I think one has to just sit back and let these "show of the city sequences" wash over you - they are what they are, you know? One could argue that even in City of Death all the shots of the Doctor and Romana wandering around Paris out-stay their welcome and it is a much more deftly constructed story than AoI. But I agree there is stuff in AoI that at least attempts to give some depth to its antagonists, which is nice.