A wonderful return to the elements that made the originals great!

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2002)

Regardless of the disappointment of Episode 1, I found myself standing in line for 3 hours on Wednesday afternoon, in the blazing hot sun, in eager anticipation of the midnight showing. I had mixed feelings about it as the time finally came to enter the theater, but once the film began, those all disappeared. It took a while for the action to get really worthwhile, but in the meantime the story is filled with plot developed as skillfully as the original trilogy, with plenty of references to future events which the audience already has knowledge of, and C3P0 is once again the comedic humor, replacing the much-despised Jar Jar Binks, who has much less screen time this time around (maybe about 5 minutes, total). Even if you don't like the plot, and you don't like the movie, the last hour of the movie is worth watching just because it's one of the most incredible things you will ever see in a movie. The final showdown, from when Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme are prisoners up to the final lightsaber duel are some of the best moments in cinematic history, with the true epic feeling of the original trilogy being brought back in full force (no pun intended). Samuel L. Jackson does a wonderful job along with Hayden, McGregor, and Portman, as does Christopher Lee, who portrays the evil Lord Tyranus perfectly. One final thing that I loved, was the fact that he gets away, unlike the villainous Darth Maul in Episode 1. It's nice to have something to look forward to in the next one (the inevitable showdown with Lord Tyranus). All in all, if you were disappointed by Episode 1, you should go see this at least. It will restore your faith in George Lucas' ability to entertain and listen to his fans, and believe you me, you'll be thoroughly entertained for the whole 2 hours and 15 minutes that the movie runs.