PT The great things about AOTC

While i would have liked more of Lee, i thought his early death made sense. It allows Palpatine to quickly manipulate Anakin, because he sees that Anakin is willing to carry out his orders/ (killing Dooku).

I like the duel at the beginning of the film, its a nice change of pace. The excess of duels in ROTS made up for the lackluster duels in AOTC

Another great thing about AOTC: It gave us a new lightsaber color! Kill that disgustingly bland palette of blue and green!

 

Yes! Mace's lightsaber is the most stylish in the Saga IMO - and it's not just the purple blade. The handle complements it beautifully.





Mace - he's got style
/LM

 

I think it was Sam Jackson's idea.

 

Yes, I really liked how they made Mace Windu a more unique character with the purple lightsaber.

 

I tolerated Harry Osborn. Actualy, James Franco could have probably pulled off the Anakin role rather well. Not that I think Hayden is a bad actor; he's generally good in other roles.

Hmmm? You didn't like the ents and hobbits? Interesting. I thought the comical aspects of the TLOTR movies were pulled off rather successfully.

Pippin: What about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?
Merry: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

^ That's comedy gold.

I thought JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" was the best of all ST movies, even better than the classic Wrath of Kahn. They managed to inject some life into a dying franchise!

Hmm. I thoroughly enjoyed Terminator Salvation. It's the best of the Terminator movies, except for perhaps T2. It was leagues better than the previous rubbish with the female terminator (Rise of the Machines, was it?). Anyway, Salvation was a highly entertaining movie. Christian Bale was great.

I'm not the biggest Avatar fan. I mean, I had already seen that movie back in the 90s when it was called "Dances with Wolves". However, the romance between the main characters was fine and believable. I didn't have a problem with that aspect of the film.

That's like comparing A New Hope to Spaceballs. Different genres altogether, and I enjoyed both. With Spaceballs, I knew what to expect: a stupid, slapstick, Mel Brooks film laced with constant gags. "Adults don't like pathetically unfunny humour; especially slapstick"... in sci-fi space fantasy films!

Yes, you've proven that your tastes in film are vastly different from mine.


Cheers,
MrF

 

I think the element of Sir Christopher Lee as a fall Jedi Master was totally *awesome* Though, I don't particularly think Dooku fits the mold of the other Sith.

 

I tolerated Harry Osborn. Actualy, James Franco could have probably pulled off the Anakin role rather well. Not that I think Hayden is a bad actor; he's generally good in other roles.


Aside from one moment of hammy acting in AOTC (in Padme's suite on Coruscant) and one moment of hammy acting in ROTS (on Mustafar); Hayden Christensen was great as Anakin Skywalker. I have no problems with his performance, aside from what I had mentioned.

 

Every single thing in the movie. For a long time it was my favorite Star Wars movie and in many ways, still is. We got everything we every dreamed about with AOTC IMO. The entire last hour of the film is SW at its very best.

 

I remember when I was a kid and saw AOTC for the first time, I didn't like it because there wasn't enough Jar Jar.

Of course, I love the heck out of it now. Yoda pulling out his lightsaber for the first time still gives me chills.

 

The Execution Arena was a good unique idea.
The seismic charges were another.
The music-Across the Stars, Love Pledge and the Arena, Finale with Dooku and Final Credits
The Clone Army assembled

 

One of the bits I adore is when they shoot down the huge Trade Federation ship as it's taking off, and it plummets down and kicks up the huge cloud of dust, and the shots of clones and battle droids firing blindly are spectacular! For me at least it really sums up the chaos of the Battle of Geonosis!

 

That was a cool scene as well darth_mccartney

 

theyres tons of great stuff about AOTC...

-Jango Fett
-Obi wan Kenobi
-Anakin & the sand people
-Mace Windu being a boss
-Seeing the Jedi fight as an ARMY
-Clone Troopers
-Boba fett actually being somewhat cool unlike in the originals
-Count Dooku

 

I love Attack of the Clones. Love it. It is second only to Revenge of the Sith in my estimation and what few flaws it has are greatly counterbalanced by its poetry, symbolism, beauty, and emotional core.

Unlike a lot of people, I adore its presentation of Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. I've read that many longed for a more brotherly bond between them, akin to Luke and Han, but I never expected it. How could their relationship be presented as such? Obi-Wan is essentially Anakin's guardian -- he's really everything to him at this stage of his life -- mentor, friend, teacher, parent, sibling, authority, and so on and so forth -- and this is a time in Anakin's life when he's struggling for independence. It seems to me that their relationship was handled perfectly -- Anakin wants to be treated like an adult and gravitates to Palpatine, who treats him as an equal. Obi-Wan, however, knows that Anakin is immature and often lacks discipline and so the two are constantly butting heads as a result and Obi-Wan, due to his own relative youth, often overcompensates and can be critical as well. It's something I've observed in real life -- older parents are often much more lax with their children than younger ones are because they know how to handle them better.

Anakin and Padmé's relationship is also well-done, in my opinion. Padmé's virtues and flaws are really brought to the forefront here in that she can be self-righteous and arrogant about her position in that she perceives it to be her job to right all of the galaxy's wrongs and this is intermixed with her desire to help others. There's also an element to her that is very tied to duty, to the point that she is unable to think of what she wants and needs. In large part, I think the loss of Anakin's mother allowed her to admit to herself that she loved him, because at that point, it wasn't "selfish" of her to want to be with him, she wasn't destroying their futures by pursuing a relationship, she was being with him because he needed her, and she needed to repair the pain he had endured. I would argue, though, that this is, in part, a flaw, as Padmé believes that she alone can heal Anakin, when his issues run deeper than she can reach, especially on her own.

And Palpatine, oh Palpatine. He is physically in this film very little but his presence is everywhere. How I love his machinations -- his set up of Padmé and the Clone Army are both rather brilliant plans -- heads I win, tails you lose. If he manages to kill her, then he is rid of yet another voice of opposite in the Senate or he use her to tempt Anakin. Either way, whether she lives or dies, he wins. It's similar with the Clone Army -- what choice do the Jedi have here? They can use the clones (as they did) and play right into Palpatine's hands, but if they refuse and try to investigate, then the Separatists will completely overrun the Republic and the public itself will turn on the Jedi. Palpatine's greatest strength, I've come to see, is his ability to adapt his plans to changing circumstances or to engineer situations in which a favorable outcome (for him) results no matter what others choose.

And the symbolism and themes, both used to great effect to visually illustrate the struggle for balance, the loss of the feminine, and illusion and deception. In particular, Anakin's failure to obtain balance is reinforced again and again and this really gives the film a mythic quality. And that ending ranks among my favorites -- Lucas at his best.

 

The highlight of AOTC for me was the military aspect. The clone army was really quite brilliantly conceived-most Star Wars depictions of militaries are pretty half-baked. Not so this one; they have all the equipment you'd expect a modern army to have and it's employed as a modern army would. +1 for attention to detail.

 

I agree.
I would even go as far as to say that AOTC might be Lucas best directing.
AOTC's weak point is the editing imo, but what Lucas shot was excellent imo.

 

AOTC is certainly highly underrated. It's rather depressing for me when I see it derided because it's a consistently wonderful picture for me. There's really no scenes that I would want to fast-forward through, although the droid factory is by no means my favorite sequence. It also features several very well developed planets: Naboo, Kamino, Geonosis, and Tatooine. Like you, I think the editing could use a tad of work, but there are some brilliant transitions -- the scene change from Anakin and Padmé rolling in the fields of Naboo to Obi-Wan on Kamino is one of my favorites. Likewise, the cutting from Obi-Wan overlooking the clones to Anakin and Padmé's picnic has become more appreciable over time, at least for me. Truly, the only significant changes I would make is the re-inclusion of a lot of the deleted scenes. They help to reinforce Padmé's character, especially, and if time is an issue, Lucas could always cut down on the droid factory.

 

This is something I posted on Rottentomatoes.com when I did my Star Wars evaluation 5 years ago.....



Attack of the Clones , in my most humble of opinions, is the crowning achievement of one George Walton Lucas. He took Star Wars way back to it's roots. It's the most stylized and theatrical offering in the entire saga. Hell, the title alone screams B-movie scifi flick. It's a tribute to GL's childhood and is one of my favorite movies of all-time.
Story

The movie starts off with a bang, in traditional Star Wars fashion. Senator Amidala, the former Queen is the apparent target of an assassination attempt. She's spear-heading a group of senators who are against the creation of an "ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC", which would induce the gears of War into turning and give the Separatist exactly what they want.

She's suspects expatriated jedi and now leader of the Sepaeratist movement; Count Dooku is the person responsible for the act, but the Jedi in their arrogance dismiss her opinion as crazy talk and offer a less grandiose explanation; Spice Miners did it!

Never the less it is apparent that Padme's life is in danger, and she is in need of protecting. The slick Palpatine realizes that this is his opportunity to play match-maker and give Anakin exactly what he wants. So he reccomends that Obi-Wan be placed in charge of her safety. Yoda gives him the evil eye, because Yoda knows that Palpatine is up to no good. Maybe the force became unclouded for a couple seconds, but Yoda knew in that instant that something was up.

Anakin is so nervous when he sees her. He doesn't really know what to say to her. He's been in love with her since he was nine, and he probably has only seen her from a distance, if at all since. This is why attachment is forbidden for a jedi.......this is why Anakin was too old to begin the training.......Jedi's can't fail. What I mean by this is that if a Jedi fails to go by the book, then he can use all the knowledge and power he or she's accumulated over time for misdeeds and invoke a lot of havoc. The Jedi should never EVER allowed Anakin to become a jedi, especially knowing he had attachment and fear issues to start with. It was too late to completely deprogram him.

Back to the story.

Anakin is trying so hard to impress Padme: "We will catch the killer, I promise you." And it comes through as forced and clumsy, and that's by design. He's no casanova. He's a celibate jedi, who's been thrown back into the world of the woman he adores........and he's a teenager. The internal conflict is killing him. Anakin is between a rock and a hard place.

Later that night, there's another attempt on Padme's life, but thanks to Anakin, the attempt is thwarted. Obi-Wan recklessly jumps out of a window, onto a droid that'll lead him god knows where, and Anakin is off to the races. It's an exciting sequence, that only gets more and more pulse-pounding.

Anakin grand theft autos a car and rescues Obi just as the droid he was clinging onto for dear life goes up in smoke, by its' dispatcher no less. This person, this bounty hunter was apparently hired by Jango Fett. Perhaps Jango did this, because he wanted his name being left out of it.

The Jedi are now in hot pursuit of the Bounty Hunter. Anakin let's his arrogance blind him, and he loses the Bounty Hunter's tail. So what does Anakin decide to do? Something even more arrogant and even more brash. He uses the force, or something to time his jump just perfect and lands on the BH's speeder just in the nick of time. There's a struggle, but eventually Anakin is able to cause the speeder to crash land, and now it's a foot race.

I love the next sequence to death.

Anakin and Obiwan track her to a bar. So what does Obiwan do? He goes to the bar and gets a drink. Wow. That was unexpected. Anakin is canvassing the bar, looking for any trace of the BH and Obi is livin it up. It's a moment that sort of takes you out of the film, but in a fun way. It's an obvious ploy by Obi, and it works to perfection, with the amputation of the BH's limb as she's about to strike a seemingly unsuspecting Obi-Wan Kenobi. The BH is neutralized so Anakin and Obiwan take her outside for interrogation. But just before they leave......"Jedi business, go back to your drinks." I love it.......anywho......Before the Bounty Hunter can verbalize who hired her, she's killed by a shadowy figure in the distance sporting a jetpack.

"Toxic dart!"

The council ordain that Obi look into the matter, while Anakin continues to watch over the Senator, but in a safer environment. First, however, he must speak to the Chancellor to make it an exectutive order, practically unbreakable.........Anakin knows Padme wouldn't go along with it any other way.

The scene with Palpatine sets up so much, that I can't believe it wasn't added until post production. I'm just glad it was included. It shows that Anakin isn't pulling his dellusions of grandeur out of thin air, but is being buttered up by Palpatine. No wonder Anakin is in favor of a dictatorship.

Anakin and Padme are whisked off to Naboo, which they traveled to in clandestine fashion. Obi assumes the role of noirish detective(Attack of the Clones is very much a detective mystery movie). When droids fail him, Obi falls back on the instantly loveable Dexter Jester for help. Dexter is a cook in a diner eerily reminiscent of an earlier Lucas classic. The lines here have that snap, crackle, and pop of the original trilogy. Example:

Obi-Wan-"Are they friendly?"

Dex-"It depends."

Obi-Wan-"Depends on what Dex?"

Dex-"How good your manners are........how big your......pocket book is."

*smirk*

On a side-not, I think having Dex as a side-kick instead of Jar Jar would have enhanced TPM tremendously. He's got a lot of charisma.

*back on-topic*

So Obiwan learns that the dart that killed the Bounty Hunter was manufactured in a planet system called Kamino. The problem is that Kamino doesn't appear in the archive maps. *shocked*

Something isn't right here, so Obiwan seeks the services of Yoda. Yoda has a very Empire esq scene here with the younglings, and demonstrates some of his playful side we all know and love from the OT.

One of the younglings actually solves the mystery; "Master, perhaps it was deleted from the archive memory". Eureka! However, only a jedi can do so, and this revelation must mean that the jedi have a traitor in their midst. The mystery grows stronger...........

Meanwhile, Anakin and Padme are on Naboo, and starting to shred their professional personas, and just be themselves. The meadow scene is my personal favorite of theirs. They open up and act completely natural. Very charming sequence, with Anakin teasing Padme, but also revealing something darker about himself in the process. Anakin fakes an injury and they roll around, it's very old-fashioned in a lot of ways. I ate it up.

Obiwan finds the missing Planet, and to his amazement, is welcomed to the planet with open arms. He was an expected guest. Obiwan humors the natives of Kamino, as if he knows about a Clone Army and he's the one sent to inspect them. "That's why I'm here." They buy it and he goes on a tour of the facilities. He learns that a Bounty Hunter named Jango Fett is the one who's providing the DNA for the clones, and that a master Sifo-Dyas is the one who placed the order for the Clones 10 years ago. One problem........he was killed ten years ago. It wasn't him!

Back on Naboo Anakin's nightmares about his mother grow more and more intense. He knows she's in immediate danger, and yet also knows that he has an obligation to protect Padme. Padme is sympathetic though, and encourages Anakin to go to his home world to prevent his dreams from becoming a reality.

"Don't look back.....Don't look back......"

Obiwan confronts Jango Fett. The tension in the air is palpable. Obiwan knows that Jango knows that Obiwan knows, and so on. It's just a kickass scene, no other way to describe it at this ungodly hour.

"I'm just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe."

"They'll do their job well, I'll gurantee that."

Anakin and Padme track his mom to Lars homestead(after a fun reunion with Watto). Anakin finds out his mother was captured by Tusken Raiders, and is told she's dead. Anakin refuses to accept this and goes on a damn fool idealistic crusade to save her.

Obiwan gets down and dirty here. The gloves are off. It's just Jango and him. He needs to bring Jango in for further questioning and he's not going to take no for an answer. Jango isn't going to be taken alive. So the fight is on. Lucas as such a great eye for action, this can not be overstated. The fight is glorious and tops the lightsaber duel in the film. Jango gets the best of Obi, but Obi is able to attach a tracking device to Jango's ship, so he gets the last laugh.

Anakin finds his mom in a tent, barely clinging onto life. This is some of Hayden's best work. The scene is heart-breaking, with his mom's inability to complete the sentence "I love you." before dying. Anakin is sent into a irreconcilable rage. The viewer just gets a little taste of the carnage, but it's a case of telling being better than showing. His confession scene is the single greatest acting display in the entire saga. I felt such a rush watching it in theaters. Anakin is bubbling with hatred, venting all of his frustrations, and admits to killing women and children during his rampage and that's not even the worst part......he revels in it. Powerful, powerful cinema.

Obiwan tracks Jango to a planet that looks very much like Saturn. You finally see some real bona-fide dogfighting in the prequels here. Another fun little romp. Lots of shades of Empire in this film. Obiwan is able to evade a heat-seeking missle and gives Jango the false impression that he was blown to bits. Obi lands on the planet, and overhears just about everything the Separatist have up their sleave. It appears Dooku was behind everything and they are gearing up for War. Obiwan is captured once he returns to his ship and it's up to Anakin to retransmit the message to the Republic.

This developement prompts the Republic to declare War on the Separatist, but first Palpatine must be endowed with the power to make it happen. Jar Jar, the acting Senator of Naboo is an easy target to trick into "proposing such a radical amendment". Palpatine gets his wish and is granted Emergency Powers, which he promises to relinquish after the crisis has been resolved.

The Empire is created.

Anakin and Padme decide to defy Jedi orders and go to Geonosis to rescue Obiwan. They encounter a factory of peril along the way, and even though it was a last minute add-on, it was substantive, because it further demonstrates Anakin's jedi abilities, it's not just completely filler. C3PO's antics unnerve a lot of people, but I thought it was humorous and very much vintage 3PO. His side-adventure was another welcomed addition.

What happens next is unmitigated bliss for this Star Wars fan. I could watch it until my head exploded. The execution scene. The Clones arriving to save the day. The multiple duels. The final montage........god it's something that just has to be experienced.

EDIT*

So here's the climax. Boy what a climax. The prisoners Anakin and Padme are taken into a Roman Coliseum esq building, where surprise, surprise, their ole pal Obiwan is chained to a piller waiting for them. All three parties have been targeted for termination. Oh, fun! Of course this is Star Wars and you can't just kill them by firing squad......no, that's not nearly imaginitive enough. You have to give the fans and the local Geonosians a good show. And that's exactly what they do. They release not one, not two, but THREE horrible monsters, who are so vicious and mindless that they attack their own trainers. Yee-gods!(Do have to point out something lazy on GL's part; Padme mysteriously gains possession of the key that frees her? I know she's resourceful, but come on.)

So all three of our heroes escape their chains in various forms and have their little melee. Nute Gunray kills me in this scene. He still holds a grudge against Padme for besting him 10 years ago, and he keeps going on and on about "Can we just shoot her already?" Probably my favorite comic relief villain in the Prequel Trilogy.

Our Heroes defeat the monsters, but of course, their fates are predetermined.......there is no escape. Droids surround them, and it looks as though their fates are sealed! Not so fast......."This parties over" said the Windu to the fly. The jedi are there in full force to rescue our heroes.

I have to admit I was initially disappointed by the battle that takes place in the Coliseum......but it's grown on me. It's another in a long line of fun sequences in the film. The film is just pure joy, a lot of fun moments that advance the film. Wonderful.

The Jedi are outnumbered and despite their gallant efforts, are defeated. Not so fast again my friend! Dubious Clones to the rescue!

ATTACK OF THE CLONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Clones take out the droid army with expert precision. The battle is over before it ever began. Truly a masterful display of military might. Also I might add that I was completely fooled in my intially viewing, and believed that some of the clones were men in suits..........they aren't.

The rest of the battle is filmed in a way that is foreign to Star Wars. It's sort of a documentary style, with a lot of zooms. It was a nice stylistic choice for the aerial battles, it really made you feel intimately involved with what was transpiring.

*has eye-candy induced seizure*

The battle is so gritty. So much dust, and smoke, and visibility is low, which is really symbolic of the ambiguity of what's going on: Are the good guys really the good guys? Are we the audience rooting for the right people to win here?

The amount of troops are overwhelming, and no battle in Star Wars past or future top the sheer scope of it.

Obiwan and Anakin find themselves fortuitously in hot pursuit of Count Dooku, who has escaped the arena.......but not with his prized body guard Jango Fett who was killed by the hands of Mace Windu. Hayden and Ewan have a great dialogue exchange after Padme falls out of their gunship.

Anakin- "Put the ship down!"

Obiwan-"Anakin, don't let your personal feelings get in the way!"

Anakin-"Lower the ship!"

Obiwan-"I can't take Dooku alone. I need you. If we catch him we can end this war right now! We have a job to do!"

Anakin-"I don't care. Put the ship down!"

Obiwan- "You will be expelled from the jedi order!"

Anakin-"I can't leave her!"

Obiwan-"Come to your senses. What do you think Padme would do if she were in your position."

Anakin- *sigh* "She would do her duty."

Now the dialogue isn't spectacular(though it does foreshadow Anakin's waivering jedi patriotism), but the performances in this scene are.

Dooku leads Anakin and Obiwan to a hanger bay. Anakin is taken out early thanks to letting his emotions get the best of him. Those Skywalker boys have a knack for that. Obiwan is stuck to face him alone; mono a mono. He dances with the devil in the pale moonlight, and comes out on the the darkside of the moon. Anakin recovers right before Dooku is about to make the death blow on Obi, and briefly saves the day. Anakin is again schooled by Dooku, and loses his limb as evidence.

Yoda had sensed something was wrong..........

Yoda appears, and quite a wizards duel unfolds. They force-battle to a stalemate, so what options are left, but laser swords? Yoda's fighting style gets a lot of critcism, but it really makes sense logistically for someone his size wielding a lightsaber against an opponent 5 times his size. They fight and fight and fight, until they get locked up and Dooku pounces on his lone opportunity for escape. He uses the force to set up a distraction for Yoda(a distraction that would have killed Anakin and Obiwan, if not for Yoda's intervention) and blasts off into space.

In my opinion, and I've debated this a number of times, but this scene and Yoda's actions are why he warns Luke about saving his friends in Empire. Not only was Luke not ready, but Yoda knows he made a mistake by not defeating Dooku when he could have, and ended the war......instead he let his compassion get in the way and the war just escalated, and he didn't want Luke to go down the same road. That's my new interpretation of why Yoda was so insistant Luke put the cause above everything else.

So next you have the final montage. You learn Dooku is the new boy toy of Palpatine, if you will, and there's a wonderful scene of marching Clone Troopers and their ships taking off to fight battles in far off worlds. While this happens, Palpatine is watching proudly over them, knowing that the Jedi's fate is now sealed. The cherry on top is the wedding, and the music gives you a glimmer of hope that maybe somehow things will turn out alright, but we, the audience, know better.

THE END.

 

The Coruscant speeder chase is great spectacle. There's a real depth to those city vistas that still hold up very well.

 

and that it gives us a look at regular Couscant which none of the other 2 movies do really

 

I really enjoy AOTC and I like alot about it. I don't really start to enjoy the film until Anakin and Padme go off on their own to Naboo; I'm a sucker for romance in Sci-Fi flicks.

 

I agree the Coruscant chase scene is one of the most visually amazing in the series, and it perfectly sets up Anakin's incredible abilities of piloting a precognition.

 

NEWS JUST IN!

I still like AOTC.

Okay, that aside...

Has anyone tried to relate/reconcile Picasso's famous anti-war painting "Guernica" with the whole arena sequence in AOTC, especially the last shot of Boba clutching his dead father's helmet with the dead reek off to the left of frame?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting)

 

The only parts I really don't care for are the gushy romance scenes. Padme's dominatrix-looking number was interesting though. I was waiting for her to pull out the whip.

I was very impressed with Clones, and I love the female villain that released those bugs in Padme's room. I'm awful with remembering names.

 

Zam Wessel.