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Here's my review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Executive summary: meh.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
There is something about all Star Wars films that makes them enjoyable, even if they are not particularly good. Inevitably, there comes a moment where a beloved character is in peril or a crucial outcome is in jeopardy, the music picks up at just the right moment, and we experience that lovely rush of excited memory.
There are such lovely rushes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but they are few and far between, and what is between them makes for a pitiable contrast. Everything here is dumbed down. The give-and-take is slow and easy to process, the character dynamics are simplistic, and the film telegraphs its relatively few turns. This is Star Wars for children.
Set between the events of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, this installment narrows in on some of the specific battles and events in the "Clone Wars" we've heard so much about. The central event is the kidnapping of Jabba the Hut's son. Jabba controls certain trade routes, and both sides of the conflict vie for his favor by promising to rescue him, like two armies struggling for control of a strategically important bridge.
Most of the characters are the same, but most of the voices are new. Obi-Wan Kenobi is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, Anakin Skywalker by Matt Lanter, and Tom Kane does an uncanny Yoda. The only major voice talents to reprise their physical roles are Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0), and Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu).
The primary addition to the cast is Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), a Padawan learner assigned to Anakin. Ahsoka's design is interesting (ever seen a Jedi in a tube top?), but as written the character couldn't be shallower. Not content to embody a single cliche, she is both the wisecracking-sidekick-who-disobeys-orders and the precocious-amateur-determined-to-prove-their-worth.
At almost every turn, the film undermines its own attempts at producing any sort of tension. I look forward to the day when we no longer have to hear someone responding to criticism during a battle with a sarcastic "I'm a little busy right now!" Ahsoka and Anakin attempt to banter during almost every action sequence, a form of subtraction by addition which is devoid of wit or originality.
The voice work is passable for the most part, but laughably bad at times. An extended member of the Hut clan sounds disturbingly like Truman Capote, and many characters come to a halting stop at every period.
All these problems become a bit less surprising when you consider the tremendous work which must have gone into the film's technical aspects. George Lucas' epic world has been heavily stylized, but retains its core look and feel. Character wear their hair like rigid helmets, and have impossibly exaggerated, angular faces that reflect their personalities. The stylistic choices are bold, but it works unequivocally and is lovely to look at, even if Senator Palpatine looks uncannily like Joe Lieberman.
There are some bright spots outside of the art direction. A vertical fight on the face of a massive cliff is particularly inventive, though all too short. If nothing else, the sequence shows us that Star Wars can work in animated form, provided they find the right story. This isn't it.
There is something about all Star Wars films that makes them enjoyable, even if they are not particularly good. Inevitably, there comes a moment where a beloved character is in peril or a crucial outcome is in jeopardy, the music picks up at just the right moment, and we experience that lovely rush of excited memory.
There are such lovely rushes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but they are few and far between, and what is between them makes for a pitiable contrast. Everything here is dumbed down. The give-and-take is slow and easy to process, the character dynamics are simplistic, and the film telegraphs its relatively few turns. This is Star Wars for children.
Set between the events of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, this installment narrows in on some of the specific battles and events in the "Clone Wars" we've heard so much about. The central event is the kidnapping of Jabba the Hut's son. Jabba controls certain trade routes, and both sides of the conflict vie for his favor by promising to rescue him, like two armies struggling for control of a strategically important bridge.
Most of the characters are the same, but most of the voices are new. Obi-Wan Kenobi is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, Anakin Skywalker by Matt Lanter, and Tom Kane does an uncanny Yoda. The only major voice talents to reprise their physical roles are Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0), and Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu).
The primary addition to the cast is Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), a Padawan learner assigned to Anakin. Ahsoka's design is interesting (ever seen a Jedi in a tube top?), but as written the character couldn't be shallower. Not content to embody a single cliche, she is both the wisecracking-sidekick-who-disobeys-orders and the precocious-amateur-determined-to-prove-their-worth.
At almost every turn, the film undermines its own attempts at producing any sort of tension. I look forward to the day when we no longer have to hear someone responding to criticism during a battle with a sarcastic "I'm a little busy right now!" Ahsoka and Anakin attempt to banter during almost every action sequence, a form of subtraction by addition which is devoid of wit or originality.
The voice work is passable for the most part, but laughably bad at times. An extended member of the Hut clan sounds disturbingly like Truman Capote, and many characters come to a halting stop at every period.
All these problems become a bit less surprising when you consider the tremendous work which must have gone into the film's technical aspects. George Lucas' epic world has been heavily stylized, but retains its core look and feel. Character wear their hair like rigid helmets, and have impossibly exaggerated, angular faces that reflect their personalities. The stylistic choices are bold, but it works unequivocally and is lovely to look at, even if Senator Palpatine looks uncannily like Joe Lieberman.
There are some bright spots outside of the art direction. A vertical fight on the face of a massive cliff is particularly inventive, though all too short. If nothing else, the sequence shows us that Star Wars can work in animated form, provided they find the right story. This isn't it.
