Much like The Phantom Menace, I didn't love absolutely everything in Attack of the Clones when I first watched it. In The Phantom Menace, I was kind of annoyed by the intrusive comedic antics of Jar Jar Binks (voiced by Ahmed Best), even though I laughed at him a few times. However, when he was in danger during the Battle of Naboo near the end of that film, I thought, "Please don't let Jar Jar die." During the course of that movie, I had warmed up to him and he grew on me. Jar Jar is certainly not my favorite character, but I like him. The same thing happened again in Attack of the Clones, this time with the romantic subplot. I thought that the acting and dialogue was too stiff and melodramatic. However, when Padmé (Natalie Portman) finally declares her love for Anakin (Hayden Christensen) before they are sent to be executed, I found it genuinely touching. Somehow, the romance had finally won me over.

After seeing the movie more times, I came to greatly admire the romantic scenes because of a very personal reason. I realized that this awkward romance was a lot like the one I experienced during high school less than two years prior. I can identify with Anakin here because, like me, he is very inexperienced when it comes to romance and matters of the heart. He can't easily express what he's feeling, so he relies on worn-out romantic clichés to try to verbalize his emotions. I did the very same thing. The romance in Revenge of the Sith, while tender, is lacking this endearing, personal quality. That's appropriate though, because their romance is no longer fresh at that point and their minds are more focused on the critical events surrounding them.

There are several moments in Attack of the Clones that accurately capture the awkwardness of first love. The best one for me would have to be during the fireplace scene when Anakin declares his love for Padmé. Her initial response is silence, which is even worse than outright rejection (because with a rejection, at least you know where the person stands). The exact thing happened to me. There's also a line that Anakin says in this scene that I really like: "Believe me, I wish that I could just wish away my feelings, but I can't." It's not well-written at all, but that's the thing I like about it. It side-steps elegant phrasing and simply expresses the direct feeling of the character (if that makes any sense). Basically, I would have imagined myself saying something similar to that.

The forbidden love aspect of this story is also something I can identify with. Way before high school, I made a pact of celibacy with myself, just like Anakin devoted himself to a life of chastity in the Jedi Order. So, by telling this girl how I felt, I was on the path to breaking this important promise I made (like Anakin). Unlike Anakin, however, the girl I liked never reciprocated my affection. So, I managed to keep my pact for the time being (but I gave it up when I got older).

The love story in Attack of the Clones partially follows an old-fashioned type of romance called courtly love. Prevalent in medieval literature, courtly love was a secret, sometimes tragic relationship between a knight (in this case, Anakin the Jedi) and a lady of high status (in this case, Padmé the senator). Director George Lucas' decision to create the romance in this way fits into the formal and mannerly state of the Galactic Republic. I actually find the restrained, old-fashioned romance in this film to be quite refreshing from most modern romances, in which the lovers seem to have sex awfully quick. To me, that's not very romantic because it seems more like lust than genuine love.

CONTINUED IN PART 2...