Roger Ebert: Anakin Skywalker was only a boy as the hero of "Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace." But now he's grown into young manhood in "Episode II--Attack of the Clones," and we can see early signs that he will eventually become the evil Darth Vader. But in this new "Star Wars" movie, he's a hero, assigned along with his mentor, a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, to guard Senator Padme Amidala, as she leads the Republic in its defense against the rebels.

Director George Lucas is an outspoken advocate of digital filmmaking, and the models, puppets and miniatures of the first three "Star Wars" movies have been replaced in the last two by computer-generated images. The use of computer animation allows Lucas to greatly expand the scope of his canvas in epic shots like this one.

That looks sensational, but the surprise is, "Episode II" bogs down in too much dialogue. Apart from one big action sequence, the first hour is mostly stiff and banal, without any wit or excitement. As for the images, Lucas shot "Episode II" not on film but on digital videotape with a new digital camera made just for him by Sony. Nineteen theaters [nationwide] will be showing it in digital projection. Everyone else in about 3,000 other theaters will see it transferred to film, as I [originally] did. [Ebert later saw it in a digital version, which he thought looked much better.] I saw the movie on a very big screen, which was not kind to the digital process. Scenes looked fuzzy, action was often unconvincing, and alien creatures sometimes lurched as awkwardly as in 1950s sci-fi pictures. The trailers on the Web curiously look sharper and brighter.

Richard Roeper: Well, I thought there was a visual texture to "Episode II" that surpasses not only "The Phantom Menace," but the first three "Star Wars" films. The blending of human actors, costumed creations, elaborate sets and those digital effects was nearly seamless. This is a great-looking movie, with distinct planet environments, sweeping astral landscapes--and even outer-space rainstorms.

And it's not just the backdrops and the explosions that are more impressive--it's the non-human characters. The Yoda of "Attack of the Clones" is so expressive and mobile that he makes the old Yoda look like the sock puppet he is.

The cast is also uniformly strong. It's not easy acting opposite robots and blue screens and imaginary Jedi masters, but Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman are more than up to the task. I really liked the love story between Christensen and Portman, even though I couldn't quite figure out how he aged more than a decade, while she looked pretty much the same as she did when he was a little boy. But that's a minor quibble, I liked this movie a lot.

Ebert: OK, now we disagree about the visuals, so let's put that to one side, there is not one line in this movie that you can quote with any pleasure. It is the most banal script I have ever read! It's just all about exactly what the plot requires him to say in any given moment. And the love story is just dead in the water.

Roeper: I don't think it's dead in the water at all, you've got. ...

Ebert: I didn't feel any chemistry between them, and as for the things that they say, those are ancient ancient tired tired romantic cliches from a thousand thousand other movies!

Roeper: Well, this is a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. So maybe they invented these cliches. ...

Ebert: Gee, that's a great idea.

Roeper: ...And then Shakespeare got them from there.

Ebert: Oh, wow.

Roeper: First of all, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen are great-looking actors, and I think they have a wonderful chemistry together. I like their loves scenes together.

Ebert: They're both like sticks. ...

Roeper: I don't think they are at all.

Ebert: ...They just kind of stare at each other while [saying] "I love you, but I mustn't love you." Oh, come on, and then the rest of the dialogue all about what's happened before and what's going to happen next. What's happening in the Empire, what's happening in the Republic.

Roeper: OK, you know what, you go through all five "Star Wars" movies, and there's a lot of that sort of sci-fi Western and outer-space dialogue. It's corny stuff, and there's a lot of fortune-cookie wisdom from Yoda.

Ebert: Yeah, but why can't somebody in this movie have something interesting to say and say it with wit and style and flash? The actors are all dialed down, none of them seem excited enough to be who they are.

Roeper: I disagree with that as well, and I think there are some witty exchanges between Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. You know the apprentice and the master, that sort of thing. And it's a fun approach to the "Star Wars" story. This movie does not take itself as seriously as "Phantom Menace" does. And I think, you want to go back to the visuals, I think it looks great!

Ebert: Oh, well, I don't think it looks great!

Roeper: I think it looks great!

Ebert: You take Yoda--now you like this Yoda better than the other Yoda?

Roeper: Yeah, and you know what, go back and look at that other Yoda. That other Yoda you can practically see the guy crouching underneath the set with the little Yoda puppet!

Ebert: The other Yoda never looked like a sock puppet and not only did he not look like a sock puppet, but Lucas has said that he tried to make this Yoda look like the Muppet Yoda so you wouldn't. ...

Roeper: Only more expressive.

Ebert: No.

Roeper: And there's this whole "Crouching Yoda, Hidden Dragon" thing that's just...

Ebert: You like the fact that Yoda turns into an action figure now with his light saber?

Roeper: I think that that is a scene [with Yoda] that "Star Wars" fans are going to absolutely love, I loved it.

Ebert: It's totally out of character for him.

Roeper: It's not totally out of character for him! That's part of his skills. He's not just this brilliant philosopher, he's also a Jedi warrior!

Ebert: Listen, if you're Yoda and you have the Force. ...

Roeper: He's a Jedi master.

Ebert: ...If you encompass the Force, you don't need no lightsaber!

Roeper: You do when you're going up against another Jedi dude who's also got super-duper mind powers!

Ebert: You've just got to go like this [makes a mind-reading gesture]. You're Yoda, nobody can stop you.

Roeper: Well, he was being stopped mentally, so he had to go to the physical stuff.

Ebert: OK.

Roeper: It's a lot of fun, and there's a lot of great action sequences.

Ebert: OK, well, I'm sure that a lot of people will agree with you.

Roeper: I hope so.

Ebert: OK.