Petranaki Arena

Attack of the Clones

Every Star Wars fan has at some point been asked to rank the movies. It’s all part of the fandom gig and I always love to answer the question, even though, just like the force, the answer is always in motion. I’ll give you a different order every week. Maybe even day to day.

However, one constant is the sad reality that Attack of the Clones will always be at the foot of my list. Despite it being the film that I connected with the most during my childhood, picking up more merchandise for that movie than any other – and still owning nearly every piece of it to this day – it’s the film I have the most trouble with.

That’s not to say I don’t like the movie – far from it. When all is said and done, it’s still a Star Wars flick and as a result, I’ll still re-watch again and again, drinking in every last morsel while cringing at some of the more challenging dialogue.

And the cringing is a small price to pay for the final 30 minutes of the movie which features some great moments and gives us what is the most obvious example of a Star War yet. The Battle of Geonosis marks the start of the Clone Wars and it all begins in the Petranaki Arena.

Count Dooku, Jango Fett and a few thousand Geonosians look on as Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala join a decidedly salty Obi-Wan Kenobi in the arena for their execution at the hands – or indeed horns, teeth or pointy stubs – of the savage Reek, Nexus, or Acklay.

Just as the trio begin to get on top of things, Mace Windu leads 200 Jedi to a party that’s not so much over as just beginning. The Separatists’ droid army descends on the arena and the Jedi spring to action. War has commenced, the Jedi are painfully outnumbered, but the audience is about to see Jedi fighting shoulder to shoulder. Ever since Obi-Wan mentioned the Clone Wars to Luke on Tatooine, it’s all been leading to this moment.

And as the battle expands out of the arena and across the Geonosian landscape, we see what a Star War really is.

Attack of the Clones isn’t to everyone’s taste. But I’ve still got a Reek and an Acklay sitting on my shelf, right next to a 3.75″ Dexter Jettster. The film captured my imagination as a child and the events of the Petranaki Arena are still cool – even now.

Well, all except Threepio’s identity crisis. He can’t remember that, but we sure as hell can.