robot exit attack - now!

May 2002
May 29th 2002
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe."
What can be said of Attack of the Clones that hasn't already been closely scrutinized by fanboys across the land? I reckon not too much at this point. An exciting piece of film makin', however, no question there.

Better than Jedi? Maybe so. Confusing plotline? In some places, sure - not an entirely bad thing though. Obi Wan? Oooh yeah. In fine form. Jar Jar? Less is better, just the way you figured.

Did I cry at the end there where the Clone Troopers are in formation beneath a booming Imperial March? Like a giddy schoolgirl.

The Good
It was a relief that Clones wasn't Phantom Part II. That fact alone colored the initial opinion a nice rosy shade. The second (non-digital) viewing drove home some of the subtleties that Phantom was lacking. Virtually all the Kamino scenes were right on the money - the exchange (both verbal and physical) between Jango and Obi Wan is the highlight of the film.

Samurai Jedi: Yoda tossin' down the kid gloves doesn't sound promising on paper, but the execution was damn impressive.

Clones and Battle Droids blazin' away at each other through thick clouds of dirt and debris = joy.

The Bad
While Dooku's lightsaber was unique and just plain slick - what with that elegant curved handle - swordplay on the whole wasn't quite up to par with the acrobatics seen in Phantom when Obi Wan goes toe-to-toe with Darth Maul...

The Ugly
 Anakin's obsession with Amidala was believable, but having her fall for him was perhaps just too difficult to sell without being heavy-handed.

Could've gone without the third or fourth bad pun from the decapitated 3PO ("I'm beside myself", etc).

Attack of the Clone is, as they say, quite a thing to see. It'll probably be a few more viewings, however, before it can be properly compared/ranked against the other Star Wars films.

Aggressive Negotiations
I interviewed the fella who constructed Yoda's mighty lightsaber. Scope it out.
May 15th 2002
Necktie... Nickel...
It's an "N" Word, it's definitely an "N" Word!
Our man Matthew spotted the sly Army of Darkness reference out at StarWars.com - tucked into the Celebration II picture viewer. Funny.

Speaking of th' C2 picture viewer, they have a shot of what was easily best costume at the show - Lando Jr. The image utterly fails to capture just how slick the little man was actually lookin'. Perfect.

I Don't Like Alarms, Mr. White.
An interesting article on "Banned Plastic" right here. Touches briefly upon the Palisades Toys Marvin Nash figure (which you can still snag over at AisleSniper for $25). Can't imagine why a beaten and gagged cop would be pulled from the shelves...
May 9th 2002

Hel-lo What Have We Here?
Back from the big Celebration 2 event that went down in Indy last weekend. Attendance was pretty staggering - lines in the morning wrapped clear around the stadium. Quite the good time though - even got to spend a fair amount of quality time with Billy Dee as I drove him back and forth from our hotel to the convention center each morning and evening.

Silky himself in the back o' my ride. Williams is indeed the genuine article. The guy exudes this deeply relaxing vibe. Purple tinted shades, blue felt suit and slippers. Aw yeah...

Pulling out of the convention center in the evenings we'd ease past the main entrance/exit, where Star Wars fans were streaming out of the building. Traffic was heavy in that area and I was waiting for the moment when a fan walking along side us would spot Lando sitting in a car with the window rolled down just three feet away - yet it never happened. Amazing.

AOTC
10:30am, Saturday the 18th. Star Theater Southfield, where they've just installed a brand-spankin' new-fangled digital pro-jection system. I am all about the digital pro-jection.

"If you want to see Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones as the filmmakers truly intended it to be seen, you have to see it projected digitally." -- starwars.com

Into the Cellar
Archived that April '02 main page.


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