Official *** I've seen the movie, here are my thoughts**** thread

No problem!

I think he said that we would discover it over time. If its any consolation, the novel offers a little more insight into that than the film does.

 

As a film, I thought it lacked a lot of things one should at least expect of any film. When you're celebrating each sparse moment of "good acting" as though the actors are playing darts... misses being more commonplace than hits... it's generally not a good sign.

Lucas managed to create the perfect image of "a more elegant time" of which Obi-Wan spoke in A New Hope, and that for roughly 25 years we could only dream about... but he still needs to loosen up on his direction of acting talent, and instead of trying to get everyone to follow his precisely choreographed moments, he needs to allow the actors to capitalize on their own individual talents and idiosyncrasies. One critic said something that really stuck with me, as much as I like this film, Lucas seems to write his scripts in such a manner that the only dialogue we hear is placed there exclusively to advance the plot.

Of course, his penchant for making everyone in the Star Wars universe related to everyone else in one way or another is just another dimension of his almost sterile approach to filmmaking.

The only moment that seems like it lets us see these characters being themselves and not just marionettes going through the motions in Lucas' great tragedy, without making any ominous, foreshadowing Star Wars clichés, prophetic statements, or introducing plot devices, are a few brief dialogues... between Obi-Wan and Dex, Anakin and Padmé, which are stilted at best, thanks mostly to Natalie Portman's attempt to deliver what Lucas seems to think is dialogue befitting a politican and former queen--i.e. contractions are forbidden... Few actors can pull this kind of delivery off without a hitch... James Earl Jones and Sir Alec Guinness being prime examples... of course they are in entirely another league compared to Portman.

That being said, as a Star Wars film, it still works better than most of the other films in what it intends to accomplish for the core audience.

In my opinion, as a Star Wars film, I rank it up there with Empire Strikes Back at the top of the list, followed by Return of the Jedi, A New Hope, and Phantom Menace--in that order.

Lucas made a comment in Premiere magazine that the fans grow up, but the movies don't. After seeing AOTC, I understand what he's saying. I remember seeing ROTJ for the first time when I was about 9-10... I loved it. Ewoks and all... I loved it and it was my favorite SW film. As I grew up, ESB took its place... but I still love ROTJ.

So when I went to see AOTC, I tried to put myself back in my 9-year old shoes for 2 1/2 hours. I'll tell you something... it actually worked!

Funny thing, right now as I'm typing this review... Trading Places is on TV, in which Frank Oz has a cameo as a corrections officer who stumbles upon a bag of PCP in Dan Aykroyd's jacket... weird hearing his voice saying those lines "You have any idea what this stuff does to a kid?" shortly after seeing AOTC...

Um, anyway... Seeing the movie through a kid's eyes removes the burden of having to sit there and overanalyze everything.

The chase scene in Coruscant was dizzying... amazing depth of field that is rarely seen in cinema. One of the neatest things in this film was their use of depth of field in ways rarely achieved through filming real environments.

Everything about the chase scene looked real, but the multiples of foreground-background elements, combined with fast motion and "camera" tracking through these environments... it's like watching an IMAX film on crack!

Unfortunately we were stuck watching the optical transfer, not the DLP, so I did get nitpicky about moments that looked incredibly grainy (particularly in the darker environments, some backgrounds looked like mush... to me anyway). Nonetheless, digital cinematography does a much better job of shooting in natural and low-light environments... almost eliminating the need for artificial lighting sources.

For example... the scene on Coruscant

 

I just came back from my second viewing of the movie. The first time around the movie completely lost me at some point, and I was seriously having trouble keeping up. It was almost like I was looking for something that wasn't happening. I think I read too many spoilers about it -- it threw me when the librarian didn't talk about the whole "Lost Twenty" thing.

But this second time... Holy SMOKES! What a freakin ride! My heart was totally pounding during the Tusken slaughter, through the scene with Mace and Yoda discussing it, and all the way up to the end of Anakin's confession. Cripes! heh

I also noticed way more stuff during the whole final battle that I didn't even see the first time. It was such a blur that first time -- it's almost like my vision was skewed or something. The first time I barely even made out Obi-Wan and Dooku fighting. Geez it's like my senses freaked out on me during that first viewing.

 

I find myself completely in agreement with your assessment of the movie. It is easily up there with ESB, unfortunately a lot of the fans of ESB, are my age and fail to take that into account when reviewing the current Star wars movie. I really enjoyed this movie, not in the way I did when I was 12 when I saw ESB, but as an adult of 31. Inevitably this movie doesn't have the same impact it would have if we were all transported back to pre-pubescence, nevertheless in my opinion it is infinitely superior in many areas. The visual backdrops are amazing, the fight sequences are superbly realised, and personally speaking I love the corny dialogue, I was actually disappointed there wasn't more expositionary dialogue I was hoping for lots more Ian Mcdiarmid in this movie, but never mind.
People who insist upon judging the OT through rose tinted specs, ignoring the dodgy acting and dialogue, will always find fault with this movie, but I think it's a worthy addition to the series. Hayden was surprisingly good, Natalie was ok, Ewan was excellent as Obi wan, and the old pros, Lee and McDiarmid were solid as usual. I'm really looking forward to Ep 3, and I sincerely hope Lucas sticks to his word at Cannes, that it'll be non-commercial and for the fans, I WANT EP 3 TO BE FULL OF POLITICS AND INTRIGUE, AND FIGHT SCENES, AND TO LAST FOR AT LEAST 3 HOURS

 

being 18, i would have loved to experience the OT for a first time. i basically grew up on the movies, i don't remember the first time i saw any of them or having any surprises from the movies. i guess that makes these new movies all the more sweet, people in my predicament really probably can't hate the movie.

 

After seeing the movie twice on film, I went to a 2:30 show at the Chinese theater in Los Angeles. This place has digital projection, and the movie looks much better. The image is much more sharp, there is no flicker during the interior kamino shots, and the colors seem brighter. try to see it digital if you have a theater close by.

here is a link to a list

 

As a TPM hater, I am thrilled to say I thought "Clones" was great. I felt like a kid again. It wasn't perfect, but it had an impact.. I left the theater feeling just fine and looking forward to the next one. I think Lucas cranked it up a notch.

I used to post here as "Use the Horse"..glad to leave that lame name behind, and glad to be here as an enthusiastic fan! If any of you remember the knock-out drag-out battles we used to have over TPM, come by and say hi and we can talk about this one on the same side of the fence!

Hope to see AOTC again as soon as possible..

 

Definitely an improvement over TPM.

However, although I'm not a filmmaker myself, I think Lucas needs to put more work into the script next time. I'm guessing all of the re-shooting and editing he had to do (which butchered Williams' score) is the result of not having a well-construced script beforehand. The seams of all the second-guessing are evident.

Aside from that it was damn good, and definitely added another layer to the Star Wars universe.

 

Weesa all so smart, we all mussa make
our OWN STAR WARs movies to teach
Masser Lucas how to do it right!

 

Calm down, junior. It was a good movie.

 

What is it with people saying the script needs work? I'm sorry, but these people have absolutely no clue about screenwriting. As a fledging (and I do mean fledgling) writer myself, I can tell you that GL did an absolutely amazing job with the romantic dialogue and it is just like what TWO YOUNG PEOPLE who are not supossed to be together would say. They are not old, they are not mature and niether is their love. It is brash, hedonistic, and irrational. And that's ultimately Anakin's downfall that, guess what, leads to him becoming Darth Vader! Wow. And you know what, it could not have been any better written.

 

Ahhh, the best part of the internet. My official reactions.

A little background -- To appreciate my critique you must understand, that like many of you, for me Star Wars is more than a movie to me, it is something I have lived.

I have seen every movie in the theaters and have distinct impressions from each one.

ANH -- at 7 years old I come home and blast pretend tie fighters from my bike, newly named the falcon.

ESB -- At 10, I am Mr. Star Wars. I know every last character from tauntauns to wampas to ugnaughts. I am utterly confused at how the bad guy can be the good guy and I see the movie many times, hoping that it might end different and the good guys win. I am forced (pun intended) to buy every toy, action figure and ship. The little guys go everywhere with me. (Think you are a true fan? Which original action figures floated when thrown in a pool?)

ROTJ -- At 13, I am spending far more time worrying about how close I am to holding hands with the young lady sitting next to me that I can't truly hate this movie as I properly should. It would take me a long time to years to fully understand "I waited three years for teddy bears???!!"

TPM -- After 16 years, my boyhood heroes were back. Well sorta. After watching two headed race announcers and fart jokes, I was left wondering who changed... me, Lucas, Star Wars or all of the above.



Today I saw AOTC with my wife and two daughters 6,4. One thing that SW always seems to do is have universal appeal to everyone. I sleep tonight with a smile on my face. This Star Wars takes a huge step in returning to its roots. Getting to actually see the beginnings of the historical Clone Wars was truly amazing.

I really enjoyed this movie and like many of you rank it 3rd of the five, much ahead of the two last stinkers, but not quite to the first two.

Many things were amazing to see including Jango, ole Slave I (my personal favorite), and hoppin Yoda.

My kids enjoyed it as long as there was action and the 6 year old yelled out "ooh two swords" when Anakin fights Dooku.

There were some times I was wishing for the fast forward button, and watching Padme play musical costumes was getting old, but I have to say that the best thing about this movie was (at least not on first viewing) there was nothing that I HATED. No ewoks or fart jokes or little boys yelling yippee.

And that is something that the Star Wars folks have not done for me since I was ten.

So kudos once again to my heroes. A couple of suggestions for EP III. Dont worry so much about CGI and huge battles. It is the characters we care about. Let's get inside the mind of this boy. Oh and please, please, let Darth Vader kill some good guys. Man to see Vader in his prime would be awesome!

My rating for AOTC = 8 of 10! I'll be going back soon!

(By the way, all the droids floated, cuz they were made of plastic. Oh and Chewie floated too)

 

UP

 

I originally posted this in a thread on it's own, because it isn't a direct review, rather a topic on it's own - George shouldn't have made these movies - but a Moderator saw someone asking to lock the thread, so he did without further ado, seemingly not bothering to read my topic at all. I see that the Jedi Council here at theforce.net is still going strong (And I'm starting to wonder why I bothered writing something here at all; it takes me two minutes and I'm all angered again because of the strict policies WHERE YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO VOICE YOUR GODDAMN OPINION WITHOUT BEING LOCKED)...

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If "The Phantom Menace" wasn't already bad enough, Lucas manages to drag his series even further down into the abyss with "Attack of the Clones", which has got to be one of the worst movies ever. Granted, as a Star Wars fan you're fully allowed to defend this piece of crap, but if you honestly think that this is a good movie, you really need to read up on dramathurgy and study how films are made. Of course, Lucas is free to make the movies his way, outside of the "rules", but as we now have seen twice, working outside common rules doesn't make a good movie.
Put simply, there is no redeeming quality in this piece of crap. The innocent space opera flick "A New Hope" and the more epic "The Empire Strikes Back" both clearly implied an incredible backstory, but all Lucas has done is making a story which doesn't even closely resemble the ending, the last six hours of the saga. Elements like 'the Chosen One' and Qui-Gon Jinn were introduced in the extremely poor 'TPM'-film, both elements that further ruin the original movies. Then, when Lucas realizes he's made a total blunder with that film, he tries to correct himself with 'AOTC', by removing Jar Jar's screentime, completely changing Obi-Wan's character (now he's neither the padawan of 'Ep1' nor the man he became in the classics), (re)introducing Boba Fett (totally unnecessary; why give such a minor character so much exposition?), and trying to recreate the magic that was the interaction between C-3P0 and R2-D2. He fails on all points, there is nothing here that redeems the director/writer, except the fact that he, of course, is the main Star Man.
The new Star Flicks have also brought about a big change in the community of fans; where there used to be one big base, there's now a community split in two; between those who think the new films are worthwhile, and those who realize that these films are bad. Try tell someone you think 'TPM' is bad, and you'll get attacked at the instant - unless you're one of those who live outside the world of Internet, where most people don't like 'TPM' at all. But in here, in these forums...?
The conclusion must be that Lucas never should have made these movies. It would have spared him the embarrassment of showing the whole world how woefully inadequate his direction is. We wouldn't know how bad his scripts have become (really, the prequel scripts smell like the rough drafts for the original films). We wouldn't have to see our favorite director fall prey to the lure of computer technology. We wouldn't need to see the cartoon battles, the pisspoor acting etc. There would be no Jar Jar, no Boss Nass, or other hopeless characters. There would be the three STAR WARS movies. And the fans.
We would still be dreaming about how Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fought in the Clone Wars, we would still be wondering how this all came to be, visualizing this far better than George Lucas manages to do it, because in our minds, we all had a different version of the prequels.
I don't mean to say that oooooh I'm so much smarter than George Lucas or anything. He shouldn't have begun this project without the aid of people who could have kept him in check, because his imagination is too purile. Notice how the best designs in the prequels are those that somehow stem from original concept designers like McQuarrie and Mollo; only Trisha Biggar, costume designer, manages to lift the prequels above the mud. Lucas should definitely have used other directors, dire

 

BEST EPISODE EVER!!!!

 

02
Date Posted: 8:47am Subject: Ebert was soooo wrong!
I saw Clones last night and I can't even begin to tell you how wrong Ebert was, as well as the dozen or so other people that characterized this movie as "boring" or "poorly acted" or "plot-less."

Did these people watch the same movie I did? Man, I left the theater buzzing like a 15 year old girl on wine coolers. The people around me left looking and acting like they were 8 years old. Honestly, even if this movie did not have the Yoda fight scene, it would have been a great movie. Then Yoda puts on his game face and goes Bruce Lee-style ballistic and the lid blows off the top of this thing. I read people's posts on here and I'm glad most people are excited and genuinely love this movie. None of that fake love that was dished out for Menace that was caused by so many people who wanted to love that movie but knew it was disappointing. This is the real deal! And I feel bad for people who don't like it, because its pretty obvious that Lucas made this one for the fans. And if you can't sit back and enjoy Obi Wan bantering with Dex, Yoda being goofy with the Younglings, Boba Fett acting suspicious of Obi Wan, Anakin slowly but surely falling to the dark side, Mace saying cheesy one liners like "This party's over", R2 and 3PO getting back to the basics, and Yoda showing the world what it's been wondering about since his introduction in 1980, then I really think you won't ever be happy with another Star Wars movie again. And that sucks, because you're missing out.

Clones fulfills that promise Lucas made to us back when Luke asked Obi Wan, "You fought in the Clone Wars?" and Obi Wan answered, " too was once a Jedi Knight that same as your father."

Ahh, I love it.

 

I wonder what people who knew the spoilers felt about the all of the duels being reduced to 5 seconds snippets?? I was incredibly dissapointed that we did not see Mace fight Jango. I don't think Samuel L. will be winnning any MTV best fight scene awards like GL boasted in 2000. I also thought the Dooku Yoda fith was way too short as well as the Anakin Dooku duel. And you could barely see anything because of the darkness and the inredibly close angles. Even the Jango /Obi Wan fight had scenes hacked from it. Why?!?!? I would have never guessed after seeing Clones that I would be complaining about the fight scenes.

The romance was laughable but the overall movie was not bad at all and I liked the way they explained the conflict which had the potential to be very confusing for the general audience.

 

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I'll post more later!

 

Up.

 

New member, first time post.

Some random thoughts on why I like this film and the direction that Lucas is taking with the film.

I could mention the things that everyone has mentioned already, but some of the best scenes were for me were the serene atmosphere of the clone factory vs. the hellish nature of the droid factory - complete opposites, yet the same in their function. I also love the fact that Lucas has stuck to his roots of the Jedi being Samurai like figures. The Samurai of Feudal Japan were capable of defeating an army in themselves, but in very large battles they were set to command the troops in the field, and this is exactly how Lucas has set things up from TPM all the way to the last 30 minutes of attack of the clones.
The different styles of light sabre fighting is also great. Most of the Jedi again are Samurai like in their moves, each having a special move to themselves, with the exception of Dooku and Yoda. Dooku in pure European fencing, appropriate for a Count, while Yoda is that of a Kung-Fu/Wushu master. For those people who balk at the ancient, cane using Yoda being able to move as he did in the movie, I've seen many 70 and 80 year old martial arts masters do the same thing (I've been heavily involved in martial arts for most of my life). Lucas again is using real references for his warriors. One of the weirdest things for me is seeing the Jedi command the armies that will eventually become Storm Troopers of the Empire.

Lastly, for all of Lucas's harshest critics out there, come on!! There are maybe five people that have created an entire universe that has withstood the test of time like that of Star Wars - I can think of Stan Lee, Gene Roddenberry, JRR. Tolkien, and Walt Disney along with Lucas. Some people may not like the way he directs his actors, but you cannot deny the man's genius.

Sorry for being all over the place with this, but after having a week to digest this movie, I find layers of excellence that really come out after thinking about it.

 

Up.

 

Ok, this is what this guy is saying to me and I'm having a hard time trying to find a worthy response...

"And for the guy who says this movie has conflict please go read a book on story telling. The first thing that comes is characters that come to life and are well defined story is second and there must be a worthy conflict and the villian must be as interesting as the heroe other wise the "battles" are pointless no matter how cool the villians (darth maul) may look. "

"This new trilogy sucks because there is no conflict in any of the films. The villians are not consistent. There is a new villian in every movie. With Vader he was in all three films and we learned to hate him. Who the hell cared if Yoda fought Count Dooku? I know I didn't. And we didn't need to see Yoda fight. THat scenen was completely stupid all he did was run around and do back flipls. Lucas didn't even try to do something innovative with it. Not only that but that scene wasn't even 5 minuts long I dont why people even like it so much. "

"Think about it this trilogy has no central conflict. It's just us(the audience) waiting for Anakin to turn into Vader. To me that is not conflict. "

What to say...I've tried alot but nothing seems to work. I love this movie with a passion and I hate to see some bash it...=/

 

um ok i don't know about anyone else but being a female myself i especially liked the whole romance between ani and amadala!!! i thought it explained much about their futures and was very well done especially how someone else said they tried to keep away from each other but couldn't b/c of their love for one another. it's sad though that in the next episode he turns to the dark side and forgets about his love for padme (or however you spell amadala's first name) oh yeah and what does AOTC stand for? THANX