AOTC Chapter 20: Inspecting the Clones DISCUSSION

Until the release of ROTS on 5/19/05, I would like to discuss AOTC chapter by chapter on the DVD. There are 47 chapters to discuss over the next eight months, excluding Chapter 1: Opening Logos, Chapter 2: Attack of the Clones and Chapter 50: End Credits.

Each discussion will last 5 days. At the end of 5 days, the following chapter will be posted.

Chapter 20: Inspecting the Clones
DISCUSSION: November 22, 2004 - November 26, 2004
DVD TIME INDEX: 45:48 - 47:47

Synopsis:
Obi-Wan, Lama Su and Taun We walk down a glass hallway above a series of cloning facilties. Obi-Wan complements the Kaminoans on their achievements. The first room they see is one with thousands of clone embryos in glass tubes. Lama Su compares the clones with inferior droids as they come to the second room, where ten year old clones are learning from stations. The next room has adult clones eating. Lama Su mentions that the template was a bounty hunter named Jango Fett who besides his pay wanted an unaltered child for himself. They then visit a room where the troops are being armored and given their helmets. Obi-Wan says he'd want to meet this Jango Fett. They come out onto the balcony and witness thousands upon thousands of troops being loaded up for war. END OF CHAPTER

Opinion:
The next segment in our mystery story. I love this part of Kamino. The process of going from an embryo, suspended in fluid, to an armored killing machine is quite disturbing but intriguing at the same time.

It's an interesting environment for the birth of clones. Every seems so believable, even though Ewan was pretty much the only real thing in the shot. It's a beautiful sequence that introduces so much in so little time.

We get to hear the Fett name for this first name. Not Boba, but Jango Fett. Every step in this cloning process is much more darker and darker and by the time they enter the loading ship, it's like oh crap, the Clone Wars are really starting.
One of the most important chapters of the entire saga, and it's done well. Short, but sweet and it thickens the plot by adding that bounty hunter, the same one who at this point could have killed Zam on Coruscant. Excellent chapter.

 

I love the part where they go out on the balcony. The first time you sees the army that will eventually be Palpatine's enforcers.

 

I really like Ewan McGregor's acting in this scene. It's obvious that Obi Wan is quite disturbed by all of this, and it comes up in the subtle body language, the slow, almost disbelieving glances he's giving everything, the tense look of his figure when he leans over the balcony and sees the army for the first time. I love the expression on his face, there. A powerful moment, underscored by the awesome soundtrack. (If there was one thing about AOTC that I felt was really well done, it was the placement of the music.) It's really a point where I physically paused and went, "Holy moly, it's the Imperial army!" and realized that everything was starting to fall into place. The scene as a whole is visually impacting and emotionally disturbing. We feel it sink in at about the same time it does for Obi Wan that this is more than just an army - these are sentient beings trained into efficient killers. There's a cold, intense brutality about the whole thing.

The only thing that nitpicks me about this scene are the ships the stormtroopers are loading into. They don't seem to be of Kaminoan design, and I was curious where they came from...

 

Kamino = über coolness

 

I like how everything in this scene builds up to the moment they walk onto the balcony. The balcony scene is, with the booming music and that line "Magnificent, aren't they?", one of those great SW moments.

 

this is our first glimmer that the good guys are going to lose. quick-draw obiwan, though surprised and puzzled plays along with the kimonians to glean information. and they exemplify, for me, the dangers of maximum detachment - they're neither for nor against anyone; they don't care - it all comes down to that pocketbook dex was referring to. but look how their involvement changes everything. what is their end game anyhow? what positive effect-what do they gain from generating all this money? aldous huxley's future has arrived with the canned goods clone infants. obiwan's body language as he surveys the massive quantities of clones at different stages of production mirrors bail's at the end of aotc. devastation -

 

Good chapter. The explanation for why the clones are superior to droids was certainly needed. Hinting at Boba Fett's origins was fun. The visuals on the tour were nice and even creepy.

The animation interacting with Obi-Wan felt a little off though. But it was a big challenge for the animation crew. Also for the life of me I can't figure out why they used the Trade Federation droid marching theme for the Clonetrooper parade. While the cue sounded nice, it felt out of place.

 

"Magnificent, aren't they?"

A nice, simple line, yet one of the best in AOTC. One of my favorite chapters, hands down for the slowly building dread at the end. I also liked how abstract some of the details seemed from outside the corridor; you didn't always know what you were looking at, but it conveyed the sheer scope of the Kamino projects.

The one thing I think the scene could have benefited from was a closeup of Obi-Wan on the balcony.

 

Magnificent scene. We become about as anxious as Ben while he's falling down in this techno-cold personal rabbit hole. By the time he reaches the balcony the tension is immense. In retrospect the fact that we are going to watch Palpatine on a balcony just like that in the end of the movie adds a lot to the dread of Ben's position. The clinical enviroment is so....unhospitable. It's almost clausophobic in a wierd way. Ewan is a hero for being able to perform so well and have believable reactions. We never realise that he was actually in a small blue room.

 

Again i bring back the name Kamino which is Japanese for god, like gods the Kaminoans are creating human beings. This is only one sense of the eerie.

Did anyone think "The Matrix" when you saw the clones in those pods?

 

In retrospect the fact that we are going to watch Palpatine on a balcony just like that in the end of the movie adds a lot to the dread of Ben's position.

Good call! And I wonder what Palpy is thinking... "Magnificent, aren't they"

 

great music & great visuals add up to a wonderful chapter. i agree with HookLineandSinker that the Trade Federation droid marching theme was out of place, but if you think about it, the only real theme that belongs with those shots is the Imperial March, but that was already used at the end of the film, so there really is no other option. learning about how the clones work is important, since we find out why they're better than droids, and how the Kaminoians are able to produce so many in ready for battle. knowing Boba Fett's origins is cool, and the shots of the clones being prepared (from the babies in the tube things to the grown clones getting their armor) are just fantastic.

 

i agree with HookLineandSinker that the Trade Federation droid marching theme was out of place

Not really. Red herring in actuality. You are supposed to think of the TF.

 

I'm not sure you could use the Imperial March at this point in the story - it just wouldn't fit, given how it's been used in TPM - this is too soon to have a loud rendition of it, and a soft, subtle version of it wouldn't fit with the vast scope of this scene.

 

I thought the music was perfect for the scene. It made a link to the TPM which is always good, especially since its a trilogy and all. The scene itself is breathtaking. Isn't Kamino just the coolest place ever?! Like Moleman said originally, everything seems very authentic and the floating embryos give it all a very strange feel to it, but it all remains realistic. Obi Wan is great, Lama Su's line 'Magnificent, aren't they?' is great...in fact I just really like this scene. Its got the continuing mystery, it links the two trilogies and the special effects are stunning but at the same time don't blow up in your face, unlike the over-the-top chase in Coruscant.

 

I loved seeing the clones for the first time and Kamino is still awesome!

 

great call openmind! the hidden george lucas at work again and subliminaly at that. his thought processes must be amazing to follow from inception to completion. i know he has repeatedly stated if the public sits in a theater and are entertained by his movies, he's accomplished his goal but methinks he simplifies much too much. the depth of these still waters. . . . . . .

 

I like the Trade Federation marching theme here. Very nice. Kaminoans look very real. So do the clones.

 

I think the Federation theme is more related to Ben's thoughts than the actual clone army. He bares in mind what the republic is up against while he "finds" the solution.

 

I'm not sure you could use the Imperial March at this point in the story - it just wouldn't fit, given how it's been used in TPM - this is too soon to have a loud rendition of it, and a soft, subtle version of it wouldn't fit with the vast scope of this scene.


a great point. it's too bad that Williams didn't compose a new theme to use for that scene.

 

Kamino is STILL an awesome planet, and I think the scenes with Obi-Wan inspecting the clones are among the best of the movie.
I love how the tour goes from embryo's to full grown clones. To me, it feels like I just went accelerated through the entire growing and training process of a clone.
Ewan McGregor is great as always in these scenes, especially since there was nothing but blue screen around him during the shoot.

 

Thank you for all your participation in CBC (Chapter by Chapter). AOTC Chapter 21: Teasing a Senator DISCUSSION will be made available 12:00 AM EST. Although the discussion timeframe has passed, you may still discuss this chapter at your convienience. However, we will be moving on to the next chapter.

-Moleman1138