As good as the old ones!

Rating: 9/10 (24 January 2005)

Some people said that Star Wars Episode I wasn't as good as the old ones; that it was childish and has stupid jokes. I really didn't agree with that, but if those problems were really present, they were solutions in here, with Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
The events of Attack of the Clones occur 10 years after Episode I, and Anakin Skywalker is now Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawan learner, and an excellent but somehow cocky apprentice.
The movie starts with an assassination attempt towards senator Padmé Amidala (who was Queen of Naboo in Episode I). After the explosion of her ship, Obi-Wan and Anakin and assigned to protect her from future attacks. After an assassination droid tries to kill the senator while sleeping, Obi-Wan is assigned to discover who's trying to kill her, while Anakin has to take Padmé to her home planet and protect her. In there, both of them fall in love of each other and later are involved in the start of the Clone Wars...
There are A LOT of improvements in this movie compared to Episode I. The tone is darker (although not as dark as in Episode V), and the story itself is darker and more mysterious. The acting is less wooden (or not wooden at all) and the chemistry between Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Padmé (Natalie Portman) is noticeable, specially in the love scenes.
The writing is also better than in Episode I (maybe because Lucas received some help), although is not perfect, specially because of some corny lines in the love scenes. That would be the only mistakes though, for other lines of dialogue do good in advancing with the plot.
The direction is also good and the lightsabre battles and the Clone War battles are well executed. The special effects are incredible and amazing, specially in the battles of the Clone Wars (which were done entirely with CGI) and in the INCREDIBLE battle between Yoda (Frank Oz) and Count Dooku. (Christopher Lee).
All in all, this movie has it all: adventure, action, plot, romance, space, lightsabre and ground battles, and it can really be said that it's as good as the old Star Wars movies.