Best since Empire Strikes Back? Yes!

Rating: 3/10 (20 November 2002)

If only Hayden Christensen was a better actor, this could have rated a nine-point-nine!
He wasn't bad, but like Sofia Coppola in Godfather III, he just wasn't intense/tragic enough for the role. He did get the man/boy-on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown-because-he's-in-love down very well, but his episodes of rage seemed more like Psycho-boy than a young man slipping under the influence of the Dark Side. Mark Hamill, not exactly Olivier himself, did far better in Empire and Return, with the same kind of moral faltering.
The effects, of course, were excellent. It's easy to see *why* Lucas apparently wants to remake the first three before releasing them on DVD -- they pale in comparison, even if the battle scenes themselves rival many of those in Clones.
Natalie Portman's Padme Amidala was beautiful, intelligent, and well-played.
Christopher Lee was excellent as the evil Lord Dooku (I don't think I have that right) -- and he gets to reprise and improve upon his magical fighting skills first displayed as Saruman in Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring.
Frank Oz and the geniuses at ILM gave Yoda a reality not understandable without seeing the film. His climactic fight with Dooku was exciting and "believable," if that term even has a place in Star Warsiana.
Within the Star Wars galaxy, here's my ranking: 1. Empire Strikes Back 2. A New Hope 3. Attack of the Clones 4. Return of the Jedi 5. The Phantom Menace
Within all moviedom, an eight.