Did I somehow see the wrong version of AOTC

To the original poster of this thread I say this:

Too bad for you.

I love this movie. I don't care if anyone else likes it or if everyone else hates it. I am not worried about the fact that you think the acting sucks. If I were to drive a point home it would be that my feeling about the worth of your opinion is probably less than yours about the movie and acting combined.

AOTC, in my opinion, is the best of the series. A friend of mine (who after first seeing AOTC said he could not judge it) said after his second viewing "I cannot say yet if this is my favorite.. but it is the best."

Except for one person, I have heard nothing but high praise for the movie from people who I have either seen the movie with or people I have spoken to after the movie or in line (to see it again).

The only place I hear bad things about AOTC is online. That speaks volumes.

RB

 

No crap, I've seen it 3 times at 3 different theaters, the crowd LOVED this movie. If I had a dime everytime I heard a person outside after the movie saying "HOLY **** THAT ROCKED!" I'd be set for a year. Only things I ever hear negative about this movie thus far are online.

 

Since I have yet to see the movie I can't really comment on it.

HOWEVER...about the damn Greedo scene. Did people miss the part where Greedo had a blaster pointed at Han? Did those that think Han was a "cold blooded killer" miss the part when Greedo all but tells Han he will kill him? Now I will grant you it was cooler when he shot first. But it was ALWAYS in self-defense. Han was never a cold blooded killer. And Greedo was certainly no innocent.


*GOD I wish Lucas will change it back just so people will quit their whining*


Why is there so much negativity around here?

 

My gosh!
What is really so great about the OT? Seriously! The acting nor the writing is any better or worse than in the PT!
I seriously think you old people favor the OT because you were kids when they were made, and you got hooked. You grew up with them, and I definately see why they are special to you. But these new movies are for a new generation! Sure, you can still go see them and enjoy them, but 30 years old and up is NOT this movie's aim! Personally, even as much as I like the entire SW saga so far, I feel that AOTC (if not TPM) is on an entirely higher plane than the OT, and very much better.
I love ESB, but I'd take AOTC any day.
I like ROTJ and ANH, but thanks, I'll take some TPM, please. . . GEEZ! Lucas has grown up and adapted his filmaking for the newest generation of Star Wars fans, but sadly the rest of you refuse to let go.
This is just a (great)movie, get a life.

EDIT: By the way, my response was directed to the creator of this thread.

 

Hey bud, I'm 30 and loved this movie. You were obviously a Han fan. I was a Luke fan and I really like the Jedi. To each his own, I suppose, but to me, the ride that culminated in seeing the movie today was 100% worth wading through the garbage spewed on these boards for the past 3 years.

I feel that the acting in AOTC is the best of any Star Wars movie. The situations and themes are way more overtly adult than any other film in the saga (Although TPM's perverse "political drama masquerading as a kiddie movie" theme is always overlooked).

Natalie does a great job (especially in the fireplace scene, which no one else seems to like), Hayden is scary and totally believable as an anxious teen. Their romance is a lot like my first real love. I was nuts for a girl in college whom I'd known in high school and who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me due to our already established social relationships. During a stressful time for both of us, we fell madly in love over the course of what seemed like 1 week. The two lovers against the maelstrom feeling at the end really hit home for me. And when you're that age, the world feels like that- "me and you against the world, baby".

Strangely, I didn't like the last reel. Seeing Yoda fight was a nice little treat, but other than that it seemed like it was composed of snippets of the coolness that could've been.

My favorite part was the Courscant chase. Second, the love story. Third, Jango and Boba together. Fourth, the foreshadowing of Anakin's arm encased in metal during the droid factory scene, then getting chopped off by Dooku (awful name, BTW).

It has been a great ride, and I want to thank everyone on these boards for the fun time, unbelievable spoilers and occasional incredibly thought provoking posts. See you after I see Episode III!

 

its too bad some you didn't like the movie. Everyone I saw it with loved it, as did I. The audience seemed to like it too. I didn't like as much as ANH, (not sure why everyone likes ESB better) but it felt like star wars to me.

hopefully ep 3 will bring you guys back into the fold, but I doubt cuz it seems new George is here to stay. or maybe there was never an old George

 

I really think the people that are disappointed with this one are going to be even more of a minority than the ones that love the movie. It's great hands down. If you don't like it maybe Star Wars isn't your thing anymore, but I loved it. Hayden is excellent.

 

Jar Jarmush...i have to agree with you i really liked her in the fireplace scene and the dinner scene , but my personal favorite with her was the declaration of love before they enter the arena

 

If you gave the movie a "ten", that's great! If not, that's great, too! I'm okay, you're okay.

I have to agree with the guy that mentioned editing as an ironic problem for this movie. I have been reading the spoilers for like 2 years now. Despite the minor little things, I predicted to myself that AOTC would be a pretty good movie... from what I could piece together (scriptments, e2 selects, the making of, etc). My expectations were realistic. I knew it wouldn't be the movie to end all movies, but I thought at least everyone would take it seriously... given what I already knew about the story, actors, etc. On paper, the film looked like it would or could please most all of us.

After seeing the movie, I decided that I liked it, but that they're was *something* not quite right about it. My first thought was that that *something* was the editing. But then I thought to myself, "isn't 'editing' something that lucas is actually good at?" Perhaps he was too busy trying to perfect everything else that he didn't put much time into editing. But yeah, now that I think about it, the editing was just off, I think. Stuff got cut that maybe shouldn't have, and vice versa. I knew the story ahead of time and I liked it, and I read most of the dialog ahead of time, and I was okay with it... what else could it be if not the editing? The movie's pace wasn't horrible, but the "rhythym" certainly seemed off; sometimes by half a beat and sometimes by a whole measure... if you can picture that. The "notes" were usually in tune.

And one minor complaint: I think there is something to be said about the importance of cinematic continuity. Feel free to disagree, that's okay... I'm willing to keep an open mind about this one if someone can convince me there was a need for it: the weird zooming effect, seen maybe 5 or 6 times at the end. (Production guys-- what is this called and why is it used?) Personally, I didn't care for it. It seemed unnecessarily gimmicky... like Trinity's "GAP commercial" kick in the beginning of The Matrix. Is that, like, how clones see stuff or what?

 

I read that the Clone War scenes were inspried by WW2 and other war footage, and often times those abrupt zooms would happen. It was weird, but it didn't take away from the fight.

 

i'm sorry people, but kenoidewi makes some valid points. there was some ridiculously bad stuff going on in this film. some really bad points. nevertheless, i do think it was better than TPM, but nowhere near as good as the original films. not even close. i think we will all have to admit to ourselves that the orignal magic is dead. but: it's still a fun movie series and i plan on seeing this again. but more because it looks cool and there are some great sequences then that i care about the characters...

okay, so here are the good things, in my mind:

- Anakin being creepy, stalkerish and obsessive about Padme. it seemed more like he needed her more than loved her. theres something twisted there, and i thought that was great. this kid is in alot of emotional pain, and he is very confused, so he latches onto her. i'm still not convinced that Anakin didn't jedi mind trick her into loving him.

- ObiWan was great! basically everything he did was great. the meeting with Jango was perfect and the ensuing battle. he also had the best one-liners... his performance made me feel the old school Star Wars feeling.

-Jango / Boba: again, fantastic. the whole darn thing was great. loved those bombs that sucked the sound out and then blew up with that crazy atari teenage riot sound. he died good too.

- CLONES! : this was my favorite part of the film! i loved the CLONES! i want my own Clone army. they look cool, at least as cool as the original Stormtroopers and they totally rocked the robots. the scene where they are blasting everything with the sand whipping around was fantastic! in my mind, the Clones were way cooler than the Jedi.

- darker tone: the darker tone was nice. i'm glad we got to see Anakin's dark side emerging. not only in his slaughter of the Tuskens, but in his sly aside to the fact that he thinks dictatorship is a good idea. i thought that was priceless. beautiful.

- Padme: she is just so beautiful, i could look at her for hours. and she gets to kick some butt in sexy outfits. now that's genre entertainment!

now, THE BAD things:

- the dialouge. it was better than TPM, but still really just bizarre how flat some of it seemed. (although, at least the one liners were better this time. Obi wan had some good zingers and so did 3PO). whatever happened to the bounciness of the original trilogy? the OT dialoige could be stiff at times, but it just seems to work better. and it's not because i was 5 years old then and now i'm 30, because i've watched the OT recently, and it's just way better.

- Yoda fighting Dooku: i'm sorry, that was completely retarded. i was busting up laughing.

- Shmi's death. did she have to flip over in that corny way? again i started to laugh.

- Why doesn't Dooku show up until practically the end of the film? he should have been introduced right after he was mentioned by Padme.

- Why are the Jedi so lame? sure, Obi Wan is cool, Mace is cool, Yoda is cool, but what's up these other guys? you see them for like two seconds and that's it! some of them looked really cool, but you don't hardly get to see them doing anything. i don't know, that whole Jedi action battle could have been a lot better. it's kind of sad that the Clones and Jango are/were cooler than most of the Jedi.

- Sidious. gee, i wonder who he is.

- Mel's Diner in Space. this isn't the Fifth Element.

- "i don't like sand..."

i could probably go on, but i don't want to kill it. i did enjoy myself. there were moments that i truly loved, but this is still such a far cry from the magic of the original films, that it seems kind of futile. still, i enjoyed it, it was better than TPM, but something tells me, at this point, it's our own ideas about the Star Wars universe that are more interesting..

 

to ari-an who wrote:
'you're not a true star wars fan unless you enjoy all of them'

just because you think of Lucas as a man and not as a god that can make no mistakes does not mean you are not a true star wars fan. It would be like saying if you did not like all of the books you would not be a true star wars fan. some of the books were just poorly written, and its ok to feel that this movie was poorly made. Lucas obviously did not put in the same effort he put into his other films. he even said himself that he wrote all 3 screenplays for the PT in almost less the time it took him to write the ANH screenplay. Lucas can do whatever he wants because he is the inventor, and owner, but he might make Episode III garbage because people will still buy tickets because 'you're not a true star wars fan unless you enjoy all of them '

but i guess 4 out of 5 aint bad.

 

Jedi_Yojimbo sounds like the generally annoying ass that sits behind me in every movie: kicking, talking, laughing at the wrong points, and telling his buddies how dumb he thinks something is so the 20 people around him can hear. LOL!!

 

Obviously the original poster saw a different version of AOTC than I did. Everyone loved the movie (at least thought it was better than TPM). The last half hour ... wow... Everyone left talking about how awesome Yoda is. Most of us went to see it again immediately after the first one got out. I guess sometimes it's nice to live in a small town that doesn't even sell out of the first showing (at 4 pm...). At the 7pm showing, the theater wasn't even half full. The only other showing was at 6:30.

 

Jedi_Yojimbo- Can you please tell me what makes the OT more 'magical' than the PT?

 

DApugster
I respect your opinion, but i have to disagree, i feel that AOTC is more fun than ANH and TPM, it just seems like the mood is perfect. And at least for me everything fell into place in a way that was astonishing.

 

I can sum this up best with a story of last night's midnight screening. I sat next to a guy who was completely spoiler-free. As trailers go, he'd only seen Forbidden Love. He'd heard Yoda had a fight, but didn't know much beyond that. He didn't even realize Christopher Lee was in the film.

At one point, just after the Jango/Obi-Wan rain fight, I heard him say to himself, "This so $%*&#@^ rocks."

At the end of the screening, people were not only applauding, they were standing and applauding, as if Lucas himself were on stage taking a bow. The crowd was absolutely ape for the movie.

I'll admit, there were some groans from the guy on the other side of me during some of the love scenes, most particularly just before the arena sequence when Padme confesses her love, but those groans turned to her loud cheering when Mace's feet appeared on screen and he realized what he was about to see.

 

in re: crazy zooms, clone battle

i just scanned the above, so to comment... i thought the crazy zooms were cool! i thought the whole battle kicked into overdrive when the Clones arrived. i loved that entire segment.

you know i think that Lucas is just really rusty now. i think it would have been a better idea if he gave over the series to a younger, hungrier director. i mean, these prequals are okay, at times they are brilliant, but Lucas has definately lost that original spark. it's just not there anymore. not that it's not alot of fun, but it's also not nearly as cool. FX wise, yeah it's alot better, personality wise, it's suffered alot.

 

I have not seen it, yet. Tomorrow at 8:30pm. I must say, I'm a bit concerned. Critics reviews have not been great and I was worried about George doing a "love story". He's too much of a techno-head. Now, I didn't hate Phantom, I thought it was okay...not like the OT, which will always be Star Wars to me. It's the dialogue that has me worried, it was pretty awful in Phantom...I'm just hoping the whole thing put together at least tells a pretty good story ... sigh...it's hard to be a Star Wars fan...

 

"Padme having a hair pin in her waste..."

I didn't notice that part, but that musta hurt. All this time I thought she was screaming because some evil beast just slashed three cuts across her back.

 

GL needs to take long walk off a short cliff. The movie is *completely* made up of special effects - he's forgotten how to use acting to make the movie. Whatever happened to Harrison Ford's lines, his character...even Mark Hamill was better than this.

Hayden did a decent job, of all the actors he was definitly the best. Though I agree that he overdid the facial expressions, at least his anger and motivation were believable.

Natalie, well. I won't go there. I pity her though, having to put up with those sad lines.

The love scenes were juvenile, there seemed to be no substance behind them. Anakin is not in love with her, he's obsessed. Which is he supposed to be? I can see how this obsession could contribute to his fall to the dark side, but don't try to make us believe that this is love. please.

The plot was lost in the extended, (drawn out, useless) battle scenes, and at points I didn't know who was on whose side, which ships were the republic's and which were the sidious'...maybe I'm slow, but it was too damn confusing to keep me interested.

What else is there to say...these two imposters, TPM and AOTC will never compare to the OT.

Long live Luke, Leia and Han! =)

 

GL needs to take long walk off a short cliff. The movie is *completely* made up of special effects - he's forgotten how to use acting to make the movie. Whatever happened to Harrison Ford's lines, his character...even Mark Hamill was better than this.

McGregor did an outstanding job in the film.

 

I don't know why people use the old "audience applause" to measure a films value. Christ, I remember how crazy the audience went at the premiere of the cinematic atrocity known as Independence Day. It was like a football game!

 

Why is it that if somebody doesn't like the movie, they must be wrong or not a SW fan? Why must everybody like it?

I was disappointed. I knew almost everything about the movie, but my expectations were not too high. I didn't think it was possible, but I might like TPM more than AOTC, and I don't like TPM. I'll have to see it again to see if my opinion changes.

I thought Hayden and Natalie were horrible at times and had no chemistry. Some of the dialogue in the love scenes is laughably bad, especially in the scene with the fire and Padme's revealing outfit. Thankfully I can't remember it now. I did think McGregor and Lee were great in their roles, and the rest were good/okay.

My main complaint is the insane overuse of CGI, especially in the second half. It was just TOO much. The conveyer belt scene, the arena, the clone battle, etc. was sensory overload to me. The original trilogy will look pathetic in comparison now. The asteroid chase, for example, makes the one in ESB look really unspectacular. I could deal with TPM's effects, but this time it was overkill for me. I lost interest and was actually hoping the action scenes would end.

Yoda fighting...well, I know everybody loves that but I just thought it was silly. I could see that happening when he was younger, but he's 880 years old! C-3PO's "humor" got old real fast. And I like C-3PO in the other movies!

And people were always falling or dangling from things at great heights. It was bad enough when Obi-Wan landed on Anakin's speeder in Coruscant, but then when Anakin lands on Zam's, it was just ridiculous. I know they are Jedi, but it still seems impossible to me.

I respect the opinion of those who like it, so I hope people would respect my opinion. I did like several parts of the movie, but I was still disappointed.

 

Thragar: please. i'm not a child. i laughed, but not to the point where it disrupted anyone else (those who also laughed when Shmi flopped over like a wet muppet). i was actually tryng to focus on the thing and keeping quiet, but those moments were just laughable, sorry. i mean i liked the movie! it was fun. but so are the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films. it was fun, but it was also really cheesy at points.

the other person: how was the OT more magical? well, there was a sense of mystery and mysticism to the Force for one thing. you really cared about the characters for another. there was a real sense of tension and fear in the Empire and in Vader. these new films completely lack that! some of the characters are cool, ObiWan is great, Jango was great, Dooku hardly had enough screen time, Anakin is great at times, but we all know he gets ALOT COOLER as Vader.

again, i did say that i enjoyed it, but it just feel sort of hollow. the designs are great, the visuals are fantastic, but it's more like a video game now than anything else. this isn't necessarily a bad thing, cause video games are pretty intense and intricate these days, but the whole classic hollywood / Cambellian myth thing is dead. it just is. the PT is fine, it's enjoyable, but it doesn't even come close to the OT.