# I just watched Attack of the Clones on cable - This movie gets worse over time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191 "2003-07-04T05:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/1 "2003-07-04T05:32:32Z")
The tech toys and effects were fun, but man what absolutely _godawful_, clunky and stilted interpersonal dialog for a picture that was that expensive to make. Didn’t Lucas have anyone review or edit the script besides himself? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/2 "2003-07-04T05:52:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*The tech toys and effects were fun, but man what absolutely _godawful_, clunky and stilted interpersonal dialog for a picture that was that expensive to make. Didn’t Lucas have anyone review or edit the script besides himself? \*\* No, because they would obscure the vision that gave us the _Star Wars: Special Editions_ and we’d wind up with something like _The Empire Strikes Back_ instead, and we _can’t_ have that, now, can we? Word has it Lucas even turned down Spielberg’s offer to direct, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/3 "2003-07-04T06:28:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Didn’t Lucas have anyone review or edit the script besides himself? He did have a co-writer, Jonathan Hales by name. Which is truly scary. But you know, nobody was worried about the script, it seems. The studio wasn’t going to care, because it was going to make tons of money anyway. Lucas either thinks he’s such a genius that the script was good, or also didn’t care because he was going to get even more super-rich. It’s kind of amazing that (to some extent, perhaps less than we know) he’s responsible for Star Wars and appears to be (or have become?) such a bad writer and director. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/4 "2003-07-04T06:30:55Z")
And hey, think about this: it’s worse, and it’s only been about a year. Think about how bad this movie will seem in 5 years, or 10. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/5 "2003-07-04T06:47:40Z")
It isn’t just the script. If you think about it, decent actors or even a decent director could have made many of those clunky lines work. But their were neither. The major actors sucked for some reason, and the director seems to favor just going with the first take or something, because timing is off, delivery is wooden:any competant director could have seen that and said “hey, let’s take that again, and this time be a second earlier, and maybe try saying it like this…” I mean, it truly and honestly sounds like a John Waters movie at times. And Water DIRECTS his actors to delivery lines woodenly and off-kilter. I asusme spoilers are okay here? The worst was that Lucas simply didn’t sem to think through his chraacters or plot. Anakin’s job is guard Padme at all costs… and yet when she falls out of the ship, Obi Wan seems to think Anakin mad for wanting to continue to do his duty: and even convinces Anakin by telling him to do his duty and NOT guard Padme! What? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/6 "2003-07-04T18:41:20Z")
Because at that point, catching Dooku was more important than guarding Padme. And perhaps Obi Wan also releases that there ARE clone troopers there to help. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/7 "2003-07-05T02:29:45Z")
Saving Privte Obi Wan’s ass was pretty important too, but neither the council nor Obi Wan himself wanted Anakin to go then. The point is, this was a scene meant to show that Anakin’s passions were starting to overcome his virginal dedication to duty. Except, dutywise, the Council, not Obi Wan, had ordered Ani to guard Padme no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/8 "2003-07-05T03:29:55Z")
I caught the Fireplace scene and thought my ears were going to bleed… ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/9 "2003-07-05T03:54:32Z")
I liked it. But I admit the dialogue was really bad. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/10 "2003-07-05T04:11:34Z")
I dunno, bad dialogue is part of the charm of the whole Star Wars saga, I think. After all, the first movie was just a soap opera set in outer space – hence the designation, “Space Opera”. 🙂 But for what it’s worth, AOTC was a _huge_ improvement over Phantom Menace. Yeah, the middle parts dragged really badly, but at least there was some semblance of real “conflict”, you know, good vs. evil and all that, instead of the whole thing being based on a trade dispute. Plus, no cutsie little Annakin moppet (who, unbelievable as it sounds, was actually considered for the lead in the movie version of [Ender’s Game](http://www.philoticweb.net/movie/), but is now too old for the part…THANK GOD!!!) And the Gladiator pit scene, with those crazy CGI animals, was damn cool. And Corusant (sp?) was freakin’ _awesome!_ If I could choose an SW planet to live on, it would be that one. That’s really what made the movie for me. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/11 "2003-07-05T04:30:22Z")
Saying AOTC is better than Phantom Menace is like saying eating vomit is better than eating shit. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/12 "2003-07-05T05:15:49Z")
It’s my conclusion that Lucas is just a really bad director for actors. Even the ever fabulous Ewan McGregor comes off stilted in the movie. I suspect almost every actor in the movie is much better under a better director. Spielberg could make those cheesy lines sound much better and natural. Lucas is probably a genius in the realm of technology, but he’s no more a director than I am. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/13 "2003-07-05T14:14:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\*I dunno, bad dialogue is part of the charm of the whole Star Wars saga, I think. After all, the first movie was just a soap opera set in outer space – hence the designation, “Space Opera”. 🙂 \*\* Actually the “Space Opera” designation came from the phrase “horse opera” a nickname for “B” Westerns because the _Star Wars_ plot seemed derivitive of so many of the Westerns of a generation before. As a matter of fact if you look back at virtually any of the reviews of the film when if first came out, you will see phrases like “fun western set in outer space” or “like a western with a young Randolph Scott and John Payne.” Perhaps your dialogue reference was even more valid, however. The lines in those old westerns can make Soap dialogue seem like poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/14 "2003-07-05T14:27:38Z")
Mind you, the term “space opera” dates from long before Star Wars, back to the 1930s and Doc Smith’s Lensman series. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/15 "2003-07-05T15:31:28Z")
The dialogue in the first couple of Star Wars movies was bad, but the last two have been god-awful. Does that seem like a valid distinction? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/16 "2003-07-05T19:20:46Z")
Pertinent (and possibly apocryphal) quote from Harrison Ford during the shooting of _Star Wars_: “You can write this shit, George, but you can’t say it.” My theory: The dialogue has always sucked. But the original trilogy has kind of a hand-made, low-tech look about it, similar to the old _Buck Rogers_ serials, that allows the goofy dialogue to work in context. Now in the prequels, which are are as high-tech as high-tech gets, the dialogue stands out against the slick background as seeming even worse than it is. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/17 "2003-07-05T19:45:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*Saying AOTC is better than Phantom Menace is like saying eating vomit is better than eating shit. \*\* Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/18 "2003-07-05T19:48:43Z")
Hear, hear. My favorite bad line from the first _Star Wars_ flick: Lars: “That wizard’s just a crazy old man.” But then there’s: Luke: “But I was going to the Toshi station to pick up some power converters!” _whine_ And: C-3PO: “Don’t you call me a mindless philopher, you overweight glob of grease.” I love the original movie to death. I first saw it when I was five. But really… **Cervaise** is right. The dialogue in it wasn’t all that good, just myffic. Very myffic. FISH ---
**Author:** ![Jplacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/19 "2003-07-06T04:32:39Z")
My “favorite” piece of dialogue … Anakin: I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191/20 "2003-07-06T06:16:47Z")
The new movies lack a Han Solo to make things fun. And everyone knows it too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-attack-of-the-clones-on-cable-this-movie-gets-worse-over-time/186191.md?page=2)