“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Review
Posted on August 18, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
I remember the exact moment that I completely lost faith in the Star Wars prequels. It was during the climactic arena battle in Attack of the Clones, while R2D2 dragged C-3PO’s detached head back to his gold-plated droid body. That’s when Threepio groaned, in his inimitable manner, “This is such a drag.” Get it? Drag? Oh, George — you’re such a kidder!
Over the past few years, however, my opinion on the prequel trilogy has softened considerably. I’ve steadily grown to appreciate the intricacies of Palpatine’s grand plot to overthrow the Republic, Ewan McGregor’s charming performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the understated menace of Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, the spectacular lightsaber duels, the gorgeous special effects…I’ve even made peace with Jar Jar Binks (almost). No, the prequels aren’t perfect. No, they don’t live up to the Original Trilogy. Nevertheless, there are some pretty decent Star Wars moments lurking in Episodes I through III.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is Lucas’ latest entry in the Star Wars saga, a CGI-animated flick set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Essentially a theatrical pilot for the upcoming television series of the same name, The Clone Wars has been met with dismal reviews from critics and Star Wars fans alike. For instance, Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star raves, “Pretty much drives a stake into the heart of every loyal fan of the movies!”
Well, I’ve seen The Clone Wars…and it isn’t that bad. At least I didn’t think so. I’ll address some of the most common criticisms leveled at the film after the jump.
Criticism: Ahsoka Tano is the most annoying character since Jar Jar.
Criticism: The animation is cruddy.
Criticism: The plot feels too episodic, like a television series.
Criticism: Ziro the Hutt is flamboyantly offensive/offensively flamboyant.
Criticism: The storyline is inconsequential to the Star Wars saga as a whole.
Criticism: It’s a stupid kids’ movie.
Maybe it’s just me, but The Clone Wars didn’t seem like the franchise-killing train wreck so many reviewers and fans have made it out to be. Despite a few missteps (I’m looking at you, Ziro), the film offers high-impact action sequences along with some genuinely fun character moments that tap into that undeniable Star Wars charm. Furthermore, Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress is a darkly captivating villain who makes the most of her limited screen time, Christopher Lee once again strikes all the right chords as Dooku, and the actors providing the voices for Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé turn in solid performances.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars may not measure up to Genndy Tartakovsky’s similarly-titled Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series from a few years back (much less the best moments of the Original Trilogy), but it’s a decent enough movie in a post-prequel world. If nothing else, it has me looking forward to the debut of the television series later this Fall…which, I suppose, was the entire point of the film in the first place.
The verdict: B-
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Geek, Pop Culture |
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It’s sad to say, but at this point, expectations are ridiculously high, that even with the knowledge of what the prequels were, people are still expecting way too much out of these sorts of endeavors.
I’m a pretty big Star Wars fan, but I knew it was basically the first three episodes of the upcoming series because I can freakin’ read. That being said, not gonna pay to see it on the big screen, and never planned to unless the wife really jonesed to see it (because you don’t mess with the pregnant woman). I figure if the show starts before it hits DVD I’ll just catch up the hard way.
Well thank you, this was the first fair review of Clone Wars I’ve seen so far. Every other reviewer has jumped on the “it’s from George Lucas, so it MUST be terrible” bandwagon. My only criticism to your review is, what in the world makes the Genndy Tartakovsky series so incredible to you? Personally, I thought the animation was terrible, the stories just passable, and this version was much much better. Again, its just a case of “someone made it other than Lucas, so it MUST be great”. Ugh. Anyway, thanks for the fair and honest review. Loved this movie, can’t wait for the series, and any true SW fan should definitely see this on the big screen.
I can’t make peace with the Jar Jar situation. I still feel like George had a big plan for him, and all the fans ruined it and forced George’s hand to turn Jar Jar into a senator who stands around in the background doing nothing. Episode 1 ended with him in the army - why is he not a hardcore killing machine in the sequels? Who wouldn’t like a version of Jar Jar that says “Hello, boyo” before snapping someone’s neck?
@Bart: “I knew it was basically the first three episodes…because I can freakin’ read.” Excellent point. Too many reviewers were treating The Clone Wars like it was supposed to be the Third Coming of George Lucas. Unlike the prequels, I don’t think The Clone Wars was ever intended to be the NEXT! STAR WARS! MOVIE! Instead, Lucas has described the theatrical release as “almost an afterthought.” I can’t help but wonder, though, whether the underwhelming response to the theatrical release is going to tarnish the new series rather than promote it. I imagine if most fans flipped on Cartoon Network and saw The Clone Wars, they’d be fairly impressed. Put it in a movie theater, however, and suddenly people start developing unrealistic expectations.
@Bryan: I don’t know that I’d describe Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars as incredible, but I did enjoy it. Why? I tend to prefer traditional 2D animation over 3D CGI, and the battle scenes from the earlier series were downright gorgeous. I also liked the stripped-down, minimalistic storytelling used in the series. Finally, Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars gave us a chance to focus on some more obscure characters from the prequel era. That being said, I’m pumped about the new series, too. I think it should be fun.
@Datadog: Yeah, that aspect of the Jar Jar situation bugs me too. If you cram him down our throats in Phantom Menace, at least make it pay off story-wise in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Yes, he’s the Senator that introduces the emergency powers proposal in Episode II, but, if I’m not mistaken, Jar Jar doesn’t even have a line of dialogue in Episode III. As you said, it felt like Lucas was just going out of his way to pander to the fans who hated Jar Jar (although I’m sure he’s argue that Jar Jar’s story arc has been firmly in place since 1976).
I’ve always thought it would have been awesome if Lucas had responded to complaints about Jar Jar by having the Gungan find a suit of Mandalorian armor in Episode II and become the fans’ beloved Boba Fett. “Meesa bombad bounty hunter now! Whee!” *spins, falls down*
Nice review, I’m glad that it wasn’t a terrible movie.
Lol @ Datadog where Jar Jar says “Hello, boyo” and snaps someone’s neck haha.
I think this movie would be okay to watch on DVD or on TV, I should wouldn’t pay to see it in the theaters, its a shame because the Star Wars universe has so much fantastic lore and stories in it, and so many wonderful fanfics too.
@Jess: You’re not mistaken. He never once opens his mouth in that movie. We see him standing in the background near the beginning, and then he presides over Amidala’s funeral at the end. I’ll forever wonder what could’ve happened if George didn’t give in to the whining.
Lucas essentially screwed his original trilogy when he went and made the prequels. Too much action, too much CGI, criminally underused characters (Dooku, Jango Fett, all the random Jedi who didn’t have speaking roles); the whole lot just felt contrived. If not for the inclusion of Anakin, Obi, Yoda, and Palpatine it could have been some “Expanded Universe” story. I’ve come to the conclusion that George lost his creativity after the original Star Wars and Indy movies and is now attempting to cash-in on his old franchises so he can continue renovating his ranch.
As far as the CGI, just looking at the posters for Clone Wars makes me hate it. I know they were trying for the whole “cartoony” style, but this just looks crappy. If the folks in charge of this need some pointers, they should take a look at Valve’s Team Fortress 2 promotional machinima. THIS is how CGI+cartoons is done.
i enjoyed it.
A Star Wars Fan’s Defense of Ziro: Hutts are hermaphroditic. They’re slugs, essentially, and are never truly one gender. However, canon books and the previous movies have established that they will take on a preferred gender pronoun, to interface better on the Galactic market. Jabba was “male” most of the time (save when he gave birth to Rotta “Stinky” Disilijiac Tiurre) and Gardulla, Anakin’s old slaveowner, was “female” most of the time. Ziro is also important in adding the Black Sun Criminal syndicate presence to the films in a larger fashion. Fans of the action figures or video games will remember Shadows of the Empire, originally a Steve Perry novel. Prince Xizor’s criminal organization is a tremendous influence on the galaxy, and informing the fandom that Ziro was a vigo (lieutenant) in that organization is of importance.