They got it right

Rating: 9/10 (19 May 2005)

Well I've gone over to the Dark Side and it's a much sexier place I can tell you.
Loved the movie - really benefits from professional script-writers this time round and I heard that apparently Lucas left a lot of the scene direction to his AD and you can tell. This one can actually claim to be a Star Wars movie. Yoda is much better - good decision to go digital I think and the fight between him and Darth Sidious is awesome.
Hayden Christensen and Ewen McGregor really come into their own in this film (because they've been allowed to I think - see comments about AD). HC looks awesome - apparently put on an extra 11 kilos to play the grown Anakin and that's a good thing (okay I realise only some of you will appreciate the gratuitous topless scenes). Natalie Portman leaves the butt-kicking behind in this one (the fans will know why) which is actually good because she really shines in these sorts of roles (eg Mathilda in The Professional).
There's a lot of digs at the current US administration in this one - at one point Senator Amidala comments "there is the death of democracy to the sound of rapturous applause" (or something like that I've only seen it once so far) and lots of navel gazing about which side is in fact the "good" side in this one. But ultimately the moral of the story is that the ends never justify the means - even if you do have prophesy backing you up (and it's not just the prophesy you're thinking of).