John Shaft with a light-saber, what else can you wish for?

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2002)

After early reservations, long waiting lines and a number of seat-switches (to get a bit further away from the screen) i was ready to see "Attack of the Clones", and boy it was worth it!
In "Attack of the Clones", Lucas restores his biggest flaw from Episode 1, which is Jar Jar Binks. In this movie Jar Jar is not given more than 10 lines. Personally i was hoping Lucas would have Jar Jar get shot in the first 10 seconds of the movie, but this is a good-enough alternative for me :)
The performance of Hayden Christensen was bad. Especially the supposed 'nightmare scene' was a pain to watch. The other actors did a fine job (given the weak lines they where fed by the play).
While some people critisize the 'digital Yoda', i personally found it to be an improvement to the puppet. It is well rendered and animated, allowing more emotional depth to the character. And lets face it: Without the digital Yoda, we would never have the kick-ass swordfight everyone raves about!
While the script lacks depth, the beautiful surroundings and constant flow of action in the second-half of the movie make up for it.
The special effects in this movie where good. The screen is flood with action everywhere, the backgrounds look fantastic (even better than in LOTR) and the swordfights are better than in all the other starwars movies. Finally we get to see Samuel L. Jackson in action. John Shaft with a light-saber, what else can you wish for?
All in all, Star Wars Episode 2: AOTC is an entertaining movie if you don't mind the plotholes and sometimes weak screenplay. For me personally Natalie Portman and the Yoda swordfight would be enough reason to see this movie (again).