Just like Arc 1, the writing is straightforward. The writing leaves no room for awe or interpretation, and basically tells you straight, which is a shame. for example, Griffith says in the 1997 series "war stories, Barbarous as they are, would only Bore ladies such as yourselves." And in this movie he says: "tales of battle are barbaric, and you are so refined I am sure they would only bore you." The tone changes significantly from the series and the movies, and the 1997 series is just superior with its' writing.
However, other than this, it fixes many problems of the 1st film and puts a Lot of weight on the important parts, cuts out some of the "filler" from the series, and covers them with class and refinement. You should read my first-Arc review for more specifics, but the scenes don't feel rushed nor breezed over. It slows down and lets things sit, and brings out lighter sides of characters such as Casca while dancing rather than always being harsh and stern, rarely seen in the series. The battles are also Excellent, and even though it skips the arrow-in-the-hand scene from the series, the cinematography is Fantastic. Again, only the lazy writing, probably a problem with translations and scripting from Japan (original version), is noticeable; however, the writing is never Bad to be sure.
This film is Precisely how the 2016 anime Should have been. Why they switched to the abhorrent 3D in the 2016 series I am not sure, considering how Arc II is so professional and looks great; This animation style, in this movie, is top-notch, and if they kept things like this I'd say this is the Best of 2D/3D mixing up to now. Detailed, beautiful, and captures what 2D animation has always Strived for: recognized Art (research the history of Akira and why that failed if you don't know what I mean saying this).
I will also add the movies cut out many flourishes, such as seeing the broken blade, the arrow in the hand, and most-importantly cuts most of the 3rd-string characters like Judeau and Pippin and makes them totally benched. Especially Judeau and Corkus, which had some of the Best lines in the series, and in perfect contrast to the main characters to give them that opposition, questioning their motives. It's unfortunate that these great characters were sidelined.