Possibly the best in the trilogy!

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2002)

Imagine this was a non-star wars movie... just imagine that. It would have rave reviews, most critics would praise it... but for some reason "star wars" is already held higher than other movies. people expect too much these days. if you (re)watch the original trilogy, especially a new hope, you will find a lot of poor dialogue, plot flaws and certainly bad acting. this movie was extremely well done. the acting was superb. ewan mcgregor mimicks alec guiness to the key! Hayden Christensen is a good desgruntled anakin. i have seen other movies with him, and it seems this is the role he hits right on the nose. natalie portman was not only extremely sexy but developed as a character. instead of being the monotonous character from episode 1, she is a fun loving, emotional beauty. christopher lee plays both sides perfectly, but Ian McDiarmid does it even better. the visuals in this movie blow away spiderman, the matrix and any other "blockbuster" movies to be released. it easily blows away films unworthy of the best visual effects award. it even rivals the lord of the rings. the dialogue between the two lovers is exactly how most young adults act and talk. yes it is cheesy at times, but isn't that the way all young lovers are? the plot was *brilliant*. the jango fett/bobba fett relationship was ingenius. watching obi-wan on his investigation was fascinating. jar jar was *not* annoying at all. c3po and r2d2 almost stole the show, but the real person who stole it (and who will be remembered for it) is yoda! nothing, not even gandalf vs the balrog, can compare to yoda fighting. i was in pure ecstatic bliss and awe. is it better than episode one? hells ya! easily! better than jedi? for sure. better than the original? in my opinion yes. better than empire? it's a tough call, but considering that lucas had very little to work with since he *had* to get in many subplots to fill in episodes 4-6 (which, btw, worked perfectly, ie. lars owen) it definetely can rival it. there are *sooo* many parallels to episode 5 (empire) that are just wonderous to watch, and the cliffhanger finalé really makes me want a lot more. only 3 more years of waiting until the circle is complete. lucas has truly made a masterpiece. ps, i can't wait to see it on pure digital screen!