Better than Episode 1, but will pale in comparison to Episode 3.

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2002)

I don't know why everyone is so gung-ho about this being the movie that puts Star Wars back on track. The franchise never got off-track!! I LOVED Episode 1, but I'll admit, I LOVED AOTC a little bit more. (SPOILERS AHEAD)!!!
I'll analyze the characters one by one and you can fit the story together as you go along:
Obi-Wan: Ewan friggin owns this role. OB1 has been a Jedi Master for 10 years at the telling of this story, and it's begining to show. His senses are sharp, lightsaber skills have increased, and he's just awesome. We see him give a lot of aggrevation to Anakin by constantly talking down to him, and we all know where that'll end up leading to. He goes to Kamino and ends up finding out about the clone army and is the first to Geonosis. It's kinda hard to place his role in this one, but it's definately bigger than in Episode 1. Just can't wait for him to put Anakin in his place in Episode 3.
Anakin: Hayden pulls off the most important role in this entire franchise suprisingly good. Although the romance scenes on naboo were pretty dull, watching him slowly turn to the dark side gives me goosebumps. He claims a dictatorship (the yet to be formed Empire) should be the way politics are handled, his meeting with Palpatine and his view on Tusken Raiders are spine-tingling. His whining about OB1 was a little annoying, but hey, he's still a teenager.
Amidala: She was kind of passive in this one to me. Yes, the Trade Federation was still behind attemps to kill her, and yes these attempts end up inadvertantly triggering the clone war, but other than that and her relationship with Anakin, she really didn't have much to do.
Mace Windu: If Mace was a Sith, he'd be Darth Bad-Ass. His role as it pertains to the Jedi counsel and the Senate is huge in this movie, and he's one of the best with a lightsaber, second only to......
Yoda: Words can't describe the feelings that went through my body when Yoda stepped out of the shadow to face Dooku. WOW. Although I'm torn on whether I like the goofy, outlandish Yoda from Empire and Jedi or the serious, cautious Yoda from I-III, he definatley is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Count Dooku: Can I just say that Christopher Lee should be recognized as an acting GOD!!!! This guy is the ultimate bad guy, the only others I think come close are Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. And Lee has these guys beat cuz not only is he an awesome Dooku, but a flawless Saruman (LOTR). Anyway, Dooku ends up being in cahoots with the Trade Federation and Palpatine. Interestingly enough, we learn he was Yoda's Padawan, Qui-Gon was Dooku's, and we know OB1 was Qui-Gon's and Anakin is OB1's and later Palpatine's.
Palpatine: This is probably one of the best written characters ever. You see him pulling the strings behind the scenes, putting himself in complete control, with no one the wiser. Observe-1.Given emergency power (basically Dictator control), 2.Puts the clone army at his fingertips, which I predict he will turn bad in Episode 3, killing all but 2 Jedi and turning clones into Stormtroopers, 3.Is behind all the attemps on Amidala's life. Awesome.
Jango Fett: The man being cloned thousands of times to formulate the clone army, was hired by Sidious to whack Amidala. Other than that and a couple cool fight scenes, nothing too special. Although, he does have the best line in the movie: "I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe". Vegas, baby!
In conclusion, this movie exceeded Episode 1 and 6. In order it'd be 5, 4, 2, 1, 6. But just wait. This movie is the perfect set up for Episode 3, which if it's done as good as this, will be 3 hours long and will be the greatest movie ever made. AOTC=9/10