It's not even Hayden Christensen's acting. He's perfectly fine, really. A bit wooden but he did all he could with the writing he was given.

You're exactly right. He's actually quite a good actor (check out Life as a House for example). And even if you take hime out of the equation - let's see, if you could assemble a dream team of actors from the late 90s, in my book it would include Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, and Ewan McGregor would be at the top of the list. Leave it to George Lucas to take what could somehow be one of the great ensemble casts and make it into an embarassment for anyone involved. Sure - I'll admit to being entertained at times. But as a whole? Considering the budget, the visual effects, the sound engineering, the costume design, and the star power, and did I mention BLOODY FRIGGIN LIGHTSABERS-- you might think you'd have a film for the ages.

but instead we got the phantom menace.

So it isn't Hayden, or any other member of the cast to blame. With sub par writing and nonexistant direction - all of that other stuff is just cool stuff crammed together on a screen. It's sad really.