Far-reaching effects. (editor's note).(Reader survey rates special effects of Star Wars: Episode II)

As is our habit every year about this time, the staff members of Computer Graphics Worm slipped quietly out of our offices one Friday afternoon and met friends, coworkers, families, and other computer graphics enthusiasts in the lobby of our local theater to see the summer's visual effects extravaganza and box office blockbuster, which this year, of course, was Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones. It's demanding work, but someone has to do it.

Because computer-generated imagery had advanced so dramatically in the three years since Episode I premiered (we also played hooky to see that one), our expectations for the effects couldn't have been higher. Would they be the most spectacular yet? Would they change movies forever?

When the film ended, we compared notes, but soon discovered they were indecipherable, having been scribbled in the dark. So we came up with a list of questions, which we posted on our internal network for a group discussion and on our Web site for readers to comment on. Here are 10 questions and a digest of responses:

1. Do the digital visual effects in Star Wars: Episode II represent a milestone? The film represents a huge evolutionary leap forward, if not a milestone. Granted, other films have had visual effects that were technically or aesthetically superior to those in Episode II, including scenes involving digital humans, natural effects, and scientific or biological simulations. And Episode I already introduced many effects that we have come to expect in a Star Wars film. But Episode II contains an unprecedented range of visual effects--including digital characters, creatures, cityscapes, architectures, landscapes, space scenes, chase scenes, battle scenes, explosions, duels, advanced technologies, and the like--many of which represent true innovation in their own right.

2. Which were the most innovative digital characters? Yoda, because he gains a greater range and subtlety of expression yet retains his original puppet-like appearance; the huge, spider-crab creature in the arena on the rock planet, Geonosis, because of the terrifying realism of its screaming, jabbing attack; the tall, doe-eyed Kaminoan cloners on the water planet, Kamino, because of their graceful movements and realistic clothing simulations; The clones, because of their sheer numbers and realistic human movements.

3. Which were the most innovative action scenes? The chase scene through Coruscant where Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in an airspeedar, track the would-be assassin of Senator Padme Amidala; the fight between Obi-Wan and bounty hunter Jango Fett on Kamino; the chase scene through the Geonosian asteroid belt when Imago and his clone-son, Boba, chase and fire on Obi-Wan's Jedi starfighter; the many-layered, chaotic battle between the clones and droids on Geonosis.

4. Which were the most innovative settings or environments? The idyllic lake-country on Naboo, home planet of Padme; the moonlit vistas of the rock planet, Geonosis; the droid factory on Geonosis; the clone center on Kamino; Dex's Diner; the Jedi library; and favorites: the Coruscant city districts and Senate Chamber.