You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

Okay, I'm going to try to be calm and rational about th- I LOVE ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Love love love! I was ecstatic the first time I saw this movie, and I still enjoy it every single time. I will defend it to the bitter end!

After all the problems with Phantom Menace, this one felt better in every way. It was just so much fun. Much less Jar Jar, and his main achievement being inadvertently helping the Sith? Awesome! Obi-Wan battling Jango Fett in the rain on Kamino? Hot! Anakin starting to fall to the Dark Side for the best of reasons as he tries to save his mother, riding his speeder bike under the setting suns? My fondest wish come true! One of the most enjoyable action climaxes ever, from arena monsters to Mace Windu's gunslinger entrance to massive Jedi battle to Clone trooper rescue operation to massive Geonosis free-for-all to Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Dooku to (aw yeah) Yoda vs. Dooku? I mean, let's make out!

I simply never understood lumping this movie in with Phantom Menace as far as flaws. I remember seeing that Ebert (I think it was Ebert) said great things about PM and then trashed AotC, and in many cases I couldn't help wondering if some of the initial cheers for the first prequel weren't just happiness that the franchise had returned at all, while then some of the jeers for Clones weren't actually a delayed reaction to the imperfections of the first one.

So, okay, what everybody hated wasn't the battles, it was the romance. But like you, I think it was adequately done. Not wonderfully done -- but good enough. Good enough not to detract from the rest of it, anyway. Anakin is a little whiny? Guess what -- he's supposed to be a little whiny. He's seventeen and full of himself. People blamed Hayden, but actually I think a lot of their problems weren't with the actor -- they were with the fact that the movie called for an emo teenager, when what they wanted was badass Fetts and roguish Han Solos.

Somehow the poster child for terrible acting and screenwriting became Anakin saying that he hated sand. I never got this. He's from a planet full of sand, folks. Sand represents his past, his slavery, his powerlessness. It's the opposite of what he dreams of, the opposite of Padmé. It's exactly the kind of thing he should be saying to express his own character arc, the hatred of where he comes from and indeed, his hatred of himself.

So, right: I agree with everything you say. This movie is not perfect, but I really think it took a lot of lumps on Phantom Menace's behalf. It effectively moves the overall plot forward, it's a rolicking good time, and it looks gorgeous doing it. What's not to like?

Oh, and peachespig? I'll see your Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Darth Maul lightsabre fight and raise you Yoda vs. Dooku. One badass little green dude that is.

Yes indeed, I just about jumped out of my seat the first time. And the RotS Obi-Wan/Anakin intercut with Yoda/Palpatine sequence is probably the most impressive of all. But I always have a soft spot for the Darth Maul one, and I think the reason is the music -- I love that choral piece so much, and was disappointed it didn't appear more in the other two prequels. I could watch it over and over. Oh wait -- I have. :)