Wow! I really disagree. I thought Natalie Portman’s performance in both movies was mostly harmless. Not great, but not bad.
L’il Anakin was pretty damned wooden, but :: shrugs :: there ain’t all that many great kid actors out there. Except for the bad monologue towards the end of Phantom Menace (“Jeepers. What-does-THIS-button-do. Maybe-I-should-press-it.”)* his performance was mostly cringe-less.
But Big Anakin… :: shudder :: I hated his performance. Every tortured line ("Da sands. O’ Tat. Tew’een, dey arh ruff. But your skin, It is smoot’. ")* he uttered, every clumsy “Dah scrip sez ta look at da goil here. So I will now look at da goil here” gesture. I never once forgot that whoever-he-was was an actor, not the character. I cringed through most of his “sincere” bits. (He wasn’t bad during the action sequences when he had to keep his yap shut though.)
Fenris
*Exaggerated for humorous effect