Did I somehow see the wrong version of AOTC

Amen! I have been searching the Net for someone who shares my opinion regarding the film and I have found them. This film was by far the worst of the franchise. The C-3PO stuff was killing me: "This is a drag" as his head was being dragged through the sand. "I'm beside myself" as his head lay next to his body. Come on! How about this line "There is a dark lord in control of the Senate. Well, we need to keep our eye on the senate. Yes we do." Well duh! Did they need a commitee to decide that one? I mean the dialog was so dry. The Yoda fight scene was short and contrived. Why didn't he throw the big array of pipes in the direction of Dooku's ship instead of off to the other side? The love story was pathetic and had me hiding my eyes at times in pure embarressment for the Star Wars saga. I have been a huge fan ever since I got my first Stormtrooper action figure back in 1981. This is the worst film of the series! I knew I was in trouble from the very beginning. That was when Amidala's decoy said "I'm sorry I let you down." What? You sacrificed your life to save her, that was your job. What do you mean you let her down? Who writes this crap? Please note that my favorite film, ESB, was neither written or directed by Lucas. As I left the theater, I wanted to warn those standing in line to stay away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it and now I feel guilty. I mean at least in TPM I can cut to the Maul/Qui Gon fight in the desert and the Maul/Obi Wan/Qui Gon fight in the palace and be captivated by the choreography and emotion presented there. Episode II is lacking emotion and drive. I felt nothing for the characters or the situations. Some of Ewan McGregor's scenes are noteworthy only in the sense that he somehow rescues awful dialog with his acting skills, but the same cannot be said for any other character. Tell me this, why doesn't Jango finish off Obi Wan and Anakin with "poison darts" and why doesn't he just blast all three of them. Why? So maybe Obi Wan can trace the dart back to the planet where he is doing top secret work? Great! This movie sucks.

 

DM and NB, I agree with you. Lucas shouldnt edit...period...everyone needs an editor.

There is an article in the Washingtonpost today that in a way explains some things.

Lucas can do whatever he wants in these movies. Why? Because he owns the rights and finances them. Therefore he doesnt have to answer to anyone but himself, not corporation, no big honcho, no one. He is doing these for himself, not even the fans. I saw this post and it hits the nail on the head for me in terms of Lucas.

--------
Lucas, he is surrounded by yes-men. Apparently he is so insulated that he didn't even realize the deep hatred of Jar Jar Binks until he started doing press junkets for the new film. There is also an inherent problem with all of this CGI. Having actors pretend to talk to non-existent characters on non-existent sets limits the amount of reacting one can do. It makes the acting wooden with GOOD dialogue -- something Lucas doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on anyway.

Interestingly enough there are a number of people I have heard from who are blaming things on the Executive Producer Rick McCallum. Lucas is bullet proof to the die hard fans.
----------
Interesting post that I agree with.

Someone posted that since we're older we don't relate anymore. I think that most feel ESB was the best movie done out of the series...and this was the movie with the biggest adult theme...and it got bashed because it was too "DARK". I think that was the best thing about Star Wars...he didn't sugar coat anything or add this kid element.

I know there will be a Clone Edit by someone soon. I hope the TPE is the one who does it because if the movie was edited better, for pace and removing the superficial fluff, then I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

PS: Sonic charges rocked more then anything!!!

 

Bryanke I have 6 words for you.

"MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!"

I agree with you on ESB..it was not written or directed by Lucas and yet it was by far the best...that's the sad thing...others doing a better job with your own work.

But Lucas is the man for coming up with Star Wars (yet there are times where I wonder if he didn't even just borrow elements from other classics and just make a space version). His originality is starting to lack in these movies.

 

Kenoidewi,

Concerning the editing. The funny thing is that Lucas has even stated that he's an "editor at heart". He can edit. He usually has an uncanny ability, but he's gone more the way of science than intuition. A good editor has fingers like a hummingbird, you shouldn't even be able to notice anything he's so good. However, it's my own personal opinion, that even with a cleaner, sharper editing job, it still wouldn't help the movie all that much. There are too many little "kinks in the armor" that George is missing.

 

You might get a better discussion of this thread as it is the official thread for discussing first impressions of the film.

 

You must have seen a different version then Attack of the Clones than I did. In the version I saw, there was plenty of well-paced action and excitement.

In the version I saw, the plot surprises, starting with the ship explosion at the beginning, all the way to the star destroyers lifting off at the end, kept me at the edge of my seat.

In the version I saw, there was chemistry and tension between Anakin and Obi-wan, and Anakin and Amidala.

In the version I saw, there were nuggets of subtle humor littered throughout, from Obi-wan's lines, to Anakin's over-eager awkwardness, to C-3PO's fearful commentary.

The version I saw packed an emotional wallop that I hadn't been hit with since Empire Strikes Back. Of course, the version I saw was completely fresh and new; nothing had been spoiled for me when I walked into the theater (thought thanks to one unfortunate comment from an audience member, I found out that Anakin losses his arm right before the movie began). A question for you spoiled folks. How can knowing the future make the present anything but deathly boring?

 

I agree with the first post that AOTC is the worst Star Wars movie by far. I could not find any enjoyment in it until the last 30 minutes. The script was dry. I don't think there is good quote in the entire movie. Also, I wasn't really all that visually impressed. I mean the battle scenes were great (the only redeeming quality of the movie) but i think Lucas' decision to shoot the film on digital and then transferring it to film made some of the backgrounds unrealistic and made some of the characters cartoonish looking. But I would have to say the worst part about the movie was the acting of Natlie Portman and Hayden Christiansen. Natalie Porman was bad but Chritiansen was terrible. It wouldn't have been such a big deal but the role of anakin in this movie, is the single most important role in the star wars saga yet, because it shows how he turns. Christiansen gave no complexity, he didnt add that third dimension to his character, who was in my opinion the most important "version" of anakin yet. I seriously Lucas will change his writing somewhat and elaborate on the characters. I mean in the first trilogy, you could see the eternal conflicts of the characters and that is non-existent in AOTC. The only good thing about the movie was the battle at the end (from windu vs. jango and on). Also the Yoda fight was the best fight in star wars yet. Hopefully, if Lucas does direct episode iii, he will elaborate on the characters and not focus so much on messing with a computer.

 

The basher's are in full-swing I see lol If you guys don't like it...why keep posting? Why not just say, "hey I didn't like it and move on" Why try and spoil the fun for those of us who thought it was great.

 

We keep posting because we are passionate about Star Wars and hate to see the franchise take this awful turn for the worse. I guess I am feeling frustrated, because I am not sure if I can ever look at C3PO or Darth Vadar in the same light again after what has happened to me while viewing AOTC. I'm afraid that if I see another one of these prequels that my love for Star Wars may be tainted forever. It may be too late now anyway

 

This is a great thread! Here are my thoughts on the movie so far, though they are clouded by lack of sleep:

I rate the Star Wars films in this order (from best to worst):

1. SW
2. ESB
3. ROTJ
4. TPM
5. AOTC

Why AOTC is on the bottom of the list:

1. It is a boring movie. Until everyone arrived on Geonosis, I was bored for most of the movie. With only a couple of exceptions, the rest of the movie was a bunch of people walking around talking to each other. There was very little action.

2. The lack of action wouldn?t necessarily be a bad thing, but the terrible acting killed most of the dialogue (which wasn?t too good to begin with). Hayden was awful. That love-struck, whiny teenie-bopper is not Darth Vader. Jake Lloyd was as believable. Natalie was hardly better. Ewan did a good job, but he was not as engaging as I thought he would be. Ian (?Palps?) wasn?t in the movie as much as in TPM, and he wasn?t nearly as scary in this one. Finally, Christopher Lee was my biggest disappointment. I thought he seemed merely a tired old man. There wasn?t any energy coming off of him (as there was in LotR), and he wasn?t scary at all.

3. Anakin and Obi-Wan chasing Zam through Coruscant reads well in the script, but it mostly fell flat on the screen. Making Zam a shape-changer was pointless and goofy. The football and death sticks in the nightclub pulled me out of a GFFA back into this one, but the hot women (especially the one in the thong) did help things out.

4. The CGI environments were worse in AOTC than in TPM. The clone labs, the big Jedi hall (where Obi-Wan, Mace, and floating Yoda talked) seemed very fake. It was a physical relief on my eyes when it cut to Naboo and showed real, honest-to-goodness trees!

5. Speaking of CGI, Yoda was awful. I hated the way his face was constantly moving around and almost morphing. He looked worse in this movie than in any of the others.

6. All the love scenes with Anakin and Padme were awful. Also, if Padme didn?t want Anakin to go after her, why did she keep wearing those revealing clothes? Further, since most of her outfits were revealing anyway, why not have her white jump-suit be tailored to leave her stomach exposed? It looked contrived when that cat-beast ripped the bottom half of her shirt off.

7. The utter absence of midichlorians and virginal conceptions, along with the almost vanished Jar Jar, show that these things were pointless in TPM.

8. The fight in the rain was disappointing. I expected it to be for AOTC what the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Darth Maul sabre fight is for TPM. Instead, it was lackluster and had some fake-looking moves.

9. This movie?s sabre duel was?OK. But it was the weakest one so far. Anakin fighting with two sabers was cool, but that lasted all of five seconds. Yoda, on the other hand, was very, very lame. I can?t believe they did that to Yoda. It?s like they tried to depict him as Speedy Gonzales.

10. The scene with the little kids was truly hideous. Their movements with the sabers were bizarre. I did look forward to seeing the 3-D star chart, but that was weak. I expected something breathtaking; like the viewers were cosmic giants walking amongst the stars. Instead, we just got some points of light. Very poor execution of a good concept.

11. The editing was off. For example: When the Jedi librarian first speaks to Obi-Wan, she asks him almost the exact same question right in a row: Do you want to speak to me? Yes. Would you like me to help you? Yes. (Or something like that.) Thankfully, though, the editor did cut a lot of bad dialogue from the script; but more needed to be cut.

12. C-3PO losing his head, and all the accompanying jokes, were over the top.

13. The asteroid chase was OK, but not nearly as good as the one in ESB. And this new asteroid chase takes the prize for most unbelievably bizarre sound effect: When those explosives destroyed an asteroid, it sounded like a single string on an electric guitar being plucked.

14. Which leads to music: The mix in AOTC was easily the worst mix I?ve ever

 

Im not trying to spoil anyones fun. Like I said 3 times before...

I hope everyone enjoys it.

I am trying to see if there are other opinions like mine that didn't think the movie was that good.

I keep posting and checking because I have the right to as a Force.net and Star Wars fan.

Not every true fan just says the movie was awesome because its Star Wars. Then you might as well be a clone.

=)

 

Binary_Sunset

Man, nice long post. I want to reply to each of your comments but have to goto the local cantina for Happy Hour to drink some...hehe.

look for a response tomorrow.

as for the Rankings...I'd have to say that AOTC might have to be my 4 or 5 also...and that sucks considering I thought this movie was going to be well done. As Yoda says...

"There is another..."

and that will be in 2005. =)

May the Force be with everyone! Enjoy the movie. It still is Star Wars and has its moments.

 

Hurricane Vader has a point. If you go in spoiled, how good can the movie truely be? I think I can reply to this (although I'm not sure how effective it will be). I went into this movie completely "spoiler free" (hence the May '02 registration). Apart from knowing that Clones Attacked, and that it was the story of the "soon-to-be" Darth Vader, I had no foreknowledge of the story, characters, etc.

I think that I can relate this. Back when ESB came out, it recieved intense praise from the critics. However, it took a good few weeks for the movie-going public to swarm the theaters. By that time "Luke, I am your father" had become one of the cornerstone sayings of society. I think that even Time (or maybe it was People) had "published" the secret before it was experienced by the mass public. And yet, that movie still holds up so well upon unquantified viewings. It's so dense with everything that makes for a great movie. Colorful characters for the audience to root and boo for, amazing music, one of the most inspired set-action pieces in the asteroid scene, crisp editing that spoke volumes for the limited capabilities of the actors (I've never said that Star Wars had good acting), and intensity. That film managed to build up intensity and relieve that pressure valves at just the right time.

So why are George's PT film's so different? I'm not the biggest fan of RotJ but it's still miles ahead of TPM & AotC in terms of dramatic tension IMO. Sure both of the PT film's have action to spare, and I must admit, the action in AotC is impressive. Just orchestrating the set-pieces would've been a huge undertaking. But action can no longer be the benchmark by which these films are measured simply because the dramatic underpinnings are so rusty that there is no real payoff. That is what having a "blow 'em up" 4th or 5th act is for. It's supposed to give weight to all of the previous decisions.

Now I can see the dark workings of the Sith, the whole "devil's greatest trick" thing. But without a solid, calculated, well-thought out initial story, those payoffs barely gain a whisper, when they should in fact deliver a stunning blow. We don't need artifice, we need substance, and for George's crowning achievement (which I feel that Star Wars is... an opus if you will) IMO he falls short. Again, once you've a great universe to tell a story in, what excuse is there for any mediocrity?

 

Well I went in with low expectations and I was really dissapointed as well.

Everything the first poster said holds true for me.

Especially the droid factory and the 3PO head thing - man, this made me cringe more than Jar Jar!

I tried to turn off the adult in me and just let my inner child come out. But there were things in the movie that were just sooo stupid I couldn't.

Also, I don't think this is just a case of Star Wars movies not living up to the hype. I liked TPM much better than this one.

 

i absolutly loved the movie the only part i rolled my eyes at and said "oh god" was just the brief part when anakin and padme were rolling in the grass but that was nothing it was actually comical! I loved it, i also loved TPM but if you think about it it ws a little childish (dont get me wrong i love it to death) AOTC was awsome the clone troops were awsome, the crowd clapped and cheered all throught the beginning credits and when the yoda/dooku talk scene and when yoda ignited his saber it was so cool the midnight show was the best night of my life

 

Hi Guys, this is my first post in over a year, so keen was I to stay away from spoilers.

I saw the movie twice today and I must say that some misgivings I had the first time round were quashed on the subsequent view.

Reading the above bashing reminds me of my reaction to TPM, so I do understand the passion behind it.

AOTC has alot going for it :

Great Music ( I think the 2nd best score of the whole series ).
Amazing battle scenes
Some good Jokes
Yoda/Dooku
A more Classic Trilogy Feel
Some good acting in parts.
Little touches : loved it in the scene where Yoda senses Anakin's pain at Tatooine that in the background you can hear Vader's tortured breathing.

The bad bits:

Certain lines in the love story-" i've been dying every day since I met you ".
Shmi's death scene was terribly overacted.
A problem with pacing in the middle of the movie
Factory scene , I agree, was probably put there to facilitate the coming videogame
An over reliance on cgi at times

Overall though I think it is a good Star Wars movie, better than both TPM ( one of the worst movies of all time imho ) and ROTJ.

I do think that George should neither direct nor edit the next movie as I don't feel that is where his talents lie. ESB was unbelievably good afterall.

To all the Bashers : please go and have another look, I think you may change your mind.

I am one 29yr old going to bed tonight though, happy that the series has been redeemed ( and hoping to have one of those Anakin nightmare things ).

MTFBWYA

mooro

 

jmfmoore:

Don't be worry.

I found some of those bashers post their "first POST" just to bash this movie.

Hm...... It's so weird.
Most of the bad reactions are from those people.

I just can't help but thinking about it.
Sorry ,if I get them wrong.

 

Why is it that 90% of the people on this forum that disliked AOTC are "May 02" newbies? Makes you wonder...
I am convinced you saw a completely different movie. Are you sure you weren't actually watching Spider-Man? Myself and everyone around me was absolutely stunned by this movie. I heard so many comments when the credits began scrolling like "that was awesome," "amazing," "that kicked ass," and even my good friend who isn't much of a SW fan said "this is my new favorite movie."

 

So what if it is their first post? What does that mean?

There are probably people posting for the first time who also liked the movie.

From what I have seen so far from some of these supposed "bashers" are people who stated that didn't think the film is all that great, what is wrong with that? Why does it seem like some of you think that it is "wrong" to have not liked the movie? Why is it wrong for people who didn't like it to talk about it with others? What makes it right for those who did like it to talk about it?

I can understand if someone came in saying "AOTC SUKED!!! YOU GUYZ R ALL STEWPID IF YOU THINK IT REWLED!!!". If anyone is doing that, then I can understand being annoyed, but I have seen people just simply state why they didn't like it in a polite manner.

 

Last week, many people were making a big deal about AOTC having a "fresh" rating on rottentomatoes.com.

Well, as of right now AOTC has a "rotten" rating.

 

Attack of the Clones was brimming with dramatic tension, unlike the flacid The Phantom Menace. From the ship explosion in first minutes I was completely locked into the movie, and the tension didn't let up much till the end, with the incredibly beautiful and panoramic scene of Count Dooku's ship sailing into Coruscant, and then, as a final twist of the knife, his friendly meeting with his opponent, Chancellor Palpatine. I remember thinking, as the ship headed for Coruscant, where the **** is he going?

And the whole movie was like that. In most scenes I truly didn't know what was going to happen next. All of the Blade Runner-esque scenes on Coruscant were excellent. In fact, any scene with Anakin was suspenseful. He was a smoldering time bomb--I truly didn't know what he would do next. I actually thought he might force Amidala, he seemed capable of it. But he also seemed capable of great kindness and devotion. Hayden Christiansen is Anakin Skywalker.

But the most suspenseful part of the movie was Obi-wan's investigation into the cloning facility. His initial meeting with the aliens was disorienting in a Philip Dick sort of way, and his initial meeting with Jango crackled with tension. One minor gripe is that I wish Jango and Boba had more screen time. Their characters were convincing, and their relationship was sad and bittersweet. I predict that Boba Fett, who should be much older in the next movie, what with the accelerated aging of a clone, will be someone to watch in Episode III.

 

Last week, many people were making a big deal about AOTC having a "fresh" rating on rottentomatoes.com.

Well, as of right now AOTC has a "rotten" rating.

And now, people have seen the movie and can make up their own minds. I loved it...all well, there goes rottentomatoes usefulness to me.

 

As for Binary Sunset, I would just like to say this:

The dialogue of the love scenes was hokey, but then again, how many of us are not hokey when confessing our love?

And I thought the dialogue exchanges were meaningful, especially the one in the dark room. Boy, could I symphasize with Anakin: sometimes I wish I could throw those feelings away too. Plus, the dialogue regarding senatorial disagreements reminded me of the Presidental election of 2000 and our own democracy.

This was a great Star Wars movie in my view.

 

The attack of the whiners begins.

People, I want you to make a promise. If I end up hating episode III, and I spend years and years complaining about it on this forum, I give you the full legal right to come kill me.

Thank you.

 

Hurricane Vader...amen brother!!
Man i totally agree with u...i was virtually unspoiled.except that jango got his head chopped....but IMO that was the most incredible SW movie to date...yes beating out ESB by a fricken lot... Everything in the movie works amazingly....Count Dooku is such a deep character..wow this is one amazing movie....no for all of u spoiled people...tip of advice...something i noticed is the people that were spoiled for a film generally like it a lot less to the fresh non-spoiled people. Dont get spoiled for EP3 becuase all you will probably do is critcize EP3 as well, because u will know everything and it will seem boring and dull...

Say what you want Episode 2 is the best Star wars movie ever.