Bring on the Stormtroopers- alternative title

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2017)

Far more plausible than the first outing of the new trilogy, still weak and somewhat disappointing I'll admit, but not as bad as people have been making out, too many fanboys moaning like little girls me thinks.
Alas, like it's predecessor, Attack of the Clones comes across as far too diplomatic and political, something the original films were not, evidenced in, a large part of the film taking place in the galaxy's capital "Coruscant", Padme, the former Queen Amidala is total 100% political, how anyone could be attracted to her like Anakin is boggles the mind.
Dialogue is an issue just as it is in the Phantom Menace, the quality of dialogue, for me personally, has the same effect that running your nails down a blackboard creates, oh dear George Lucas, someone really needs to tell you that you just can't write!
I enjoyed the larger role of Mace Windu played by Samuel L. Jackson, it was nice to see the wise Jedi in action especially wielding that purple lightsaber.
Jango Fett was pretty awesome and added some much needed coolness to a rather lame film, it was nice to get a bit of a backstory for Boba Fett as well.
Christopher Lee's Count Dooku sadly was a disappointment, would've been better to have Darth Maul back had he not been killed in Phantom Menace.
The pacing was well crafted, for the most part anyway, it was smooth and jumped from scene to scene acceptably, my only fault here was those annoying screen wipes George Lucas clearly insisted on.
Who on earth told Hayden Christensen he could act? Now let me get this straight, while looking for someone to play the part of adult Anakin in the new film, the casting team were instructed to find the most inappropriate young lad they could find and give him the role, is this true? Nothing about Anakin in this film was acceptable, the acting was terrible and wooden, he struggled to convey any kind of emotion, and to be honest he looked like a little boy punching above his weight and really struggling.
But Ewan McGregor was much better in this film than the last, he was given more freedom to act and wasn't as restricted as he was in the Phantom Menace, plus he was the mentor in this film and not the apprentice, a role he seemed much more comfortable playing. Along with Sam Jackson and Temuera Morrison , Ewan McGregor was the only other actor I was happy with and happy to watch in Attack of the Clones, the rest of the cast was quite appalling.
Advancements were made in terms of plot progression, more so than what the Phantom Menace offered, all the Phantom Menace offered was how Anakin was discovered and how he met Obi-Wan and was taken on as a Jedi, that's all that linked the film to the originals. Whereas in Attack of the Clones, there are more links, such as the plans for the Death Star briefly shown by Count Dooku, Anakin and Padme's love and marriage that would lead to the births of Luke and Leia in the next film, we see how the stormtroopers (or Clones) came to be, and we see more of Darth Sideous (the Emperor).
Not the best film in the world, or even in this trilogy, but still better than the Phantom Menace..., worth watching to understand the full story of Star Wars, just try not to cringe whenever someone opens their mouth.