Which is worse? Episode I or II?

II is worse. I at least fun factor going for it. II is just cringe-worthy to watch.

II was the worst of the prequels.

VII

Episode I - The Phantom Menace is worse ... but both were not very good.

Episode VII

I love the way Natalie Portman talks when she's in the Queen Amidala getup; Keira Knightley too, for that matter. I also liked Darth Maul. There isn't anything else I liked about Episode I, and lots of things that were downright annoying, such as Jake Lloyd, Jar Jar Binks, and midi-chlorians (which sounds like a venereal disease, or the active ingredient in a household cleaner).

In Episode II they ruined Natalie Portman's character, i.e., no more Queen Amidala, which means no more hearing Portman do her awesome Queen Amidala voice. Turns out she was elected. That's right, a 14-year-old elected queen. What the hell? No sane civilization would elect a 14-year-old as their queen. The only reason a 14-year-old queen ever made any sense in the first place is because being a queen is normally inherited. So now she's a senator, but she still has a decoy? Do all senators have a decoy? Why does the decoy even still fool people without the Amidala makeup to obscure the differences in appearance?

On the other hand, Episode II had less annoyances and more entertaining scenes. It also had the unintentionally hilarious acting (if you can call it that) and lines from Hayden Christensen: "I don't like sand...", "I wish I could wish away my feelings...", "I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me...", and so on. Those lines/deliveries had me laughing to tears, and funny=entertaining, even if it's unintentional. Or maybe it was intentional; maybe casting Christensen and writing those ridiculous lines for him was just a big prank on all of us from George.

So, in terms of entertainment value, I guess I like Episode II a little more than Episode I.

Episode VIII

Despite the near mythologically bad reputation of the PT among redlettermedia types I think both were enjoyable, accomplished (but flawed) films that definitely overall added value to the Star Wars brand, and expanding the lore with great world building. I had my own criticisms of the prequels despite my enjoyment of them but honestly in this God awful Di$ney era I now appreciate them more than ever.

But to answer the topic question I've always felt that AOTC while being visually impressive and having an interesting story to tell, left something to be desired with its execution on a few different fronts.