I will let you know now that this will be the nerdiest, dorkiest, most loserish review I'll ever do (and I don't care if any of those words exist). But I raised myself in the Jedi arts (Star Wars geek I mean), and I felt obliged to get myself to the movies to see this one. And as destiny would have it, or as forseen by The Emperor (see first sentence of this paragraph), I got out of work earlier, and was able to drive straight to the theater to see:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Taking place between Episodes II and III, we find well-known Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are leading the Republic clone troopers against the Separatist droid army (if you don't know any of this, Republic are the good guys, Separatists are the bad guys). In the midst of battle, they are given the special assignment of rescuing the son of crime lord Jabba the Hutt (fan or not, you should know who he is). Anakin is given a partner in Jedi-trainee Ahsoka Tano, and throughout the mission find that the Sith known as Count Dooku (another bad guy) has orchestrated the kidnapping, but also plans to ruin the Jedi in the process. Can the Jedi save the day?
For you to fully understand this movie, I'm going to review this two ways: from the standpoint of a Star Wars fan, and that of a general viewer (no, I don't have multiple personalities). So here we go:
Star Wars Fan: If the people who make the Star Wars films are good at anything, it's special effects. Although the movie is completely computer animated, the details are some of the strongest out there. The battlescenes and backgrounds are as detailed as can be. And the action is pretty much non-stop, with mere moments of inaction between the various battles the rage on around and involving all characters. Also, the characters that we know and love are true to character, not deviating from their equals in the actual prequels.
However, the constant activity in the film hinders the building of its characters, especially that of Ahsoka, who is new to the franchise all-together. Hopefully the television series soon to follow this will get into her origins more. Sadly as well, almost all the voices are new, none of them being done by well-known actors. It was nice that Samuel L. Jackson (no, he didn't say "mother f%*#er" in this one) and Christopher Lee provided their voices, but their parts weren't as strong. And sadly, the traditional "scrolling of the story so far" is missing from this film. Not a major letdown, but moreover because they replaced it with sort of a "newsflash" introduction.
Casual Fan: The movie's animation and tones make this not only a very kid-friendly film (I suspect many will become future Star Wars fans........not that there's anything wrong with that), but also mature enough for an adult to enjoy. Even the humorous lines can get a chuckle out out of everyone. And as expected, Lucasfilm delivers immensely on the special effects, which even adapt well with the somewhat cartoonish look of the characters (this is supposed to be a cartoon, so it works). Simply put, this movie is as visually entertaining as you can get.
But all the visuals make it so that any true acting (It's only voices, but it counts. Ever see "Phonebooth"? Kiefer Sutherland only has his voice in it, and he was the film's best actor) is almost non-existant. Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are the only ones who they delve into, but only for about 10 total minutes between the two. Also related to this, the epic-feel of this movie should mean that more characters should be involved. Unfortunately, they're not. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka get the most lines, while the rest of the cast pop in and out for a few lines, barely contributing anything. They attempted to give Padme Amidala some time towards the end of the film, but this ends up throwing the flow off towards the end.
Back to my normal self, it's clear-cut that this movie was made for every Star Wars fan out there, and even manages to appeal to children as well. Also viewers who like visual aspects and simple characters might actually enjoy this as well (although those leaning towards the realm of sci-fi might appreciate this film more). I know the critics weren't fairly receptive to this movie because it lacks good characters, but I give the movie a little more credit (that's not a bias because I'm a Star Wars fan, I swear to it). I'm sure that the crew behind this movie wanted to save the best for the TV show that will be coming out soon. And for those of you who are fans, the movie sets the tone for what happens in Episode III. Like Count Dooku put it:
"This war will become very difficult for us."
Yeah, he had no clue he was gonna get screwed. Same for the rest of the galaxy........thanks to one man named Anakin.
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