"The Force is strong with this one."

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2002)

Well, I've seen it twice now and even though I didn't enjoy it as much the second time it is a far better film than the extremely disappointing Phantom Menace and bodes well for Episode III.
The most notable difference between this film and it's immediate predecessor is the inclusion of that vital ingredient to any film, a good plot, as well as some fairly decent acting and dialogue. This film feels much more in keeping with Episodes IV, V and VI in that it has an almost operatic sense to it and doesn't seem to be the shallow merchandising tool that the original was.
Of utmost importance to this films' success is that Lucas has listened to the cries of outrage from fans about the almost cartoon-like Episode I and responded by keeping the screen time of a certain long-eared menace to an acceptable four or so minutes. He has also taken less of a 'look what we can do!' approach with the special effects which are almost constantly used throughout but don't seem nearly as intrusive as before. In short "The Force is strong with this one!"