A Better Sequel, But Still Flawed

Rating: 7/10 (1 June 2017)

After the disappointment of The Phantom Menace, many people hoped that Attack of the Clones, the second installment of George Lucas' Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, would fine tune some of the issues that plagued the first film. In same ways they got that, in others not so much. While the film improved its storytelling ability and lessened the amount of Jar Jar on screen, fans still moaned over the script's corny dialogue and poorly written romance. And in a way, I'm right there with them, though I think I give this movie a little more credit that others do.
First of all, I agree that the story here is much better. While there are still some areas that don't fit very well nor are answered entirely (Master Sifo Dyas, anyone?), I felt that it moved smoother than Phantom Menace's did. It didn't feel like we were jumping from place to place and had less characters and plot threads to worry about. Here we have only two main story lines: the investigation into the clone army with Obi-Wan Kenobi and the romance plot involving Anakin and Padme.
The storyline involving Obi-Wan's discovery of the clone army is perhaps the movie's most intriguing plot line. It keeps the viewer's attention (or at least it did mine) and definitely invested us into the mystery of the clone army's origins. Granted, some areas of it were not properly explained (once again, Sifo Dyas, anyone?), but it is at the very least engaging. The romantic subplot also does keep one interested, as well as when it leads to Anakin returning to Tatooine in order to find his mother. However, there's one issue that bogs this part down: the terrible romance writing.
This film focuses heavily on the relationship between Anakin and Padme and how they become lovers, despite the fact that Jedi are not allowed to love. And even though I was still engaged in what was going on, there was a lot of it that didn't work. It felt forced at times and it didn't always make sense as to why Padme loved Anakin, especially considering how dark things get with him before the end of the story, foreshadowing his turn the dark side. And of course there is also the dialogue, which is very cheesy during these scenes (and throughout the rest of the film as well).
The visual effects are, once again, very impressive, but I've noticed that there are a lot of moments that look fairly dated. There are moments of people walking in different areas and you can tell it is full green-screen. Almost all of the clone troopers in this movie are CGI and you start to notice it more and more as time goes by. Still, most of the visual effects still look good to this day.
While there isn't a ton of action in Episode II, when it is there is it entertaining. The final battle especially is pretty fantastic all the way down to the final lightsaber battle. I know many people are split on the lightsaber fight between Yoda and Count Dooku, but I enjoyed it a lot, and despite people arguing that it goes against his character (which it doesn't; he is a jedi so he would use a lightsaber), I think it works for the film. I will say that there were some aspects of the lightsaber battle that happened before this moment that I didn't like. I feel like George Lucas tried to fix the whole "the lightsaber fights are too choreographed!" complaint some fans had by slowing it down, and is honestly doesn't work very well. Granted it's not in the scene much, but it is definitely noticeable.
Overall, Attack of the Clones is a better movie than The Phantom Menace. However, it still contains some of the same issues that plagued that movie. The writing is still not the best here and really shows in romance section of the story. The CGI isn't quite as convincing, and there are parts of the story that aren't explained very well. However, that being said, I was more invested in this one than I was with the previous outing and I overall I think it is better than the first film, if not only by a little bit.