackson is best in movies when he gets to cut loose verbally, but he only gets one standard Samuel Lism near the end.  Nothing Oscar worthy, but much more interesting than his cameo in Phantom.  Each movie has a break out star or character.  Hope had Han Solo, Empire had Darth Vader, Jedi had the Emperor, and Phantom had... uhh... I guess Wattoo was cool.  In Attack of the Clones the star is Yoda voiced by Frank Oz for the third time, but for the first time Oz only had to show up in the looping room to record his voice since Yoda is a fully computer generated character with no strings or holes in his ass.  And for the first time a completely CGI character looks as real as any human actor on the set.  What they did to animate Yoda in this film puts any other attempts to shame.  I would even consider having Lucas go back and take the muppet of Empire and Jedi and replace it with this CG version.  People have just accepted Yoda as being a great warrior at face value, but in the back of their heads it seemed ridiculous.  Yoda is not even 3 feet tall, how could he kick anybody's butt?  Well when all seems lost in Attack of the Clones, Yoda steps up to the plate and breaks out his light saber for the first time on film.  The next minute and 20 seconds left the audience and myself hoarse from cheering.  A special Oscar must be made for either the character or the special effects people who designed and edited all of his scenes.  I cannot praise it enough.  Christopher Lee shows up in the last quarter of the film as Count Dooku.  Lee's part is fairly small but as effective as a similar role that Peter Cushing played in A New Hope.  He just looks cool and sounds cool whenever he shows up.  Dooku trash talks with the best of them when he enters battles.  The best part of any light saber battle in the Star Wars movies is the trash talking before and during the fights.  Darth Vader is still the king when it comes to that, but Dooku and Yoda represent well in Clones.  The final 30 minutes or so is the beginning of the Clone War and it is the most incredible visual masterpiece ever put to film.  If you found the first hour and 35 minutes awful, the last segments make up for it all.  I am almost afraid to see what they will be able to do for Episode 3 which comes out in 2005.  Attack of the Clones is much improved over Phantom Menace and in the overall scheme of things is probably better than Return of the Jedi.  I have strong fondness for Jedi, but Clones does surpass it.  It is not as strong storywise as A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, but it sets up things to come very well.  This movie cannot be seen on its own and be understood.  It has to be seen with some knowledge of what has come before and what will come later.  Clones also still feels more like a sequel instead of a prequel since it looks so much more advanced than anything done between 1977 and 1983.  Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a magical movie experience that should not be taken too seriously.  It is entertainment and the hard work done to create it is all there on the screen.  George Lucas is insane.  Final Review:  4 stars out of 5; 8 1/2 out of 10; A-; thumbs up.  See it in a digital theater if at all possible.  You won't regret the effort.

That is all I have for this week.  The box office top 10 in 10 will return someday.  This year may approach $10 billion in sales by the end of the year since there are at least 2 or 3 other movies coming out that have a great chance to make at least $300 million a piece.  The force is strong with Attack of the Clones and thank the maker that it is.