This, my friend, is classic. 
I think Obi-Wan pretty much did say this, but in far fewer words. To paraphrase the scene where Obi-Wan is holographically communicating with Windu and Yoda:
The clones are based on Jango Fett. Check.
Jango Fett is a bad guy. Check.
Also, I think portraying the Jedi as not only incompetent but highly egotistical and insecure (even Yoda) is intentional. One of the reasons I like Star Wars much more than Star Trek is that it doesn’t take place in a utopia. Even the good guys have obvious, sometimes tragic, flaws.
Oh, I saw it for the second time last night. It holds up even better and I saw a lot more Leia/Han in Padme/Anakin than the first time. It shines through especially in the arena scene, when Padme jumps off the pillar onto the back of the… thing… Anakin is riding. She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, he yanks on the reins and gallops off. Classic. 
I finally saw it (like you all were breathlessly waiting for my report!). Liked it, for the most part. I tend to agree that the general “incompetence,” if that’s the word, of the Jedi is intentional. My friend Ryan, who I saw it with, said essentially that at the end. “My God, the Jedi are just being played right and left, aren’t they?” Not surprising, really. This is the story of their downfall, after all.
Here’s a question. Totally unimportant in relation to all the monumental issues being discussed, but I was curious. And I figure all the fanbo… er, uh, gee… ah, ehrm, esteemed Star Wars experts would be hanging out in this thread and could give me a quick answer.
I take it that the full name of Natalie Portman’s character is Padme Amidala? This seems a bit strange to me. When I saw Phantom Menace, I had figured that Padme was just a pseudonym she used while she was going incognito on Tatooine. Perhaps the name of the handmaiden she switched places with. But all the talk of “Padme Amidala,” and the fact that Anakin continues to call her Padme and she doesn’t say, “No, that was just an alias, you creepy stalker, you,” leads me to suspect that I was wrong.
But if Padme is her given name, wasn’t it rather silly of her to use it in Phantom Menace when she was trying to hide her identity? She’s a fairly well-known figure–surely somebody would recognize her first name. Even assuming that Padme is the long-ago, far-away galaxy equivalent of “Jennifer,” and half the women around are called that, you still don’t use your real name when you’re trying to hide out. What gives?
Loved the “Kick your ass, I will” bit. In my theater, it was “A whole new can of whoop-ass have you opened. Yes.”
And to add to SNenc’s comments, above, the clone army isn’t necessarily evil just because Jango is a bad guy. Obi-Wan is told by the Kaminoans that the clones have been behaviorally modified to take orders better and be more docile.
So, Yoda shows up, knowing the Kaminoans are making the army for the Republic, and says, “From the Republic and a member of the Jedi Council, I am. Take my army with me, I will.” Then he takes the docile, order-taking army and says, “Your commander, I am. Lock and load, let’s.”
So Yoda and the rest of the Jedi don’t think there’s anything wrong with using that army? Somebody broke into the Jedi computer, deleted a planet from the archives, created a massive, secret clone Army based on the likeness of a Bounty Hunter that is trying to kill Senator Amidala and is Dooku’s right-hand man, and there’s nothing to be concerned about, b/c Jango’s evil status doesn’t necessarily mean this army is evil, and b/c whomever did all this did so “for the Republic”? My BS alarm would be going beserk.
Yeah, it blew.
Actually, Internet Movie Database lists Natalie Portman’s character as “Queen Padmé Amidala/Handmaiden Padmé Naberrie”. If your first name is the Naboonian equivalent of “Jennifer” then it probably does make sense to use it as part of your alias (“Queen Jennifer Windsor AKA Handmaiden Jennifer Smith”); it cuts down on those little “Hey, Padme, would you please pass the salt…Padme…Yo, PADME!” “Oh! Uh, sorry, I was just, um, thinking…yeah, my name’s Padme, right, I’m Padme, of course. Heh heh! Here’s the salt!” moments.
Hey, they needed an army. It’s not like there were any other armies just lying around–it was made quite clear that the Republic didn’t really have a standing army, just the Jedis doing their Texan Ranger/Knights of the Round Table thing. With the Republic facing the threat of an actual army, their backs were against the wall.
And I guess everyone’s BS alarm was clouded by the Dark Side. Remember, as several people have pointed out, this is the story of the Republic’s downfall. Of course the good guys are screwing up right and left. If the good guys hadn’t screwed up right and left in this trilogy, then the original series would have wound up being about the trials and tribulations of a peaceful family of moisture farmers on Tatooine. (“How’re the crops doing, Owen?” “Not bad, not bad at all. Things are definitely looking up since the Jedi negotiated that treaty with the Sandpeople. So, are you voting for Valorum or Organa for Chancellor?” “Oh, I’m an Organa man myself–his new tax plan is just what the Outer Rim Territories need.”)
As with most of the critical reviews, I have to say the reviews in this thread are remarkably sympathetic to the film.
I thought it was terrible. Not Highlander II terrible, to be sure, but it was a bad movie in almost every respect. The movie’s script was awful, bogged down by endless spoken exposition and far too many extraneous scenes. The dialogue was, as everyone has said, unbelievably bad. Time and time again I groaned aloud as one stupid cliche after another spilled from the screen. The romantic leads has less chemistry than any screen couple I’ve seen in ten years. Of course, it was directed with amateurish bothcery be George Lucas, whose scenes look like they’re shot by a first year film student who has been given $100 million by a rich uncle.
The CGI effects were overdone, cluttered, and in many respects looked atrocious. The story was lame in the extreme, IMHO.
Honestly, I wanted to like it, but I saw almost NOTHING redeeming about this movie as a movie. It was badly paced, badly written, badly directed, badly acted. What was GOOD about it, in cinematic terms?
I don’t know what was GOOD about it, in cinematic terms. I do know that I enjoyed myself while watching it.
Come on, we all know Star Wars isn’t expensive French cuisine. It’s a big, sloppy cheeseburger, and damn is it good. Except for TPM. That one got left under the heat lamp way too long.
Jenga Fett! Ha!
You can call us Star Wars Geeks if you want. The few, the proud, etc.
Given last week’s box office, we’re not so few, sturm.
My review will be posted to my college newspaper’s website in a few hours, I’ll post it here after that.
But I like cheeseburgers, too. I loved “Star Wars.” I loved “the Empire Strikes Back.” “Return of the Jedi” was pretty good, too. A movie doesn’t have to be hoity-toity haut couture to be a great movie. “Aliens” is a great movie. “The Karate Kid” is a great movie. “Gremlins” is a great movie. “Ghostbusters” is a great movie. They’re all pure fun movies, but they’re well made - the script is right, the direction is right, the acting is right, the photography is right.
This movie just blew. Sorry, guys. It was dull and badly made in every respect. I was laughing at it, not with it.
I agree, it seems a little hard to believe that the entire Jedi Council would be so easily duped, and slow to react to what seems to be rather significant news. Of course, I, as an audience member, know a lot more about the future than even the Jedi (wow, suddenly I’m so impressed with myself).
One possibility that I have been pondering is that Yoda is deliberately downplaying the events, as it seems to be an inside job. Who else could delete a planet from the archives? Maybe it 's a former Jedi, maybe it’s a former Jedi with some help from someone currently within the order … so anyway, Yoda is now playing the waiting game.
The big moment of the original trilogy is “Luke, I am your father!” – I’m wondering if we’re going to get a great plot twist like that in Ep III. Someone who was portrayed as a good guy is going to be revealed as a bad guy, and Yoda’s actions in Ep II will make more sense. And I don’t mean Palpatine, I mean someone who we really think is a good guy. Maybe one of the Jedi.
Eh, just some thoughts.
I was thinking the same thing about another major revelation - like Dooku is really a good guy double-agent under orders from Yoda, and it would have worked if it weren’t for that meddling kid!
I also thought it was kinda strange when Boba was cradling his clone/dad’s helmet - wasn’t his HEAD still in there? And I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Boba is taking out Mace Windu in the next one…
Sturmhauke, pretty sppoky that not only is your location idea just like mine (As Og is my witness, I did not know you had done that), but that as near as I can figure, you’re my neighbor!
Regarding Padme falling for the callow Anikin: This is pure speculation on my part (and I have only skimmed through a lot of this thread, so forgive me if someone has already mentioned this), but I was thinking it may be possible that Anikin is, consciously or not (probably not), using some Jedi mind-control tricks on her to get her to love him. Maybe?
I find it odd that a guy who registered over a year and 4 months ago, by the name of Dooku is writing a post about Dooku really being a good guy.
Jman
The one things that was missing in this movie is the same thing that has been missing from the whole series from the beginning. And that is the empire being evil., I’m not sure if I can explain this very well but there has been no independant evilness of the empire shown in the movies outside of it’s dealing with the rebellion.
It’s kind of a viscious circle. Why is the empire evil? Because they do things like blow up Alderan. Why did they blow up Alderan? To try to get Leia to betray the Rebels.* Why do they want to destroy the rebels? Cause the rebels are out to get destroy the Empire and kill the Emporer. Why do the rebels want to destroy the empire? Because the empire is evil? Why is the empire evil? …
So just have evidence of the empire being evil with regard to crushing the a rebellion (and forming a powerful government in episode I and II so far)
Technically we have no proof so far of whether Palpatine is trully evil, or just a misguided zealot who has a “ends justify the means” view of a strong effective government. We have seen the the republic of episode I and II is so beuracratic and ineffectual that it is concievable that a responsible minded man might see reason to to overthrow it to get a governnment that works. And that same man might go to great lengths to keep that effective goverment from being ripped apart. Basically why do I root for the rebellion in episode IV-VI? In ever western or Kung-fu movie we get to see the bad guy come into town and harass innocent folks slap spome women around, and random evil acts that clearly show we should have no sympathy for them. But in episode IV we never get that, we are just to assume the empire is evil becuase it is being rebelled against.
I hope episode III has some peasant oppressing, cattle-raping and book burning just so I can convict Palpatine as evil beyond a reasonable doubt. Life on Tatooine hasn’t been changed much, although they are on the outskirts of civilized area. And we never got to see the average citizens under palpatines Empire to compre their lives.
- yes technically they blew up Alderan after Leia had given them the information, but it was a lie, and they were in a war to crush the rebellion after all. The good guys blew up thousands of soldiers(and secretaries probably) just doing their jobs on the death stars, so we can’t just shut our eyes and say they are completely different.
Yes the Military structure under the Empire is very homogeneous and human, But we don’t yet have enough evidence yet to even prove discrimination, let alone ethnic cleansing.
The only other evidence of the Empire’s evil is Old Obi-Wans word, and he is pretty clearly willing to lie to further his own cause.
D’oh, I hit submit instead of preview. Please use the above post to exercise your imagination in the placement of apostrophes and capitalization. 
“Wipe them out, every last one of them.” - Darth Sidious in TPM regarding the Gungans.
I’d say we have a pretty good idea that Sidious is not a clone of Mr. Rogers.
You know, wolfman, I made that same argument to my friend about six years ago, that the Empire is not all that bad. He showed me a copy of like the Rebel Manifesto. I don’t think I still have it, but there were some really cheesy charges in it like genocide or taxation without representation or something. I’ll have to see if I can find it.