overall, excellent

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2005)

It was brilliantly done. My only criticism would be the terrible dialogue between Anakin and Padme during their romantic scenes... it was strained and awkward. No one talks like that. Either that or they have the most awkward relationship ever. Then again, Laucas's forte has never been romance, so its not the end of the world.
Hayden Christensen proves that he CAN act, as he moves from angsty teenager to whiny sith lord. And he so fine. Natalie Portman outacted everyone in the movie, and delivered the best performance out of all the Star Wars movies she has been in.
Aside from that one crit, the movie was everything I hoped it would be - the visuals are crisp and intense, the battles excellent, and Yoda is referred to as "my little green friend". sigh... perfect.
In terms of where is places in overall star wars movies, it comes a firm third, after ESB and RoTJ.