better than Episode One - just

Rating: 6/10 (17 May 2002)

Some great sequences, and a more of story than Episode One. Hayden Christensen is great as an arrogant and naive teenager with occasional glimpses into the dark side of his character; Natalie Portman is equally rounded as the growing politician who is also discovering her own feelings and some of the complexities of people around her.
However, some of the special effects are *dire* (most of the film looks like an adequately-done console game), which was a big surprise, not to mention a disappointment. The lightsabre sequences are brief and there are precious few one-to-one fights, and they fail to live up to memorable fights from other Star Wars films.
The film drags somewhat towards the end, although it's fantastic to see Yoda doing battle. Ewan McGregor acts well but his role is not particularly impressive, as it turns out that Obi-Wan really isn't a very good mentor.
So, not terrible, and, realistically, who is going to let themselves miss this film?