Lucas recreates the magic

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2002)

Just got out from seeing AotC. Went to the midnight session in Canberra, Australia, so I got to see it before most of you guys from the US.
Thoughts: 1. The plot is starting to come together with the original three. Whereas Phantom Menace seemed totally unrelated, here the story is starting to intertwine in the arc we all know and love. Towards the end, you're really left wondering about a lot of things. For example, Dooku; I'm not sure he's as bad as they crank him up to be.
2. Ewan MacGregor puts in a good performance, Natalie Portman was excellent too (how many outfits does she have? and how come she looks incredible in all of them?!) Hayden Christensen was so close to doing the perfect job; the teen-style cheesy play-Padme's-heartstrings just doesn't quite work. But I love his evil smile, and he plays the righteous son down to a tee.
3. Yoda kicks assT
4. The Gladiator -> big fight scene is breathtaking. It had a similar effect on me that Black Hawk Down did. Gut wrenching. You forget you're in a movie, you look up and find you're clinging on to your seat.
5. But (there's always a but), despite loving it, there's just something missing. Maybe it's because I've always seen the original three together, but it kind of left me with that Lord of the Rings p***ed-off-because-you-can't-leave-it-there type feelings.
You'll like it. It's worth seeing, even if Star Wars isn't your thing. It's not a ten in isolation, but maybe if I watched it back to back with I and then III, it just might be :)
Begun, this clone war has.
-- james