Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A galaxy divided! Striking swiftly after the Battle of Geonosis, Count Dookus droid army has seized control of the major hyperspace lanes, separating the Republic from the majority of its clone army.
With few clones available, the Jedi generals cannot gain a foothold on the Outer Rim as more and more planets choose to join Dookus Separatists.
While the Jedi are occupied fighting a war, no one is left to keep the peace. Chaos and crime spread, and the innocent become victims in a lawless galaxy. Crime lord Jabba the Hutts son has been kidnapped by a rival band of pirates. Desperate to save his son, Jabba puts out a call for helpa call the Jedi are cautious to answer
Director: Dave FiloniProducer: Catherine WinderExecutive Producer: George LucasWriters: Henry Gilroy, Scott Murphy, Steven MelchingCast: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman, Ian Abercrombie, Anthony Daniel, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine TaberComposer: Kevin KinerRelease Date: August 15, 2008
Mark Newbold and Adam Lamping
The Republic is at war! Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has committed thousands of Clone Troopers to the war against Count Dookus Separatist Alliance. As planets choose sides, the galaxy is divided and only the valiant efforts of the Jedi generals hold the fracturing Republic from tearing apart..
Its something we likely never thought we would see a brand new Star Wars film on the silver screen, but just over three years after the release of Revenge of the Sith and the end of the saga were all back, with the release of The Clone Wars.
And its a very different beast. No 20th Century Fox logo, no scroll up, no John Williams classic Star Wars theme. This is all designed to introduce us to the worlds and characters of the Clone Wars, the three year conflict that engulfed the galaxy and threw the Star Wars universe into chaos and darkness for over two decades
Of course, we shouldnt really be here at all. Its only down to the impressive work of Dave Filoni and crew, who impressed creator George Lucas so much with their efforts that Lucas thought the fans deserved to see the quality of work writ large on the big screen. BUt thank goodness that Lucas was as impressed as he was, because Filoni, Catherine Winder and the Lucas Animation team have delivered one of the best action films for a long time in The Clone Wars.
You want pure Star Wars action checkGreat new characters checkPulse-racing set pieces checkHutts with lisps check
You name it theres a good chance the production team have taken your wishes, thrown it into the pot and pulled out a shiny new perspective on it.
AL As the crowd waited patiently for the lights to go down, they were suddenly greeted by members of the UK Garrison who, dressed as various characters from the Clone Wars, filed into the auditorium and stood in front of the screen whilst the cinema manager welcomed everyone. This was quickly followed by a surprise appearance by Anthony Daniels who spoke briefly of his experiences recording The Clone Wars (also thanking certain members of the audience for paying his salary for the last 30 years!) before enlisting the services of everyone in the cinema to Use the Force to start the film.
After a couple of failed attempts, the movie began, starting with the Warner Bros. intro and then the Lucasfilm logo, which was accompanied by what sounded like comm chatter between troops, and then A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy, Far, Far, Away. led into The Clone Wars logo and the re-worked main titles.
MN From the very opening of the movie there is a different feel to it. Remember, not every Star Wars production has started with the 20th Century Fox crawl Battle for Endor was an MGM release, but it is strange to be sitting in a darkened cinema room and not hear the familiar strains of the Fox fanfare blast out.
AL Much has already been said about there being no opening crawl and the replacement narrative seemed to give the movie the feel of the Saturday-morning serial that George Lucas has often been quoted as being a source of inspiration when he first began writing his space opera many years ago.
MN But soon enough we are away, the Clone Wars logo fading into the starfield and a newsreel-style introduction telling us that we are at the sharp end of the Clone Wars. Jedi Knights are fighting everywhere and are stretched by the forces of the Separatist army, and only two Jedi Knights can be spared to go on a vital mission- Kenobi and Skywalker.
With the opening scene kidnapping of Rotta the Hutt, the Huttlet son of Jabba himself, the stories prime thread is set in place. Whoever rescues the heir to Jabbas throne will have his gratitude, and access through Hutt space, which is invaluable in efforts to secure or take the Outer Rim Territories.
A scene which has been shown via the official site and the widget The Battle of Christophsis is right at the very start of the film, and on the big screen is is awesome. Loud and in your face, the scene not only shows the respect with which the two Jedi generals Kenobi and Skywalker are held, but also their tactical naivety. It seems that Clone Troopers are almost as expendable as Battle Droids, despite certain troopers developing their own unique characteristics and starting friendships with the Jedi.
Its at this juncture that we are introduced to The Clone Wars newest character, Ahsoka Tano. From the off she is clearly a challenging character for Anakin to deal with. Believed at first to be Obi-Wans new apprentice, Anakin or Skyguy as she calls him is aghast at learning that this youngling is to be his new pupil. Shes headstrong, argumentative, disrespectful and forthright, and almost as reckless as Anakin. And she is an absolute joy to watch.
AL With the scene set, it was straight into the action, and the not-uncommon sight of Obi-Wan and Anakin facing seemingly insurmountable odds as they attempt to hold their position against the opposing Separatist army and it is during the course of this battle of wits that we are introduced to Ahsoka Tano, much to the surprise of Anakin and Obi-Wan, if not the audience. Theres no doubt that Ahsoka is likely to be much-revered in some quarters of the viewing public and much-reviled in others. To quote Han Solo, shes got a lot of spirit, and Ahsokas interaction with Anakin raised a smile on more than one occasion, giving him a taste of his own medicine when it comes to back-chat. The affectionate use of pet-names suggests a growing mutual respect as the relationship is solidified following a number of challenges where the young Padawan proves her mettle. The rest of the movie focuses primarily on the exploits of the newly-formed team and their quest to thwart the attempts of certain Sith Lords to tip the balance in favour of the Separatist movement, but is interspersed with brief sub-plots involving other familiar characters that ultimately tie in to the main story.
MN There are a huge number of plus points to this film. The Separatists are handled brilliantly, Dooku seeming a much bigger threat than he did even in the live action films. The Battle Droids suit this setting better than they did the live action arena, and the size and strength of the Separatists seem to be pretty overwhelming. If the TV show continues this show of strength it will be easy to see why the Republic was practically on its knees by the time Revenge of the Sith rolled around.
The voice cast is excellent, even though Kenobi sounds a bit like Ringo Starr at times, and hearing Samuel L Jackson and Christopher Lee in their own roles was a very smart move, as was saving Mace and Yoda for some kick-ass moves in the TV show and not employing them here.
The star battles are a thrill to watch. Filoni clearly has a great eye for framing, and some of the fleet imagery is stunning, as is the dogfights. Although, if Star Wars cant get great space battles right, no one can.
Seeing Jabba the Hutt and the underworld elements creep into the plot is also a welcome inclusion. The Phantom menace clearly showed Jabba being of great importance and wealth, but the prequels stayed away from that plotline. Indeed, while the originals strayed far away from the Skywalker story with Han Solos problems, the prequels did no such thing, and Jabba had little importance in the life of Anakin. Not so here, and to see and more vitally hear the booming voice of Jabba is a smooth choice.
Oh, and for you 501st people out there the inclusion of R2-KT should rightfully make you all very proud.
AL In terms of the animation, the angled look of the original Clone Wars cartoon has been replaced with a more refined aesthetic, which while eschewing photo-realism, still manages to maintain a sense of humanity (wooden beards aside) and captures the Star Wars look and feel surprisingly well, with the colours at times reminiscent of the shadowed hues of Episodes II and III that bookend the film and series. The attention to detail is exceptional and there are more than a few nods to the existing Star Wars universe that the fanboys are really going to appreciate. On top of that, the Lightsaber fights are out-of-this world, no doubt largely due to no longer being confined to the limitations of the human body whilst the space battles are equally impressive and could easily slot into the live-action with minimal adjustments.
MN If there is a misstep anywhere its with the big guy above, Ziro the Hutt. Hes a big player in the Hutt world and he wants a piece of his nephew Jabbas fortune for himself. Based on Coruscant, hes clearly doing well for himself and has a prominent place in the underworld, but not only does he make a stupid error by capturing Padme Amidala, he completely gets caught out by Padme and Threepio, bringing the Republic swiftly to his door. However,above and beyond that theresthe voice.
Hutts speaking basic is a very cool concept, started back in 1996 in Shadows of the Empire when Prince Xizor ordered his underling Jabba to Speak basic, but the choice of voice given to Ziro is frankly off-putting, and the only creative choice out of many, many thousands that the makers had to make that widely misses the mark. It telegraphs Ziros intentions from the off and detracts from what is a stunningly well designed character. The markings covering Ziro look fantastic, much like the stripes on a Bull rancor. Shame that the voice doesnt match up.
AL It would be unrealistic to claim that the film was perfect, but any gripes are relatively minor. The choice of a vocal style and/or accents has been criticised in the past and it would be fair to say that there is still room for improvement in this area, with one of the new characters sounding a lot like Cartman from South Park. When it comes to humour, slapstick is still very much the order of the day, with the battle droids being on the receiving end of many of the jokes, but in the majority of cases, this seems to be a lot less contrived than was seen in the prequel trilogy.
MN As we left the cinema and began our mooch around London I spotted this bus driving up Oxford Street. Very cool, while The Clone Wars has kind of crept in under the radar in this summer of blockbusters, its great to see things like this reminding everyone that Star Wars is forever!
AL Suffice to say that The Clone Wars is a great addition to Star Wars canon that will appeal to kids, and providing they can suspend their sense of realism for 90 minutes, adults as well.
Originally published on Lightsabre.co.uk on Sunday 10th August 2008.
Read the original:
Film and TV Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Fantha Tracks
- Christopher Lee Was Furious About This 'Lord of the Rings' Moment - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Airdate: The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee - TV Tonight - April 2nd, 2024
- Christopher Lee's casual shorts and slippers outfit in Taiwan made heads turn - TODAY - March 16th, 2024
- Christopher Lee Dead: Horror Icon and Legendary Movie Villain Was 93 ... - February 19th, 2024
- "Chris wasn't hearing a bar of it": Christopher Lee Forcefully Auditioned For Another Lord of the Rings Character Before ... - FandomWire - February 11th, 2024
- 'Cancel everything': How Christopher Lee disciplines his son with this one phrase - Yahoo Singapore News - February 3rd, 2024
- Actress Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The Straits Times - February 3rd, 2024
- Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The New Paper - February 3rd, 2024
- Christopher Lee: The actor and hunter of Nazi war criminals - Far Out Magazine - January 9th, 2024
- Sir Christopher Lee's Favorite Performance is in a Film You've Never Heard Of - MovieWeb - December 12th, 2023
- Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93 - The Guardian - April 27th, 2023
- Christopher Lee - Tolkien Gateway - March 31st, 2023
- Christopher Lee filmography - Wikipedia - February 10th, 2023
- Where to Start with Christopher Lee - The Film Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- 'Were you desperate to get proposed to?' Christopher Lee crashes Rebecca Lim's new show and roasts her while dishing out relationship advice - AsiaOne - October 19th, 2022
- The Wicker Man TV Series In Development With Andy Serkis The Imaginarium And Studiocanal-Backed Urban Myth - Deadline - October 19th, 2022
- Tim Burton names his five favourite horror movies of all time - Far Out Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- Ten celebrities who served in the military, from Adam Driver to Prince Harry - The National - October 19th, 2022
- These 13 Actors Have Earned the Right to be Called Scream Kings - Dread Central - October 19th, 2022
- David W. Smith | Obituaries | thedailynewsonline.com - The Daily News Online - October 19th, 2022
- Jennifer Hudson Recounts "Fanning Out" Over Duet With Sheryl Lee Ralph: "I Wanted to Make Her Proud" - POPSUGAR - October 19th, 2022
- Tangipahoa Parish Jail - October 11th, 2022
- A monster calls: why the horror universe is an idea whose time has come - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Oblong Box, The (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - October 11th, 2022
- Was that the balrog that killed Gandalf in the Rings of Power? - Polygon - October 11th, 2022
- Every James Bond movie ranked by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes - Insider - October 11th, 2022
- Overwatch 2: All Voice Actors And Cast - eXputer - October 11th, 2022
- She got Covid-19 four times this year alone - The Star Online - October 11th, 2022
- Nursing School Collaborates with Nursing School in The Philippines - Boston College - October 2nd, 2022
- The Terrifying, Terrific Horror Movies of 1972 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: A beautiful conclusion to the iconic trilogy - The Shield - October 2nd, 2022
- Tyson Fury through the years: Photo gallery - MMA Junkie - October 2nd, 2022
- Duncan man jailed, accused of madness on meth - The Lawton Constitution - September 24th, 2022
- Conor McGregor "can't believe" he's being paid to film Hollywood movie - The Mirror - September 24th, 2022
- The Government of Malaysia Launches the National Energy Policy 2022 - 2040: What it Means for the Renewables Landscape - Lexology - September 24th, 2022
- New Brockton native Brandon Lee part of team cherishing NASCAR win at Bristol - Dothan Eagle - September 24th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater reviewers' thoughts on 2 scary plays and a comedy - Cape Cod Times - September 24th, 2022
- 'His presence is going to be there': Lee Roy Selmon will attend in spirit as trio of OU brothers honored with statue - The Oklahoma Daily - September 24th, 2022
- Nicolas Cage inspired by Christopher Lee for vampire movie Renfield - The Digital Fix - September 16th, 2022
- Reece Shearsmith Tells Richard Herring About Christopher Lee - Beyond The Joke - September 16th, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies So Awful They Were Pulled From The Cinema - WhatCulture - September 16th, 2022
- Man-Thing Makes his MCU Debut in Werewolf by Night - Here's what we know about Man-Thing - Attack of the Fanboy - September 16th, 2022
- Summer of Blood (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - September 16th, 2022
- Get it over with: Suspect in Kokomo child exploitation case tells police to arrest him on the spot - FOX 59 Indianapolis - September 16th, 2022
- Alabama says it won't be ready to use nitrogen hypoxia method at Sept. 22 execution - USA TODAY - September 16th, 2022
- Christopher Lee, The Real-Life "Most Interesting Man In The World" - August 31st, 2022
- Inside The Fact And Fiction Of Christopher Lee's World War II Service - August 31st, 2022
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and the series in chronological order - Lifestyle Asia India - August 31st, 2022
- Court and arrest reports for Martinsville and Henry County - Martinsville Bulletin - August 31st, 2022
- Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked from Worst to Best - Consequence - August 31st, 2022
- Court lists defendants to appear in Criminal Division on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 31st, 2022
- Lee County School Board makes minor revision to Parents' Bill of Rights - Wink News - August 31st, 2022
- A Cardiologist Breaks Down the AHA's New Report on the Most Common Heart Disease Symptoms Best Life - Best Life - August 31st, 2022
- Exclusive Interview: Director Philippe Mora On His Films With Christopher Lee - FANGORIA - August 14th, 2022
- 10 films turning 10 in 2022 - NewsNation Now - August 14th, 2022
- Persephone and the Poultry of the Night | Thumper Forge - Patheos - August 14th, 2022
- Unexpected Demands Made By Lord Of The Rings Actors - Looper - August 14th, 2022
- Rings of Power: Everything you need to know about Amazon's 1bn Lord of the Rings prequel - The Mirror - August 14th, 2022
- Slash Tells Us Why There Will Never Be a Guns N Roses Movie - MovieMaker Magazine - August 6th, 2022
- On the record for Aug. 4 - Seymour Tribune - August 6th, 2022
- Judge Talley will hear criminal docket on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 6th, 2022
- Dr. Christopher Reber Receives ACCT 2022 Northeast Regional Chief Executive Officer Award - The Hudson Reporter - August 6th, 2022
- Theatre Review: This 101 Dalmatians is barking up the wrong tree - The New European - August 6th, 2022
- Christopher Lee Euro Films, Dennis Hopper's 'Out of the Blue' Among Titles Due on Disc From Severin and MVD July 26 Media Play News - Media Play News - July 28th, 2022
- 25 Scariest Movies of All Time (2022 Edition) - Cultured Vultures - July 28th, 2022
- Fans Wonder Why a Fantasy Epic Too Big to Fail Did Just That - We Got This Covered - July 28th, 2022
- The Best Witch Movies of all Time, Ranked - The Mary Sue - July 28th, 2022
- NASCAR Driver Christopher Bell and CRAFTSMAN Raise Awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals; No. 20 Special Edition Paint Scheme to be... - July 28th, 2022
- Singer Stefanie Sun turns 44 with cakes and loved ones - The Straits Times - July 28th, 2022
- Tony Dow dead: Wally Cleaver 'Leave It to Beaver' actor was 77 - USA TODAY - July 28th, 2022
- Roane Co. authorities looking for man convicted of neglecting and murdering an elderly relative - WBIR.com - July 20th, 2022
- 22 Incredible Facts About The Life and Career Of Sir Christopher Lee - July 20th, 2022
- Police and Fire Report - Winchester Sun - Winchester Sun - July 20th, 2022
- What We Do in the Shadows cast shares their favorite vampire movies, books, and more - Polygon - July 20th, 2022
- Courteney Cox Set To Make Horror Movie History With 'Scream 6' - We Got This Covered - July 20th, 2022
- Every James Bond Movie, Ranked: The Best of Bond - CNET - July 20th, 2022
- Grandparents of Dean Kerrie say he was just defending his mother and should not be jailed - Sunday World - July 20th, 2022
- Ray Wise Has Always Been More Than "That Guy" - Defector - July 20th, 2022
- Angela Ledgerwood on the Psychic Relief of Reading - Literary Hub - July 20th, 2022
- Athens man charged with manslaughter in fatal hit and run - News Courier - July 12th, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero