Well worth the wait...

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2002)

In this fifth installment of Star Wars, George Lucas delivers a visually stunning thrill-ride through the galaxy. While I believed there were script problems from day one that show in the picture, it is easy to overlook. Action packed from start to finish, Attack of the Clones makes for a most enjoyable movie experience.
There are several stories going on at one time. The main story covers the love between young Jedi Apprentice Anakin Skywalker and the now mature and Senator Amidala. A love forbidden by the Jedi order that could put both of their lives, and the lives of everyone they care about, in jeopardy. Even in the Star Wars universe, true love is not something that comes around often and should never be taken for granted. Hayden Christiansen was perfect for the role of Anakin Skywalker. The chemistry between Christiansen and Natalie Portman sizzles the screen making for a truly believeable romance.
After the assassination attempt on Amidala's life, Anakin is assigned to protect her, Obi-Wan Kenobi is given the task of discovering the hows and whys of this. If Kenobi is not doing battle, he is interacting with interesting characters. Most interesting of all is Count Dooku, played by the charasmatic classic actor, Christopher Lee. George Lucas has developed many more interesting characters than he did in Episode I and introduced ones that appear later in the saga such as Boba Fett and Bail Organa, Princess Leia's adoptive father.
I waited in line for 1 hour and in the theater for 5. It was well worth the wait. After The Phantom Menace, my expectations were low and demands were extremely high. He met all of the requirements for a wonderful Star Wars picture and then some. Many of the action sequenses were better than anything I have ever seen in a Star Wars film. None could have been done without ILM's surpurbly improved digital animation. For all fans of any part of the Star Wars saga, from fairweather to hard core, this film is a must see.