WhyweloveStarWars

The harsh beauty and
lessons of the Battle of Geonosis

Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones

Writers: George Lucas & Jonathan Hales

Director: George Lucas

I know I wasn’t supposed to like Attack of the Clones when I walked out of the movie theater. This was May 16, 2002 after all and the loud mob of Star Wars fans had decided, apparently collectively, that we didn’t like the prequels. “Thanks for trying, George Lucas,” said the loud mob. “But this wasn’t what we wanted as fans. Boo and hiss, sir. Boo and hiss.” Yet, as I walked with my friend toward our cars, I just couldn’t get the Battle of Geonosis out of my mind. There was something about that battle that just stayed with me. A harsh beauty among the ugliness of war.

George Lucas has never shied away from his feelings of war, specifically Vietnam, while giving the world their beloved Star Wars. The Battle of Endor was a comment on it, Yoda preached about wars not making one great, and, in the end, Luke threw down his weapon in front of the Emperor, choosing the true Jedi path. Yep, George Lucas has some thoughts on war. Yet, throughout these movies, George and the creative forces working with him, gave us some memorable war sequences. Pulse-pounding action, tension-inducing ticking time bombs, and breathtaking visuals at odds with the very message behind it all. It’s the delicate balance of Star Wars.

The Battle of Geonosis that closes Attack of the Clones serves these two purposes well. Should the Jedi have been involved in this war? Should they have taken rank and led these clone armies? Hindsight is twenty-twenty, even for the insightful Jedi. All of their visions of the always-in-motion future couldn’t pull them away from this conflict. It starts as a rescue, really, but rapidly devolves into the start of the Clone War. Sometimes war is inevitable, but maybe the Jedi should have answered those questions for themselves before jumping into action? This battle and the war that follows does lead to the demise of the Jedi. Maybe they had no choice? The war was here.

However, once the battle actually begins, those deep thoughts give way to the type of action we all crave as fans. And THAT was what was lingering in my brain when I walked out. Ever since that hologram of Princess Leia said, “Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars…” we’ve all dreamed about what that was. Well, here it was, finally. And while I personally had some questions about what I had just watched, looking at you C-3PO on a battle droid, I turned to my friend and said, “I kinda want to go back to elementary school and play Star Wars during recess.”

And that’s why the battle works.

George Lucas took us to the ground floor of the battle. It’s overwhelming and manic. Awash with myriad lightsabers and laser blasts. The Jedi fight battle droids, Geonosians, and stampeding creatures before the clones arrive and the battle expands from the Petranaki Arena to the planet’s surface, growing in size and scope. Within this battle are some of the most captivating images of war in Star Wars. We watch from above as the surviving Jedi are surrounded by droids. Boba Fett silently grabs his slain father’s helmet and holds it to his forehead. A LAAT-series gunship reloads its weapons and whirs into battle. The clone troopers fire into a tidal wave of debris, sand, and droids, a striking image of the chaos of war. Freeze any one of these moments and you have a piece of Star Wars art worthy of a frame. And every one of these beats has something in common. This is the type of battle you would act out as a kid. Whether you gathered all your friends or all your action figures, or in most cases, both, these are the types of Star Wars battles we didn’t just dream about, we created them.

Yet those bigger themes and lessons remain just beneath the surface of those images and action. This battle rapidly grows out of control like the war soon will. Stampeding over the galaxy. Boba Fett will soon spin off into the notorious underworld. The clones will be continuously thrown against that chaotic tidal wave. The Jedi will collapse from within. Cause and effect. Cause and effect. As I walked away from the theater yearning to be part of the action, deeper thoughts were building up within me. Once again, George Lucas was pulling us all in, striking a chord in our imagination, and using that to remind us that there is always something to ponder while you’re captivated by Star Wars. Yoda was right. Wars not make one great—even if they do look beautiful.