CONTAINS SPOILERS!! EP. 2 is the BEST apology perhaps EVER!!

Rating: 9/10 (17 May 2002)

Contains Several Spoilers!!!! Contains Several Spoilers!!!!
Should have been Episode One. Despite some bad compositing of characters leaping on or off of CGI animals and such, and some (read: all) painful romantic moments with Amidala and Anakin, and some action elements that seem to have been orchestrated to either immolate video games or inspire the expected Star Wars video games, despite those elements this thing is pure sugar, and I've no regrets dumping out the cash to see it opening day. Loved the improved characters, the massively improved loyalty to continuity with the first trio of films, the re-creation of Owen & Beru's crib on Tattoine, the Jawa spread, the inclusion of Boba's backstory (and I'm shocked I dug this one, but if you're going to do it right, do it fully over the top, and they did, all the clones are based on Jango Fett including li'l Boba, out of control). Found the similarities of the Tusken Raider camp to a Native American village a bit unnerving, and I'd love to know where the raiders got bamboo to tie up Anakin's mom on a desert planet. Loved the violence of the opening, uncanny and beautifully rendered. Loved the arena monsters, especially the crab thing. Loved the Jedi fight with the Federation droids (which no longer act nearly as boring as in Ep. 1, although the "Roger Roger" gag is used again, and yeh, I chuckled again). Loved that 3 or 4 of the surviving Jedi were female, and 2 of those were the clearly Asian women, and the others were Hindu and Green tentacle alien respectively (there may have been more, but these four need action figures IMMEDIATELY!). Didn't laugh at the C3PO one line gags "This is a drag." Ow. "I'm beside myself." Double ow. Mixed feelings about R2-D2's leg thrusters. Found seeing R2-D2 use his third leg to climb stairs a bit distracting (although I've had to do that a few times, so I can empathize with the little guy). Loved Yoda doing the Jet Li action. Loved seeing Anakin getting his arm lopped off. Why stop there, I wondered? Loved like a mother the city stuff, the vehicles, the centipedes, the high speed traffic, the seedy bar, the scantly clad alien babes, the diner with the femme waitress bot. Awesome! Loved the Jango Fett fights, including the outcome. Nothing says good entertainment like a beheading! Love that Jar Jar became a stooge for the political agenda of the Dark Side. Love the bald lady standing next to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Love the symmetry of having Christopher Lee being handed the plans for the Death Star when his old Hammer Films buddy Peter Cushing was in command of the actualized Death Star back in 1977. Love the parallel moments and shots to the previous trio of films, like the ending shot of this one parallel to the ending shot of Empire Strikes Back, complete with robotic hand. Love the alien world where the clones are being produced, and dig the aliens doing the producing. Love the whole business with Jango's rapid firing machine in the asteroid belt. Love the leader of the bugs, love the Techno cyborg guy in the Federation camp even more. Kit Fisto is also the bomb, by the way. And last of all, simply adored the clones at war with the Federation robots. Tons of cool stuff in this that'll give Hasbro years worth of figures and vehicles without repeating themselves.