Every numbered Star Wars movie, ranked worst to best

7. Attack of the Clones (Episode II)

If The Phantom Menace was a mess with glimmers of brilliance, its sequel, Attack of the Clones, is the exact opposite: a solid movie with one big ol’ glaring flaw. Lucas’ struggle to write compelling romance is obvious here. As enjoyable as the rest of the movie is, it can’t cover for the cringe-worthy writing that predominates every scene Anakin and Padmé share. It doesn’t help that Hayden Christensen’s performance as Anakin is stiff as stiff gets. It’s such an issue that the romance scenes are almost as painful as Jar Jar’s antics in the previous film.

Also…Anakin’s advances in the first half of the movie are just downright creepy. What were you thinking, Padmé?!

Attack of the Clones does succeed in a number of ways, however. The effects are better than Episode I, the creatures and settings are super memorable and gripping, and Ewan McGregor steps up his game to prove why he is the absolute perfect actor to play a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. The coliseum sequence on Geonosis is awesome, and a stand-out scene of the series because of how it pits the heroes against monstrous creatures — something that calls to mind Luke’s battle with the Rancor in Episode VI — before evolving into the only battle where we see an actual army of Jedi in action.

Unfortunately, the lightsaber battle at the end between Anakin, Obi-Wan, Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, and Yoda leaves a little to be desired. Though it tries to live up to the amazing Darth Maul fight in Episode I, it doesn’t quite swing it.