PT Thoughts/General Discussion: Attack of the Clones

There's more than that. Final part of ANH is very problematic. Leia knew the Falcon is being tracked, but went to Yavin anyway. The DS came alone, without confirmation is Yavin the Rebel's base or not. The Rebels put all cards on the destruction of the DS, without knowing is it coming alone or with an entire fleet. The DS emerged on another side of Yavin, giving the Rebels needed time to destroy it.

Another decoy for what, sleeping?

Padme has also been established as willingly going into dangerous situations, like with Qui-Gon on Tatooine, when liberating her palace from the TF or when she decided to save Kenobi on Geonosis. It is also established that she doesn't admit the situation is that dangerous. Like with Tarkin, this is covered.

OK, one woman died at the beginning of the movie to protect Padme. How many of them should die in a movie in order to follow a logic of her using decoys?

As for the second part, what amount of screen time would it take having her sleeping in another place and Jango or Zam searching around in order to kill her?

Yes, that's all OK, but I'm just pointing at little contrivances that are necessary for a movie to work.

By the same analogy, Leia and Han wanted for all the Rebels to end, as they brought the DS to them. Padme risked her life and an attempt on her life was foiled, but that seams to be a problem. Leia and Han risked an entire Rebellion and that's OK because Tarkin was overconfident?

 

Leia didn't know the Falcon was being tracked, she strongly suspected it but she had no direct proof.
Padme knew for sure that someone was trying to kill her.
Since you keep making a big deal that if the DS brings a fleet with it then the rebels can't destroy it.
If the rebels think that then they are doomed. If Leia got rid of the tracking device and got to Yavin, they studied the plans, found a weakness and then lured the DS somewhere. If the DS brings a fleet with it and now the rebels plan is lost then they can never win because they can never know if the DS will bring a fleet or not.
In fact, if Leia gets away without a trace and in so doing gives the rebels ample time to study the plans, then the risk to the DS would be greater and thus it would then have more ships protecting it. If the Imperials were that concerned with the rebels being able to destroy it. But as the film had an imperial say this; "Any attack the rebels make against this station would be a useless gesture. No matter what technical data they've obtained." Then it does not seem that the imperials are that worried about a threat against the DS.

The Rebels are desperate, that is said in the film. The DS has to be destroyed and soon or else the support for the rebel alliance will fade away and they have lost.
Padme is under no time crunch.

Someone is trying to kill her so yes. That is a pretty basic concept, don't sleep in your usual room. Either put a dummy in the bed so that it looks like it is occupied or have someone else there.
And you sleep somewhere else. Hardly a big bother.

If she is that reckless, why did she use the decoy in the first place? She would have been on the main ship, danger be damned. But she wasn't and she did use a decoy. And she has been using decoys for at least ten years. So now all of a sudden she changes her MO. Yeah, very inconsistent characterization.
And Jango and Zam have no reason to think that Padme would just ignore her decoys that she just used.

Again, Padme has used decoys for at least ten years. She was fine with it during all that time and now suddenly she can't bear the thought of someone risking their life for her?
Plus she leaves another decoy behind when she departs Coruscant, so I guess now she is fine with risking the lives of others.

Have Zam, since she is a shapeshifter, infiltrate the building. Kill one of the guards, take his form, tap into their coms, hear which room Padme is using, send the bugs through the ventilation to that room. Would not need that much time. Or, simply have Jango say that Padme will likely use a decoy again and that room will be watched but he bribed some of the guards in Padme's building and knows where there is a secondary bedroom. So they target that. And he mentions that the building has sensors that watch for explosives and poison so they must use a biological weapon. Thus explaining the bugs.

In my opinion the PT uses many more contrivances in order to have the story work.
Take the third act of TPM. Padme decides to go back and fight. She has no reason to think the blockade is gone, which she barely got through the last time. But the TF are kind and remove the blockade.
They are also kind enough to not destroy the Naboo fighters in the palace they control. Fighters which somehow are preprogrammed to fly up to the TF ship. Qui-Gon for no reason brings a nine year kid into a warzone and no one else protests.

Tarkin being overconfident is an established part of his character. So that he would act overconfident is no surprise. Same with Jar Jar being not that bright.
So that Palpatine is able to manipulate Jar jar into making the proposal for his extra powers makes sense.
Palpatine uses someone that he knows is a bit dim. And since the audience knows Jar Jar it is no shock that he falls for it. Had Palpatine been able to fool someone that had been established as very smart and cunning, now it gets more iffy.

Han does not care about the rebels, he says as much, he just wants to be paid. And Han, like Leia, did not know the MF was being tracked. He scoffed at that idea. So your argument that Han wanted the rebels destroyed is without merit.
As for Padme, if we go with that she risked her life to capture the assassin, then why did she turn off the cameras? Padme is sabotaging her own goal. If she really wants the assassin caught, use all the tools available.
That would be like if Leia sent just one X-Wing against the DS and not 30. The rebels have more fighters but won't use them for no reason.

And if we go with this line of reasoning, the JC wanted Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan dead as they sent them, alone, against hopeless odds. Qui-Gon also wants Anakin dead because he brings him to a warzone when he does not have to.

Bye.
Old Stoneface

 

The ending with Dooku meeting Sidious is excellent. Really forboding, with the grim music and polluted area of the city, knowing an overthrow of the Jedi is inevitable while their temple is nearby.

 

And the jedi being over confident isn't?

How is that a contrivance? After the talk with Jar Jar about his people having a grand army, Padme goes to the gungans in seeking for their help, and she's been shown and expressed and caring for her people. I think the trade federation also want her to come back.

Anakin says that he can sense what goes on the room. The cameras don't change that.

I think Padme expresses that she doesn't want to leave.

Why would they need to do that since Palpatine is one the masterminding this situation? Wouldn't he know where she'd be?

 

What situation are you talking about?
That the Jedi did not think the Sith could be back? They think the sith have been dead for a millennia and since no Sith has shown himself for all that time, not totally unreasonable. Then again, Qui-Gon is able to deduce that Maul is a Sith.
That the Jedi are confident that just two jedi can deal with the TF blockade, TF army and possible Sith Lord on their own. Yeah that is rather head-scratching. Esp since they think it so safe that it is fine to bring a nine year kid along.

But yes, the Jedi are often shown to be rather over-confident, uncaring and dim-witted so there is some consistency there. But that had the effect for me that I did not much care about them and so when they were killed, it did not have a strong, dramatic punch. I liked Obi-Wan a lot and Qui-Gon in part. His death got spoiled to me by reading the back of the soundtrack. Did not like that.

It is massive contrivance. Padme has seen first hand the blockade and how close they were to being destroyed the last time. And they only survived because they were able to jump away. This would not be possible now. So if there are a substantial number of TF ships still present, her ship would likely get destroyed or captured before she can even land. Padme has NO idea that all but one of the ships are gone so as far as she knowns, they are still there.
And IF the TF want her to come back, have more ships there and capture her ship the instant she shows up.

There are other contrivances, the Naboo fighters are still there in the palace despite the TF having control over it. They are also somehow pre-programmed to fly up to the TF ship. And had there been more ship present, they would not know which ship to attack. And taking a nine year old kid to a warzone for no reason.

Did Padme know that? She is the one who turns off the cameras because she didn't like Anakin looking.
Plus they did not sense the droid coming up to the window, cutting through said window or releasing the bugs. Had the droid been armed with a weapon, bomb or gas, Padme would likely be dead and the two Jedi look like colossal failures.
Had the cameras been on, they would have spotted the droid as soon as it got close.

And? She still leaves a double behind. So she is willing and able to risk the lives of others.

I doubt Palpatine has direct contact with Zam and Jango. Possibly he could tell Dooku and Dooku could tell Jango and Jango tells Zam. But I think it works better if Jango is able to think independently and he gets the information himself.

Bye for now.
Blackboard Monitor

 

It was easily my least favorite Star Wars film until The Rise of Skywalker came out. All of the main characters aside from Obi-Wan are pretty unlikable and unbearable, I can’t stand the romance, the mystery is a convoluted mess that just fizzles out at many points. I like a few moments (I especially like when they fight the monsters in the gladiator pit, largely because I’m a big Ray Harryhausen fan) and a handful of performances in it (Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee), but overall, I just find it largely unenjoyable.

The Phantom Menace may have a million problems but at least Qui-Gon’s a pretty likable character and, aside from Jar Jar, the other characters are at least tolerable. That film also has some pretty good set pieces (the 1st 15 minutes with the Jedi aboard the Trade Federation ship, the pod race, the fight with Darth Maul), and it has a nice Saturday matinee serial feel to it. Attack of the Clones doesn’t even have those virtues.

 

Since we're still on this...

And...

No, Leia says they let them go because the Falcon is being tracked. Han dismisses that and they go to Yavin anyway. We can assume they found the device later as they're preparing for the arrival of the DS. Alone.

Yes, that's all OK, a whole bunch of ifs, and yet it's not touching the problem of contrivances I'm talking about.

She used decoys of the way to Boss Nass and on a ship to Coruscant. Nute Gunray learned that it was her who stormed her occupied throne room, not a decoy. So we can conclude that she uses decoys only out of her safe zone.
How is that very inconsistent characterisation?

Let's not create problems where there are none.

She appointed Jar Jar to take her place in the Senate, so it's wasn't too hard to figure she left the planet.

That's quite a scene for an unsuccessful attempt on one's life.

I see no contrivances here.
First, Padme came to Coruscant to plead her case to the Senate. The TF senator proposes a commission to Naboo to ascertain the truth (one of the reasons they removed other ships) and later on Gunray says to Sidious that they're in complete control of the planet. So the blocade is no longer necessary, the planet is occupied, there's just droid control ship. Padme is not going back to fight, but to share her fate with her people. Palpatine also says they'll force her to sign the treaty, not that they'll kill her. This may be foolish, but there's no contrivance here.
Oh, and no, the TF wasn't kind to remove the blocade, it was no longer necessary. We may say the Empire was kind when it sent just the DS to destroy the Rebels.

Second, why would they destroy the Naboo fighters? That's not their aim. Is it possible they were arrogant as Tarkin in thinking nothing could hurt them?

Third, well, you're repeating this thing for years, it was answered many, many times so it would be pointless for me to write it again.

However, the final part of ANH, Han and Leia going to Bespin without a hyperdrive, Kylo's ship being everywhere in TFA - except above the SKB when it was needed the most... These are quite noticeable contrivances. To me. But that's a story for another topic.

It was foolish, yes. But nothing's wrong with that.

The Council obviously thought the TF presents no real threat to the Jedi as their goal was to discover was Maul a Sith or not.

 

Indeed we are.

Leia suspects that they are being tracked because they got away too easy. Which does make some sense, the empire surely could have destroyed the MF as soon as they realized they had intruders onboard. But they did not.
Where in the film do they say that they found the tracking device? If they found it, why would they not remove or destroy it?
Leia just says that they must use the data in the R2 unit to plan their attack. Either she thinks the DS is tracking them, in which case the DS will show up soon. If the DS is not tracking them then they have more time but then they would need to find a way to either get the DS to come to them or somehow find the DS.

No it shows the problem with your reasoning. Your argument is that if the DS had other ships with it then the rebels can not destroy it so it is contrivance that rebels plan for the DS to come alone and it does. IF the rebels think that the DS will have ships with it and then they can't destroy the DS, then they are toast and might as well give up. Because they can not know if the DS will come alone or not. So if their mindset is that the DS will have the fleet with it and then they can't destroy the DS, then they have lost.

Umm because she used a decoy at the start of AotC and there seemed to be a threat against her because Tyhpo says;

And then the ships blows up so there clearly was a threat against her.
So for Padme NOT to use a decoy when she knows that someone is trying to kill her is very inconsistent.
She used one when she suspected danger but won't when she knows there is danger? How does that make sense?

Right, the two assassins that knows Padme used a decoy to thwart their attempt once but they don't think she will do so again because???? Is her "Use decoys power" on cool down or something?

She left a handmaiden behind, Dorme I think, and said that the threat was on her and Typho now.
She was to pretend that Padme was still there. So a target for future assassins.
So Padme was willing to risk the lives of others in TPM, at the start of AotC and later in AotC but won't risk the lives of others when she is sleeping because???

The first makes better use of Zam being a shape shifter than what the film did. Where is is established but then Zam makes no use of her power. Even when it would make sense to do so. So it comes of as pointless and begs the question why a shapeshifter would need to hide her face behind a mask?
The latter adds one or two sentences.
Jango could simply say. "She will be even more on her guard now and use another decoy so hitting her bedroom is pointless. But I know from an informant that there is a secondary bedroom so we will target that. Use these worms, the building will have sensors that spot bombs or poison." Simple.
And good writers will obsess and try to make even minor events pass muster.
While less good writers will just go "Who cares, the audience just wants laser fights and splosions."

There is a big contrivance here.
First, why would the TF remove their ships because they propose that a commission be sent?
The blockade was known and the TF want to make it look like nothing happened so removing their ships shows that something has indeed changed.
Second, Padme was not with Gunray when he said that they are in control of the planet so she is not aware of that. Plus Nute never says that they will remove their ships, they are just gone.
Third, Padme decides to go back after she had heard from Jar Jar about their army.
And she says she will sign no treaty. So if she is not going back to fight then what, surrender?
That would make the two Jedi going back with her look very foolish. They have just been captured. And since they suspect that a Sith is working with the TF, said sith will likely kill them. Plus the TF has already tried to kill them. So if the Jedi think Padme will just go back and give herself up, they are fools for going with her. Plus Qui-Gon warned Padme that the TF would kill her if she stayed on Naboo.

No the TF were kind to remove the blockade.
The blockade was there at the start to set up the plot beat of the blockade and then to damage the ship so they would have to go to Tatooine. Once that was done, the blockade served no plot function and would ruin further plot so it is just gone. No one says they will remove the blockade and no one mentions that they think the blockade is gone. It is just gone, no explanation given. Clear example of a plot contrivance.

The DS came alone to Alderaan so any reason why they would not come alone to Yavin?
Esp since some imperials are confident that the rebels will not be able to do anything to it?

Basic procedure in an invasion, secure any military hardware that might be used against you.
The TF take time to lock up a lot of people and secure the planet. Leaving fueled and armed fighters just standing around for people to steal is stupid. And how were they preprogrammed to fly up to the TF ship?

I have seen a number of replies yes but while all answers are replies, not all replies are answers.
The replies I have seen are either;
Qui-Gon had no place to leave Anakin, which is false.
Qui-Gon could not let Anakin out of his sight, which is also false.
Qui-Gon was responsible for Anakin and thus had to take him along into war. Which is nonsense as it argues that parents that are also soldiers, should take their children into battle. Which tends to not happen. War is not a great place for "Take your kid to work day".
The Jedi usually take little kids with them into battle as part of their training. Which is also nonsense as that would only ensure that there would not be many Jedi to train as battles are not safe places to be.

No, Anakin is there because the plot needs him to be, no other reason.

Other than it making the plot contrived.
Jango and Zam could not know that Padme would be moron enough to turn off her cameras or even sleep in her own room and yet they proceed with a plan that requires that to happen. Padme want to capture whoever is trying to kill her and yet she sabotages her own plan. It would be like trying to win a marathon by cutting off your own feet..

Really? The TFs "Deadly battleships" plus "Battle-hardened army" would be no real threat to just two Jedi? In addition to a possible Sith Lord.
And you think there is no contrivance here?
Well gross stupidity might be more apt.
Or the council want Qui-Gon and Anakin dead.

Bye.
Old Stoneface

 

Can someone explain to me why Dooku called Force Lightning a "Jedi Power?"
"As you see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours."
What was the intent behind this line, exactly? Because in the audio commentary, Lucas called it Dark Side, Sith power. But he has Dooku say "Jedi Power."

 

Jedi powers is a term for force powers. Like when Qui-Gon says Anakin’s reflexes are a ‘Jedi trait’,

 

Eh, wouldn't Jedi know better? They don't own the Force, and thus it is nonsensical to claim it to be a "Jedi power?" Why not just call it a Force power? I mean, even in the behind the scenes, Lucas makes a clear distinction between Jedi powers and Sith powers. But why would Dooku use the term "Jedi power" in relation to force lightning? Wasn't he like an 80+ years old Jedi Master? He should have known better. Just like Obi-Wan, who heard it.
Don't get me wrong, I get what he meant, he was just boasting about his power level. But the reason I asked this in the first place, is because I had an argument the other day with a person, who claimed Dooku is not evil, him being a Sith is just him being undercover, and that the force lightning isn't a Dark Side power, because Dooku called it a "Jedi power." I think this line is just nonsensical, and creates unnecessary confusion, unless you address external sources (Lucas' commentary, other Star Wars canon material).

 

It’s not nonsensical if, as it appears, Force powers and lightsaber techniques are synonymous with the Jedi.

The Jedi function as an authority on force-sensitives in the Republic, they train people to use force powers and could be speculated to have been appointed to regulate the use of the Force.

Some other groups may exist on certain planets but aren’t officers of the galactic republic.

Darth Maul and Grievous are also described as trained in the Jedi arts. The Emperor calls a lightsaber a Jedi weapon.

The Sith began as Jedi who broke away and they use martial arts invented by Jedi.

And Count Dooku being a Jedi master means him referring to his Jedi powers having grown stronger make sense.

 

Yessssssssssssssssssss!

Also loved hearing Sidious call him Tyranus with his evil cadence just this one time in the trilogy.

 

For one, it seems the term "Jedi" is shorthand for Force abilities in general. Qui-Gon says his attacker was well trained in the Jedi arts, for example.

But I'd say most of all, remeber Dooku is hoping to recruit Kenobi to help him "destroy the Sith". Dooku doesn't want him to know he's a Sith, specifically. He wants to intimidate Kenobi into standing down with his display of power, without revealing outright that he's a Sith.

 

Time for recruitment was long over, though. He said it after he electrocuted Anakin into unconsciousness, and fought with Kenobi. And I think it makes no sense saying that anyway. Like I said, both of them were experienced Jedi, and I don't see the usefulness of deception here. It could have worked on some inexperienced Padawan - if that is what Dooku was going for - but not on Kenobi, who was nearly a Jedi Master himself, an experienced, knowledgeable person. I am pretty sure, both of them were perfectly aware, that the Force Lightning is an art of the Dark Side, that requires pure hatred to channel, used for attack and destruction - there is nothing of Jedi there. And more importantly, the viewer is aware - only the Emperor had used it before in Star Wars, the embodiment of evil. And I would think that Dooku would despise anything related to those dastardly, corrupt, weak Jedi, and he wouldn't call his newly found powers a "Jedi" power. When he was a Jedi, he himself admitted, that he was weak, and now he is strong. So, to put it simply, I don't believe Dooku would have said that.

See, I don't particularly feel like this was a good writing choice, unless Lucas was going for some kind of deliberate criticism of the Jedi (which some people don't admit), and that they are so arrogant, that they claim ownership of the Force itself. I don't think the OT had this phrasing, it was just "powers."
"Your powers are weak, old man."
"Luke... do not... do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor or suffer your father's fate you will."
It makes sense that the Emperor called lightsaber a Jedi weapon, though. We've seen that a ritual of constructing a lightsaber, and lightsaber in and of itself as a weapon, was unique to the Jedi Order and its devotees. Or someone like Vader, who was an ex-Jedi, so he would use a Jedi weapon, too. The Emperor didn't need one, in the OT at least.
And Lucas himself in the Attack of the Clones audio commentary said: "The ending sword fight has now become a kind of Star Wars tradition. What it does is it takes a general battle and makes it a very specific, personal battle. The challenge I had with this is I have to have three different fights and I have to make them different. And I had to begin to show that Dooku had these powers similar to what the Emperor had. He has Sith powers, Dark Side powers, but they all ultimately have to end up in sword fights. So we do a little bit of the Sith thing in the beginning to get rid of Anakin and let Obi-Wan have his fight."

I know, it seems like a ridiculous nitpick, but then again - I had an argument with that person the other day. And try to prove that Force Lightning is something bad now, because, well, it's a Jedi power! It's in the film, and what can you do about it? So what that only the Emperor had used it? Maybe the Emperor wasn't so evil after all, since he used Jedi powers? And the Jedi are good, correct? One thing follows after the next. Like this phrase gives unnecessary power to all kinds of sophistry, and I don't feel like it should be the case.

 

Should eletrokinesis simply be a Force power, and not a "Jedi" or "Dark Side" power? It's just lightning. A natural element. Why did Lucas think it was necessary to view lightning or eletrokinesis with any kind of moral label? In fact, I never understood why he thought it was necessary to subcategorize the Force with "dark" or "light" in the first place. To me, the Force simply is.

 

I can't believe AOTC will be 20 years old next year! The SW Trilogy SE will be 25 years old too next year. Time flies!

 

Time flies except Mondays.

 

This is actually one of the reasons why the PT and TCW rubs me the wrong way. The force seems to be based off how Lucas views morality/ethics/good and bad/ etc... but I disagree with George and therefore can't really enjoy movies where his version of those things are (in universe) how the world operates.

 

I also disagree with many George of Lucas’s ideas both the ethical and the idealist philosophy of Star Wars. But are the original films not also guilty of this?

 

As much as I strongly dislike this movie, allow me to list a few moments which I truly love: And I think I just listed every scene I actually enjoy from this movie.

 

The only film that deals with really describing these sorts of things is TESB and it's very broad about how it goes about doing this. Yoda just seems to want Luke to be cognizant about what is going on in his own head, not immediately resort to violence, and just generally keep his emotions in check.

It's not until the PT where all of that is recontextualized to mean very specific things about what Lucas feels is the difference between good/bad, right/wrong, etc.

ex. Obi-Wan tells Luke in ROTJ to keep his emotions in check because they can be manipulated to do make terrible things seem justified. By the time of the PT, Anakin is being told to not even mourn the loss of his friends.

And then you've got videos of Lucas saying that people can't give in to their emotions because, when people die, others feel sad, and if they keep feeling sad then everyone will kill themselves and... the dude has issues.

 

AOTC is my favourite Star Wars film, and even now nearly twenty years after it's release I really cannot articulate why it is, but I will try.

I first saw, (like many here) TPM in the theatres in 1999. Was pretty hyped for it and brought the SW insider mags, and some books leading up to it etc. I left the theatre feeling...underwhelmed. Two major reasons for this. One is because I saw around that time, The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, and thought (at the time) to be a vastly superior film. The other is because after my experience with watching TPM the only thing I could really focus on in trying to sum up my feelings on it was the slapstick antics of Jar-Jar. Now remember this was 1999, internet as we know it today was still in its infancy and I had no idea the amount of hate Jar-Jaw had or was going to get. The other bit I remembered thinking was, Maul was cool, but eh, now he's dead. So between May 1999-2002 I pretty much stopped caring about SW and didn't really read a single thing the next couple of years apart from an odd article about 'Jango Fett' and 'exclusive BTS looks of the new SW film in Saturday pull out mags in newspapers.

So, just before the movie was about to be released, say....a couple of weeks, there was a kind of unofficial guide on a teletext service in the UK. And it listed Christopher Lee as a 'Count Dooku' in the blurb it mentioned he was a lightsaber wielder. Now, I grew up on Christopher Lee movies. From Hammer to Three Musketeers, so thought to myself; boy I just got to watch this for this alone. And with this simple blurb I was pumped again. So, May 2002 about a week after it had come out in theatres I went to see it, and it didn't disappoint me. I was lost in the mystery of this Dooku character and for him to show up the whole time. I enjoyed seeing the new planets, I enjoyed the Kaminoans, I enjoyed the mystery. I liked finally seeing many Jedi in battle and seeing another coloured lightsaber. I liked that the child-induced humour was dialled back...even just a little bit, I liked seeing the darker scenes. It just worked for me.

Could you say I like it purely for nostalgic reasons? maybe, I was going through a very stressful time and AOTC helped me cope with that. However, still to this day I can see the wonder, the beauty in this movie a lot miss. It had a love story, it had a mystery, it had action. And to me, and this is probably going to ruffle feathers and I don't mean to, I think many blame AOTC for ROTS' mistakes, particularly about why would the Jedi use a clone army they know nothing about? a fine and fair question, who was Sifo Dyas? again, completely fair question neither movie addresses. Yet, all the blame for unanswered questions gets dumped on the movie trying to be a mystery first.

That is why I love AOTC, despite it's flaws. And guess what? what movie doesn't?
AOTC made me a SW fan again, so for that I'm grateful

I do like TPM just fine now, btw

 

AOTC makes it clear who Sifo-Dyas was - "a leading member of the Jedi Council" "who was killed almost 10 years ago" and that Obi-Wan is "under the impression he was killed before" the ordering of the clone army around 10 years before.

What neither AOTC nor ROTS nail down is whether the Kaminoans have been lied to or not, about his ordering of the army.

Why would the Jedi use the clone army? Because the Republic ordered them to do so:

"The debate is over - now we need that clone army"
"I will create a grand army of the Republic to counter the increasing threat of the Separatists"

established that the Republic is desperate for an army - the clone army is there to be claimed - so they're claiming it.

 

Pretty much my experience as well (except for the Mummy part ). I also was kind of hyped before TPM, and when I saw it was underwhelmed too. My interest in SW came close to zero, sadly, even though I had a young son I could show the OT to and impress him. But I didn't care much for what would come after TPM.
Other than you, I stayed away from everything concerning Episode II, didn't read anything on the web, didn't inform myself at all. I even bought a bootleg DVD weeks before the movie came out, but never even watched it. All I thought was something like "oh, the next SW is coming out.... has it been 3 years already? well, ok..." Then they had these AOTC posters, t-shirts and caps in a clothing chain store in my country (China), and half the people in my city was suddenly wearing SW stuff. When I saw the movie in the theater I was positively surprised and impressed. Like you, AOTC made me a fan again.