by Joshua Griffin
(Beware of possible spoilers)

For me the movie is the entire journey, not just the destination.

Oh, the destination is the most important part, the two and a half our climax of this journey, but it is just the final step of completion of a process that for me began long ago. For the past three years, we've been chronicling the entire prequel production from every possible angle. And tomorrow night, somewhere just after midnight, you will be watching the movie for the very first time. What should you expect? First of all, consider all of the enjoyment the past amount of time you've spent on Star Wars sites, chatting with your friends and the sheer anticipation of another Star Wars film. Remember this is the second to the last Star Wars film ever to be made. And then get ready to have some fun.

Episode II is good. Really good.

And let's get the negative out of the way right now. There's a few moments I would have done differently. An effect or two I would have sent back to ILM. Several corny lines, a scene here or there that should have been cut and one groaner joke I would have deleted in a heartbeat. But the good far outweighs the bad. Some people cry that the film hits and misses. And to a degree, I have to concede that point. But the hits hit hard and the misses are just off the mark.

This film is absolutely beautiful. And while I've yet to experience it in its purest form digitally (see our new digital theater campaign here), you won't be dissapointed with the wonder of new locations, new exotic environments and stunning locations on established planets. This is what many fans I believe expected Episode I to be. And the sound effects, while some do feel tired, are wonderful and no doubt will scream at you inside the theater tonight. The film's tone returns to the classic look of Empire Strikes Back, with moody lighting and characters shrouded in darkness.

And thankfully the humor is back. Not Jar Jar stepping in crap humor, and not creatures farting much to my delight. This time we've got sarcasm, like Obi-Wan's "good job" line when Anakin comes to rescue him and has failed. Witty responses between many characters and ironic connections to the classics that are fun for the audience like, "you'll be the death of me, Anakin." There's still just a bit of the horrored Phantom Menace humor that I simply didn't find funny at all, and C-3PO's usual charm is wasted here with terrible lines and his performance is all miss. But I can overlook the minor quabbles there for the massive strides ahead in the overall film. This was one of the most difficult parts of Episode I for me to handle, and George and Jonathan worked overtime to get back their clever use of humor instead of relying on bodily functions.

I had to wonder what I would think of the dialogue, with the love story factoring in especially in this second prequel. Lines from the trailer and the script weren't the most convincing in the world, but it worked for me. The dialogue is cheesy at times and some of the lines are tired, but it works. I believe that Padme when they first met was so ardent against connecting with Anakin that she brushed him off. In the next 48 hours we find her world turned upside down, and she finally relents her love to him. Not a choice of passion necessarily, but of the need for protection, love and leadership. The young queen we met in Episode I is now a woman of the Senate, who finally breaks down and realizes she needs someone to give back to her what she so freely has given away. She needs Anakin. And his weaknesses are a new challenge for her to face, though his attitude and temper frighten her. But her need for him is so strong that it overcomes what she knows are hints of the Dark Side.

Ewan continues his teriffic performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Hayden and Portman do eventually fully warm up to the camera. Accolades for Hayden have been pretty much universal, and weak delivery from the trailers are eradicated in the context of the film. Christopher Lee's character is mentioned in the opening crawl but not seen for 60 minutes, and while he is absolutely brilliant we see precious little of him on screen. Darth Sidious is also almost universally overlooked, when I expected him to come up much eariler in the game this time. And when there is action to be seen on screen it will literally blow you away, and some new unusual camera tricks like some large scale zooms, unusual pans and more of a moving or roving camera make Episode II stand out as a Star Wars film. And head and shoulders above The Phantom Menace. Yoda steals the show, and the purly bombastic and astonishing final reel plays out like no other Star Wars film before.

In my mind half of my excitement for this movie was the relief that it wasn't terrible. The other half of me was pumped because I absolutely loved it. I love the emotion of the characters, finally seeing this elusive Dark Side, and the swell of the new love theme. And there are moments in this film that to me surpass the most intense scenes of the classics, and the great references to those earlier films round out a stunning installment of Star Wars.

The bottom line: I still stand by my comments from this past fall that Star Wars: Episode II is the 'make it or break it' prequel. And George Lucas delivers fandom a whirlwind of excitement in the galaxy far, far away. The Force is strong with this one, despite a few misses this film squarely hits the mark for me.

Grade: A-

You can check out all of TFN's AOTC Reviews below (may contain spoilers):

• TFN AOTC Review 1 (Carter)
• TFN AOTC Review 2 (Scott)
• TFN AOTC Review 3 (Steven)
• TFN AOTC Review 4 (Josh)
• TFN AOTC Review 5 (Chris)
• TFN AOTC Review 6 (Joel)