Best of the 'Prequels' by far

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 2016)

This is easily the best of the prequel movies. In fact, it's an excellent movie, it which the strands of the previous movies come together brilliantly to set the scene for events in the original trilogy.
It does still suffer from the problems that plague the whole prequel trilogy - glossy special effects that lack heart, mediocre acting and boring set-piece battle scenes. But this is more than made up for by a series of glorious encounters between the central characters.
Senator Palpatine's plot to turn Anakin Skywalker into his apprentice is handled deftly through a series of interactions between them. There are gloriously satisfying light-sabre battles between virtually everyone. And a moving denouement as Amidala dies giving birth to the Skywalker twins and Anakin is left a crippled and deformed husk, rescued and encased in a suit to become Darth Vader. Every plot line you'd hoped for is in here.
Given the underwhelming quality of most the prequel trilogy, this is a creditable effort deserving of praise.