Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army. Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side ...
| Anthony Daniels | C-3PO |
| Tom Kane | Yoda |
| Dave Filoni |
5.20 out of 10 (9957 votes)
Visitor Reviews
This movie sucks!
posted on 16 Aug 2009This remains yet the worst in the Trilogy. It contains cartoon graphics instead of human graphics. No pros whatsoever. No one much liked this movie. This is still between episodes 2 and 3. There can't be anything helped with this movie and it was not so good. Knowing this is based on Cartoon Network's running series it just does not interest everyone. Nobody cares and it will be a left-off title. So why watch something that does not match human graphics? There is no telling this is a movie you should never watch. George Lucas made the mistake not us. It makes us feel bad. So this movie blows.Never seek eyes to watch this movie!
If you like (or Love) Star Wars, you will like this movie
posted on 14 Aug 2009Let me qualify these remarks by saying I am definitely a "Fanboy" (though a pretty old one), so I am not unbiased. On the other hand, I don't think Eps II and III were very good. But I'll have to review them on their own sometime.I liked "The Clone Wars" quite a lot, though I don't know how plausible it is for Anakin to have a padawan. But it was fun and light-hearted, unlike the bummer-fest that Ep III turned out to be (I know, it's the nature of the story, but SW is supposed to be fun!). I just wish it had been a little longer. At about 100 minutes, I think they could have put in a little more (maybe another subplot).Critics have been complaining about the quality of the animation. I don't think it is bad, though it's definitely not the best. As I was watching it I realized that it kind of looked like a cutscene from a video game.In the end, this movie has the elements that I need from Star Wars: a pretty good story (that's actually well-paced (not non-stop action, but not boring in any of the slower parts)); fun action sequences; and lightsaber battles! If you were bummed out by Ep III, you will be pleasantly surprised by The Clone Wars.
Not too bad
posted on 12 Aug 2009I'm giving this a 6 because I thought it was worth 5.6. And lots of zero votes which it didn't deserve.If you don't expect a lot, it's not too bad and pretty entertaining. Yes there are some clunky dialog moments, and some animation slip-ups. I personally liked the 'painted' style they were going for including the background and planet plates.I consider myself a 'former' hardcore Starwars fan, lost it with the prequels.My oldest, 11, said 'Oh Brother' quite a few times in the theater. The younger 2 boys, 8 and 5, liked it quite a bit, esp. the 5 year old.All in all, a good matinée especially if you have younger kids.
Yeah, well it is Star Wars.
posted on 10 Aug 2009Star Wars has taken a new turn with this one. From the original genius of Episodes 4 to 6, with it's marvellous cinematography, inspirational John William's score and phenomenal cast, we have now traversed the realm of 100% animation, somewhat lame casting voices, ho hum musical score and nonsensical plot. Here, we have 2 Jedi masters, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, travelling the galaxy in search of all things, Jabba The Hutt's son. The idea being if the little ball of saturated fats can be rescued, the Hutts (who are crime lords after all!!) will allow the good guys access to the trade space lanes which will give an advantage over Count Dooku's bad guys. Being a Star Wars plot, the rest of the story should be fairly obvious.It's hard to decipher what the producers were after in this one. It can't be just for kids, as the violence, while low impact, is continuous. It can't be for adults, who would find the animated story and plot too silly. It could only be for fans of Star Wars, begging for more canon. If that is the case, there would be many more successful stories that could have been worked on. Perhaps the Grand Admiral Thrawn trilogy would have been a better choice. Those books have merit, and possibly would have been a better choice even with the animation.Overall... Ho hum. 5/10
May the Force help us!!!
posted on 08 Aug 2009Im a huge fan of STAR WARS, but this movie is the worst thing I ever see in years. The plot is predictable because we already knew the story, the animation is bad and the score is a sad version of the original and beautiful music created by John Williams. The character of Ahsoka Tano is annoying and the disgusting son of Jabba the Hutt is the more stupid idea created in the Star Wars universe. Do Lucas want to squeeze the money machine of his franchise or what? Besides, why to repeat the same Clone Wars story. If you ran out of ideas better step down, Mr Lucas. I only have one thing to say to one of my biggest heroes in cinema: "Mr. Lucas, Sir, it's enough".
Cloning Around
posted on 08 Aug 2009To me, Star Wars is a live action concept.The Clone Wars is a fairly cool animated product aimed at a younger audience.Some of the backgrounds are very cool.But it's not Star Wars.There was no scrolling of letters at the beginning, telling the story.There was no John Williams authentic orchestral music.See? It's not the real Star Wars.Well, I'm jaded. The real Star Wars died when I was 17 years old, when I graduated high school in 1983.Half of Return of the Jedi was good, and that was the end of the real Star Wars.The real intergalactic story is that after making American Graffiti and Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, an evil alien presence took over the body of George Lucas.This new George Lucas was no longer interested in creating movies that would last almost forever, but rather he seemed to be interested in making as much money as possible (for what purpose, I do not know. He will not live forever, and other than three of his early films, neither will his movies.In an ancient interview, a long time ago, George said his reason for making movies was to make money to make more great movies. He seems to have forgotten that last part...The original George Lucas also said that his intention was to use Star Wars profits to enable other talented filmmakers the opportunity to put truly original and fresh visions out there.He reneged on this promise as well.It seems that our hero George has become a villain and the embodiment of greed and lack of creativity in the galaxy. I can hear his breathing wheeze now...Why? Doesn't he have enough money already? Why not tell a completely new stories that have nothing to do with Star Wars?Why did the genius creative filmmaker become a mere businessman working for the dark side?For more, please visit my movie review site, by putting Curtis Smale Movie Reviews into the Dogpile search engine.
wasn't as bad as everyones saying
posted on 04 Aug 2009i just got back from the movie and i gotta say, wasn't that bad. it did have a few kiddie qualities that kinda bugged me (ie anakins and asokas constant nickname thing :P) but the action is up to snuff with starwars movies so it wasn't that bad, they added more comedy to the movies for the kids and some of the jokes are actually pretty funny. I'm 20 and love the original 3 and the newer ones r pretty good too and i think i would have liked this movie a lot more if it was done live action or at least in the original animation instead of the blocky 3-D art(see the clone wars TV series to know what i mean). overall the movie was enjoyable and i could see why some fans wouldn't like it, but i also think some fans are waaay to stuck up, i mean come on the pt of going to a movie is to have fun and enjoy the movie. i also think it wasn't as good due to lack of grevious who would have been amazingly awesome if he was the same as in the clone wars TV show XP overall not that bad and fairly enjoyable.
"Ziro" the Hutt is RIGHT....
posted on 02 Aug 2009The movie looked good enough in terms of animation but featured writing that was (as impossible as it seems) worse than the standard Star Wars scribblings, and its inclusion of some key points made it almost unbearable - notably overuse of nicknames (Skyguy, Snips, and Stinky form a weird trio), the focus on Jabba's son (that'd be "Stinky" the Hutt), and even the barest presence of Jabba's uncle, Ziro.And on that point, who knew that Jabba the Hutt had a drag queen uncle...? If you think I'm kidding, please don't pay a lot to see this movie and get the confirmation of that. Just take my word for it or, at most, wait for this thing on video.
The Summer's Biggest Disappointment
posted on 29 Jul 2009When I heard that there would be a new Star Wars film, I was very excited. When I heard that it would be animated, I started to have my doubts. Upon the mountain of negative reviews that the film received, I prepared myself for the worst. It was a good thing that I did, because even with my lowered expectations, this film was a crushing disappointment.It's not just that it adds nothing whatsoever to the franchise, but that it is so poorly and stiffly executed. Yes, it is a chance to catch up with your favourite characters from the Star Wars universe. But, apart from some spirited vocal work from the likes of James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), these characters are caricatures of the characters that we know and love. Also, due to the wall-to-wall action, there is little chance for any character development beyond what we've already deciphered.The plot is simple and, to be honest, almost non-existent. The Clone Wars are under way, with the valiant heroes of the Republic trying to put an end to the evil plans of the Separatists. Two of the best Jedi generals, Anakin Skywalker (voice of Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Taylor) are given an important mission which concerns the gangster Jabba the Hut and his kidnapped son. Also aiding them on this mission is Anakin's new apprentice Ahsoka Tano (voice of Ashley Eckstein). However, the sinister Sith Lord Count Dooku (voice of Christopher Lee), along with agents such as the deadly Asajj Ventress (voice of Nika Futterman), will stop at nothing to foil the Jedi's mission.The Clone Wars' major saving grace is its action. However, even though there are good moments, such as a vertical battle on a cliff-face, there are still lacklustre moments, such as the lightsaber duels, which fail to capture any of the intensity or imagination which one might expect. There are some successful moments of comedy, mostly due to the increased vocabulary of the Separatist battle droids.However, The Clone Wars' advantages can't cover up its monumental failings. The direction is rigid, the dialogue is poor and the animation is wooden. If real actors had performed the lightsaber fights with better choreography, they would have been much more realistic and intense.Overall, this is a stain on the name of one of the greatest franchises of all time. I hate to use the term "cash-in" not even a week after seeing the lazy dance flick Make It Happen, but it seems to be the best term to describe this soulless mess.
Sky-Guy, Stinky and Snips
posted on 25 Jul 2009I took my kids, ages 6, 9 and 11 to see this. With that in mind, here's my take, based on their reaction and my own experience.My background is: I saw SW on the big screen back in 1977 and have been a fan ever since. Today I am a member of the Star Wars fan club (Hyperspace, on sw official site) and follow along with SW news, buy the video games and novels, and have a VAST collection of the toys (invested over $5,000 I'm sure - but hey, I have kids!). So I suppose you could say I am a "fanboy" or at the very least a more than average fan. :) I knew this was being made for television - NOT for the big screen - and thus viewed it as a pilot for a "made for kids" (Nick or CN) television series. With the budget and baggage that implies.With that background, and thanks to some scathing reviews (AICN Harry, CHUD, etc.) my expectations were phenomenally low before entering the theater. (Basically, I was just watching this for the kids' sake because they were begging me to take them.) Verdict: It was actually pretty good! Yes, there were parts that sucked, there were even a few things I hated (just like there were in the prequels and ROTJ), but for the most part, I was very impressed and even blown away by the shear scope of this made-for-TV movie! I couldn't believe the quality (again, for a TV-show). It was funny, exciting, even engaging at times. And considering the budget and target audience, it was really very good.Here's what didn't work for me:1) As much as I tried, I really didn't like the new teen-padawan, Ahsoka. She was annoying and imo inconsistent with the established rules for Jedi: They are always (Anakin being the sole exception) enlisted as infants or toddlers. They grow up being indoctrinated by Jedi teachings. They learn respect, humility, patience, etc as "younglings" long before being assigned to a Master. Thus Ahsoka's rebellious high-school attitude is very much askew.2) The bantering may have been OK, but the pathetic (American High-School style) nicknames got old REAL fast. Not one single time did Ahsoka call Anakin by his real name (Skywalker or even Anakin). It was always "Sky Guy" - complete disrespect! I can't recall one single time Anakin referred to Ahsoka by her name either (though a friend of mine disagrees), he was always calling her "Snips"! WTF? And the final straw was them both constantly referring to Jabba's son as "Stinky". All. The. Time. (Just thinking of it raises my blood pressure.)That's pretty much what I hated. There were some other very minor annoyances, but easily forgotten in the big picture. Now, here's what really worked:1) Beautiful animation. I dig the style. I've read lots of reviews that diss on the animation and even on the style. While I agree that the characters look like they've been chiseled out of wood and hand-painted, I really liked it. Yes, the quality is no where near as good as Pixar or Dreamworks, (and close-up shots look more like a video game cut scene than a movie,) but this was MADE FOR TELEVISION! The budget was probably about a tenth what any Pixar film costs to make. So put it in perspective and appreciate what they can do with such a low budget! It would be more fair to compare it to an episode of Jimmy Neutron (not the movie, the TV show). If you still think it sucks, then at least you are making a valid comparison. It's not Shrek 2 or The Incredibles. It's Hoodwinked.2) The music! So many have complained that "This is not John Williams" but why does that have to be a bad thing? Williams' music was respected, and even used in the opening and closing sequences, plus a few times between. The music was GREAT! It was engaging and beautiful, and at times had me wanting to hear the rest of the song! Seriously, I can't imagine it being any better. It baffles my mind that people can complain about it. Really. I don't get it.3) The Clones. We see clones as Imperial (um, I mean Republic) officers, wearing the green officer garb (woo hoo!), and the ground troops showing ways of making themselves unique (mostly by tattoos and haircuts). It's just as it should be and makes them more human and real.4) The humor (overall)! I laughed my eyes dry every time a droid had any dialog. I didn't much like the slapstick humor in the films, but as a cartoon it fits a lot better. Like when two clones are surrounded by an army of battle droids: Droid: "Surrender" Clone: "But we have you outnumbered." (Droid looks around, "What?" (counts droids) "One, two.." And then out of the sky comes two clone ships filled with men, blowing the droids away "Kaboom!" And when a droid is looking over a cliff through binoculars to see the approaching clones, but loses his balance and falls down the cliff. His droid commander says, "Come back here, soldier!" Very funny stuff! Yes, it's "kiddie humor" but it works here and got me laughing.In addition, the story was engaging for a TV cartoon. Compare it to a throw-away episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender (my fave kid-TV show by far) and it stands up pretty well. Remember "The great divide", "The Fortuneteller", "Avatar Day", "The Beach", "The Ember Island Players", etc. etc.For a TV show, I would rate this 8 out of 10, but for a "movie" only 6 out of 10. And since it's kind of both, I give it a 7.I can't wait to see more of this series on TV! But hope Ahsoka dies a long and painful death. :)
Movie is in line with the books
posted on 23 Jul 2009So,I see so many negative reviews. I am a big fan of SW universe. I did read almost all books. I like the most those by Timothy Zhan. He is really good SF writer. I should say he is good as a writer also, he has this multitasking logical possibility in narration. In many if not all of SW books the higher percent of action is intrigues, Jedi thinking and Force stuff. But the actual time consuming sort of speak thing is not the fight with laser sabers or pistols but the political/behind the curtains of intrigues one. In this movie you can feel that and I like it, that is the SW universe and that is life. Also is an animation and like the clone wars series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361243/) done by genius Tartakovsky, well not the same, I say unfortunate that in terms of animation but also humor, so like it it does presents the true powers of a Jedi but also the limitations, they can be killed and they are challenged by many situations not almighty ... And also because is animation is more action , much faster the action scenes follows, then in a movie. Well I kind of like it and maybe was because is like a SW books and I just read 5 of them one after another :) Maybe other viewers expected something different or more from this. Regards!
Bizarro marionettes
posted on 23 Jul 2009I did not enjoy this movie. I have to admit I had very low expectations for this movie and I wasn't disappointed. The animation was poor. The characters looked and moved like Bizarro marionettes. They were all acute angles and stilted jumpy movements. The character development was perfunctory and the story purely a derivation of the past Star Wars movies. I saw no innovation or original thoughts. The special effects only work in juxtaposition with human actors. The viewers can relate to the human and place themselves within the movie and be part of the action. They can relate to the actor walking into a strange, alien setting and vicariously enjoy the scene. All this is lost in animation. Anything can happen in animation. Reality becomes animation reality. The light saber is just a bright light on the screen not a dangerous weapon wielded by a human. There is no danger or excitement since it is a cartoon. The poor animation pushes us further away from our reality towards cartoon reality. The previous Star Wars movies drew us closer into its reality by having us identify with the humans. If this is the final Star Wars movie the ending is a real whimper.
A money-making idea gone wrong.
posted on 21 Jul 2009I'm not surprised Lucas Arts wants to make more money for the Star-Wars series, but they are going about it all wrong. Star Wars attracts the type of people that don't go to animated films. Let's face it. Star Wars attracts GEEKS. I doubt any of those hard-core fans would be caught going to see such a mockery of the past films. I never was a big fan of the series, the plot was always too easy to understand and the acting was mediocre at best. When I saw the commercial for this, I was watching MADTV on Comedy Central, and I seriously thought it was a joke on the show. I can NOT believe how dumb Lucas Arts could be, but it's not my job to tell them how stupid they are. I'll let the income tell them this was a waste of time and effort.
oh, I just don't know ... thumbs sideways?
posted on 21 Jul 2009I completely sympathize with negative reviews of this film. They are not wrong.And yet, apparently, I have the power to enjoy a lousy film. Yay for me. Because I just had me some fun watching this one. It must have had something. God help me, but I actually liked spunky little Ahsoka Tano, and for some reason I didn't mind her calling Anakin "Fly Guy" every 12 heartbeats.There's not really any excuse for "liking" a film this mediocre, but somehow I did it anyway, and that's just not possible with a true stinker. So it must be one of those films that can't really be praised or condemned, unless you have an agenda. A "thumbs sideways" film. It had enjoyable aspects, mixed together in a dubious stew with many stupid storytelling choices, such that you could love or it hate it on different days, depending on your mood and your age and the amount of beer you've had in the last hour.
Not bad for a series going to TV, OK for a theatrical movie
posted on 15 Jul 2009I was at the premiere screening yesterday for this movie, overall I would have to say that it was a good start for a TV series concept. The story was decent, but the unintelligent banter between the two main characters (Anakin & Ahsoka) was trite and mostly out of character. Although her role was supposed to be that of a padoine, she was rather childish in her ways and speech and it detracted from the movie for me, especially as an attachment to the Star Wars saga.The CGI is of a different flavor all together, something that grew on me somewhat during the course of the movie. Not tack sharp like Pixar films because of the type of stylization used, but exciting enough to keep the moviegoers enthralled during it's 98 min runtime. I was actually a little disappointed because I was expecting the usual high quality Lucasfilm CGI. The character animations weren't smooth or fluid to the point of believability and it looked more like a Saturday morning cartoon that a theatrical CGI movie. I would give the sound high marks.Of course being a Star Wars movie there was action galore and to me the action sequences were the saving grace. Since I'm nit picking, I would also mention that the camera work on the light saber battles is a little too close, they could have pulled the camera back a little to reveal more of the fight.Worth seeing if you're a Star Wars fan but definitely not award winning.
A fun addition to the Star Wars collection
posted on 11 Jul 2009I saw this movie yesterday at an early preview, and we took our two boys along with us. We found it to be a fun movie, full of action and more than able to keep our kids' attention. The movie itself jumps right into the Star Wars world without any sort of background information, so those who aren't familiar with Star Wars may be a bit lost at first (the movie takes place somewhere in between Episodes II and III). However, the action is immediate and the story moves along well. There were moments of humor with the battle droids, whose vocabulary has been greatly expanded. With a few exceptions, most of the major characters are obviously voiced by different people than in the original movies (though the actor voicing Obiwan was good--we thought it actually was Ewan McGregor), but overall the movie was enjoyable, especially for the younger set.
Silly people...it's a cartoon
posted on 09 Jul 2009Yes, the opening intro without JW's music or the crawl was a HUGE mistake. (The voice over did make me cringe..ugh!) Yes, the human characters looked freakin bizarre (Kenobi's beard looked like a wood carving) and they should have gone with a more realistic look instead of the pointless style they used.And yes, the story was pretty childish for a feature film aimed at adults...But that's the thing. This is an opener for a TV cartoon. It was not intended to blend right into the live action franchise. My kids liked it just fine, and I was not offended at all by it. In fact the action scenes were quite impressive. We finally get to see enough clone/droid mayhem to make people complain that it's too much (meaning almost enough clone/droid mayhem for me:) You guys are like a bunch of spoiled kids. Luke, Han, & Co. are NEVER coming back! Some day someone will probably do a series of re-makes or spin-offs that will have a more serious tone, and I agree that the franchise really needs that. But it won't happen while George is at the wheel. So if your going to get suicidal every time George cranks out one of his Disney-phase projects...Just stay away from it. It's not worth the stress.
Episode 2 1/2
posted on 09 Jul 2009Not really that bad, I certainly don't know why all the critics are jeering it.Okay, this is a Cartoon Network show where they've spliced three episodes together into a movie. That's okay, I guess some fans are still biting.I've always felt that much too much went on between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith that we probably should know about and don't. So I'm glad to see them detailing some of that.No great revelations (Hey, we all know how every major character in this is going to die, pretty much.) Still, the battle scenes looked as impressive as anything in the movies, some of the action was pretty good and the characterizations are just fine. Nice touch that they got Anthony Daniels, Samuel L. Jackson and the immortal Christopher Lee to reprise their voice roles.My only quibble is that the human characters didn't look terribly realistic. They never do in CGI. I think where it really falls apart is with the buttocks, they never seem to move properly. All the characters were too angular, I thought.Update- An addendum- How many canon changes are they going to make to make this thing work? The whole complaint Anakin has in "Revenge of the Sith" is that the Jedi aren't trusting him with important assignments. In this, and the two episodes I've seen on Cartoon Network, they've made him a general, given him a Padawan, given him important missions. Sounds to me like he's getting top treatment, so what was his complaint that made him suseptable to Palpatine/Sideous' manipulations again?
It is great for kids, but will make fans, and just about anyone else, sick to their stomachs
posted on 09 Jul 2009It hurts me, physically, to say I disliked Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I may not like to think it, but I have always been a Star Wars fanboy, right from the moment I first lay eyes on Return of the Jedi. I was never a huge fan of the TV series, but it did not seem too bad when I did see it. Apparently, I should have been looking closer.Star Wars: The Clone Wars as anyone could guess, follows Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during their stints as "army generals" during the infamous Clone Wars. In the film, Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) is given a Padawan learner, the feisty Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein), and given the mission of rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son. He has been kidnapped, and in exchange for his safe return, Jabba will aid the Republic during the war. But obviously, the job will not be that easy.Saying Star Wars: The Clone Wars mocks the very fabrics of the Star Wars franchise does not even begin to explain how horrendous this movie is. Take just about everything you could have disliked about the new trilogy (and even things you may have from the original trilogy), and it probably will not even come close to the destructive nature George Lucas have brought us with this film (and subsequent new series).For one thing, it seems that the casual one-liners of the series have been amped up to being used every other sentence. All this new Ahsoka character brings to the table, other than a lightsaber-sized gash through the heart of continuity, are giggling one-liners. She even has a nickname for Skywalker that she proceeds to use every time she is not calling him Master (and for an even more inexplicable reason, he has one for her). And then she has a name for R2-D2 and Jabba's son as well ('Stinky', which seems to be the only name he is ever really referred to as). I realize that Star Wars was never one for being perfect with their dialogue, but save for Jar Jar Binks (who does not make any appearances in the film), I do not think I have ever been more annoyed by any character more than this one. It is like the writers (who surprisingly are not Lucas) did away with anything we have learned about Jedis, and gave us this irritating wise-ass. Sure there was a cuteness to her character, but she loses that after about five minutes of screen time.Even worse, the Battle Droids just seem to be here for comic relief. I was always under the belief they just spoke their directives. But somehow, someway, they actually talk to each other, and say the most ridiculous things to each other. Oh yeah, they may be funny for a six-year-old, but for anyone else, they are absolutely agonizing. At one point, one says "Shut up!" to another one, and you can almost hear the sound millions of fanboys make when a piece of their childhood has withered away and died. And if neither the Padawan or the Droids do it, then surely Ziro the Hutt (voiced by Corey Burton), Jabba's uncle will. Remember John Waters' friend and muse, Divine? Ziro is nearly the splitting image (albeit, an obese and disgusting slug).The story is also an issue here. It is just, not strong enough to sustain a film. It does not necessarily feel like a three-part arc of the TV show (although the bizarre opening "crawl" read off by a Saturday morning announcer sure does not help that ideal), but it also does not feel like a completely well thought out film either. Sure, it has the political intrigue about Jabba's son's kidnapping, but this is supposed to be a Clone Wars movie. People come to see the Clone Wars. So why is all the meaty story elements being pumped into a throwaway story about a baby slug the main characters keep referring to as 'Stinky'? It just screams bad story writing, and essentially, makes the film need to stand beside the show, instead of as its own separate movie. I can only hope that it will fit in better there, as opposed to needing to stand beside the theatrical films here.I will say, for all of its continuity ruining, terrible one-liners, silly storyline, and lack of John Williams themed music (I could not believe it either), there are some very well animated action sequences. In some cases, whether I like to admit it or not, some of the scenes look spot-on with the look of Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith, even to the point of the Battle Droids and Clone Troopers looking nearly perfect to their real life incarnations. Yes, the human characters look a little weird (especially anyone with hair, or a beard), but everything else looks very good, and very close to what they did in the movies. The animation here is not as exquisitely detailed as the likes of a Pixar movie, but it never aims to imitate them. As well, even though the likes of Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor are not doing voice work in the film, the voice actors have made a genuine attempt to have their voices sound similar. The result is much more astounding than I could have imagined, and almost made me forget they were not the real thing.In the end, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a kids movie, or at least, can be appreciated by children. It has the whiz-bang battles of a Star Wars movie, but the humour and ADD-infused dialogue that they can appreciate from the cartoons they watch on Saturday morning. If you are not a child however, it may just ruin any childhood memory you had of this once legendary series.2.5/10.
Fun non-stop action.
posted on 24 Aug 2009Well, I wasn't exactly rushing to see this, since I simply wasn't too interested in it. I mean an animated Star Wars movie, based on a animated cartoon series that I never followed...why would I watch a thing like that? On top of that it didn't got directed nor written by George Lucas, so how would this movie even be able to feel like a Star Wars movie. Well, it perhaps doesn't feel or look much like an ordinary Star Wars movie but it simply is one fine and entertaining computer animated movie to watch.No it isn't the best looking movie. Or at least it just isn't the best thing that the computer animated genre has to offer. The movie has a more cartoon like style of animations. I for one liked it and with it, it at least knew to create an unique style of its own.One thing that did bothered me about this movie was its really weak dialog that on top of things also just too often repeated itself. It also slightly made the characters from the original movies come across differently in this movie. Another thing was that the movie too often used the same type of shots to fill up its scenes with. It often picked close-up of characters that just didn't added anything to the movie its story and feelings.It also isn't like this movie is featuring a great story though. The story is actually disappointingly weak because its simply far too simple. It would had been a way better movie if it actually had a more layered story, which also focused more on the other characters and their motivations, such as Palpatine, Yoda and Amidala for example, who get pushed far too much to the background and seem to be only in this movie because they are part of the original Star Wars franchise. Otherwise they add very little to nothing to this movie. Same goes for lots of other characters really.Yet I really enjoyed watching this movie, since it simply was such a spectacular one. The movie is basically non-stop action and throws you from the one ground battle into the other one and from a space battle to a light-saber fight. It's action is all very nice looking and provides the movie with a fast and pleasant pace.Main criticism of this movie had always been that it was too childish and got aimed toward a too young audience. Well, originally the classic first "Star Wars" from 1977 was also meant as a kids movie. But on top of that I really didn't saw this movie as a childish one. It doesn't have lame slapstick humor or a lame comical side kick that makes witty remarks. The movie even hardly features C-3PO who basically was the comic relief of all other Star Wars movies. I don't see how adults couldn't enjoy this movie, for there is really nothing lame or too childish about it all. This doesn't mean that kids won't be able to enjoy this movie just as much as well though.Underrated, or perhaps simply misunderstood, also because of the many preexisting prejudices against this movie.8/10