Saw Star Wars II - Attack of the Clones last night. It followed in a similar vein to the Phantom Menace, only better - spectacular, looked good, super action set-pieces, rather wooden dialogue/acting (some of the lines generated smirks and unintended laughter among an admittedly cynical audience), clumsy and obvious plot in places. The 'hints' of Anakin's movement towards the dark side and the love affair with Padme didn't work for me - the first obvious and unsubtle, the second stilted and unconvincing. Highlights were the chase through Coruscant at the start, a wicked computer generated Yoda kicking ass and the big fight at the end - the action stuff, basically.

This piece on the subject is interesting on the dichotomy between naivety and cynicism with which many of us approach new Star Wars releases. We KNOW it'll never be the same again, but we HAVE to go see them anyway.

This BBC review is much more positive - but I can't believe they liked the laughable flowery meadows and giant waterfalls scene.

This review is probably more like it though.