We're out of rockets

Then why don't they just shoot Dooku down with their SIX LASER TURRETS!!!!!!!!

This has been bothering me for a long time, and I need closure. Closure!!!!

 

Yea, I've wondered that. Those comp-beam fusion lasers are pretty powerful and definetly capable of taking out aircraft, at least if the Clone Wars video game is any indication.

 

You'll have it. Apparently those were never thought off by the geniuses at the manufacturing plant. All the laser turrets were Air to Ground firing, and not for any other purpose.

 

The excuse I always like to use is that the Clones were given a secret order not to kill Dooku... for obvious reasons...

 

I always thought that was a dumb part of the movie. If those ball turrets are accurate enough to cut off battle droid's heads, they can certainly take down a speeder bike.

I just find this part of the movie to be stupid, they should have ahd the two ball turrets blown off of the gunship or something.

I also hate it when the ship drops of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and a couple of clones and the 2 geonosian fighters shoot the clones, I wanted to see the 2 clones try to help Anakin and Obi-Wan and get killed or something. Or they could just watch, it would be reminiscent of how the clones watched Vader and Obi-Wan duel in ANH. Anyone think that is a good idea?

The Geonosis end duel could have been a lot cooler and made much more sense.

 

Considering the height at which they were moving and the speed of their progression, blowing him out of the air may have very well killed him. Given the lack of information the Jedi having regarding the opening of the Clone Wars and the Sith, I always assumed they had wanted to bring him in for questioning. When it became obvious he wasn't going down, they took the next steps and try and prevent the war from outbreaking further and took fighting measures.

After all, look how upset Anakin was over Padme being knocked out of the ship, and they were fairly close to the ground when it happened. Imagine the kind of damage and older gentlement at higher flights would get.

Otherwise, yeah, it is a bit of a bafflement. Probably a plot point that slipped by Lucas' notice. It happens.

 

No one read my post? I asked this in another thread. A user told me Pablo answered it in one of the Insider issues. He said that the ships laser cannons were only for ATS (Air to Surface) Not ATA (Air to Air) Rockets were the only things on the ship that could shoot down a flying vehicle, so from that point of view it makes perfect sense, but this is Star Wars and to believe that anything with a laser cannon on it would simply not be used to try to end the war is absurd. But we just have to believe it because there's no other way it works.

 

yet in the short story "Equipment," the gunships were using the bubble turret lasers to shoot down droid starfighters successfully. And speeder bikes wouldn't be able to stand up to the smaller turrets......

 

Like someone posted above, dooku would be more useful alive and it was anakin who wanted to shoot down dooku. The clones could've been given orders by any member of the coucil to try and capture dooku and the clone pilot/gunner used that excuse so it would sound as though he was trying to follow anakins orders.

 

Some versions had the Clonetrooper saying "We're out of ordinance, Sir", which might have worked better.

 

Some versions had the Clonetrooper saying "We're out of ordinance, Sir", which might have worked better.

Running out of laser fire would have definitely been unprecedented.

I agree with the above posters...they wanted to stop Dooku, but didn't want to kill him. Obi-Wan knew from his interrogation by Dooku that there were greater things in motion. Dooku would have been key in unravelling the mysteries surrounding the Clones, the Separatist movement, etc.

I'm not sure why they thought he could be taken alive, though.

 

Perhaps Dooku was using a "Jedi Mind trick" to keep the weak minded clones from attacking him.

 

The "wanting Dooku alive" notion doesn't really fit either. Would shooting him down with rockets have left him alive? Doubtful. Deeysew's point about the laser cannons being air-to-surface only is somewhat reasonable, but couldn't they have gained enough altitude to get an angle on him?

I suppose we can always come up with some kind of possible explanation, but the dialogue here doesn't really make sense given the situation.

 

I just find this part of the movie to be stupid, they should have ahd the two ball turrets blown off of the gunship or something.

Chalk it up to the "genius" of Lucas. This tends to happen when the movie you are filming is being made up as you go along.

The fellow who mentioned the possibility that the clones were secretly programmed NOT to take a shot at Dooku may be on to something.

That would definitely fill that gaping hole in this plot.

 

I like IEatPoodoo 's explanation. Secret orders not to kill Dooku. Other than that, the air-to-surface does hold some water. On the other hand, where the heck did they use all of their rockets? I mean, in the lift-of scene where we see the rocket loading mechanism they're packed to the teeth! There must be 60 rockets in there. What did they do? Eat them?

 

Did Anakin say kill him? Or shoot him down?

 

"There's Dooku. Shoot him down!"

Anybody know the range of the laser turrets? We might find an answer in that.

 

But even ATG lasers could be pointed up and at an aerial target couldn't they? If I'm wrong about that, someone please correct me.

 

Running out of laser fire would have definitely been unprecedented.

Except that the 'lasers' in Star Wars don't necessarily work like the real ones. Star Wars blasters have to be reloaded. Even the ones on ships. I believe tibanna gas is used for this. Hence the line in ANH "Load your weapons".

That would definitely fill that gaping hole in this plot.

It's not a hole it's a plot point. As the story is written, Dooku escapes. He goes on to whatever his end is in Ep III.

 

Oh, the air chase scene gets even goofier when you start to wonder why the Gunship didn't shoot at the trailing fighters with the big gun barrel that is seen sticking out of the back of the ship. Seems like that might have been useful, does it not?

I do like the "secret programming" idea, although it does open up the question of who put the programming there, and why they were aiding "Lord Tyranus". I don't think Joe Dirtbag can just waltz onto a hidden planet and futz with the programming of thousands of clones. (And I don't even know if that could even be genetically ingrained in anyone to begin with.) So either the geneticists or fighting trainers would have to impart that "programming"; at best, the Kaminoans are guilty of putting in a dubious special order concerning one lone person they (perhaps) thought was a Jedi, making the clones ripe for a dictator's use, at worst, they are complicit with the Sith and their plans. Either way, it changes the Kaminoans from (arguably) honest businesspeople to collaborators with those who seek to overthrow the Republic.

Edit:

Running out of laser fire would have definitely been unprecedented.

Except that the 'lasers' in Star Wars don't necessarily work like the real ones.

I agree, since it is Star Wars physics. But that doesn't make it any less silly to see on the big screen. Running out of lasers at just the right time? Sweet. They should impart some of these physics on the lightsaber battles, since I think it would be cool if someone's lightsaber ran out of tibanna gas or whatever bollocks is used to explain it shorting out. Oh, wait, we already had that with Obi-Wan in TPM! Still, if we can somehow accept that 3PO's fat neck and somehow magically fit onto the skinny neck of a battle droid and somehow interface just fine (and vice-versa) I guess we have to accept that lasers run out of ammo as well. I don't think it is a huge deal, either way. It's just a minor chase scene in the movie...

 

Except that the 'lasers' in Star Wars don't necessarily work like the real ones. Star Wars blasters have to be reloaded. Even the ones on ships. I believe tibanna gas is used for this. Hence the line in ANH "Load your weapons".

I was speaking about lasers in SW. I don't remember them ever running out.

Where was the line "Load your weapons" in ANH? I'm drawing a blank.

 

Where was the line "Load your weapons" in ANH? I'm drawing a blank.

I think it was just before the Falcon takes off from Mos Eisley, after that weird creature has told the Stormtroopers where they are.

"Which way?"
[Points]
"All right, men. Load your weapons!"
"Stop that ship!"

 

As far as the ball lasers go, the way they are positioned on the sides of the ship, I think it is impossible for them to shoot forward. Another explanation could be that maybe they were not manned by a clone in Obi and Anakin's ship.

I think also, that a speeder presents a pretty small target which might be difficult to hit with a laser. A rocket which would be able to 'track' the target would be more succsceful.

 

Good question. Were the side turrets manned? If they weren't then there's your answer.

 

The lasers were manned.

Here's my take: The manned laser turrets have a limited range of motion. With the speeder's speed had they slowed down to pull up to fire them, the speeder would have gained too much ground or the turrets wouldn't be able to manually track them. If they had used the front mounted weaponry, there is no reason why Dooku couldn't have deflected the blasts with his lightsaber. We have no definitive proof on how much a lightsaber can take and the fact that Darth Maul carried no weapons on his speeder because he could easily wield his saber on the fast moving craft, makes for interesting debate on the subject of Dooku's ability to defend himself against attack. If we take this route, the fact that there were two Geonosian fighters to soak off weapon fire could also work.