All good points about the acting. Lucas has been ripped all the time for his shitty dialouge and directimg skills. - "Faster more intense" - But here's the thing HC is just a shitty actor. Case in point he looked like a joke in "Shattered Glass" opposite Peter Sarsgaard who probaly is the best actor right now. And he wasn't good in "Life as a House" either. Though they were both Awesome movies.
And of course Natalie Portman is a preety good actress "Garden State", "The one with the baby in the Walmart" but her acting is crap-o-la in these flicks.

OBI-WAN: "Anakin is in danger"
PADME: "From the Sith?"

HA. Blame GL for the writing...

But Lucas didn't pick these people on acting talent. He had a vision in his mind of what Anakin looked liked and when Hayden walked into the room he said "This is the guy. I don't care if he speak English. They speak English in Canada right? OK He's in!"