CD Review: Attack of the Clones

John Williams's take on Episode 2 was totally different from the previous film, Phantom Menace. Replacing the vibrant yet shallow theme-oriented pieces is more a minimlistic score.

The main title starts off the album followed by one of my favorite motifs, that of Kamino. This is followed by a concert version of the only new theme in the movie, Across the Stars. This melodic and haunting theme is what I've been expecting from Williams and what he failed to produce in the Phantom Menace: a truly emotional piece that lives up to the Star Wars tradition.

Many of the older themes (the Force theme, Yoda's theme, Imperial March) are present as well as the ones from the first movie. (Duel of the Fates, Droid army theme, Anakin's theme) The use of the themes from Phantom Menace create a sense of continunity between the two films.

I personally liked to focus on three best tracks on the album, which make this CD a must. (Besides the Across the Stars suite, of course.)

First is the Chase Through Coruscant. This seven plus minutes action cue is a prime example of WIlliams's minimlistic efforts in the film. The piece is percussion-oriented with no major motif presented within it. It shows how much Williams' style has changed over the years since the days of "Asteroid Field" and "Here They Come." There is also a hint of electric guitar, just enough to anger hardcore fans and thrill fans like me who like their composers to experiment with new sounds.

Next is the eight minute cue "Love Pledge and the Arena." The music starts with a wonderful flair of Across the Stars, as Anakin and Padme declare their love. This is followed by a miltaristic motif, a re-working of the droid army theme, which dominates most of the Arena music. Lastly, the lengthly cues ends with more snippets of the love theme and the Force theme.

But neither of them hold a candle to the last track. It starts with a flurish of the Force theme and then switches into a haunting theme performed by a female vocalist. The music then builds up into full-blown fanfare of the Imperial March right before flowing into another touching rendition of Across the Stars. All of this finished off with the main Star Wars theme as the end crdits roll.

Most of the other tracks are softer pieces which include either Across the Stars or the Force theme. Jango's Escape and Bounty Hunter's Pursuit are average action cues, but pretty bland when compared to some more exciting cues Williams produced from Minority Report.

This would be a perfect score if it wasn't for the way it was treated. George Lucas had chopped it up in the movie. He took out the Arena music, and tracked most of action music for the Battle of Genosis finale from Phantom Menace. The soundtrack itself has many mislabeled tracks.

Overall, a great improvment, in my opinion, from Phantom Menace. It sounds more like a good and proper Star Wars soundtrack. Unfortunately, there is no "Ultimate" version of this soundtrack which is a shame because it deserves a proper treatment. B+