It's fun, certainly, but is quite a bit further down the path of made for kids than even Return of the Jedi went.
There are moments where your expectations are decidedly jarred. The first being that, as this is distributed by Warner Bros; and not 20th Century Fox it doesn't have the Fox Fanfare opening it and, somehow, that's just weird. That piece of music, iconic in its' own right, has always been apart of the opening of a Star Wars film. Speaking of music Clone Wars doesn't even have John Williams' theme, but a variation on it. This is tinny, thin and lacks the majesty indicating this cartoon's real place in the world which is a TV movie. Much of the incidental music is a sort of cross between world music and mild rock which is fine of itself but, again, just isn't Star Wars.
Whilst we're on the beginning, there's no opening crawl, either. Instead it's a voice-over done in that cheesy American style which the old serials might well have had. Here, though, it just seems to be pandering to an audience who don't want to take the time to read.
Much of the advance rumour mill suggested that this movie would be a bridge into the new series which is to be set, apparently, between episodes 3 & 4. The rumours were wrong as this is set between Episodes 2 & 3 where it should have had a great chance for fleshing out Anakin's story and how he dealt with the aftermath of his mother's death and his response to it, certainly his first steps on the dark path to becoming a Sith. What did they make of this opportunity? "I don't want to talk about my past." says Anakin to his new padawan. Talk about a waste.
Actually, let's talk about waste. Padme barely appears, preventing any development of her relationship with Anakin, the politics (barring some drivel about the Hutts controlling space trade routes in the Outer Regions) are all-but ignored so there's no advancement of the overall situation and Obi-Wan & Anakin are kept apart so there's no sense of growing conflict between them. So the Star Wars Saga goes even further down the road of shallow spectacle. It's really little more than an excuse for one battle after another.
The good news is that it does that well. The battles are well-staged, the animation sumptuous and the voice acting excellent throughout. Indeed, Anakin works better than Hayden Christensen ever managed it. The animation department have gone for a style which often leaves visible 'brush strokes' on backgrounds or 'tool marks' on computer models making the art look more organic and less clinical than is too often the case with computer-generated imagery. That hyper-realism which seems to make things less real is subverted and works incredibly well. Using computers also allows the camera right into the middle of the action on occasion giving a soldier's-eye view of the proceedings.
As always, it's the story that lets it all down a bit.
Anakin fights Dooku again, but there's no real tension to it as you know it can't be resolved until Revenge of the Sith. If you haven't kept up with the comics or novelisations you may be confused by the heroes' familiarity with Asajj Ventress, the apprentice of Count Dooku as she's not explained at all. So much for "Always two there are; master and apprentice." Since Dooku is the Sith apprentice what's Sidious doing letting him have his own? Toe-curling cuteness is provided by the new padawan, clearly meant to be about 13 and fitted with the biggest baby-blue eyes you've seen outside of Jap-anime and a baby Hutt. Yep, you read right; a cute Hutt.
The whole thing with the Hutts is the most aggravating thing about the whole premise. Sadly, the franchise is going the Star Trek (and more recently Doctor Who) route of constantly shoehorning previous characters in where they're not needed. It began with Boba Fett into Ep 4's special edition which had the effect of reducing him from one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters into a standard minion followed by stuffing Chewbacca into Revenge of the Sith just because fans wanted to see him back.
Please stop listening to bloody focus groups.
Here it has resulted in giving the Hutts, and Jabba in particular, far too much power in the grand scheme. The Hutts are crime lords, not galactic potentates. Surely it wouldn't have been too hard to come up with the head of some galactic fiefdom with real value or strategic importance than stretching to having the Republic and the Jedi prepared to deal with Jabba? Don't get me started on Jabba's gay cousin from New Orleans, either. Other than pointing out that it meant requiring Padme to have an almost inside knowledge of the Hutt's family structure and where to find this cousin (Uncle? I really was past caring).
In short a movie which is to Star Wars what those digital roller coasters are to thrill rides; fine but not as good, as memorable or as much fun as the real thing.
There are moments where your expectations are decidedly jarred. The first being that, as this is distributed by Warner Bros; and not 20th Century Fox it doesn't have the Fox Fanfare opening it and, somehow, that's just weird. That piece of music, iconic in its' own right, has always been apart of the opening of a Star Wars film. Speaking of music Clone Wars doesn't even have John Williams' theme, but a variation on it. This is tinny, thin and lacks the majesty indicating this cartoon's real place in the world which is a TV movie. Much of the incidental music is a sort of cross between world music and mild rock which is fine of itself but, again, just isn't Star Wars.
Whilst we're on the beginning, there's no opening crawl, either. Instead it's a voice-over done in that cheesy American style which the old serials might well have had. Here, though, it just seems to be pandering to an audience who don't want to take the time to read.
Much of the advance rumour mill suggested that this movie would be a bridge into the new series which is to be set, apparently, between episodes 3 & 4. The rumours were wrong as this is set between Episodes 2 & 3 where it should have had a great chance for fleshing out Anakin's story and how he dealt with the aftermath of his mother's death and his response to it, certainly his first steps on the dark path to becoming a Sith. What did they make of this opportunity? "I don't want to talk about my past." says Anakin to his new padawan. Talk about a waste.
Actually, let's talk about waste. Padme barely appears, preventing any development of her relationship with Anakin, the politics (barring some drivel about the Hutts controlling space trade routes in the Outer Regions) are all-but ignored so there's no advancement of the overall situation and Obi-Wan & Anakin are kept apart so there's no sense of growing conflict between them. So the Star Wars Saga goes even further down the road of shallow spectacle. It's really little more than an excuse for one battle after another.
The good news is that it does that well. The battles are well-staged, the animation sumptuous and the voice acting excellent throughout. Indeed, Anakin works better than Hayden Christensen ever managed it. The animation department have gone for a style which often leaves visible 'brush strokes' on backgrounds or 'tool marks' on computer models making the art look more organic and less clinical than is too often the case with computer-generated imagery. That hyper-realism which seems to make things less real is subverted and works incredibly well. Using computers also allows the camera right into the middle of the action on occasion giving a soldier's-eye view of the proceedings.
As always, it's the story that lets it all down a bit.
Anakin fights Dooku again, but there's no real tension to it as you know it can't be resolved until Revenge of the Sith. If you haven't kept up with the comics or novelisations you may be confused by the heroes' familiarity with Asajj Ventress, the apprentice of Count Dooku as she's not explained at all. So much for "Always two there are; master and apprentice." Since Dooku is the Sith apprentice what's Sidious doing letting him have his own? Toe-curling cuteness is provided by the new padawan, clearly meant to be about 13 and fitted with the biggest baby-blue eyes you've seen outside of Jap-anime and a baby Hutt. Yep, you read right; a cute Hutt.
The whole thing with the Hutts is the most aggravating thing about the whole premise. Sadly, the franchise is going the Star Trek (and more recently Doctor Who) route of constantly shoehorning previous characters in where they're not needed. It began with Boba Fett into Ep 4's special edition which had the effect of reducing him from one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters into a standard minion followed by stuffing Chewbacca into Revenge of the Sith just because fans wanted to see him back.
Please stop listening to bloody focus groups.
Here it has resulted in giving the Hutts, and Jabba in particular, far too much power in the grand scheme. The Hutts are crime lords, not galactic potentates. Surely it wouldn't have been too hard to come up with the head of some galactic fiefdom with real value or strategic importance than stretching to having the Republic and the Jedi prepared to deal with Jabba? Don't get me started on Jabba's gay cousin from New Orleans, either. Other than pointing out that it meant requiring Padme to have an almost inside knowledge of the Hutt's family structure and where to find this cousin (Uncle? I really was past caring).
In short a movie which is to Star Wars what those digital roller coasters are to thrill rides; fine but not as good, as memorable or as much fun as the real thing.
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