Star Wars: Clone Wars

Just got out from seeing the latest Star Wars feature, Clone Wars.  Before we dive in let me inform you that I have read all 9 volumes of Dark Horse’s Clone Wars graphic novels multiple times.  I was excited to hear that a Clone Wars movie and TV show were being made because i wanted to see how much of the comic books would make into both of these.

On to the review.  For starters, this movie is geared towards a younger audience.  So keep that in mind as you watch the film and listen to the bad jokes, mediocore dialogue, and somewhat thin plot.  However, that does not mean that this movie is not enjoyable and I believe that it sets up the television show quite well.  The movie has its moments and will make you want to see where they take the television series.

What I enjoyed aobout the film is that it takes place in a time of the Star Wars universe that was not overly explored in the movies (or even in the Cartoon Network mini-series).  Lots of things were hinted at, alluded to, and summized but nothing was really overly discussed.  In the comics however, that’s not the case.  Where the film (and more than likely the TV show) differs from the comics that dived into this era of the universe, is that it focuses a lot on the characters of Anikan and Obi-Wan.  The comic did involve thiese characters but it also put a lot of focus on several other members of the Jedi order that we only see glimpses of here in the movie.  However, a television show can last a while and I’m sure Lucas has a definitive end in mind for the television show so we might get to see some of these other characters.

Another interesting thing about the movie is that we get to see more of Ventress, Count Dooku’s sith apprentice.  We saw a little bit of her in the first Cartoon Network mini-series, but she was more prominant in the comics.  I’m interested to see where they take her and what elements come out in the television show.

Some things that people are not going to like about this movie?  The dialogue.  It’s about as bad as the prequels, but keep in mind that this was definitely geared more towards children.  Not all the dialouge is horrible, and a lot of the better pieces are what one could consider definitively “star wars” in nature.  Another thing is that the beginning of the movie does not have the typical Star Wars opening scroll that tells the viewer where we are coming in at in the larger story.  This is instead replaced with a narration that accomplishes the same goal.  I personally didn’t take too much issue with it but I know others who might.

Overall, the movie is somewhere in the middle.  It’s not the best Star Wars movie ever, but it’s definitely not the worst.  And considering that it is a prelude to a television show that’s coming out this fall, I think it does do a nice job of preparing the way for that.  True die hards will want to see it in theaters, but most folks will probably be able to wait for the DVD to come out.