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One sound can bring you back
Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones
Writers: George Lucas & Jonathan Hales
Director: George Lucas
Ranking Star Wars films can be a fruitless endeavor. With more movies on the way, it’s a given you’re going to have to adjust the list and, just when you think you have a handle on your own personal ranking, your mood changes. It’s entirely conceivable that you could “rank” the Star Wars movies differently every single day. However, it is a relatively safe bet to say that 2002’s Attack of the Clones will, more often than not, find its way to the bottom of the list.
Containing some of the stiffest dialogue in the already maligned prequels, as well as some of the most cringe-worthy comedy moments, Episode II can prove to be a challenge for even the most celebratory Star Wars fans. Yet…YET…there are some great Star Wars moments within that movie. Moments that are often rediscovered and appreciated upon repeated viewings. And much like how Darth Maul or the furrowed brow of Qui-Gon Jinn kept the harder-to-please fans around for The Phantom Menace, there is one sound that continues to bring people back to Attack of the Clones: the sounds of the seismic charges.
With Obi-Wan Kenobi in hot pursuit of Jango Fett’s iconic Slave I spaceship, the bounty hunter heads directly into the asteroid field around the planet Geonosis. With his son Boba cackling at his side, Jango releases a canister from the back of the ship. Kenobi’s astromech R4-P17 beeps a warning as the Jedi exclaims, “Seismic charges!” Watching this for the first time, a Star Wars fan might assume what’s coming. An explosion. (I mean, it’s always an explosion, right?)
It is an explosion! But this is an explosion unlike any previously seen—and heard—in Star Wars. A bright blue ball of energy pops onto the screen and is promptly followed by silence. Yes. Silence. Like a hit rock radio single pausing just before the band hits the catchy chorus, the sound design of the seismic charge contains a powerful beat of deafening silence. Then as the waves of the charge magnificently spread out through space, ripping apart any asteroids it finds in its path, we get to hear vibrating, metallic roar that absolutely dazzles your ears.
And then, as you try to process the mesmerizing effect you’ve just witnessed, Jango releases a second one and you hold your breath in anticipation—because you’re downright excited for a sound effect! Obi-Wan manages to escape both charges and his private eye detective mission continues, but the seismic charges linger in your senses just a little longer.
It’s another moment of triumph for legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. Like the Pew Pew Pew of the blasters before this and countless other sounds and noises, Burtt has given us one of the most delectable feasts for our eyes and ears. Described as an “audio black hole,” Burtt drew inspiration from the airlock sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey and an old sound editor recalling the method of “painting” out sound just prior to explosions in old films. Whatever the inspirations, Burtt succeeds in creating a memorable moment…and memorable moments bring you back.
Is it a far stretch to say ONE sound kept many fans around for a movie they didn’t enjoy? Maybe. But it can’t be denied: the seismic charges are at the top of the “yeah, but…” list for this movie.
Fan One: “I didn’t really like Attack of the Clones.”
Fan Two: “Yeah, but…those seismic charges were really cool.”
Fan One: “Oh, yeah, I love those!”
Buried beneath the silly comedy, the somewhat stilted love story, and awkward CGI clone troopers of Episode II are some important moments in the greater Star Wars saga. They are there for you to enjoy. You just have to break through the challenging stuff like, you know, a seismic charge exploding through asteroids in the middle of a space fight.