Saga Attack of the Clones or Empire Strikes Back

Which one do you prefer?
AOTC is a visually stunning stunning film, the Execution Arena, Obi-Wan and Palpatine looking at the clone armies, the Battle of Geonosis,
Though Empire Strikes Back has the best Lightsaber duel in the saga between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, Han being frozen in Carbonite and the escape from Cloud City, the battle of Hoth, the asteroid field, the Super Star Destroyer,

ESB hands down. You guys?

 

I'm more of an Empire fan than I am a fan of GL, the trilogy, the Saga or big budget action films in general

 

AOTC, I've always loved the film!

 

ESB is as close to a perfect film as I have ever seen, IMO. The last hour rivals the last hour of The Godfather for the blueprint of classic cinema. I love AOTC, but I LOVE ESB.

Edit: For all you guys who need to write a book explaining why you love one of the movies more in other threads, I say you're trying too hard. My defense of ESB's greatness is: just watch the movie and you'll see.

 

The Force is with you young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet. One of the best lines in the saga imo.

 

Attack of the Clones has some of my favorite moments of the Saga, but takes a while to really get going. Empire is perfectly paced, never a dull moment.

 

AOTC just doesn't have a moment as big as 'No, I am your Father' so for me ESB will always be the better of the two....by far!!!!

 

I don't need a "big moment" to choose one movie over the other.

However, when it comes to a choice between AOTC and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, my choice is going to be . . . a tie. Sorry, but I love both movies equally.

 

I'd never thought I'd say this... but at this moment I vastly prefer AOTC to TESB. I realize that technically Empire is a better movie - perhaps in every respect except story and plot and undertones but they matter to me more than everything else. The whole movie centers around the "twist" while the galaxy stays the same. As memorable as the battle of Hoth is, it's mostly a filler since it doesn't change anything between the Empire and the Rebellion. Han and Leia are just pawns rather than intriguing characters with their own agendas. This is very jarring compared to ANH that handles several subplots and themes rather expertly. In Episode V, it went from Luke Skywalker and the larger world to Skywalker soap opera with nice backgrounds. Absolutely nothing is resolved by the end of, not even Luke's feeling towards his father. No wonder TESB was disliked by many when it came out. By contrast AOTC moves the story along in several significant ways. Anakin's mother dies in his arms, he starts slipping towards the dark side, marries the girl of his dreams and goes off to fight in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight. The Jedi Order and the Republic are starting to fall apart, Palpatine grabs all the power and the Clone Wars begin. Empire is beautiful but too often empty (I don't mean the great scenes on Dagobah, of course). AOTC, while sometimes trying to do too much, is simply more interesting to me thematically and otherwise. There's also something about it's dreamlike visuals (Coruscant scenes) that speaks to me on some subliminal level.

 

I personally prefer AOTC over ESB, (AOTC being my favourite in the saga)

ESB for me has good and bad points, can be irritatingly slow, and only Vader, Luke and Yoda seem to engage me

 

The Empire Strikes Back is my all time favorite movie. Attack of the Clones is my least favorite of the saga. Acting, dialogue, editing and character development really needed some work. It really could have benefited from leaving some of the deleted scenes in it and humanize both Anakin and Padme a bit more.

 

AOTC is easily the most underrated film in the saga.

 

I'd agree to that

 

^This
I really think it's mostly due to editing/scoring issues. Even the much-maligned love story would have been improved had they expanded and rearranged the scenes.
Spielberg thought it was GL's best directing and I think he's right.

 

I like both films as well, but I gotta go with The Empire Strikes Back.

 

The Empire Strikes Back by far. I also prefer Casablanca to Son of the Mask, in case anyone's wondering.

 

I am different SW fan then you guys cause Vader's revelation is like my 6th favorite thing about the movie. Han Solo is the man in this movie, Asteroid Chase, Han in Carbonate scene, Luke with Yoda on Dagobah, Imperial March Music, THEN Vaders revelation.

 

Attack of the Clones is my favorite of the entire cycle. Love its genre mash-up nature that offers shades of noir, courtly romance, "sci-fi" grey aliens genetically altering humans, and of course an American Graffiti nod chase sequence that simultaneously feels like a live action rendition of something from a classic cyberpunk anime. For a while now I've thought one of Lucas's biggest strengths is his ability to take a bunch of used concepts and spin them together into an overall package that feels uniquely his, and AOTC for me is the best expression of this. But of course a film is nothing if the characterization and emotion isn't there, and AOTC more than succeeds for me here with scenes like the "dreams pass in time" moment, the Tusken confession, and the entrance into the arena. And to cap it all off I can't fail to mention Yoda's iconic turn as a swordsman and an ending montage that is beautifully melancholic beyond words.

Of course The Empire Strikes Back is great as well, but given that film's reputation I needn't go into too much detail. While my patience for Han and Leia's bicker flirting isn't what it once was and much of the film lacks a bit of an overall "Star Warsy" flavor compared to the others, sequences like Luke facing the trial of the cave and the entire Cloud City section remain a nearly transcendent cinematic experience whenever I partake.

Both are brilliant. AOTC cemented my view of Lucas as an iconic filmmaker, while I think any future Star Wars directors will be hard pressed to match Kershner's contribution.

 

The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite film of all time. And while I like AOTC the most out of the prequels, it still suffers from the blight known as Anakinism*.

(* Anakinism is the purest form of whiny teenage angst, mixed in with genocidal tendencies)

 

Empire Strikes Back because it's my second favourite film in the SW Saga

 

Who also hates sand. And is able to con his girlfriend/wife to keep taking him back after he commits atrocities.

 

I admit I'm a prequel brat. AOTC. The visuals, landscapes and colours of this movie are amazing. The spectrum of Padme's wardrobe alone has more colours than all of ESB. Takes nothing away from ESB though. I can admit that technically it is the greater film. But I can put AOTC on repeat, while the only OT movie I can repeat over and over is ROTJ.

 

AOTC

 

In my opinion, there is no greater SW movie than ESB. There is no greater scene in Star Wars than the first time we hear the Imperial March being played while we see the fleet of Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters flying all around. The blend of the music with the sound of the fighters, the breathing of Darth Vader as he looks out the window at his armada. Vader is a total and complete bad ass from start to finish in this movie. Basically everything he says is said with a commanding tone, or the line is simply awesome:
"That's it! The Rebels are THERE!"
"General Veers!"
"You have failed me for the last time Admiral!"
"He's as clumsy as he is stupid!"
"Perhaps you feel you're being treated unfairly?"
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further!"
"No disintegrations!"
"All to easy! Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought!"
"With our combined strength, we can END this destructive conflict and bring ORDER to the galaxy!"

So. Freaking. Awesome.