A different but underrated chapter in the saga.

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2007)

My Take: A flawed love story can't undermine this 2nd STAR WARS prequel.
It was surprising how the "Star Wars" series went from gold to bronze. Director George Lucas spun gold with his "Star Wars" trilogy and "Indiana Jones" series (with friend Steven Spielberg). But when it comes to the prequel to his beloved space saga trilogy, critics and the public alike couldn't care less to treat them well. But for me, I wouldn't call the "Star Wars" 'prequels' a disappointment, for at least George Lucas tried to give us a "full story" of his well-beloved series.
Unlike "Star Wars Ep. 1: The Phantom Menace", this one goes deeper, keeping us much closer to the events of the trilogy. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is now a young apprentice of Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). When he is tasks to protect Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), he falls in love with her, which is a violation that could expel Anakin from the Jedi Order. But a bigger problem rose for the Republic. An assassination attempt on the Senator launches an investigation, which leads to the discovery of a Clone army to fight with the Republic side against the separatists, led by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).
Although some might as well forget about this, I am definitely with those who will defend it. Yes, Lucas' talents are much left to the special-effects, but still, Lucas gives us an interesting combination of space-age saga, forbidden love, vengeance and a futuristic version of then issues and conflicts on corruption and annihilation. Not number one in the box-office? Who cares, it still a great movie which wasn't quite as great as the ones it competed with (actually, I liked this better than SPIDER-MAN). But this is still a great movie, which is, at times, lost with understanding from its viewers.
Rating: **** out of 5.