19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
"Begun, the Clone Wars has": one of the better Star Wars films
Lucasfilm Animation, director Dave Filoni, and screenwriter Henry Gilroy have crafted the perfect Saturdy morning summer animated film, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", which is a more than adequate sequel to the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, set between Episodes II and III. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting much, but left the theater quite impressed with the quality...
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Promising start...
Ok, let me start by saying I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Not only do I love the originals but I also love (rather controversially) the prequels. However even I was slightly cynical about the release of a new Clone Wars movie so I went to see it with low expectations and, in honesty, it was alright.
First things first, this is not a movie worth going to see for...
Lucasfilm Animation, director Dave Filoni, and screenwriter Henry Gilroy have crafted the perfect Saturdy morning summer animated film, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", which is a more than adequate sequel to the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, set between Episodes II and III. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting much, but left the theater quite impressed with the quality of much of the animation, which, I might add, is much closer to Pixar Studio's than classic Walt Disney in its realism. I was also surprised with the amount of screen time given to Count Dooku (voiced by the ever incredible Christopher Lee), as well as the voice "returns" of Samuel L. Jackson (General Mace Windu) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) (Daniels has now the distinction of appearing in every "Star Wars" film.).
"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" captures successfully much of the excitement found in the original trilogy and in "Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith". Moreover, it offers more amazing battle sequences and light saber duels than seen in the live action films thanks to state-of-the-art animation technology. Where "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" fails is in some of its insipid dialogue, and the rather curious introduction of the inexperienced Ahsoka Tano as Anakin's padawan (Jedi apprentice), who comes across more as a spoiled brat than a genuine Jedi warrior in training. And yet, with these few glaring defects, this remains a film which I can recommend highly to those who are diehard "Star Wars" fans and others seeking high quality cinematic entertainment that's suitable for the entire family.
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After the disappointment of Eps2 and 3, the Clone Wars goes a long way towards rekindling the excitement I've always associated with Star Wars. It returns to the non-stop action rollercoaster feel of the Luke Skywalker days, where the heroes gallop across the galaxy from one hot spot to the next, light-sabres blazing and blasters, err, blasting.
The style of animation takes some getting used to: it's nothing like a realistic or slick as Pixar, so you won't be seeing images like those in the feature-length Beowulf or Final Fantasy films. Instead it merges the Star Ward universe with some mange/anime styles to create a different, 2D experience. Where this works especially well is with the giant space cruisers (every bit as onimous as the models in Ep1, I feel), and with some truly moody and evocotive shots set under Tatootine's twin suns.
The flaws in the Clone Wars are similar to those which plagued the recent live-action trilogy: too much of a good thing. Some of the action is ridiculously over-fast which robs the Jedi fights of the grace and majesty they deserve. And where a droid army faces a clone army there's just too much firepower -- the overall themes can be drowned in a blizzard of blaster fire.
However, there's also an awful lot to love in the Clone Wars. Anakin comes over as a more developed character in this installment than he did in the three prequels; he faces a real challenge in a female Sith warrior; and a younger Padewan Jedi joins him to bulk out the cast for the transfer to a long-running TV series. The clones themselves take on characteristics too -- there's a lovely sequence which shows them all with different hair cuts/colours, so they can tell each other apart...
The well-known voices really jazz up the soundtrack (as does the revised theme music), although I felt that the majority of the vocals were very well delivered, and didn't conflict with my memory of how Obi-Wan, ofr instance, should sound.
The Clone Wars doesn't add a great deal to the Star Wars mythology. It's not ground-breaking scfi-fi, nor particularly inventive animation. However, it does help to round out a big gap in the history of the series, and lets us finally see the Jedi and the Republic in their time of maximum power. It's a very entertaining romp for the family, although adults who aren't Star Wars fans may struggle to understand what exactly the thrill is for the rest of us...
7/10
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I was sceptical when I heard another Star Wars movie was being released but then read that it was evolved from the Clone Wars cartoon micro-series, which really captured the Star Wars spirit. I took my kids and we all loved it. I rate it as better than Ep2: Attack of the Clones and on a par with Ep3: Revenge of the Sith.
To briefly summarise, the Jedi/Galactic Republic armies are struggling in the Clone Wars with hyperspace routes being blocked off by the Separatists. Then Jabba the Hutts son is kidnapped, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sends the Jedi (Anakin and Obi-Wan) to rescue him, with the aim to secure Hutt support for the War. The Separatists led by Count Dooku have their own agenda of turning the Hutts against the Jedi.
The movie was pure action with a thin plot, but after the prequel trilogy fiasco who really expected George Lucas to come up with a great story? Besides, I personally wanted to see more about the changing Anakin and Obi-Wan relationship and this film did just that. Anakin is depicted as the great warrior he is and Obi-Wan as the wily general using his legendary negotiating skills. As Anakin has progressed from Jedi apprentice to Jedi Knight we also see him mentor a Jedi apprentice (a feisty female) himself. This addition actually worked really well.
The negatives to the movie were that despite all the fighting the main characters (Jedi and Sith) all survive. This was probably to set-up a longer series that will be shown on TV. Mace Windu and Yoda were not shown in combat roles, which was disappointing as they were pretty awesome in the micro-series. General Grievous is also yet to appear. This movie does require the viewer to have some prior knowledge of the Star Wars saga so stand-alone viewing may not be advisable.
For those seeking fun and action in the true Star Wars sense, I recommend it highly.
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Ok, let me start by saying I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Not only do I love the originals but I also love (rather controversially) the prequels. However even I was slightly cynical about the release of a new Clone Wars movie so I went to see it with low expectations and, in honesty, it was alright.
First things first, this is not a movie worth going to see for the story. Whilst the other Star Wars movie have a dramatic and emotional story arc running through them, this makes no effort to put forward anything of quality. Basically the separatists, lead by count Dooku, capture Jabba the Hutt's son and the Jedi Knights are given the task of returning him. There is a tiny bit more too it than that but I don't want to ruin it, I will say however don't hold your breath, it does feel like a story a child could write. Needless to say I was slightly dissapointed with the story, not least it's lack of depth, but also the way it just feels so out of character for the scheming Palpatine to attempt to do something so clumsy. And that's another problem, if you don't know who Dooku, Palpatine or the separitists are, this movie isn't for you. Although clearly aimed at kids, you need to have seen at least Episode 2 for this to make any sense at all, but for full satisfaction you really need to have seen all six movies.
The selling point for this movie seems to be the action set pieces, and it assumes that is what's going to keep the kids entertained. Well first off I would like to say I really enjoyed the animation style, sure it's not pixar quality but, once you've got used to it, it's pretty impressive. The action sequences are a lot of fun and do capture the Star Wars spirit, however you can have too much of a good thing, and unfortunatly an hour in and the action just becomes repetitive and slightly tedious. Consider this is coming from a Star Wars fan and action lover, I think the repetitive action might do some peoples heads in.
So it sounds like I really didn't like it, so why three stars? Well there are two reasons. First off, I actually really enjoyed the characters and the way they interacted. Anakin comes across far more heroic, funnier and less whiney than he does in the films and it actually really suits him. But the real nugget in this film, I think, is Anakin's new apprentice Ahsoka Tano. She is a young female jedi and genuinely feels like something new in a saga that is getting (even for my liking) rather tired. Shes actually a character I cared what happened too, and equally her relationship with Anakin is really nice. She brings out the fun and good in Anakin, aswell as showing him to be quite a good master. And this leads me onto the second reason why I gave the film three stars, it's a promising start for the new TV series. We all know that Ahsoka doesn't make it too episode 3, so this looks to be the start of a potentially heartbreaking story that may give further credence to Anakins turn to the darkside. Equally Asajj Ventress, a female villain, makes it through so she will provide further use as a story device. There's also the potential to strenghten the relationship between Obi Wan and Anakin to make episode 3 even more heartbreaking. Infact the film sets up lots of useable ideas for the future TV series, it really seems to be shaping up to something more than just clones and droids duking it out every week.
Overall The Clone Wars is an ok film, but a brilliant setup for the new TV series. As a film it is quite forgettable and is really akin to watching the first few episodes in a series, but never reaching the series finale. However it may be worth a visit to the cinema if you're a Star Wars fan, or if you're interested in watching some well animated mindless action. Otherwise you may do well to spend time catching up on the Star Wars storyline and waiting for this to be released on DVD.
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And it appears to be three episodes of the new tv series the clone wars edited together into one feature film.
the story involves anakin skywalker and his new apprentice - whom he didnt want to take on - having to rescue the kidnapped son of jabba the hutt from separatist forces under the command of the evil count dooku and his associates. the jedi and the clone troopers who fight on their side face a hard journey to reunite jabba with his son.
the animation is rather stylised like a japanese cartoon. whilst the characters do look rather good the backgrounds can be a bit static.
very few of the original voice cast actors [just samuel l jackson as mace windu, anthony daniels as c3po and christpoher lee as count dooku] reprise their roles. all the other characters who have been seen before are voiced by new actors who try and impersonate the performance of the originals.
anakin's apprentice talks like a californian valley girl.
and jabba's son is nicknamed stinky.
so this could all be horribly dumbed down.
but the movie succeeds because it contains the one element that the first three star wars films had, and the second trilogy so conspicuously lacked.
It's fun!
It's never dumbed down.the apprentice may talk like a valley girl but she's a fully rounded character and never gets annoying.
and it contains action scene after action scene all of which are really gripping.
this is quality star wars entertainment of the kind we thought we'd never see again, and it's a hugely enjoyable experience for fans of all ages. if they're prepared to give it a chance.
the dvd has language tracks in english and hebrew and english for the hearing impaired. it also has subtitles in arabic hebrew and icelandic.
it offers direct scene access to the film, and the sole extra is a commentary from the director, the producer, the writer and the editor.
the lack of other extras is disappointing, but the quality of the movie is such that the dvd rates a five stars. unleash the inner star wars fan in you again. it's worth it
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The kids will love this over-glorified toy advert ! You get the light-saber fights , trips to Anakin's home-world , the Hutt's up to no good and the Sith playing their usual underhanded tricks. It is nice to see Yoda , C-Threepio and R2D2 - some comic light relief is nice. I have watched it a couple of times knowing in advance that it would not blow me away like seeing A New Hope for the first time did many moons ago. I did recognize many of the plot lines from the more recent Star Wars films so the writers got their continuity facts absolutely right. Seeing an entire Star Wars film done in computer generated animation was interesting to say the least and even if the plot-line was pretty predictable it is no reason for not attempting such an enterprise again. Technically it was fine and the people who did the voice-overs did very well indeed. For any future Star Wars films done like this a more creative storyline could. move an average movie to a superb one. It is not a bad effort and there are certainly worse ways to pass the time- especially when Amazon are selling it at such a fair price
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I can't say it was excellent but I can't say it was great. It was good! But not great. To the point!
Well this star wars film was good action and all that. But the idea that
jabba has a son is just way to spinnoffy!! This film was terribly rushed and so was the DVD! Some of the most stupedist things I have ever seen in star wars were in this film!!!! Aniken gets an apprentice, Jabba has a son, the droids are so stupid and thick, count Dooku has a wierd face, Obi-Wan has a wierd face, Yoda has a wierd face and just to top it all off, every single clone sounds Austraillean! And this film is way to childesh to call it star wars!!
Just today I watched star wars episode 3 and compared it to the clone wars. It's very very different.
The whole story line is basic and boring! Jabba's son is kiddnapped and well that's it.
So if you are about 16 to 20 years old who is a star wars geek who loves star wars don't bother!! Leave this childesh film to the 6 to 9 year olds if you are 10 to 16 and wasting your time reading this then watch it at a friends house and do nothing else.
So im sorry Gorge Lucas but please do better then this rubbish!!
Thank you.
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I took my six year old son to see this film. As a "girl" i wasn't really expecting to enjoy it but it was actually great fun and my little boy loved it. It's probably not a bad thing that it was me and not hubby who went as he prefers the original trilogy to any other... No it's not like the old Star wars films but that doesn't make it bad - just different and definitely good for little ones to cut their teeth on.
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The main thing to mention about this movie, is that it is not a new Star Wars movie as you know it. The main reason why many people did not like this is because I think they were expecting a normal Star Wars feature for adults and kids just like the recent the prequel movies. However, this is more of a feature length pilot episode for the upcoming animated kids TV show. If you watch the movie with that in mind, then I think you will enjoy it. There is a lot more slapstick & general comedy with many new characters aimed specifically at the kids. There was also a lot of critiscm at the music and start of the film, but again if you take it as a new TV series then I think it works really, it doesn't if you expect it to be a new movie. To summarise, as a pilot to a new excellent TV show based on the Star Wars universe I think this works really well.
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I watched this in the cinema with my young lad. Surprisingly to me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be buying the DVD without a doubt. I would definitely recommend this film.
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