AOTC Chapter 43: Clone War 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 eight 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 43: Clone War
DISCUSSION: March 12, 2005 - March 16, 2005
DVD TIME INDEX: 117:41 - 120:22

Synopsis:
On the plains of Geonosis, the Clone War has begun. The gunships just leaving the arena are heading off to battle. In one gunship, Yoda expresses his fear to Windu is Dooku escapes this battle. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme's gunship enter the battle. Seeing an enemy ship is their midst, Anakin tells the pilot to aim above the fuel cells, sucessfully destroying the enemy ship. Obi-Wan is proud of his padawan. In the Separatist war room, Dooku is unsure of how the Jedi amassed such a huge army in such little time. Gunray urges a full-scale assault, but there are too many to deal with. The war compound communications network is then jammed. The gunships continue their assault against the Separatist troops as Mace tells the gunship pilot to land in an assembly area. The clonetrooper copies. Ki-Adi Mundi, Mace Windu and Kit Fisto are met by the clone commanders. Yoda takes off again to the Forward Command Center. The Spider Droids and Super Battle Droids attack Mace and his army. On another gunship Obi-Wan sees a Federation Core emerging out the ground and orders an attack. Yoda arrives at the Forward Command Center and the commanding trooper tells him that all forward positions are advancing in battle. Master Yoda is pleased. Somewhere else on the battle plains, the AT-TE's, dropped by the airships, engage the hailfire droids in battle. END OF CHAPTER

Opinion:
After 25 years since we first heard Leia speak of it in the original film, we finally get to see the Clone Wars, or at least the opening battle of the Clone Wars. Seems that there was a bigger battle outside the arena.

First of all, there's a great deal of intercutting from section to section. Not that it's a problem, but I forgot where on the battle Mace was as opposed to Obi-Wan and Yoda. Maybe the Worlds of AOTC book would help me out, but without it I feel kind of lost. That's not saying that the battle isn't bad. It's got some of the best action since the Battle of Hoth.

It was good to see the AT-TE's in battle. After seeing the originals, it still boggles me that these ships and vehicles are for the heroes. But what gets me about this chapter is the scenes in the War Room. Either Dooku doesn't know what's going on or he can put up one hell of an act in front of Separatists. And it surprises me that Gunray wants to engage a full-scale assault and yet he's a coward.

Full of action, full of classic Star Wars. For me it took some time to get used to the Clone Wars, but after multiple screenings I like it. I don't what turned me against it at first. Now it's a good chapter.

 

I love this sequence. The lighting makes the CGI look awesome in this entire scene. Hundreds of thousands of droids marching into battle against hundreds of thousands of clones with war machines of different things. There's so much going on that you have to watch it many, many times.

My only complaint is the lack of AOTC music in here.

 

My only complaint is the lack of AOTC music in here.

I have to agree here. It would be nice if, one day, John Williams re-scored the movie so it could feature all-new music.

Too bad, because the Battle of Geonosis RULES

 

The lack of original John Williams music kinda sucked I agree. Also I wasn't overly thrilled with the animation of the clones in some shots.

Also, did anyone else feel the Yoda arriving at the command center scene was awkward? It felt so out of place in the middle of the action.


As for the rest of it, it was cool. The Hailfire Droids were wicked. I also liked how Anakin's military skills were shown by knowing where to shoot the Techno Union ship.

The Geonosis War Room scene looked cool. I liked how Dooku is pretending to not know anything about the Clone Army.

 

i really loved this scean because i can watch it over and over again and never get tired of watching it

 

I must admit that it's not exactly what I imagined
the Clone Wars to be when I was a kid, but it's
still leaps and bounds above the grassland battle
in TPM.

 

Yeah, I think this scene was cool too. The only dumb thing was after the Gunship took out the Techno Union ship, Obi-wan says "Good call, my young Padawan!" It makes Anakin seem like a little kid who somehow knew where to shoot. Couldn't he have just said, "Good call, Anakin!" It kind of seemed too many "syllables" for the moment even, lol.

 

I loved this scene, only wish it was longer.

 

It's under three minutes and yet the Droid Factory pushes what...7.25 minutes? There's more in the following chapter to add to the time of the battle. But still that's not the point.

 

I really like the scene, I just wish a few things weren't as hokey. Anakin advising where to fire missiles just seemed a little too cute, like all of a sudden he's the expert. The clone troopers just rescued you, son. Sit in the back and shut up!

Yeah I agree, Yoda's arrival was also a little hokey, and the cut and paste approach to musical scoring/editing that Georga has used now for both prequels has got to stop. I'm gonna be annoyed if I hear recycled TPM and AOTC music again in ROTS, chopped and butchered. Mr. Lucas, please use John Williams intended scores and don't edit the scenes down in the final hour of production forcing the music butcher job.

I really enjoyed seeing the clones and droids fighting in the dust storm, excellent graphics. I also liked Mace leading troops into battle. I wish they showed more of the other Jedi in battle, like Mace and Ki Adi Mundi. Even though Anakin and Obi Wan are the heroes, they aren't the only ones fighting the war and making tactical decisions.

Dooku and the separatists are fantastic. Their bickering adds a lot to their character developments. And I dunno if events played out the way Dooku wanted. It seems like the clones attacked him earlier than anticipated, and he wanted to assassinate the prisoners. It seems like the Jedi and the clones got the jump on him. I think he was pissed off that he had to actually escape by the skin of his teeth. Nute is great, too. "Shoot her!!"

And of course theres the hokey Padme falling off the ship onto the sand and not even the wind is knocked out of her.

I guess a lot of these are minor complaints but I really am surprised that even the action scenes in the prequels have been inconsistent and half-a$$ed at times. In TPM, Qui-gon and Maul in the desert battle was weak, 2nd rate. In AOTC, the Obi Jango fight was also kinda weak. I dunno if its the editing, the music, the brevity of the skirmishes. Some of these battles could really be gripping and instead seem watered down, and 2nd rate. Not up to the caliber of the battle of Hoth and other OT battles. I hope with ROTS, we don't get any hokey, 2nd rate, lightsaber fights and battles. I expect the loves scenes to be not the greatest, but the battles better be top notch.

Sorry if I went off on some tangents here. Haven't posted on these boards in years, since 2002 probly.

 

exciting chapter - i think christopher lee does some of his best tongue-in-cheek acting here. he's playing to the audience so that they are in on the farce and act before the separists. it's in his intonation and sly looks. i do like how yoda comes swooping in with the clones - so bizarre that they are temporary good guys. only place we'll feel more conflicted in that assessment is with commander cody in RotS.
and the look on anakin's face when obiwan finally praises him.......

 

Great chapter, great battle. I've been looking foward this scene ever since I watched ANH.

 

Really exciting and fun to watch chapter. I really like the graphics and all the machines battling against one another.

My only complaints is the music score being butchered like mentioned before and it's shortness. I would have been very interested in seeing Mace and the Clones on the front line and seeing other Jedi battle droids up close.

Of course my favorite shot came from this scene, check out my avator! I was salivating in the theatre when I saw that ship drop.

 

Great effects (most of the time, I agree with HLAS), Dooku putting on a great act in front of the Separatists, wonderful action, what's there not to like?

 

I'm not convinced Dooku KNEW that Yoda and the Clonetroopers would make it to Geonosis in time, and I think he beat a hasty retreat.

Still, love the way he hams it up: "The Republic will pay for this treachery!"

Finally get to see the Clone Wars, and I love it. Besides the music, but that generally plagued AOTC, so it's not worth getting into again.

I really liked it when Anakin told them to aim for the fuel cells and Obi-Wan praised him.

The battle sequences were very cool - very fast.

Sometimes the Clonetroopers looked a little cartoony, but it was still fantastic overall.

 

Uh...Qui vs. Maul on Tatooine is one of the most beautifully filmed/edited duels *ever* captured on film...

 

This is a wonderful piece of visionary filmmaking which showcases some very rich and detailed special effects artistry. I found the clonetroopers to be mostly well-rendered, and while I once again understood intellectually that I was looking at computer-generated images, I didn't care, because they didn't ever appear to be incongruous to the events or structures which inhabited the picture's frame. This is such an extraordinary series of sensory delights that I became hypnotized by its depth and authority. The dramatic arc which corresponds with the visual activity concerns the Jedi and their relative physical positions within the ensuing assault; Lucas handles the cross-cutting in a fairly efficient linear manner which respects the story's progression while concurrently affording him an opportunity to showcase his well-conceived visceral action setpiece.

The noticable lack of music in this sequence is underwhelming when one considers this chapter in its isolated form, but when viewed within the larger aspect of the scenes which surround it, it becomes an effective dramatic tool. Lucas is able to build tension by relying primarily on the "practical" aspects of his sound effects (ie. sound as it is connected to the events and actions explicitly displayed within the chapter, not a parallel musical soundtrack) in order to exploit the musical score in the following scene as it becomes more dramatically important to compliment the ascending level of emotional tension within the sequence. Therefore, as it is properly contextualized, this decision makes complete sense.

This is all very entertaining, but is primarily an expository passage which bridges the preceeding scenes with the ones that follow.

 

Padme falling off the ship onto the sand and not even the wind is knocked out of her.

aside from her passing out for a while?

- O_F

 

Well, sand saved her life. Maybe Anakin won't hate sand so much any more...

 

Thank you for all your participation in CBC (Chapter by Chapter). AOTC Chapter 44: War Room DISCUSSION will be made available 10:30 PM EST. Although the discussion timeframe has passed, you may still discuss this chapter at your convienience. However, we will be moving on to the next chapter.

-Moleman1138

 

Man I'm far behind on this. Anyway I really liked this scene because of all the new technology shown in this scene.