Not bad, but packed with cheesiness.....

Rating: Null/10 (16 June 2002)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** As of this writing this movie is ranked #206 all time, which is somewhat hard to believe. I can only assume these numbers are inflated by obsessive Star Wars fans and the fact that this movie seems so much better than Episode One.
It cannot be because this movie is actually THAT good. This is not to say that I didn't like the movie. I did. It was a lot of fun, great special effects, and the lead ins to the familiar storylines in Episodes 4 through 6 are becoming very clear. But the one extremely disappointing thing in this movie was some bad acting and some absolutely cheesy and awful dialog, right out of a made-for-TV Danielle Steele movie.
***** SPOILER ALERT *****
If you don't want to have the movie ruined for you, do not read further.
Okay?
Here I go.....
I realize that there would have to be something to start Anikin's slide to the dark side, and the death of his mother seems a good reason, but the scene where she dies was attrocious. An absolute cliche in every way.
At least as much a cliche as Amidala telling Anikin "I'm not afraid to die. I've been dying a little every day since you walked back into my life." It was hard to stomach.
So, despite the fact I wish Lucas would spend half the time on his dialogue that he spends on making sure half the cast of these movies are digitally animated, I did enjoy this movie. It's a lot of fun to watch, and Yoda.....well, Yoda rules.