Reactions to AOTC: spoilers within

O.K. you have seen it. Now you realize how hard it was to keep my mouth shut about the big things.

Forget the Tusken massacre, and the right arm. THE JEDI ARE LOSING THEIR POWERS!!!!!

Geez- that was out of left field for me.
But just seeing the whole last half is almost the high I got from Empire. Just think of the fun we'll have talking about it now. Start the posts, fandom is back and we have a good reason to celebrate!

It was also fun standing in line with everyone. That's what makes this special.

Start posting...............................................

 

Just got home.

This movie was WAY better than TPM. After reading some of the reviews that were ripping on it (Ebert comes to mind) I wonder how these critics keep their jobs. Ebert's big criticism was the dialogue---as if that's why I go to see Star Wars movies.

I loved how the battle of Genosis followed 1 main plot line that kept twisting andevolving, rather than 4 separate, stale, formulated plot lines like TPM (note: the formula-1. Good guys start the battle in a good position, 2. bad guys get the upper hand, 3. Situation seems hopeless, 4. Good guys pull something out of the A** to win the battle like Anikin accidentally destroying the droid command ship and winning the entire battle.

I left the theater completely breathless.

I need to sleep now, so I can go see it again tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. This movie is definately in the same ballpark with ANH and ESB.

 

Wow!

My first rambling about AOTC:

It took me half the movie to realize that this was a different kind of SW movie. The first half being a love story / conflict within kind of plot and the other being a detective movie. Of course the second half was blow-your-head-offf star wars action. I loved Yoda grabbing his cane after fighting doku - big laught for me.

The love story was actually better than I thought it would be. C3PO's lines were a bit much at times - especially when he's being "split in two" and then put back together.

The absolute BEST part for me:

At the end - the imperial march - Star Destroyers taking off - Plapy looking with pride at the fleet, Bail Organa looking quite depressed. I had shivers the entire time.

I love the fact that the whole thing is Jar Jar's fault - from a certain point of view.

Loved all the busted lightsabers.

Question: Was the wedding in secret or will they reveal it?

More to come...

 

The Imperial March did it for me, too. However, I absolutely loved how Lucas got the Death Star plans worked into the movie. That major kicked butt!

I cannot wait until my 10:10pm showing later tonight! I'm sure there is more I will pick up on that I may have missed at the midnight show.

 

The whole "jedi losing there powers" makes the "balance" prophecy make more sense - I guess Palpy / Dooku are "unbalancing" it - that or as Anikin groes stronger everyone else grows weaker...

Questions / mysteries:

We still don't know who Anikins Father is.

They certainly made a point of havin Dooku land his ship far away from the "regular" part of the Cityscape. I think there is still something deeper that we don't know about the Palpy/Sidious relationship. Yes, I think they're the same person... but.... there's something "elusive - elswhere" that I am sensing.

I assume Padme will die in the next one to push Anikin over the edge - right?

Are stormtroopers clones?

I get the feeling that the Lars clan are sitting on Tatooine saying "Hey! Where the hell did threepio go?"

Why did the raiders take Schimi? What were they doing with her?




Beret mentioned that MANY questions are answered in the book. I hope to have it finished before my next viewing.

More later...

 

Well there was talk of living a lie, keeping it secret... keeping it safe.

Anyway, that movie ****ing ROCKED! I wasn't completely spoiled, which was nice. And I'll be prepared for the next one. Ugh... three more years!

Acting was superb. We definitely saw the origin of Luke's whinyness. There were actual emotions in this Episode. I wept at Shmi's death. It was kinda close to home after recently seeing my aunt on her deathbed (God rest her soul). I only wish that element of the plotline had been explored more. Beru had no lines, and Owen hardly any ...WTF? I was hoping at the end when Yoda was berating Obi-Wan for calling the battle a victory that he would say something like "Never is there victory in the shedding of blood." Oh well, maybe that woulda been too pretentious.

The action was so intense I got my own ass kicked! The zoom-in shots were kinda weird. Methinks Lucas has taken a cue from Saving Private Ryan. But I won't fault him for taking risks. Some parts of Coruscant reminded me of Bladerunner.

I enjoyed every bit of this movie. Well no... there are always exceptions. I didn't care for Threepio's cliché jokes. Is he the new Jar Jar now? Oh and We're going to land a ship in a steam vent now and not get burned. Minor details, really.

I wasn't expecting any mention of the Death Star so soon.

I think I'm going to leave it at that for now.

Eric, what the hell was that bombshell line you said Yoda had? I didn't notice it, whatever it was. Or it didn't have the effect on me that you expected.

 

If Padme dies in the next movie than Luke and Leia have to be born and walking around because Luke is taken before Leia because Leia remembers her mother "being sad all the time." I'm figuring Padme doesn't die so much as she betrays Anakin...but I digress...


I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! I love it. Screw movie critics this movie isn't about 'film' it's not about anything except Star Wars. It had the feel and the look. It absolutely thrilled me to the point where I don't believe I blinked for the last 45 minutes. I was stunned. Move over TPM, this is the movie I was waiting for...

Marcy

 

I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL SATURDAY!!!!!!

I think we will be at Chili's until closing time!!!

BTW - Digital Yoda ROCKED!!!!

Yes - Padme betrayal makes more sense.

Need to attempt to sleep now - before sun comes up.


WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Speechless. Just utterly speechless. I'm still reeling from it. I have to thank Eric for what I saw as downplaying it. "It's not as good as Empire, but better than you expect." Sure, that's an understatement.

I had been careful about staying away from spoilers and reviews, and I'm glad for it. I don't want to hear people poo-pooing a movie I'm really pumped about seeing. So screw the critics. It's the whole "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" thing.

I haven't felt sheer joy and excitement like that since the re-release of Empire in 1997. TPM was good, but nothing like this one.

I know I'm sort of rambling. I'm starting to come down off of the adrenaline high.

One question I have -- Shmi was sold to the Lars fellow and they were married. I can't remember if Owen said he and Anakin were half-brothers or step-brothers. If they were half brothers, that would mean Shmi was Owen's mom. But he was what, 18 years old or something? And another thing -- I thought Owen Lars was Obi-Wan's brother. Or did I make that up?

Overall, five stars! Two thumbs up. And a toe.

 

I'm not completely sold on digital Yoda yet. He looks too much like Ed Asner.

Owen and Anakin are "stepbrothers, I guess." That was the line.

Hmm... I wonder if there will be any dialogue between Boba and Mace in Episode III... "Hello. My name is Boba Fett. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

 

Owen and Anakin are step brothers. The thing about Owen and Obi-Wan was in the ANH novel, and according to Lucas, not cannon (only the movies are cannon). So, according to the movies, they are not related.

 

My response =

Repeate what everyone else has said about 3 times and add a nice "OH MY GOD!!!" and "THIS MOVIE KICKS A$$!!!"

Sleep?? screw sleep, I'm going to see it again at the first showing tomorrow... or I mean this morning!!!

 

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!!

What can I say that hasn't been said already? This movie is worthy and then some of the original trilogy.

I've not felt so much for a SW movie since Empire. Kamino scenes with the clones were just utterly creepy - and the Kaminoans themselves were really eery (sp) as well.

Also, when Anakin goes on about how the Tuskens were savages and he pretty much handed them the ass-whooping they deserve, I had chills just shooting up my spine. This boy is WICKED!

Truth be told, I also really thought this movie should have probably been PG-13, but I really am not bothered by that - 4 On-screen decapitations, 2 hand/arm slicings, and tons of Jedi/Geonosians getting slaughtered.

WOW!

It was better than Cats.

Jeff

 

The Kaminoans faces reminded me of the original Stormtrooper helmets. And I think I read somewhere that Vader's mask was supposed to resemble some alien race, which began to make sense when I saw the Geonosians.

Another thing I was hoping to see that wound up missing was some evidence of Dooku's charismatic leadership skills. I imagined an evil, misguided version of Tracey, but it just never happened. Thousands of systems pushing for secession? Let's see some of that, George!

But how can anyone say this was better than CATS!?!? You must be delusional, Jeff.

 

WOW! That was all I could say on the ride home. WOW! Completly speechless. That movie was everything I had hoped and then some!! The whole Death Star thing was a surprise. YODA FIGHTING!! My life is now complete.

I had a blast with all of you at Westown. Thanks to EVERYONE who made it possible for me to be there. YOU ALL ROCK.

I got two hours of sleep and I have a final exam in an hour. I really should be studying...NAH! But the good news is, I have tickets to the 3:35 showing today. CAN'T WAIT TO GO AGAIN!!! THIS MOVIE KICKED @$$ AND FORGET THE CRITICS. They wouldn't know a good movie if it landed in their lap and danced.

 

Well, looks like some tickets are available for a nooner... time to go again.

Jeff

 

>>I think we will be at Chili's until closing time!!!

Hmmmmm...if so, I may have to get somebody's cell phone number. I'm going to NorthShore at 4:50 with my parents, but if you're still there after, I will stop by. I doubt you will be, but it's worth a shot. Hanging out with all of you at Westown last night was TOTALLY fun and I can't wait to do it again!!

 

I can't remember the last time I clapped, or cheered during the middle of a movie (Well, maybe when Powder died). Eric came out to see us after watching it at 7:30 and said the crowd only cheered once. You could tell those must have been radio contest winners, because we were with the real fans. They cheered at so many things, especially in that frantic last forty minutes or so. I'm a Yoda fan now, that's all I can say. I guess I realized that at C2 when he lights up a saber. Before that, I didn't know how excited I was to see the little green guy in play. Jeff described him as "Sonic the hedgehog." And some of the looks he gives Dooku, it's like he wanted more of a challenge. You go little green buggar guy. You rock.

I liked Hayden as Anakin. Some people who saw the movie early said he was whining, but I didn't get that impression. To me it's the same as when I was whining about Marcus screwing us over. It's complaining, with a subtle touch of "Oh, they'll pay for this." And when he decides to go to look for Shmi and the music changes tempo, he gives that look, you know that you don't want to be wrapped up in tan with toilet paper rolls on your head. It's a bad day to be a sand person. The love story I thought was good too. Enough to get a sense of things, but not so much that it overwhelms the movie. Then again, by the last forty minutes, they could have had a twenty minute segment on home repair, and I would have completely blocked it out.

All in all, I don't have a single complaint. That might change, but it's not likely. It's way better than TPM, and way better than I reasonably expected. I'd rank it up there pretty high in the Star Wars movie rankings.

By the way, think Kit Fisto's action figure will start selling now? You gotta like him.

Bonus: Boba Fett never yells "Wizard" or "Yippie." That kid gave some evil looks too... Twenty five years of my life worshipping Boba Fett? Not wasted. I loved it. Going again at 3pm today, and maybe after that. Friday I might go through withdrawl from not seeing it that day, but there is Saturday. Hootie Hoo!

5/6th of my life complete.

Dwayne, whose throat hurts from yelling

 

Now that I've had a few hours of sleep and a good breakfast, I can think more about what I saw last night.

It was so overwhelming that, in our theater, most people were to overwhelmed to clap when the movie ended!

I don't want to think about episode III yet-I want to savor this one for a few months.

 

Lots of clapping and yelling throughout at the 12:03 Ridge showing. I got a free soundtrack that a radio station was raffleling off. They were also selling Brats and stuff in a tent outside the theatre while everyone was in line.

While I would have rather been at Westown for the Ultrascreen showing, I thought Ridge did a great job organizing the lines and keeping all the ticket issues straight. They actually closed off a parking lot, and had signs marking the beginning of each line. No pushing, shoving or problems.

Perhaps we could get the Ridge crew to handle C3?

Honestly - WOC could really learn a few things from the Ridge crew.

 

Wow. Wow. That movie left me stunned with how good it was, I was not expecting it to be that good! Wow. Wow. It is Star Wars at it's finest.

Some random thoughts:

It was great to see Padme get to do more than standing around wearing pretty dresses.

I liked it when Anakin and Padme first kiss and Padme pulls away, that the swelling romantic music just cut off abruptly. It was funny yet didn't detract from the serious content of the scene.

I rather enjoyed C-3PO as the comic relief during the battle scenes. The only lines that didn't feel right were - "I'm beside myself" and "what a drag". Otherwise it was very funny.

Shmi's death was heart wrenching. When Anakin found her, the way she was beat up and tied up you knew that Very Bad Things had been happening to her. It didn't need to be spelled out. The look on Anakin's face right after she died, that look of rage was scary. Equally scary was his confession to Padme about having slaughtered the Sand People. The conflict between the intense hate he felt and the guilt over what he had done was well played.

Yoda's and Mace Windu's commentary was interesting. They almost served as a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action, until they finally got involved themselves.

Super twirling fighting CG action Yoda. Oh yes. That was good.

Battle scenes, incredible. Chase on Couresant, incredible. Jedi in the arena, wow.

The CG is definitely getting better. If I wasn't concentrating on trying to pick out what was real and what wasn't, then I wouldn't notice it at all. Even if it was very obviously a CG character. Perhaps it's a compliment to the story that I was so engrossed that I wasn't thinking about special effects at all.

I could go on rambling about how great it was, but I'll stop now and save some for the gathering Saturday.

It was a blast last night, both the movie and the fun in line. Thanks everyone.

And thank you Mr. Lucas. I got to be a kid again for a couple of hours last night. That was more exciting than seeing Return of the Jedi when I was 7.

Wow.

 

I loved this movie. The beginning was a bite, then it slowed down for about an hour, and the last bit from the Arena on just blew me away. I do wish that the arena scene had been more focused on what was happening with the Jedi, but the constant cuts to 3PO were annoying. The only other gripe I had was the sound. It sounded re-used, the Slave 1 and Jedi Starfighter were just podracers, and the entire chase scene had no music, the charges were cool, but overall it was very anticlimactic. I do have to say though, I loved the chemistry between Obi and Anakin and Dooku was amazing, that fight has to be one of the best, Yoda is my new hero!

 

First of all, I just want to say it was great to finally meet so many of you last night. I think many many additional viewings of the this film as a group will be required...

The film... wow, what can I say... I haven't had a theater experience like that in a long time, probably not since Return of the Jedi... even the Special Editions and TPM didn't hold a hat to the sheer excitment and energy that was in that room last night...

There are things about the film that I'm still comprehending... throughout so much of it, I was just so awestruck that I know I missed things. It's going to take a couple more viewings before I can really pass judgement on it. But, my initial gut reaction is that this film is going to get great word of mouth, and the critics are going to end up eating their words about yet another Star Wars film. The lines for Episode III are going to be insane as a result... 3 years from now is going to be one hell of a party.

I'm seeing it again on the UltraScreen this evening, with a several of my friends... it's going to be sooooo hard for me to just shut up and not give anything away.

 

When I go to my showing tonight, I'm gonna grin like an idiot at everyone in my line and just tell them, "You have no idea what you are in for...strap yourselves into your seat and hold on!"

 

I?m sorry I just got up and I?m still a little dazed but here are my initial thoughts

Hands down best moment of the film was the opening bars of the star wars theme music as the opening crawl began. It sent shivers up my spine and right back down again.

I?ll just give some quick thoughts:

One I thought some of the dialogue was a bit to recycled, c3po was worse than jar jar, and the love story was much better than i thought it would be. Like Dan said this is a new star wars. It left me speechless i really don't know what to say or how to feel. i loved every min of it. it seemed to flow perfectly never letting you leave the universe for a second. The action the graphics even the plot all rocked, its still to early for me to say how good this movie really is but right now I?m a pent up ball of star wars giddiness.

Coolest scenes:

Jango Fett vs. obi wan
Death star revealed
YODA (hands down one of the coolest moments ever)
Final battle at genosis

I really feel like we got a much more in-depth glimpse into the star wars universe revealing a new level of complexity that makes this film the most realistic one yet.

The light saber fight blew me a way in its realism. This is always what i thought a duel would really be like, no showing off, no long drawn out duel, and no hackneyed dialogue. Just a fierce battle of skill. and I can?t tell you how refreshing it is to see the force play a larger role in aotc. after little or no use of the force in tpm the yoda vs dukoo force struggle was just what I had hopped for.

STAR WARS IS BACK IN A BIG WAY

-mike