The pieces of the jigsaw start to fit...

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2002)

Warning: Possible spoilers
Those who thought Phantom Menace sucked will not be disappointed by this film. Most of the reviews already focus on the plot, so let me just go to the good and the bad.
The good: Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Great actor to begin with, and pretty much acts just like I would expect a younger Obi-Wan to. Christopher Lee as Count Dooku (informally Darth Tyrannus). Who better to play the precursor to Darth Vader. Incidentally, it seems like his name is in reference to Count Dracu (in history, Dracu was the father of Vlad the Impaler aka Count Dracula). Yoda...now you will see why he is truly THE master jedi ("Kick your ass I will!")--has the screen stealing part of this movie, and probably one of the best "actors" in this movie. The action sequences are truly amazing...much improved on from Phantom Menace. Look for a lightsaber fight between Dooku and Skywalker which is reminiscent of the saber fight in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi but more artistic. And the Jedi battle with the droid army is kick-ass, especially with Mace Windu (Sam Jackson) getting medeivel on some droid.
Finally, and most importantly, this movie makes a better link to Episodes 4-6 than Episode 1. In Episode 1, even though it made more name recognitions than links, it served more as a prologue than a part of the episodes (a la Hobbit and Lord of the Rings). Here, we see more important connections: How the clones came into the picture of the whole story, how Anakin's temperament will eventually lead him to the dark side, Jedi training tactics, how (and who) the Emperor will come into making the Empire, and phrases from episodes 4-6 like "He (Darth Vader)is more machine than man" and "He (Luke) is impatient, just like his father", and even minor characters like Uncle Owen and Bail Organa of Alderaan (Leia's adopted father) start to fit into everything.
The bad: The romance between Skywalker and Padme. Could have been written more maturely, but ends up like a kindergarten romance. Almost brings the movie to Phantom Menace level (the other scenes save it from this). This is my biggest gripe about the film; if this is the key to Episodes 4-6, then don't put it down by making it look like a puppy love type of romance. I understand that Anakin has a crush on Padme, but please show me that the parents of Luke and Leia were more mature than this when they fell in love! Secondly, Natalie Portman is totally miscast as Padme. Don't get me wrong...she is an excellent actress, and very beautiful, but quite frankly, she doesn't have the pizzaz and feistiness of Princess Leia/Carrie Fischer to spice up the movie. It seems like Padme is more of the damsel in distress who dresses up pretty /kinky than a leader in this film. Then again, you can also blame Lucas and other screenwriters for putting her in this situation. Third, Hayden Christansen is appropriately cast as Anakin, but he is wrongly directed. Like Natalie, a very good actor with good screen presence, but except for the scenes where he is angry, impatient, or in action, he comes across as more wooden than human.
So pretty much, if you want to be entertained, or if you liked Star Wars when it came out and want to know more, you will like this film.
Now my only concern is with the liberties Lucas has taken with these prequels. I feel like he has included characters like R2-D2 and C-3PO more as a way to make a connection to the original episodes than as characters to be developed. I mean, if you recall in Episodes 4-6, they have no idea about Skywalker being their master, and don't really know Kenobi well. Do they have their memories erased in Episode 3? How about the fact that in Episode 5, Kenobi tells Luke that Yoda trained Obi-wan, but in Episode 1, Kenobi is the apprentice to Qui-Jonn Jin? If Lucas and his screenwriting friends are going to draft Episode 3, then I really suggest they view Episodes 4-6 again and fill in the gaps in Episode 3 as to not make the prequels as looking like different movies than Episodes 4-6.