A visual feast that puts Episode I to shame.

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2002)

I used to be a hard-core Star Wars fan. Hell, I grew up with it. But when Episode I came out, the disappointment- combined with the saturation of licensing, truly put out the light for me. I couldn't stand Star Wars after that. Sure I still liked it, but I had immersed myself so much in the release of the new film that it actually left a negative effect on me. In fact, I had no idea when Episode II was coming out until about a week ago.
On to the movie itself, I truly, truly enjoyed the entire movie. Although the acting was a bit awkward at times, there was really no chance to notice those moments, as the movie is steeped in action, action, and more action. I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone here because I hate it when people do that. Let me just say that the movie moved me in ways that Empire moved many people. Some reviewers gave the film a bad grade but I surmise that those people had no true knowledge of what Star Wars is about and thus could not appreciate Ep.II's many references and generally, it's direction. Star Wars, as many know, isn't about all the aliens, it's not about Han Solo or Luke or any of the Jedi. It's about one man- Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader and his redemption. It's about triumph of the human spirit over darkness and about man's triumph over the coldness of machines. I think this movie sets up a very dark scenario to be played out in Episode III, in which Anakin will turn to the Darkside and complete the sextet of films. The visual effects were incredible and I really only noticed a couple of parts that seemed CGish. The rest was very smooth and well integrated. The plethora of characters and aliens didn't seem to be as distracting as they were in the previous movie- like I said, it's all about integration within the story and with the human actors. The ship and technology design was amazing and even in this department was the last movie put to shame.
I'd say that anyone who likes Star Wars in the remotest, or likes love stories, or just likes shoot em up action should go see this. Don't listen to those idiotic critics, listen to people like me who don't pick it apart and instead enjoy the film for what it is- entertainment.