Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Directed by George Lucas
TheoScope Rating
Worldview · content · moral framework
Plot
Ten years after the invasion of Naboo, the Galactic Republic is facing a Separatist movement and the former queen and now Senator Padmé Amidala travels to Coruscant to vote on a project to create an army to help the Jedi to protect the Republic. Upon arrival, she escapes from an attempt to kill her, and Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker are assigned to protect her. They chase the shape-shifter Zam Wessell but she is killed by a poisoned dart before revealing who hired her. The Jedi Council assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi to discover who has tried to kill Amidala and Anakin to protect her in Naboo. Obi-Wan discovers that the dart is from the planet Kamino, and he heads to the remote planet. He finds an army of clones that has been under production for years for the Republic and that the bounty hunter Jango Fett was the matrix for the clones. Meanwhile Anakin and Amidala fall in love with each other, and he has nightmarish visions of his mother. They travel to his home planet, Tatooine, to see his mother, and he discovers that she has been abducted by Tusken Raiders. Anakin finds his mother dying, and he kills all the Tusken tribe, including the women and children. Obi-Wan follows Jango Fett to the planet Geonosis where he discovers who is behind the Separatist movement. He transmits his discoveries to Anakin since he cannot reach the Jedi Council. Who is the leader of the Separatist movement? Will Anakin receive Obi-Wan's message? And will the secret love between Anakin and Amidala succeed?
Discern Score Breakdown
30%
30%
25%
15%
Audience Suitability
Kids
Under 10
Teens
10–17
Adults
18+
Family
Mixed ages
Content Flags
Attack of the Clones is the second chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, tracing Anakin Skywalker's early steps toward the dark side through forbidden love, unchecked anger, and political manipulation. It is a technically impressive science-fantasy adventure with genuine moral weight in its themes of corruption and pride, but the spiritual framework is Eastern-mystical rather than Christian, and the massacre of the Tusken Raiders raises moral questions the film is not willing to honestly answer.
Pastoral Take
Attack of the Clones is appropriate for most children 10 and up, though sensitive kids around 8 or 9 may find the arena battle and Anakin's confession about killing an entire village genuinely disturbing. Parents of younger children should preview the film and be ready to talk openly about Anakin's massacre — it is the most morally significant moment in the movie, and the film does not give you a clean answer about whether it was wrong, which means you will need to provide that clarity yourself. There is real value here for teens in discussing how anger, fear, and unchecked emotion become gateways to darkness, and that is a conversation worth having — but it requires parental engagement rather than passive viewing.
Discussion Points
- 1When Anakin tells Padmé that he killed the Tusken Raiders — the men, the women, and the children — he says he isn't just a Jedi, he's a human being. Do you think being angry and upset makes it okay to do terrible things? What does the Bible say about anger, and where does it warn us it can lead? (James 1:20, Genesis 4)
- 2Yoda talks about fear leading to anger, and anger leading to hate and suffering. Does that match what you see happening to Anakin in this film? Can you think of a time when being afraid of losing something made you act in a way you regretted?
- 3The Jedi believe that love and attachment are dangerous — that caring too much about someone leads to suffering and darkness. Do you think that's true? How is that different from what the Bible says about love — for instance, in 1 Corinthians 13 or in how Jesus describes the greatest commandments?
- 4Count Dooku and Chancellor Palpatine both seem like reasonable, even noble men on the outside, but they are working to bring down everything the Republic stands for. What does this film teach us about how evil can disguise itself? Does the Bible warn us about anything like that?
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Where to Watch
Cast
Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor
Community Reviews
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