Rating:
2.5 out of 5
Short version: The Clone Wars is visually interesting, but in the end pointless - and worse: annoying.
Screen Rant reviews The Clone Wars
Holy cow there’s a lot of… angst? anger? annoyance? surrounding the latest addition to the Star Wars saga: The Clone Wars. Me, I’m indifferent. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan (although I was when the first three movies were released for the first time) and I think that George Lucas has run the franchise into the ground and it’s all about:
1. Visual Effects
2. Merchandising
3. Money (see #2)
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The Clone Wars takes place between Star Wars episodes 2 & 3, covering the most intense part of the fabled “Clone Wars” first mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi way back in 1977 in the original Star Wars film. Therefore we have Anakin Skywalker (destined to become Darth Vader) still playing the hero and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi no longer teaching Anakin but fighting side by side with him.
I really won’t get into the story too much. It basically consists of a whole lot of battle sequences, one after the other - all very loud and very “busy” as far as what’s going on. The main plot involves Anakin having to rescue the infant son of Jabba the Hut. Yes, you heard right. Jabba the Hut is a loving daddy.
Go figure.
Of course we have Count Dooku in the mix, playing one side against the other and misleading Jabba the Hut into thinking that the Jedi have kidnapped his son when in fact he is the one behind it.
Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?
What’s good:
The animation, once you get used to the style of the characters, is excellent. There is nothing 2D about this, with sequences filmed in a very cinematic manner in regards to camera angles and movement. Hayden Christensen did NOT return to supply the voice of Anakin, and that my friends, is a blessing. Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee returned to supply the voices of their characters, and having Lee voice Dooku is a good thing.
Obi-Wan and Anakin in The Clone Wars
This may sound odd, but with the direction that George Lucas has taken the series, it actually worked better as a 100% CGI animated film. As it was with Episodes I, II & II, they were 90% CGI anyway. The live actors actually looked out of place in those films. At least here everything “matches.”
Finally, it’s actually an improvement over the three prequel films.
(Continue reading The Clone Wars Review)
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52 Comments
Vic, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. I have read just about every novel that has been written and enjoyed all of them. I give Lucas credit for creating a diverse and engaging universe. HOWEVER, GL has become woefully inept in engaging us in this universe. The original 3 films had heart and the actors made to most of what GL wrote for them. IF GL wanted to re-engage the audience he had hooked as kids, he would allow other writers to write the screenplays and he could focus on what it is he loves the most: special effects. Hell, I would even let someone else DIRECT! Spielberg, maybe??? I would have loved to have seen what a writer like Timothy Zahn could have done with Episodes 1-3.
I will not be going to the theatre to see this Clone Wars movie. It’s definitely going to be added to my Netflix queue when it’s available, but I am not wasting my cash on this in the theatre.
It has come to this, a Star Wars movie thats a kids film.
Naw dont get up Lucas, well just get the boys in animation to throw something together.
I really hope this film suffers the same fate as Alderan,,,
I think there’s an extra ‘A’ in that planet’s name 790
I say boycott this film. Vic, you’re actually one of the most generous reviewers of this film out there.
The story is awful, the fact that it again involves the Hutt’s and Tatooine (how does the most insignifcant planet become a central part of every movie and every video game…there’s nothing frigging there…And I don’t think those fat slugs measure up to the gangs and crime syndicates on the more popular and significant planets).
This movie was simply to get today’s very little children into star wars, and have them start collecting the overpriced toys.
How come these robots need to communicate through audio but sometimes can’t hear each other…that was actually a part of the film. And I don’t get how the big joke of stormtroopers not being able to shoot is taken and exponentially exaggerated here. The droids can’t shoot, the useless soldiers can’t shoot…what the heck is this? Paintball players and kids playing lasertag would make more realistic combat sequences…okay I’m gonna stop, lol…. and then there’s the Hutt characters….no…I’ll stop.
Not anymore Rob, its been totally blown away.
I think one reason nobody can seem to shoot is to make it more kid friendly.
((( As bizzare as that sounds )))
Well, im here waiting to see Tropic Thunder, as I walked by the theater showing Star Wars, the film let out,,,it was all little kids between the ages of 4 and 9 years old with their parents.
Some of them came out making spaceship sounds and pretend light sabers.
Mission acomplished Darth Lucas.
Hope Tropic Thunder is good I need a good laugh today.
The music they play in theaters these days is just awefull ,,,
So what? It’s a great kids movie with some Star Wars characters in it. As a fan of the PT (I dare to say that I prefer it over the OT) I kinda liked it. It’s not a masterpiece, it’s a TV pilot (and that’s what it’s supposed to be in the first place!), nothing more, nothing less…Lucas’ one and only mistake was to let it go bigscreen. Now it has to endure those superfluous reviews. It would be better off in a TV / geek niche ignored by the general public.
Talking about little kids making spaceship sounds and pretend lightsabers…great with me. I’m a geek and I’m more than willing to feel like a 10 year old fanboy from time to time…*woosh*
I think the problem with making a SW film geared towards kids is that SW was never meant to be a kid’s film - it just appeals to them, but it appeals to adults too. Adults have certain expectations, and it sounds like Clone Wars doesn’t live up in the least.
hey 790, yeap same thing here, kids everywhere. Touché on our long lost planet
Saw Tropic Thunder last night, its really funny in a crowded theatre. The first half was great and then it was not really entertaining after that except for RDJ. If Robert Downey were not in this, I’m not sure I’d be much a fan of the film.
Totally true Smike. It’s important that the kids love it…except what they love is not the Star Wars universe that was once incredible…what they love now is some sad offshoot that essentially ruined what was once incredible. Why can’t today’s young enjoy the style and glory of the original trilogy? That’s the whole issue here I think.
anyways, thanks to this film which to me is a nail in the coffin (a coffin hand-crafted by Darth Lucas), I’m going to the Trek universe baby! JJ Abrams FTW!
And for those gamers out there, they’re been TONS of press on the star trek MMO being taken over by Cryptic Studios. (not my cup of tea but I’m sure someone you are into MMORPGS).
The cartoons they did for this were great. The duel in the rain was a brilliant idea, and then the fight amidst the speeding trains was superbly done.
I do think Lucas created a fantastist universe, but seems among the lesser equipped to show it. The best of all the movies is Empire, and the cartoons made me love this stuff again, until more prequels knocked me back down.
Real shame.
Also, as a kid I went with the fads as they came along, got tshirts for various movies and shows, and toy characters and the rest. But you need more for it to last into adulthood. We’ll see on that one.
I think people are way too harsh on the Star Wars prequels. Phantom Menace was a complete wast of the time, but the next two were better. I think Episode III is actually the best of the entire Star Wars saga.
Um… wow.
Vic
I liked the prequels, they all had some great moments, but the first two Star Wars films were the Best.
The Ewoks were the beginning of the end of Star Wars.
honestly, i did’nt like the pre-quals
the only good thing that came out of the pre-quals was
Darth maul,Qui-Gon Gin, & Jango Fett.
other than that i don’t give a damn.
movie looks good for a younger audience,but for DIE-HARD Star Wars fans like myself should be insulted.
T.,
Phantom Menace is a waste of time? but you like Attack of the clones?…hmm…
heh, how do you feel about Clone Wars?
In my estimation, episodes 4-6 made you feel like a kid, while the prequels just treated you like one. That said, Return of the Sith managed to be decent - but I suspect that has more to do with the much awaited scenes of Anakin turning to the Dark Side and his climactic showdown with Obi-Wan, which we all knew was coming and which had the most dramatic potential. All Lucas had to do was not completely screw up our expectations for that event and the film would already be put head and shoulders above the previous two installments. Really, I think there was only enough material to write one good pre-quel.
The trailers for Clone Wars all left me cold, as if I could audibly hear the barrel scraping in the distance. It just looked like the cut scenes from a video game, and they gave no indication of ideas or plot elements. It was all as though a fan had created his uber Star Wars fantasy complete with action figures going *pchew! pchew!* - all action and no story.
Lucas has lost all credibility with me and this didn’t seem to show any sign of improvement over the rest of his recent body of work. Needless to say, I will not be spending either time or money watching this thing. If I can stand it, I may tune into a few episodes of the TV show this movie was meant to promote, but I’m not counting on much happening.
Rob, I thought Attack of the Clones was kinda in the middle, building some from the first Episode, showing Count Dooku’s manuevering. Dooku and Palpatine were the hightlights of Episodes II and III for me. Episode III seemed to finally have the energy, character conflicts, and moral points of no return I was looking for in the series. Hayden was weak in the series, but Samuel Jackson and the guy who played Palpatine for me were endlessly entertaining. I’ll see Clone Wars later today, after the men’s 100 meter dash. I love the Olympics!
Someone in the know tell me, what happens after Return of the Jedi and would it make for more good movies. Or, is it time to let it go?
T, heres a few highlights,,, post Star Wars set in the novels. (You tell me if theres enough material).
The Emperor’s emortal darkside soul travels back to Corescant and is transfered into one of the many clone bodies the Emperor has waiting.
Leia and Solo marry, and have twins, that grow into Jedi’s.
Boba Fett, is resuced in whats left of the Sarlacc pit, by Dengar.
Luke becomes the leader of the New Jedi Order and begins to retrain and rebuild the Jedi’s.
Mara Jade, (The Emperors Hand) is contracted to Kill Luke, but falls in love with him instead.
Imperial, Admiral Thrawn, begins to reassemble the fleet, and sets his sights on destroying the New Jedi Order.
Anyone else,,, I cant recall everything.
Similar question to T 790, is there anything that’s been established between Episodes III and IV? Darth Vader’s got at least twenty years of barging around to do, and if they’re going to revisit instead of continue, would that period be worth delving into?
Vic
Just out of interest, do any of the Emperor’s cloned bodies make him look a bit more attractive to the laydeez?!
Good point Vic, the man’s like a drug addict.
Lol, well (Lucas) is more like a control freak (IMO).
Theres been short stories written for inbetween ep 3 and 4 but im not aware of any novels, allthough im sure there might be one or two,,,,,
As far as the Emperors clones, the Dark Horse comics show them as a younger version of Palpatine. I really doubt hes into the ladies as Power and Control are his mistress.
The sad thing as Vic, points out is that Lucas has a Vader-like grip on control of the Saga. Im hoping one day Speilberg can talk him out of it.
As Henry Kissinger (apparently) said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Younger body as well: he’s got it all happening for him then, that Emperor!
Old folks home, two men in bath chairs by the window.
Spielberg: “Y’know, George…you really should let one of these youngsters take a stab at Star Wars someday.”
Lucas: “I just peed myself.”
Rob, I too am going to the Trek universe. I’ve had enough of George Lucas’ ego.
Big Dentist, I did some checking today, and theres a Republic Commando series and also a Shadows of the Empire prequel series going on between 3 and 4.
I highy recommend some of Timothy Zahns novels, hes the best going.
Theres a ton of stories, more than I thought, that take place after ep 6,,, theres a massive series on The New Jedi order that could easily be filmed as a trilogy.
Never say never,,,
Ya, Trek Convert! Another has joined the lightside! lol
And Vic is dead on. Once Lucas gets a little order and even more senial, Fox or whoever can garner the SW license can make episodes 7-9. Can you imagine Mark Hamill back, much older, as leader of the jedi Academy?! A much darker and more realistic tone and style of films, reminiscent of the originals. That makes my mouth water.
And don’t worry, it is impossible for episodes 7-9 to not be made in the future. There’s too many stories left to be finished (the rebuilding of the jedi, freeing of the galaxy, the new status quo, the new galatic government, and the remnants of the still massive empire). I just hope its done not to late to bring back Hamill.
Star Trek !!!
Good points Rob,,,
I agree 100% we need to get ep 7-9 going so Mark Hamill can close this franchise out in a spectacular way,!!!
Hes the perfect age NOW,,,
Star Wars fans all need to see this.
^
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Comic_Book_The_Movie/60033127?trkid=222336&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=439884344_0_0>
Came out in 2002.
Mark Hamill’s last movie. Its awesome! And theres some great Star Wars actor cameos.
The sad thing about all these less than stellar prequels and such that have come from George Lucas is that its not just greed that’s produced them,but also laziness.He has chosen to make the easy buck,by just slapping the Star Wars moniker on a film with a lot of bells and whistles with a sub-par story line and characters,instead of giving us something creative and compelling.Sorry to say,but George is all about the money!
So far fridays take was 6.9 mil.
Estimated gross for the weekend 19. Mil.
Not exactly the Block buster type numbers. Its expected to come in second behind Tropic Thunder.
Star Wars and George Lucas have (long ago) gone to the DARK SIDE. Darth Lucas and his films are MORE MACHINE than MAN. Now, completely digital, the franchise itself has fulfilled its own prophetic warning: do not fall prey to ego, arrogance, self-centered-ness, or GREED.. Behold, the Star Wars Marketing Empire. “All Hope is Lost.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-f08kXn6c
Thanks 790. From what I’ve been told Timothy Zahn sounds like he’s got a genuine feel for the Star Wars mythos and isn’t just cranking ‘em out. That Comic Book movie sounds like a little gem. Anything with Bruce Campbell gets my vote. I hadn’t watched Bubba Ho-Tep for ages, and you mentioning it on another post made me dig it out again. It’s a great performance - a lot more to it than just a wacky idea. I always thought he should have got more leading parts thrown at him.
Bill, that’s a good one. Sad but 100% true. Lucas should be locked in a room with this playing on a loop until he begs for forgiveness.
Ask not what your rest home can do for you, but what you can do for your rest home.
That movie is much more than just a wacky idea. One of my favourites.
I wonder if George and his posse are reading what’s going on the ze internets in regards to him and what has happened to the once-godlike franchise.
I’ve never thought in all my life growing up that I’d actually be upset and frustrated with Star Wars…to the point where I’m avoiding it…That makes panda sad
[south park quote]
Bring on the Enterprise baby!
Rob, if he is, in true Darth fashion he probably thinks he’s surrounded by the forces of chaos that he and he alone can bring balance to…
Steven, “Even a big bitch cockroach like you should know… Never, but never, f*** with the King…”!
Rob, if he is, in true Darth fashion he probably thinks he’s surrounded by the forces of chaos that he and he alone can bring balance to…
Steven, do you think we’re ever going to see that “Bubba Nosferatu: Curse Of The She-Vampires”?
“Let’s get decadent!”
I hope so, but can’t see it. Ho-Tep was some years ago. Think they said they might make it as a prequel, so when he was younger. Sure Bruce can do it all again.
One of my favourite lines is from Ossie:
“The woman who calls herself my niece…”
He was brilliant as ‘JFK’.
Whoops, one of those got stuck. Strange parallel with Ian McDiarmid if that’s the case: able to play Palpatine 20-odd years on no prob by just having less makeup!
George: the more he tightens his grip, the more star systems will slip through his fingers…
Timothy Zahn’s, work is great I highly recomend it.!!
Also I highly recomend , Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Tales from Mos Eilsy Cantina, and Tales from Jabba’s Palace,,, all really good books that explore all the characters mentioned.
The IG-88 story is “film worthy” and has a great cameo from Vader.
Yeah Bid Dentist, I wouldnt hype (Comic Book the Movie) so much if I didnt know that EVERY Star Wars fan would love it !!!
Im gonna have to watch Bubba again !!
(Such a great film)
Rob, ive heard Lucas himself say that he never reads reviews,,, However im sure his ppl do,,, and they prob have to tell the Emperor that his new clothes are just fine, just fine,,,
The review is off base. If you love Star Wars, you will love this movie. It recaptures the spirit of 4,5, and 6, and is much better than 1, 2, and 3. I was skeptical at first (since it is all CGI), but found myself deeply immersed in the story. I went for my son, but wound up enjoying it myself. I give it 4 stars.
Take some time to look around the ‘net for other reviews. You’ll see that this is one of the more… generous ones.
Vic
790 said: “Its expected to come in second behind Tropic Thunder.”
Not even that TDK edged it out!
TT $37,033,000
TDK $16,790,000
SWCW $15,505,000
Did I say that ??
Well im glad to be wrong on that !!
Also there saying that TDK is only 75mil behind Titanic.
Capt Jack, there’s a typo in your message.
I think you meant to say, if you love star wars, you will hate the clone wars film more than anything.
The original Star Wars had an excellent story and universe setup. It set rules that it followed. Clone Wars spits on those rules and that universe and gives us hardcore Star Wars fans the big middle finger. Atleast, that’s how I feel.
I was around in 1977 when the first film came out (which originally wasn’t called “A New Hope”), and have seen every movie at the theater since. I’ve read the Zahn books (which are excellent), and waited in vain for George to make 7, 8, and 9 (I now fully understand why that will never happen; I’ll get back to that in a minute). So I’m by no means coming late to the Star Wars party.
I agree Vic that your review is probably more generous than others. However, having seen the film, I thought that the review nitpicked too much. I too found some aspects of the film annoying (such as the introduction, the acting of Jabba the Hut’s uncle, the overdose of battle sequences, etc.), but overall felt that the story was good, and the acting excellent. The characters in this story acted with humor and emotion reminiscent of 4, 5, and 6. Ironically, the depth of the characters in this film made the characters in 1, 2, and 3 seem “two dimensional.” I watched #2 again on DVD prior to seeing Clone Wars, and found myself bored with it (and agitated by how immature and bratty Anakin acted in that film). In comparison, Clone Wars is a breath of fresh air. In short, I enjoyed Clone Wars, and am looking forward to seeing it again (along with the TV series).
Now as to why 7, 8, and 9 will never happen: the story is complete, and George doesn’t care what happens after 6. I eagerly read every Zhan book when they first came out, and couldn’t wait for the movies to (hopefully) appear. But one thing always bothered me about the Zhan books: why did George let Zhan write such an important installment in the Star Wars series? After seeing 1, 2, and 3, it became clear to me that George had altered what Star Wars was about. It was no-longer about Luke and company fighting the evil empire; it is now the story of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Episode 1 through 6 (with Clone Wars in between) complete the story. Sure, there can be other stories, but the part that George wanted to tell is complete. This revelation, along with the alternating of the original films to fit this view, was far more unsettling to me than anything else that has transpired in the Star Wars universe.
Lucas can retain his version of the Saga within the Zahn framework, since it carries on with the Skywalkers.
I dont see your point Capt Jack ??
And is that Capt Jack from Torchwood ??? Or Pirates ???
ehh ill wait till dvd.
»Episode III and II are fine but C’MON! PLEASE STOP!«
holy……….S**T!
WTF is this crap! is all I have to say. If I want to watch cartoons, I’ll watch them on Saturday mornings.
If I want to see a movie, especially a Star Wars movie, I want to see the special effects, the tangible Stormtroopers, speederbikes, planets, light sabers……and so on.
Common…..this is the most foolish rubbish and a stab in the back to all of us who have been long time SW fans.
Didn’t they make enough money to make a better movie than that?
I like the star wars the clone wars movie and the TV show.
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