Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2 Disc Special Edition)

Three and a half stars for this one.

- 1st battle droid (during a heavy skirmish): "Concentrate fire on sector 11374265!"
- 2nd battle droid: "One, one, three... seven... What was that again?"

For a bit now, I've nursed a mad-on at George Lucas and his bungling of the Star Wars universe. But, in retrospect and after some years removed, the Star Wars prequel trilogy doesn't quite seem as awful as I thought (although Jar Jar Binks - grrrr!). Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition) went a long way to atoning for some of the sabotage done. Anyway, given that Lucas had already jumped the shark in a galaxy far, far away, I still wanted to approach STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS with a less prejudiced perspective, and this mindset pays off. Thanks to my super power of compartmentalizing, I actually had a good time watching this animated feature.

Chronologically, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS takes place between Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition) and EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. It also sets the stage for the new STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated television series on the Cartoon Network. As the movie opens, the Republic is at war with the Separatists. Even as Obi-Wan Kenobi is charged with negotiating a safe passage treaty with the galactic crime lord, Jabba the Hutt, who controls the Outer Rim shipping routes, Anakin Skywalker and his new, enthusiastic Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, go on a mission to rescue Jabba's abducted baby. Of course, this is exactly what the traitorous Count Dooku is counting on.

The vast leaps in moviemaking f/x seem to have an adverse effect in Lucas's storytelling ability. As one improves, the other degenerates. There's no escaping that THE CLONE WARS is strictly vanilla. It takes on the sensibilities of those old matinee serial movies, meaning that it's mostly a series of non-stop action sequences stretching out a bare bones plot. Basically, it's platoon after platoon of battle droids getting smashed, with the film occasionally breaking away to feature lightsaber throwdowns. Obviously pandering more towards younglings, it's no surprise that the movie feels shallow and that character development is quickly defenestrated. And, although the film serves to fill in some gaps during the Clone Wars, nothing really significant crops up to contribute to the Star Wars mythos. Not to mention, John Williams' classic theme score is woefully neglected. But, okay, for what it is, the film is nicely done and it succeeds on its objective, which is to draw in an audience for the then upcoming television cartoon series. For older Star Wars geeks, THE CLONE WARS is something to watch with the brain on park. I cringed a bit, though, during the opening moments, when that newsy voice-over goes into its monologue, ala STARSHIP TROOPERS.

Huge chunks of screen time are given to Anakin and his spirited 14-year-old apprentice. They make a hotheaded duo, and their constant, infantile bickerings serve to undermine the film, but, again, the kids will probably beg to differ. I shudder each time Ahsoka refers to Anakin as "Sky Guy" (he calls her "Snips"), although that's just another element of their older brother/younger sister dynamics.

Although many relevant characters from the live action films appear, it's disconcerting that so few of the original actors lend their voices to this film. In Hayden Christensen's case, this is probably a good thing, as less of him equates to fewer apoplexies suffered by the viewers. Samuel J. Jackson, Christopher Lee and Anthony Daniels do show up, and their voices are invaluable. The CG animation here is angular and stylized. In its look, it veers away from the animation style of the 2003 CLONE WARS television micro-series (see Star Wars - Clone Wars, Vol. 1). In a way, it more resembles the marionette style of those 1960s Thunderbirds shows, although, thankfully, the animation here is much, much more fluid. It's no Pixar material, but I kinda dug it.

Boil it down? STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS offers a subpar story but sort of makes up for it with pretty cool battle sequences and decent animation. I even grew fond of Ahsoka Tano, who, in her eagerness and recklessness, is much like Anakin when he was younger. Probably why they end up getting along. As usual, there's that blend of panoramic space opera and Jedi mysticism. Death rays and magic swords. And the battle robots get the funniest lines.

But what happens to Ahsoka Tano that we don't see her in REVENGE OF THE SITH? Or did I miss something?

STOP SCREWING WITH THIS FRANCHISE, I BEG YOU. Episodes 4 - 6 practically re-invented the sci-fi genre, but then Episodes 1 - 3 took a serious downturn, due in no small part to the mis-casting of Hayden Christensen and also the violation of what you had set up in 4 - 6. George, what was the point of this film? Where in the timeline of the series does this movie fall? Why didn't we see Anakin's padawan in any of the live-action films? Why have plot and character been sacrificed at the altar of the aciton sequence? Granted, this is an animated movie, which usually means a kid's movie, and with their short attention spans, things have to be kept moving, but understand their parents are the same people who saw Episdoes 4 - 6 when they were kids themselves and are ruining it for them. You are ruining this once-great franchise, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP SCREWING WITH IT!!! Thank you.

PS: May the Force be with you again, because you've certainly lost it.

Most fans of the Star Wars movies will enjoy this animated filler that gives us some background information about what happened between Star Wars Episode II and III. The graphics won't impress you to the point you say, wow that's good, but they are decent enough that you shouldn't mind watching them. The storyline is also good enough to hold the interest of most people that liked the movies. Worth at least a rental. Good quality DVD with some replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury".

CA Luster

Let me first start out by saying I am a 100% Star Wars fanboy. I own zero movies on DVD/Blu-Ray except for anything Star Wars.

That being said, I thought that it was a good idea for Lucasfilm animation to release a movie to promote/kick-off the Cartoon Network series. This movie, however, was not their best effort. I usually think everything that comes out of the Lucas camp is gold, but this one was way below average. A big miss people
Like other reviewers have stated, the story was very poor. I mean all the great writers from the expanded universe books and this is the best they can do? I love the prequel era books. I have read too may to count. Almost all of them are just fantastic. They have great characters unlike Asoka. I want her gone now. The "Skyguy" nickname made me cringe. It was the worst.

Enough about the bad, let's talk about the good. I have watched every episode of the Cartoon Network show on TV and it is just great. Why didn't they make the storyline for the movie like the series? They have the feel of Star Wars and I can't wait till they are released on Blu-Ray. Great job Lucasfilm animation on the network series. They are phenomenal. Now just collect all the remaining copies of the Clone Wars animated movie and bury them in the desert ala "E.T." the game.
May we never speak of this again.

The August 2008 release is set between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It is a stand-alone story and - crucially - was designed as an introduction to a weekly animated TV series of the same name.

The animation-style has the look of Japanese anime and manga, while giving a nod to the supermarionation of the classic British 1960s series, Thunderbirds. The fight scenes are visually stunning in this presentation, though the dialogue to push the story forward often suffers from being quite stilted.

What makes for a successful TV series does not necessarily translate to the large screen (the reverse is also true). While obviously aimed at younger audiences and as a marketing tool, it does not set the foundation to propel this Star Wars universe concept into a remarkable movie franchise.