tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post1774004779666148386..comments2023-08-18T04:37:47.001-04:00Comments on Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie: Fixing the Prequels: Attack of the Clones (part 11)Kelly Sedingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-35878793268265781502010-09-27T22:52:44.430-04:002010-09-27T22:52:44.430-04:00Uh, wow... I'm sorry for all the multiple post...Uh, wow... I'm sorry for all the multiple posts that say essentially the same thing. The system kept giving me an error message about my comments being too long, and then I lost part of one and had to retype from memory. Don't I feel like a dork!Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-55960020740685377482010-09-27T19:49:05.072-04:002010-09-27T19:49:05.072-04:00And finally:
It's not that I'm such a blo...And finally:<br /><br />It's not that I'm such a bloodthirsty viewer, but I think that would have had more emotional impact, and would've provided more umph to the shame and horror he expresses to Padme later (I would've thrown in a little extra dialog about him killing all their animals, too, just for good measure.) It would also possibly have given some insight into the Dark Side and its dangers, and maybe even into Darth Maul... remember how tense he was while waiting for the energy-gates to come down... not completely out of control, because he had whatever training the Sith provide, but still seething, right on the brink of losing it.<br /><br />Finally, regarding Liam Neeson, yes! I absolutely agree that he should've done the Jedi ghost thing in AOTC and ROTS... at the very least a voiceover in AOTC and then a quickie appearance at the end of ROTS. I've never heard if he turned down Lucas or was never asked, but whatever happened, I think it was a mistake not to have him there...Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-79356106044744065372010-09-27T19:48:43.203-04:002010-09-27T19:48:43.203-04:00Regarding Anakin and the sandpeople, I'm in th...Regarding Anakin and the sandpeople, I'm in the camp that would like to see more of the slaughter. I think this is key to a lot of things, not least of which is what the Dark Side is really all about, and why a fallen Jedi is so dangerous. "Going dark" can't simply be a matter of getting angry. As Padme says, that's part of being human, and we've seen all the other Jedi express anger: Obi Wan when Qui Gon is struck down, Yoda when he confronts Dooku, Mace pretty much all the time (hey, he <i>is</i> Samuel L. Jackson!). It seems to me that the difference is about control. We've all heard stories of soldiers who lose it and do "heroic" things with no memory of it later... my own uncle took out a platoon of enemy soldiers in Vietnam singlehandedly, and he did it purely on instinct, with no real consciousness of what he was doing, or how. Now imagine a Jedi, essentially a superhero, in that same mental state... <br /><br />My vision of that scene would be Anakin taking down all the male sandpeople with everything at his disposal -- lightsaber, Force choking, telekinetically hurled objects, maybe even a Force-driven sandstorm or something -- all at <i>the same time</i> and without any apparent thought on his part. He just does it... and then he turns and sees the women and children huddling in terror... and for a moment it seems like he's finished... but then his rage rekindles and he starts to march toward them... and only then do we cut to Yoda.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-9589057513347155972010-09-27T19:48:17.421-04:002010-09-27T19:48:17.421-04:00Part 2:
Regarding Anakin and the sandpeople, I...Part 2:<br /><br />Regarding Anakin and the sandpeople, I'm in the camp that would like to see more of the slaughter. I think this is key to a lot of things, not least of which is what the Dark Side is really all about, and why a fallen Jedi is so dangerous. "Going dark" can't simply be a matter of getting angry. As Padme says, that's part of being human, and we've seen all the other Jedi express anger: Obi Wan when Qui Gon is struck down, Yoda when he confronts Dooku, Mace pretty much all the time (hey, he <i>is</i> Samuel L. Jackson!). It seems to me that the difference is about control. We've all heard stories of soldiers who lose it and do "heroic" things with no memory of it later... my own uncle took out a platoon of enemy soldiers in Vietnam singlehandedly, and he did it purely on instinct, with no real consciousness of what he was doing, or how. Now imagine a Jedi, essentially a superhero, in that same mental state... <br /><br />My vision of that scene would be Anakin taking down all the male sandpeople with everything at his disposal -- lightsaber, Force choking, telekinetically hurled objects, maybe even a Force-driven sandstorm or something -- all at <i>the same time</i> and without any apparent thought on his part. He just does it... and then he turns and sees the women and children huddling in terror... and for a moment it seems like he's finished... but then his rage rekindles and he starts to march toward them... and only then do we cut to Yoda.<br /><br />It's not that I'm such a bloodthirsty viewer, but I think that would have had more emotional impact, and would've provided more umph to the shame and horror he expresses to Padme later (I would've thrown in a little extra dialog about him killing all their animals, too, just for good measure.) It would also possibly have given some insight into the Dark Side and its dangers, and maybe even into Darth Maul... remember how tense he was while waiting for the energy-gates to come down... not completely out of control, because he had whatever training the Sith provide, but still seething, right on the brink of losing it.<br /><br />Finally, regarding Liam Neeson, yes! I absolutely agree that he should've done the Jedi ghost thing in AOTC and ROTS... at the very least a voiceover in AOTC and then a quickie appearance at the end of ROTS. I've never heard if he turned down Lucas or was never asked, but whatever happened, I think it was a mistake not to have him there...Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-66921039545540528302010-09-27T19:38:08.472-04:002010-09-27T19:38:08.472-04:00Part 2:
Regarding Anakin's slaughter of the ...Part 2: <br /><br />Regarding Anakin's slaughter of the sandpeople, I fall in the camp of wanting to see some more carnage, something that demonstrates just how scary someone tapping into the Dark Side really is. I've had debates with friends over what the Dark Side actually is and what the difference between Sith and Jedi is, and can it really be nothing more than letting yourself get pissed off? As Padme points out, human beings get angry It's in our nature. We see all of the Jedi get angry at one point or another -- Obi Wan when Qui Gon is struck down in TPM, Yoda and Mace when they're in action in AOTC -- but I don't believe anyone would say any of these characters have "gone dark," even for a moment. My own theory is that it's not anger itself that's dangerous, so much as losing control of yourself. We hear stories of soldiers in combat who essentially black out and do insanely brave and violent things like charging machine-gun nests and killing everyone inside. That seems a pretty natural effect of having people shooting at you to me. Now imagine you're not just a kid with a gun, but a person with superhuman abilities that essentially amount to magic... if you lose your shit, as they say, start acting without any rational or even conscious thought because you're scared or angry, the end result would be the horror of the Mi Lai massacre to the power of ten. Anakin was right to be ashamed of giving in to that... but then if you start to believe that you're a more effective warrior when you're in that irrational state, because you can kill more effectively or whatever... well, that's the Dark Side.<br /><br />So, what I would've liked to see in that scene is Anakin as a berserker, slaughtering all of the male Tuskens with everything at his disposal -- lightsaber, Force choke, telekenetically hurled objects -- <i>all at once</i>. None of the stately martial-arts choreography we've seen in previous lightsaber scenes, but nasty, messy, <i>out of control</i> actions. And when he's finished, he turns and sees the women and children huddling together in utter terror and for a moment we think he's done... but then his face hardens and he starts to stride toward them... and then we cut to Yoda.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-80384560004120252462010-09-27T19:36:44.723-04:002010-09-27T19:36:44.723-04:00Part 2:
Regarding Anakin's slaughter of the s...Part 2:<br /><br />Regarding Anakin's slaughter of the sandpeople, I fall in the camp of wanting to see some more carnage, something that demonstrates just how scary someone tapping into the Dark Side really is. I've had debates with friends over what the Dark Side actually is and what the difference between Sith and Jedi is, and can it really be nothing more than letting yourself get pissed off? As Padme points out, human beings get angry It's in our nature. We see all of the Jedi get angry at one point or another -- Obi Wan when Qui Gon is struck down in TPM, Yoda and Mace when they're in action in AOTC -- but I don't believe anyone would say any of these characters have "gone dark," even for a moment. My own theory is that it's not anger itself that's dangerous, so much as losing control of yourself. We hear stories of soldiers in combat who essentially black out and do insanely brave and violent things like charging machine-gun nests and killing everyone inside. That seems a pretty natural effect of having people shooting at you to me. Now imagine you're not just a kid with a gun, but a person with superhuman abilities that essentially amount to magic... if you lose your shit, as they say, start acting without any rational or even conscious thought because you're scared or angry, the end result would be the horror of the Mi Lai massacre to the power of ten. Anakin was right to be ashamed of giving in to that... but then if you start to believe that you're a more effective warrior when you're in that irrational state, because you can kill more effectively or whatever... well, that's the Dark Side.<br /><br />So, what I would've liked to see in that scene is Anakin as a berserker, slaughtering all of the male Tuskens with everything at his disposal -- lightsaber, Force choke, telekenetically hurled objects -- <i>all at once</i>. None of the stately martial-arts choreography we've seen in previous lightsaber scenes, but nasty, messy, <i>out of control</i> actions. And when he's finished, he turns and sees the women and children huddling together in utter terror and for a moment we think he's done... but then his face hardens and he starts to stride toward them... and then we cut to Yoda.<br /><br />It's not that I'm such a bloodthirsty viewer, but I think that would have had more emotional impact, and would've provided more umph to the shame and horror he expresses to Padme later (I would've thrown in a little extra dialog about him killing all their animals, too, just for good measure.) It would also possibly have given some insight into the Dark Side and its dangers, and maybe even into Darth Maul... remember how tense he was while waiting for the energy-gates to come down... not completely out of control, because he had whatever training the Sith provide, but still seething, right on the brink of losing it.<br /><br />Finally, regarding Liam Neeson, yes! I absolutely agree that he should've done the Jedi ghost thing in AOTC and ROTS... at the very least a voiceover in AOTC and then a quickie appearance at the end of ROTS. I've never heard if he turned down Lucas or was never asked, but whatever happened, I think it was a mistake not to have him there...Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-4305961630630552852010-09-27T19:36:18.445-04:002010-09-27T19:36:18.445-04:00Arriving very, very late for this party, for which...Arriving very, very late for this party, for which I profusely apologize. I just wanted to complement you on your usual fine job with these rewrite/analysis entries and comment on a couple points.<br /><br />Re: the thing with the Techno Union guy's control knob, I suspect George was just trying to be funny and/or provide a bit of personality to a group of bizarre-looking characters who otherwise have no defining characteristics, kind of like the bit with Bossk hissing at the Imperial officer who denounces bounty hunters as scum in <i>Empire</i>. There may have also have been some intention to show that technology is wonky even in this marvelous universe where there are machines to do everything, and possibly it was even meant to reference the theme of life being superior to tech in ANH. But that's probably waaaaay too much thought for this moment. I'll stick with "it was a joke that didn't quite work."Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001416935247782462noreply@blogger.com