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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Losing interest in SW?

Discussion in 'Archive: Attack of the Clones' started by LLL, Jul 6, 2002.

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  1. Imperial_Guard

    Imperial_Guard Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2002
    Knocking other films to make yourself feel better about Star Wars is pretty lame IMO. Calling people "morons" and "simpletons" because they're interested in something other than Star Wars is no better than an AOTC basher who insults people for liking AOTC. While I enjoyed AOTC, I guess that I'm also a "moron" and a "simpleton" for enjoying Spider-Man which did a great job of staying true to its characters. Of course, you have to be into Spider-Man to appreciate that kind of thing just like you have to be into SW to appreciate how AOTC fits into the saga.
     
  2. Padme Bra

    Padme Bra Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 1999
    AOTC wasn't dark? Are you serious? No, the main characters didn't die because there's another sequel but I can't think of a darker "summer blockbuster" movie than this one.
     
  3. Durwood

    Durwood Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 18, 2002
    On the flipside, do you guys feel that the Star Wars interest level is as strong as ever, if not stronger than before? Or do you feel the collective Star Wars faith has been shaken a little the last few years?

    I'd say the level of interest has remained consistent over the years. Lucas has managed to strip off the more cynical "fans" by refusing to comprimise his vision in the prequels by not turning them into fanboy garbage, but on the flipside the new films have also attracted droves of new fans.

    The other thing to remember is that Star Wars is currently in the limelight, and when something is current and popular, it tends to draw more than its fair share of critics. Just wait a few years after Episode III when most of the more inflammatory critics will have turned their sights to a new pop culture target and I think you'll get a truer picture of the popularity of the Star Wars saga.
     
  4. Darth_Fisto

    Darth_Fisto Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2002
    Batman was infinetly darker. Every scene is dark. The lighting in that film was just dark Dark DARK. ;)

    I too think AOTC is darker than any other blockbuster, but lets wait for SIGNS :D
     
  5. darth_pooh

    darth_pooh Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2002
    PB, Even I overstep my bounds, and so, I too can get smacked. AOTC has "darkness" in it (if we see the ominous "hints" of the film by looking at the whole saga from a birds eye-view).

    But let's compare to a "non-summer" Blockbuster that many "non-morons" enjoyed. One which gained a wide audience, was ripe for merchandising, AND which was merely a "sequel." You guessed it: FOTR !

    Let's see: Boromir died. The fellowship was sundered. Frodo broke his promise and began using the ring. Gandalf was cast away to the pit. Etc, etc. Now that was a dark movie! And it spoke volumes about "choosing the dark side."

    Anakin was a likeable, if goofy, hotbod with a hotrod (not the one in the dream sequence), who seems more a victim of circumstance than the rational chooser of his own dark path. He's quite sympathetic in his defense of Obi Wan (his resented little master). He keeps his love to himself after his rebuke - and Padme opens up the door in the Arena!

    As I said in my earlier post...this movie makes no sense...and will continue to make no sense until III comes out. Then it might have a short lived resurgence if people are interested. Spidey let people get in on the ground floor. It let people enjoy a human drama without having to get online and read an encyclopedia of opinion.
     
  6. Imperial_Guard

    Imperial_Guard Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Jun 13, 2002
    The only person that knows whether or not GL compromised his "vision" and original plans is GL. For all we know, he had something entirely different planned for AOTC but decided to give fanboys everything they wanted. More action, Yoda in a lightsaber duel, Jango Fett, Mace Windu with a purple lightsaber (I think that was more of Sam Jackson's vision) and seeing some action, etc, etc.
     
  7. Darth_Fisto

    Darth_Fisto Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2002
    "Let's see: Boromir died. The fellowship was sundered. Frodo broke his promise and began using the ring. Gandalf was cast away to the pit. Etc, etc. Now that was a dark movie! And it spoke volumes about "choosing the dark side.""

    Now, what happened in AOTC.

    Assassination attempts galore
    Bounty Hunter killed after failure.
    Jango decapatated in front of HIS SON.
    MANY, MANY Jedi are killed.
    The MAIN ENEMY of the Jedi (Sidious/Palpatine) has wiggled his way into a near Emperor state and the Empire is all but born.
    A War has started and many clones/Jedi are already dead.
    The entire galaxy is in turmoil.
    Anakin, The Chosen One, is having real difficulty finding his place and has already sampled the dark side (tusken raiders) and has felt the sheer power of the dark side (Dooku using lightening on him).
    A son holds his badly beaten mother in his arms as she dies.
    Many Geonosians are sliced up by lightsabres and eaten.
    Limbs and heads are graphically removed (albeit without blood, its a lightsabre thing)
    Padme makes a BIG mistake that has far more consequences than she could foresee.
    The Bad guys truly win at the end.


    I know I've missed a whole lot of stuff here. Please add to it.
     
  8. DarthHomer

    DarthHomer Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 29, 2000
    The first half of Spider-Man is the best superhero movie I've ever seen. Unfortunately the second half was let down, IMO, by a mix of poor CGI, cynical 9/11 patriotism (New Yorkers standing up to the Green Goblin, Spidey in front of the American flag) and tiresome "bonecrunching" fight scenes.
    That's why, even though I enjoyed Spidey, I've only seen it once. AOTC I've seen four times, and it hasn't got boring yet. But I guess I am in the minority.
     
  9. 800-pound_ewok

    800-pound_ewok Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2002
    i love FOTR because i'm a huge LOTR fan. i love spiderman because i'm a huge fan of the comics. i love AOTC because i'm a huge SW fan. i love them all. it must be friggin great to be me!

    cheers!
     
  10. Padme Bra

    Padme Bra Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 1999
    You can go on about LOTR all you want but I'll see your crying midgets and I'll raise you a main hero slaughtering women and children.
     
  11. Darth_Poutine

    Darth_Poutine Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2002
    No fifth film in a series has made 300M US

    Actually, Thunderball, which is James Bond's fifth movie made an adjusted $427,108,000 so it beats AOTC. [face_devil]

     
  12. darth_pooh

    darth_pooh Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2002
    FOTR:

    A mythic past of death and turmoil - the first wars of the ring and its non-destruction out of envy and hunger for power.
    It's finding by a despicable creature - malformed by its darkness.
    Bilbo Tempted by the Ring Himself.
    Assassination attempts of Frodo and the crew
    Saruman Turning to the Darkside
    The creation of an Orc Army
    Horsemen and all of nature intent on killing for the Ring.
    The creation of a Fellowship that is riven with inter-species tension (dwarves vs. elves, etc....) as well as the tension of the Ring itself - Boromir is lustfull.
    The desecration of holy sites.
    The forbidden love of Arwen and Strider.
    Evil from the long past arising and striking at Gandalf.
    Elves who are helpful, but nowhere near as stupid as Ewoks or Gungans - they understand their place in the falling of the good.
    The Elf Queen Tempted.
    The beginnings of fear and struggle for power within Frodo's mind.
    Boromir's Death.
    The Fellowship rent assunder.
    The possibility of a Darkness so huge overpowering the land that no rebellion, no secret little force will ever strike a victory again! As if very satan ruled the earth!
    Hmmmm...need I go on.

    All done with great acting and superb conversations throughout.


    As for your little Tusken Slaughter Scene: When did you ever get the idea that cutting down trees was an innocent enterprise? Wait until you see the Ents make "rock meal" out of Isengard with their bony tree tentacles in response to Saruman's desecration and destruction of their forests and Tree-Wives? - then you will see a massacre! :p An environmental message? Hmmmm.
     
  13. Texas_Jedi

    Texas_Jedi Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 9, 1999
    Several contributing factors hurt AOTC.

    1.First it was the overly childish nature of TPM. I think a lot of people just didn't like the fact of jar jar's silliness and fart scenes. They were scared AOTC might be equally as childish.

    2.SW had it's thunder stolen this year from Spiderman.

    3.Piss poor marketing by Lucasfilm.

    4.Critics have hurt SW for the past 4 years now. If the general public keeps hearing over and over the PT sucks they won't take a chance to see it.

    5.Racism accusations. The thing with Jar Jar being a black jamacian & Watto being Jewish really made people angry. People were angry who didn't even watch TPM. Parents who haven't seen SW since ROTJ probably have formed their own opinions. Now this stuff about the clones being made out like Mexican immigrants is RIDICULOUS!! All anyone has to do is mention this kind of thing and it will push buttons and make people stay away. The race card has been played with SW since TPM. I have black and hispanic friends who've choosen not to see either of the films or take their kids because they said they heard it was racist. Man that broke my heart hearing people say SW is racist. The funny thing is I didn't see one black or brown face in Harry Potter. None in LOTR, and 1 insignifcant role given to an african american in spiderman. But you don't see people complaining.

    America loves to tear down it's hereos while they are living, and America hates for anything to be loved by EVERYONE for too long. That's whats happening to SW. I liked TPM alot. I loved the last 30 minutes of it. Thought it was brilliant. I'm CRAZY ABOUT AOTC!!! Seen it 19 times now. Oh well if people won't look at it and not interested for the reason's I named above so be it. George just needs to market EIII better next time and let the chips fall where they may. He can't control the other stuff.
     
  14. Padme Bra

    Padme Bra Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 1999
    I think it's racist to assume the guys are Mexican because they're dark skinned.

    I heard that same crap when T2 came out. People accused it of being racist because Miles Dyson, a black guy, was the scientist who developed the machines that started the war. They didn't mention that he was clearly portrayed as a good guy. People see what they want.
     
  15. rsterling78

    rsterling78 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    May 26, 2002
    Worldwide Gross of the three films as of 7/02/02:

    The Phantom Menace: $925,600,000 (release date: 5/19/99)

    Spider Man: $695,400,000 (release date: 5/03/02)

    Attack of the Clones: $495,300,000 (release date: 5/16/02)

    source: boxofficemojo.com
     
  16. 800-pound_ewok

    800-pound_ewok Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2002
    i find the amount of $ that a movie makes to be quite misleading. $ has little to do with the quality of the movie.

    cheers!
     
  17. Wolfwood319

    Wolfwood319 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2002
    I never intended to post on these message boards, seeing as how I'm not a huge SW fan to begin with, but this particular thread, which was brought to my attention by another fan,is outrageous, in my opinion.

    You have a poster here who goes by the name of "Padme's Bra" who goes around and calls other people "Simpletons" and "Morons" for liking films like Spider-Man and FOTR more than AOTC. This guy uses the name "Padme's Bra" and he's calling other people morons. Give me a break.

    Its "fans" like this, with their holier than thou attitude, give fans of any pop culture medium a bad rap. You fans get called "losers, geeks, etc" for being avid about something, but then you get guys like this who add fuel to the fire.

    It seems to me that this "Padme's Bra" fellow is just a disgruntled person who is upset that people find other movies better then his beloved AOTC. (And yes, I have read other threads in which he's posted, which further adds to my point.)

    Most hardcore Star Wars fans I know are cool enough people, they're just obsessive with Star Wars. Everyonce in a while though, you get one guy, living in his parents' basement or his cramped one-bedroom apartment, who has no real friends, spends countless hours droning on on forums like these talking about the latest "Boba Fett Variation" or whatnot. They criticize everyone who doesn't think that the latest Star Wars film isn't the greatest picture ever put on screen. Or they criticize George Lucas for ruining the Star Wars saga. Either way, they're quite sad, pathetic individuals.

    They think they're better than everyone else, because they know so much about comics, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc., but in fact, they are quite pathetic.

    These stereotypes wouldn't exist if they're wasn't some truth behind them.

    On this thread's topic, I do believe that hype of AOTC has dropped considerably. I have friends who work in a comic book/pop culture store and we were talking about this just the other day. It seems the only people who even remember that a Star Wars movie came out this year, are the fans themselves. Everyone else has forgotten and moved on.

    Star Wars will always live on in the fans' minds, but the "rest of the world" has really moved on. They refer to Star Wars movies as they would any other blockbuster movie that has lasting appeal (Godfather, LOTR, Gone With The Wind, etc.) Most people out there really don't care about Star Wars moreso than any other movie.
     
  18. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    I'm 30, I have been a SW fan since I was 6. Obviously I can't sit there all day and think of nothing but SW. Other interests will draw my attention. SW will always be in the back of my mind somewhere and will come back to the forefront from time to time.

    LOTR is a great example. There are people who reread the books on a yearly basis. There are boards just like this one on the internet for it.

    I went to see Minority Report yesterday instead of viewing AOTC again. Does this mean my SW interest is going away? No, of course not.
     
  19. Imperial_Guard

    Imperial_Guard Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2002
    You can go on about LOTR all you want but I'll see your crying midgets and I'll raise you a main hero slaughtering women and children

    Yeah, I'm glad I'm not a parent who has to explain this to their kids after the happy, palatable TPM. I'm not so sure that TPM turned off that many people as much as AOTC did with such a huge changeup in tone and content. It's quite possible that younger fans who got hooked on TPM were completely abandoned with AOTC. That and the marketing was quite sad.
     
  20. 800-pound_ewok

    800-pound_ewok Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2002
    you nailed it right there, VadersLaMent. short, simple, and straight to the point.

    cheers!
     
  21. Import_Jedi

    Import_Jedi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2001
    It's quite possible that younger fans who got hooked on TPM were completely abandoned with AOTC.

    GOOD.

    An ILMer on TPM in an issue of Premiere magazine in '99:

    "We're doing it for the wide-eyed 13-year old."


    Greeeeeatttt. [face_plain]
     
  22. DarthHomer

    DarthHomer Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 29, 2000
    "The Elf Queen Tempted."

    I loved FOTR, but that has to be the worst scene in the film. Why did Cate Blanchett suddenly turn into a Final Fantasy character? And people say Lucas overuses CGI!
     
  23. Padme Bra

    Padme Bra Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 1999
    There's no apostrophe.
     
  24. rsterling78

    rsterling78 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    May 26, 2002
    Take the rsterling78 PT rascism quiz:

    [image=http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/cloning/img/eu_bg.jpg]

    The identical gentlemen above are:
    a) insulting racial stereotypes of Mexicans
    b) insulting racial stereotypes of Indians
    c) insulting racial stereotypes of Arabs
    d) a computer-replicated actor from New Zealand
    e) if I'm that obsessed enough with race to consider answers a through c then I'm the rascist!
    f) d and e

    [image=http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/jarjarbinks/img/movie_bg.jpg]

    The above character is:
    a) an insulting racial stereotype of a black guy
    b) I've never met a black guy who was amphibious or said "Mesa"

    [image=http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/nutegunray/img/movie_bg.jpg]

    The above character is:
    a) an insulting stereotype of Asians
    b) if I take my Xanax and Risperdal, can I be moved out of the lock-down ward?
     
  25. Import_Jedi

    Import_Jedi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2001
    I loved FOTR, but that has to be the worst scene in the film. Why did Cate Blanchett suddenly turn into a Final Fantasy character? And people say Lucas overuses CGI!

    DarthHomer, that scene was completely UNNECESSARY in the first place. Just how many people need to freakin' tell Frodo that the One Ring is all-important anyway?? That was 10 minutes that could've been edited out of LOTR [face_plain]
     
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