AOTC Chapter 11: Dex's Diner DISCUSSION

Until the release of ROTS on 5/19/05, I would like to discuss AOTC chapter by chapter on the DVD. There are 47 chapters to discuss over the next 8 months, excluding Chapter 1: Opening Logos, Chapter 2: Attack of the Clones and Chapter 50: End Credits.

Each discussion will last 5 days. At the end of 5 days, the following chapter will be posted.

Chapter 11: Dex's Diner
DISCUSSION: October 8, 2004 - October 12, 2004
DVD TIME INDEX: 31:32 - 33:46

Synopsis:
In another section of town, Obi-Wan goes to a diner owned by an old friend. A waitress droid tells the owner, Dexter Jetster that someone's looking for him and she believes that he's a Jedi. Dex greets Obi-Wan from inside the kitchen. Obi-Wan heads for a booth. The waitress droid asks if Obi-Wan wants Jawa Juice. Obi-Wan thanks her. Dex comes over to the booth. Obi-Wan gets up and hugs his friend. They sit down and Dex asks what he can do for Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan pulls out a dart from the previous night. Dex is amazed, he recognizes it as a Kamino Saberdart, due to the funny cuts that the archives did not pick up. Dex gives him directions and talks about Jedi should more respect between knowledge and wisdom. Obi-Wan asks about the planet. Dex replies that they're good cloners who keep to themselves and are the amount of friendlieness they show depends on the size of the pocketbook. He laughs immediately. END OF CHAPTER

Opinion:
Great parallel to Grafitti. I like the idea of a diner on Coruscant to expand the city even further just like the nightclub. It feels like any 50's diner. All you need is a jukebox with some Bith tunes. We definitely got a different feel to Coruscant as opposed to TPM, where it was just political.

I'm not a big fan of Dex. He looks like a space pirate. I like the backstory about how he was a miner in the Outer Rim and how he knows all these passages like the Rishi Maze. I like the character, not the design. The scene didn't seem forced with a CG character.

The conversation between Dex and Obi-Wan is pretty good. I like how Dex is giving the Jedi little credit when it comes to the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I also like Obi-Wan's line "If droids could think, there'd nobody here" The scene also shows that the Jedi have cracks and that you have to rely on the lower class people.

It's very nostalgic. It contrasts to the nightclub and cantina, but is still a pretty good environment added to the saga. Great chapter, advance the mystery of the story.

 

I like Dex, i hear he was isnspired from a character from Alice.

He reminds me of Aussie blokes you see here and there, without the accent, i'm surprised he didn't say "MATE"

 

I loathe the diner itself. WTF? I guess the GFFA isn't all THAT far, far away. And I guess a "long time ago" is somewhere in the last 50 years. Or it's just stupid.

That out of the way, the sequence isn't bad. I'm not crazy about Dex, to be honest - he reads his lines kind of strangely, with a sort of inappropriate enthusiasm and with a strange dramatic flair on rather uninteresting content.

Indeed, this is one of my least favorite scenes early in the film. I wasn't very kind in my discussion of the last scene, either - but those two chapters together are what I think most hurt the first third of the film.

 

i'm gonna go against the grain here and say I liked this scene a lot. i thought dex was really cool. much better than jar jar IMO. i really like how he took a stab at the jedi in general with his knowledge vs. wisdom remark too. we only see him for a few minutes in the movie but in just a few moments he is able to catch you up with his life story and you can relate to him. i know i can. i'm doing what he already did. im putting in time in the field so to speak and making enough money so i can start or retire with my own business and not have to work for anyone. and if some person comes to me looking for answers and asks for my wisdom and experience i know i would definately bust his chops too.

its also good to see that the jedi have friends in high and low places and they can tap them for info when needed. in short, i enjoyed the chapter a lot. better than any stuupid love scene IMO.

 

The only thing that I don't like in this scene, is Dex's sinister laugh at the end after he says "how big your pocket book is." It makes no sence whatsoever, I mean the Kaminoans aren't bad, and Dex isn't bad, so it is just stupid.

 

He was indicating that the Kaminoans were utterly without scruples, without conscience -- offer them enough money, they'd do ANYTHING for you. Given that Jedi usually don't have much more than the robes on their backs, and that Kaminoans were now established to be the makers of poison darts (among other things) it was supposed to set up a feeling of dread in the viewer: what's gonna happen when Obi-Wan meets these ubercapitalists - with an empty wallet?

 

The term "pocket book" seems really out of place in the GFFA. More so, than having a diner. Dex doesn't look very photo-realistic to me. IMO, he's a far cry from how real a character like Watto looks. Ewan's great here, though. It's nice to see Obi-Wan relaxed for once, talking with a friend, sipping on Jawa Juice. Which he seems to love, by the way. Ever notice how many times he drinks from it? It's just too bad he had to strap on the wig and fake beard for that final shot. The scene was so close to being reshoot-free.

 

He was indicating that the Kaminoans were utterly without scruples, without conscience -- offer them enough money, they'd do ANYTHING for you.

Hmm. I don't think it really works, and it's in the voice performance more than anything. It feels a little over-the-top forced; lacks the subtlety that it requires.

 

I don't "LOVE" the scene, but it's a nice little setting... I like the colors...

The Jawa Juice thing, the pocket book line, and the over-use of CGI bug me.

But Obi-wan's line makes it all better.

"If Droids could think, there'd be non of us here"

D_M_S_L

 

I see people complaining all the time that the prequels have locations/characters/situations that shouldn't occur in the GFFA, and yet:


ANH- 1)Luke lives in a desert. There are alot of deserts in the world.

2)The whole dinner scene. A kid complaining how he can't go to the Academy (which is basically either college or military for us), while his aunt serves the food.

There are many things that happen in the OT that are just like our world, so I think it's a trife unfair that the prequels should be prosecuted yet the originals go free.

Now, I mean absolutely no harm or trouble with this post; just some delicate opinions. ^_^

 

I love how relaxed Ewan is in this scene. He often plays Obi-Wan a little uptight, especialy in the reshoots, but here he is just great. You get to see how Obi-Wan interacts with other people when he doesn't have to worry about Anakin. He smiles.

 

^^^ I agree ^^^^



D_M_S_L

 

I loved this scene. Dex was awesome and I liked how it showed a lighter side of Obi-Wan

 

I love the look of the diner. If we can have a mexican cantina in the GFFA, we can have a 50's diner. The differnce? Not many people have been to a rough-neck Mexican cantina. Mostly cause most of us wouldn't last three seconds in one
I also love the view outside the windows. Makes it feel like any ol' day on Coruscant, reguradless that the galaxy is about to go to Hell.

 

see people complaining all the time that the prequels have locations/characters/situations that shouldn't occur in the GFFA

I don't think the fact that there are deserts in the GFFA - or even academies - even remotely compares to there being a US 1950's Americana cultural phenomenon in the GFFA.

 

I love this scene. Look everything in GFFA is based on something on Earth. Princess Leia's hair buns are based on the hairstyle that women wore during the Mexican revolution. Why not a diner?

The fans are so funny. What belongs in Star Wars?
Whatever Lucas says. It's his creation.

I love the warmth of Dex and Obi-Wan's friendship and the vocal performance of the actor playing Dex is especially excellent. There's a definite connection being made in the acting, a warmth and familiarity that telegraphs a shared past as friends. Definitely an example of an actor sharing a scene with a CGI character and it WORKS. Because Lucas had the actor portraying Dex on set and interacting with Ewan.

 

I really liked the scenes, pretty much for the same reasons other people mentioned: lighter tone, less up-tight Obi-wan, and, yes, I think Dex was really cool. I kind of wish we could have seen more of him. He's almost a blend of both Han and Chewie.

 

I loove this scene. If Obi-Wan had a fedora, it'd be right out of a detective novel. We have 1) the clever detective 2) his possibly corrupt friend/informant who knows everything and 3) alcohol. It's a great scene.

And I love Dex's sinister litle laugh. Makes you wonder if Jimmy Hoffa is in one of Dex's old mines.

 

I didn't mind the scene. Though I thought the plot relied too heavily on Dexter knowing these things about Kamino. I mean I know Sidious knows Obi-Wan is resourceful enough to discover the clones, but counting on Dex giving him info is almost stretching it. But then again it adds to the mystery so that's fine.

The look of the diner was great. Sad that Hermione Bagwa was replaced by WA-7, but at least Susie Porter got to voice the waitress droid.

I reminded me of Spaceballs a little though.


I liked the cut scene that came before it with SP-4 in the Analysis Chamber of the Temple. I remember how stumped we were before and after the film was released with many of the old select pictures. One included was the analysis cubicle. But then again we learned how meaningless most of the select pics were in regards to the plot around that time too.

 

I remember when I first saw the movie, I didn't like Dex too much. He was too 'arrrg matey' for me. He's since grown on me though
I always loved the waitress droid though Fun characterization from Ms. Porter

 

thought the scene was campy, charming, fun and served to move the plot right along. ewan makes ya believe that dex is real. ccg was terrific-dex's face had just the right arched eyebrow - sort of a facial knowing nudge. he's sharing a secret but adding an opinion with humor. i liked the interchange quite a bit and the obvious respect and affection between the two characters. there's a history here

 

Totally agreed with lovelucas!

 

so do i, one of the things that's hard about making your own universe is keeping it real which means giving it flesh as well as bones. It gives the impression that there are others in GFFA not really caught up in the story and just lie their daily lives like us.

Dex doesn't look very photo-realistic to me.

I disagree, I've done 3D graphics and I know how hard it is to get something to look realistic. Character animation is one of the hardest things to learn how to do. And mapping a character to look realistic is time consuming and difficult.

It's nit-pickers like us who forget all the work that goes on behind the scenes.

 

I certainly don't forget all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and I know it must be extremely difficult to do character animation. But some happen to look a lot more real and like they're there, than others. Just being honest when I say he doesn't look that photo-realistic to me. Especially compared to other CGI characters ILM has done in Star Wars and other films. I can look at AOTC's Watto and think, wow, they really did a great job bringing him to life. Dex, for some reason that's hard to pinpoint, doesn't really look like he's really there. I don't know if it's the outline around him, his lighting, texture, or what. But I always get the impression that a lesser part of the ILM team got to animate him. I still like him as a character. But it's Ewan McGregor that really shines in interacting with this non-existant character, that really makes the scene work.

[image=http://gwiezdne-wojny.pl/grafika/2002/kwi/niem9.jpeg]

 

sometimes it's a matter of luck getting it to look 'real' as there are so many definers as to what looks 'real' and what isn't that it's hard to pin point them. I read in an article on the Matrix that we are all experts on what looks real as we live in the real world.

But the 50's diner is a deliberate throw-back by George to get us into a familiar sense. And the food looks real enough, even if it is CGI

That line about the Kaminoans makes me wonder what will happen to them in episode III