AOTC a reflection of time.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Last night I caught the last 15 minutes of AOTC on TV.

It is as i remember it for the most part. wooden acting, ackward staging and surprisingly poor special effects.

I got a huge shoch though when straight after the wedding scene the netwotk cut of the end crddits and showed the year the film was released.

2002.

I remember the pre-release excitemt surrounding this film on the MB, all the conjecture and gossip. All the hopes, all the sarcasm. I remember going to the opening midnight premiere and spending the entire night in an internet cafe posting on the MB because there was no train to take me home.

I remember all this so well....

How can it possible be more then 8 years ago?

[BLUMENKOHL 1,070]

You're old as dirt. Your friends and you have all parted ways, your love life is slow, sex is as rare as saffron, and all you have left in your dry bitter and brittle bones is some shit movie from 8 years ago.

Way to get us down gramps.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I have sex with an ebony beauty more times than you can fathom, I have no friends outside this MB, and they are mostly still posting here, and my bones are supple and full of vigour.

But yes, AOTC is a shit film!

[Datameister 2,096]

Yeah, it's crazy how time flies. My life was certainly very different in 2002. VERY different.

[Wojo 2,453]

I saw a brand-new (unopened) box of Episode II Cereal on the shelf of a store-sized flea market the other day for $5.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Yeah, it's crazy how time flies. My life was certainly very different in 2002. VERY different.

Indeed, I could not have imagined my life today. 2002 was a different time and place. The best part of AOTC is the last minute of the endcredits.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Not in the film, it's been tracked also

[Quintus 5,399]

God I was in my early twenties. I wasn't yet a member here (I didn't even have internet). I was too busy having fun with lots of different people, going out every night and being the biggest flirt in the world. Good times, probably the best. Student life ruled.

AOTC was just as shit then as it is now.

[John Crichton 4]

Man, I was still in college in '02. I know I've told this story before, but I remember rushing down to the radio station (I worked there) as soon as I read here that the OST had leaked a month before release so I could use the computer there to download it.

As for the movie itself, honestly it's always been a guilty pleasure for me. It has all the problems everyone says it has, no question, yet underneath all the poor execution there's a good story down in there that's trying to break out. A good portion of the effects don't hold up so well nowadays.

[Andy 4,274]

I was so hyped for the film. My then fiance and I had attended the Star Wars Celebration II, and I was bursting to see the movie. No spoilers for me, though, and I went in completely blind. I think after it was over, I was sitting there in my seat trying to reconcile the rush of hype-endorfins with my sense of utter disappointment. It's a strange film, and feels far less Star Wars than Phantom Menace. I honestly think this film was Lucas trying to respond to fan response over Episode I. It tried to be darker, it tried to be meaner, Jar Jar was removed, and the Fetts seemed to have been forced in to placate the fanboys. Yet of the three prequels, it's certainly the most soul-less. But, eh, whatever, it still manages to be a fun movie to watch, despite its shortcomings.

A month after release, we were married, and a year afterwards, our daughter was born. So yeah, my life was sure different 8 years ago.

[Ollie 1,069]

In 2002 I was preparing for my wedding in August. I remember going opening weekend and missing game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. The Lakers beat the Kings in Game 1 and would go on to 3-Peat as champs.

I remember sitting, laughing my ass off, as did the rest of the audience, as Lucas made a fool of Yoda and Christopher Lee with that ridiculous sequence. I was also able to understand why I found the score so underwhelming when I listened to it before I saw the film. There was nothing inspiring and I imagine Williams may have felt that way too.

It was just a poorly put together film and I went by myself a week later to watch it alone, so I could concentrate on it more, and found it even worse. I bought the DVD, mostly for the wife and kids, but the only thing I've viewed are the bonus sections. I haven't viewed the film in its entirety since 2002.

[Melange 446]

How can it possible be more then 8 years ago?

"All those....moments wil be lost.. like...tears....in rain"

I agree that the 00s seem to have flown by when looking at dates of films.

Especially from say 2003 onwards, the years seem to have flown by rapidly.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493]

The movie was and is flat out bad in most every aspect.

I was in high school for the last two movies. I did the midnight premieres and the spoilers leading up to each release. That was more fun than the actual movies. I remember there were rumors Leo DiCaprio would be Anakin. I was all for that.

I remember seeing some promotion video during FOX airing of the real Star Wars movies that showed early footage from the movie. Lucas talking about wanting a James Dean kind of character, Anakin riding around in a flying yellow convertible with some kind of electric guitar music playing alongside the orchestra. It seemed like it could be really cool. But it became painfully obvious when the title Attack of the Clones rolled up the screen this was going to be a complete and total disaster.

[Trent B 337]

I never bothered with the spoilers for the film but after I saw it like some of you I just felt disappointed by it and let down. I mean some parts were good but others, specifically that surrounding the love story itself was cringe worthy at best.

Two parts in particular that were a bit of a let down were the Geonosis parts as I expected something more grand. Also the fight with Anakin and Dooku. I would have expected that fight to last much longer than it did. In my opinion Anakin got owned too quickly.

From the bits of previously unreleased music that have surfaced it's actually quite good. Still not the greatest of the six but not as horrible as people have made it out to be.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I think my memories of that time period have been repressed. I was in Neverland for all I know.

[Wojo 2,453]

What was it like living with Michael?

[Josh500 1,615]

So is this thread about AotC, or about us getting older?

Anyway, AotC the movie is bad, yeah. But the score is NOT.

The most I was excited about a (John Williams-scored) movie is actually PoA. AotC was too early for me.

I remember the pre-release excitemt surrounding this film on the MB, all the conjecture and gossip. All the hopes, all the sarcasm. I remember going to the opening midnight premiere and spending the entire night in an internet cafe posting on the MB because there was no train to take me home.

I remember all this so well....

Don't you do that every time a major JW-scored movie is released? (Philosopher's Stone, Revenge of the Sith, Prisoner of Azkaban, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

What was it like living with Michael?

Groovy.

[King Mark 3,631]

AotC is when we got this Message Board

Before that wee were in the dark ages of JWfan

[TownerFan 4,991]

There was a lot of pre-release hype and enthusiasm, even though a lot of us were totally disenchanted by the huge letdown of The Phantom Menace. However, there was a belief that maybe Lucas could still pull it off in some way or another.

Concerning the film, I remember for me it wasn't as huge as TPM in terms of disappointment ("Hey, it's better than the last one!" was the general comment among my friends), but it was still a crappy movie. However, it appeared for what it really is when I rewatched it on DVD several months later: a film with a bad script, lousy direction and quite bad performances from actors. I never watched it again since then.

About the music, I enjoyed it then and I still like it today. Sure, it's not the best score JW ever wrote, but it's still full of great things and a superb musicality. The problem is the movie which was written for: Williams was in front of a very episodic, badly written film, full of sequences that don't flow exactly well together, so the music is episodic in its nature (a lot of great moments in itself, but probably lacking an overall grand design to keep them together). But on CD, it's a very enjoyable score to listen to. The feverish, modern action set-pieces are probably the cues I like the most in this score. I sincerely do not understand all the backlash this score receives from many fans on these boards. Of course it's not a timeless classic like ESB, Raiders or Superman, but it's really far from being a bad score (and surely I do not understand it when I see people treat some very badly written scores like they're absolute masterpieces).

Just my two cents, of course.

[Quintus 5,399]

AotC is when we got this Message Board

Before that wee were in the dark ages of JWfan

Back when it was a lot more shady...

[King Mark 3,631]

This thread is also a reminder that we still don't have complete Prequel scores after all this time

[TownerFan 4,991]

I'm confident we'll see something before the end of next year.

[Ollie 1,069]

Can I hold you to that.

[TownerFan 4,991]

Can I hold you to that.

I do not have insider knowledge, it's just a feel in the Force

[Ollie 1,069]

Hmmm...cloudy the future is..

[A24 4,369]

"All those....moments wil be lost.. like...tears....in rain"

Have you seen this one already?

[Luke Skywalker 1,810]

Yeah, once you turn 20 the years come and go pretty fast without notice...

I was in my first year at university.

What a great night i passed at the premiere of the film and what an amazing score.

Sorry, had to put a little sanity in the thread

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493]

The score is definitely "JW on autopilot", but still a good listen. It sounds like Seven Years in Tibet, Lost in Space, Harry Potter and others. Like the other prequels, it has no real musical identity. It sounds like a mishmash of clashing styles and scores JW had already composed in his career. And they are.

[Melange 446]

Have you seen this one already?

No, I've not seen that before. Glad to know Mr Hopkins also likes that scene.

"Like....tears....in..rain. Time....to die...SFSFSFSFSFSFS!"

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

The score is definitely "JW on autopilot", but still a good listen. It sounds like Seven Years in Tibet, Lost in Space, Harry Potter and others. Like the other prequels, it has no real musical identity. It sounds like a mishmash of clashing styles and scores JW had already composed in his career. And they are.

I wouldn't go that far. While I agree that the prequel scores dont have as much individual identity as the OT does, they do sound unmistakably star wars.

[Richard Penna 3,773]

What I've seen of the film was boring rubbish with a bad script, bad performances and uninspired direction. It's exactly what you get when a businessman tries to make a film.

Lucas doesn't deserve WilIiams' talents.

[Red 75]

Attack of the Clones is so bad it makes The Phantom Menace look decent.

[Quintus 5,399]

Correct.

[Taikomochi 1,145]

I think the Phantom Menace is the worst of the Star Wars films and the only really bad one. I enjoy AotC, its faults and its pluses. I like and appreciate the score as well.

[Sandor 799]

To be honest; some people really need to get over AOTC.

I can't believe that it has become the most talked about movie of 2002.

In defense of AOTC: due to Lucas' control of the film - and the lack of opposition from the creative department or from studio bosses - AOTC has become a film unlike any other.

It's wacky, sloppy, offensive at times, but it also has a very, very distinctive and unique feel. It's a one-of-kind experience and there is nothing out there like it. Take that as you will.

Films like X-Men 2 or Pirates 2 may be better made, but we never talk about them. They were 'just another movie' like we see them all the time during the Summer.

But AOTC... It may be shit, but there's something special about it we just can't comprehend. Despite the bad dialogue, the wooden acting, etc., we keep opening threads devoted to AOTC. There must be a reason.

[Trent B 337]

I actually agree with Roald.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The problem with AOTC is that even the bad big-budget films usually have a veneer of competence over them in some levels.

AOTC is problematic at almost every level, despite the huge amount of money spend.

Most 100+ million films are pretty soulless, but slick assembly line products, made by a commitee. AOTC however is an auteur film, despite the expense of it, despite the huge talents working on it, it it 100% the product of a single man

That is a really rare thing, and that is why it is still discussed.

[Sandor 799]

And that it why it is unique despite its shortcomings. Give me AOTC over another Spiderman 3 or Transformers movie any day of the week!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I remember there was a huge leak at Lucasfilm before AotC came out. A WIP copy surfaced a half year before the film was released and a lot of people saw that. The soundtrack was online a month before it came out on CD and there was nearly the entire screenplay (it was missing some pages in the third act). I remember reading that before I even saw the film. It was an interesting experience seeing the film afterwards. The script didn't have the Threepio bits in the arena battle and it had some interesting exposition that was removed from the final film about Dooku and his relation to Sidious IIRC.

But what I'll remember most about the release was the madness here over all the different soundtrack releases. The bonus track, the collectable covers, the "WILL NOT PLAY ON PC/MAC" labels (except it played perfectly fine) and the whole WalMart/Target mixup.

Ah yes, good times on JWFan.net.

[Quintus 5,399]

The problem with AOTC is that even the bad big-budget films usually have a veneer of competence over them in some levels.

AOTC is problematic at almost every level, despite the huge amount of money spend.

Most 100+ million films are pretty soulless, but slick assembly line products, made by a commitee. AOTC however is an auteur film, despite the expense of it, despite the huge talents working on it, it it 100% the product of a single man

That is a really rare thing, and that is why it is still discussed.

I disagree. I think the only reason it's still discussed is because its a Star Wars movie.

But AOTC... It may be shit, but there's something special about it we just can't comprehend.

I disagree. I think there's nothing special about it. It is completely undeserving of the attention it still gets. Thinking about it and discussing it doesn't somehow make sense of it, or make it seem not so bad after all. It's a complete stinker, a turgid mess of a movie and it always will be.

[Richard Penna 3,773]

I disagree. I think the only reason it's still discussed is because its a Star Wars movie.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I've seen worse.

[Quintus 5,399]

Of course. There are worse movies out there than AOTC. There must be.

[Sandor 799]

Of course. The are worse movies out there than AOTC. There must be.

I think your (and many others' here) opinion concerning AOTC is very narrow.

I'm not saying anyone should ever make more of AOTC than it is. So yes; there are major problems. Bad writing, mediocre acting (at times) and uneven pacing are probably the most noteworthy.

However; the movie has qualities that better made movies simply don't have. It's unique and completely original. Like I said: there is nothing out there like it.

Perhaps this is the reason Empire magazine gave it a ***** star rating upon release. Perhaps this is the reason it made more than 300 million in the US.

"That's only because it's a Star Wars movie". Yeah right; tell that to the people behind that Clone Wars animated feature.

I think Stefan has made a very good point: AOTC is a very personal film. I'm not saying that's a good thing, for I think filmmaking should always be a true collaborative effort. But with the prequels things took to a different turn and I think it delivered three interesting films from different perspectives.

And for this reason I think AOTC has become a modern classic (perhaps not for the right reasons), whereas the formulaic, slicker blockbusters of the past 10 years have become somewhat forgotten and have lost all relevancy.

It's the originality of AOTC - the film and the production - which keeps people interested in it, while movies like Pirates 3 or Men In Black II will not live beyond the Summers in which they were released.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493]

Around the survivors a perimeter create.

[Sandor 799]

BTW; even though I see something special in AOTC, it doesn't take away the fact that AOTC - or any other prequel - even remotely comes close to what I wanted to see in Episodes I to III.

But I've come to terms with that disappointment (and with Lucas ) a long time ago.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The only reason it's talked about so much is because it's so monumentally bad. So bad that humans cannot fathom the shit on the screen. It's beyond our understanding. No one ever says anything good about it, because there is nothing good about it.

It didn't make $300 million because of some unknown genius buried beneath the shit, it's because STAR WARS is slapped on the title.

[Sandor 799]

The only reason it's talked about so much is because it's so monumentally bad. So bad that humans cannot fathom the shit on the screen. It's beyond our understanding. No one ever says anything good about it, because there is nothing good about it.

It didn't make $300 million because of some unknown genius buried beneath the shit, it's because STAR WARS is slapped on the title.

You remind me again that some Prequels bashers are actually more pathetic and narrow-minded in their reasoning that the small band of Prequel lovers.

I'm somewhere in the middle BTW as it should be.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493]

I don't think Koray even likes Star Wars much, so his is kind of outside opinion.

Just thinking about this movie again and remembering how stupid it is. Who the hell is Count Dooku? You meet him two hours in and it turns out he's more boring than algebra. I can't think of a worse reveal. After Episode III, I still don't understand his character one bit. Was he good or bad? Why does he tell Obi-Wan about Palpatine? Why the hell is his lightsaber curved? Why does everyone call him Count Dooku instead of Darth Tyranus? Eh, whatever.

Why the elaborate plot for clones, I don't know. It's funny how there's absolutely no need for 45 minutes of investigating the aliens from A.I. cloning Boba Fett and all that nonsense. It was a gigantic boring waste of time.

The bugs who sleep in dirt, hold gladiatorial matches with monsters and build advanced weapons and technology.

Anakin and Padme get hitched after being together for several days and Anakin murders a tribe of primitives.