Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Directed by Dave Filoni
Starring the voices of Matt Lanter, Ashley Ekstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman, and special guest stars Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Daniels.
Backstory
There are some things you do just because you’re a geek, and it’s expected of you. For me, going to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars was one of them. Unlike a lot of other Star Wars projects in recent years, there has just been zero excitement in the geek community for this one. No buzz…positive or negative. It’s kind of just…been there. But still, I was there on opening weekend, because I’m a geek and that’s what’s expected of me..
Plot
Those brave Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are on the front lines of the Clone Wars, fighting the separatist armies of Count Dooku! While fighting to liberate the planet of Christophsis, Anakin Skywalker gets a surprise: a padawn learner, a plucky tween by the name of Ahsoka Tano. As is the way of these things, Anakin and Ashoka don’t get along so well. But soon, the two are dispatched on their first mission. It seems that Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped by seperatist forces, and if the Jedi can rescue the huttlett, Jabba will let the Republic use his trade routes to strike at the separatist forces. Will Anakin and Ahsoka be able to put aside their bickering and save Jabba’s son?
What I Liked
There’s some fantastic action scenes, some great space battles, and a nice, incredibly subtle moment where Anakin quotes Qui-Gon Jinn.
What I Didn’t Like
Where to begin? How about Jabba the Hutt’s flaming homosexual uncle? Yeah…. And I’m all for strong female characters, but can we give the “plucky, wisecracking tween” archtype a rest now, please? And what was up with the music? Powerpuff Girls-style guitars for the Clonetrooper’s theme…Sin City-style saxophones for the Coruscant cityscapes…it didn’t work for me. We’ve all known for some time that this is just the first three episodes of the Clone Wars cartoon strung together into a movie, and it’s very, very obvious. And the animation is truly TV quality, not movie quality.
Final Assessment
I’ve watched a lot of mindless action shows targeted for 8-year olds in my time. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a mindless action show targeted for 8-year olds. The big problem? I’m not 8-years old anymore.