Anyone else excited for the new Clone Wars movie?

[Corinthian]

Astor, saying "That was what they intended" is not a valid argument. If the movie is bad, it doesn't matter that what made it bad was what they were going for - if the Chef poops on my plate and gives it to me, and I say "You pooped on my plate!" And the chef tells me that was what he intended, it does not absolve him.

[Astor]

Astor, saying "That was what they intended" is not a valid argument. If the movie is bad, it doesn't matter that what made it bad was what they were going for - if the Chef poops on my plate and gives it to me, and I say "You pooped on my plate!" And the chef tells me that was what he intended, it does not absolve him.

 

I think you've lost me, here. Is that in regards to the plot, or the animation? Or something I said before?

[El Sitherino]

Astor, saying "That was what they intended" is not a valid argument. If the movie is bad, it doesn't matter that what made it bad was what they were going for - if the Chef poops on my plate and gives it to me, and I say "You pooped on my plate!" And the chef tells me that was what he intended, it does not absolve him.

 

Or perhaps a better way to think about this would be to think about what you want, and what is offered. If you have no appreciation for a chef's poo in a meal, then perhaps you should eat somewhere that offers something more to your liking. Just because you don't like something doesn't make it incorrect, it just means you don't think critically and simply incite situation.

 

Obviously you're expecting more from a children's movie than is offered in children's movies. So instead of going to see a children's movie, you should go see an adult movie since you want plot and character development.

[Giant Graffiti]

Only 19% on Rotten Tomatoes? Man, than it must REALLY suck.

The really sad part is the Holiday Special has a 40%.

[Pho3nix]

The Good:

Large scale clone wars battles a la the original CW series. **** goes boom!

No crappy love dialog

Some good voice acting, especially by Lee

Clones get some more personality

No Jar Jar

More fun that much of the EU

 

The Bad:

The music

More slapstick droid humor

Animation is TV quality

Story-lite

 

The Ugly:

Ashoka. The Jedi should be ashamed of themselves. Thank goodness she is gone/dead by Ep3.

Couldn't have said it better, qft.

[Darth_Yuthura]

How have they screwed it up, exactly? I quite like the style they've used. And I don't think animation is supposed to allow endless possibilities. It does, but that doesn't mean you can't tell a proper story with it.

 

No... that's not what I meant. I was very interested in seeing the Ventress/Obi-wan fight, but the character movement looked almost turn-based. Because it was not live action, there was almost no limit to how fast or furious lightsaber fights could have been. I was let down because the action sequence was disappointing.

 

I was going in with the expectation that this was going to be far-fetched from the other star wars movies, but I didn't think I'd find the live-action fighting to eclipse the animation.

[Rogue15]

i thought it was pretty good, pretty much what i expected anyway. the padawan thing made sense.

[Prime]

Force Long Post power activate! Here's my overly verbose review of Clone Wars. Some minor spoilers. You have been warned!

 

 

 

 

 

Releasing Clone Wars in theaters was a mistake.

 

The fact is that it is three episodes of a new series, intended for television. When you put a film in a theater and ask people to pay ten bucks, they expect a little more and will inevitably compare it to other films, notably the Pixar variety. Compared to the best of what Pixar has put out Clone Wars pales in visual quality, dialog, and story. I think in some degree rightly deserves the harsh reviews it is getting. It simply is not a very good feature film, especially if you are not a Star Wars fan.

 

But you know what? This might turn into a fun TV show, if you are a Star Wars fan.

 

The Good:

There is a lot to like about CW. While the animation itself varied greatly, there is a lot of fast paced action that is really well done. I found that for the vehicles, ships, and environments the movement and look was great. Loved the walkers, loved all the ships wipping around. Pure Star Wars.

 

We finally get to see a large battle set during that war, and not glimpses as in Ep3, and how the Clone army functions under the leadership of Jedi generals. It is cool to see Anakin and Obi-wan operating in this capacity, and probably the nicest/most important thing is that we see them interacting (for the first time?) as the friends that they are alluded to in A New Hope. The clones also get some more personality as a result of being around the Jedi, and we start to get the feeling that the two groups view each other as comrades that care for each other. If this continues in the series we could end up with some great clone characters. And there was no clone/mandalorian garbage shoved down our throats. Happy happy joy joy.

 

That helped make Anakin much less annoying, IMO. Largely, the irritants that made Anakin a crybaby are not present in this film. He is no longer officially under Kenobi's tutelage, and so doesn't chafe at the constant direction and criticism. He does not yet have a reason to want to be a Master and be on the council. His girl back home is not around, sparing us from his fumbling attempts to get laid. And Christophsis isn't sandy, which we know is coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth. Plus, his new padawan brings out some good qualities in him and shows that he isn't as reckless as we sometimes think of him.

 

Then there is the whole padawan thing that has caused much angst and teeth gnashing from fanboys. I'll get to her issues later, but as a concept I thought it was handled just fine. The masters have the same reservations as the fans is to how Anakin will handle the job, but they hope that it will help to make him more mature. So for me the "why would they do that?" question was sufficiently answered.

 

Most of the voice acting is well done. The actors that reprise their roles obviously fit the parts, and the rest do a great job of sounding like the live action characters. Jabba sounds awesome.

 

After several years of dark, unhappy, and sometimes dialog laden EU stories (NJO and LotF I'm looking at you) it found it a bit refreshing to get back to the swashbuckling type of story that SW used to be. Heavy on action isn't always a bad thing, and CW is certainly heavy on that. I never really buy the "we already know how it all ends" argument, and the show is so focused on the main story that it never really is an issue. I mean, even without RotS we pretty much know Anakin and Obi-wan were going to survive, right?

 

The Bad:

The Clone Wars brings a lot of the franchise's baggage and throws some more on the pile. The dialog is by no means elegent, which is a disappointment since the project was not directly written by Lucas. The plot itself is very shallow and borders on silly, and is really just a vehicle for the action scenes. Jabba has a baby with a cutsie name, nicknamed Stinker by Anakin and his padawan. Ugh. ANH had a very simple plot, but not juvenile like this is, and tapped into mythical ideas that have been around forever.

 

One thing I disliked a great deal from the prequels is the slapstick battle droid humor. For all that is holy, why are they like this? This "humor" is ratcheted up a notch and then some in this film, to the point where it ruins the suspension of disbelief for me. It really hurts the tension of the moment when the adversaries seem so incompetent, especially in ways that droids should not be.

 

One thing that this movie highlighted for me is just how integral John Williams music is to the fabric of Star Wars, and when you take it away how glaring it is. There wasn't anything particularly bad about the new musical style, it just didn't seem to work that well, at least for me. But it does go to highlight the fact that as a TV show things aren't going to be as polished and high quality as the films.

 

The visuals are a tough thing to peg, and people's views on it are going to depend largely on whether they see it as a theatrical release or a TV show. The flaws were highlighted most by the characters themselves, both technically and stylistically. I don't mind the look of the characters really, but I do find that the cartoony style is a bit out of place when everything else is made to look much more realistic. Anakin just looks wierd.

 

There were several times, mostly on facial closeups, it became apparent just how relatively low-res the textures were in some cases. No doubt this is the result of developing for a TV screen and then having to drastically zoom in for the big screen. The end result is that it just didn't look nearly as good as a Pixar or other CG film developed with that display size in mind.

 

The Ugly:

Ahsoka Tano. I loathe you.

 

I dislike both what she is like and why she is like that. Now, I understand that I am outside the target demographic by about 15-20 years. Probably because of that I do not buy into the notion that talking back and generally being an ass all the time is endearing. Ahsoka disrespects pretty much everyone (way more than Anakin ever did), and with each passing comment I found that I wanted a stray blaster shot to hit her or someone to send her to her room.

 

Not only is her personality irritating, but it also doesn't make any sense. In our world, a 14-year old such as this is all to common. But she is raised from a very young age in the strict regiments of at the Temple, which is done precisely so Jedi don't become self-righteous punks like this. Anakin was the exception (and cautionary tale) because he was brought in so late in life and the order wasn't equipped to deal with the issues/personality traits that are normally weeded out by the formal process. Anakin was cocky because he actually was more talented than everyone else, and didn't have the background to handle it correctly, by Jedi reasoning.

 

Why Ahsoka is like this I really don't know.

 

Final Thoughts:

Clone Wars can be enjoyable if you take it for what it is, a children's TV show. I'm not sure what damage to the product all the negative reviews/publicity will have, if any, but I would bet that it would have been received a lot better had it gone straight to the small screen. I know a lot of people are disappointed, and I am too to some extent, but on the other hand I know I shouldn't get mad at a colouring book for not having a novel-level plot. I'm crushed by the weight of my own hypocracy.

 

So, should you go out and see it in theatres? I would say no. But if you must, do yourself a favor and remember that this is just the start of a new TV cartoon. If you are a Star Wars fan it is worth checking out on DVD at least, and don't dismiss the series just yet. It may turn out to be something worthwhile, or it may be complete suckage. It is still too early to tell.

 

6/10

[Revan 411]

Good review there, it gives in to a lot of insight on the movie and you pretty much summed things up.

 

I'll see this film, though after a DVD release.

[Da_Man_2423]

Good review Prime. I was already leaning towards not going, but this sealed the deal. I don't think I'll get much enjoyment out of it for the money. Perhaps on DVD.

[ChAiNz.2da]

Good review there, it gives in to a lot of insight on the movie and you pretty much summed things up.

 

I'll see this film, though after a DVD release.

 

Good review Prime. I was already leaning towards not going, but this sealed the deal. I don't think I'll get much enjoyment out of it for the money. Perhaps on DVD.

 

I'd tend to agree with these two

 

Thank you Prime for submitting your sanity, cash & review for those of us that were still debating on seeing it

[TriggerGod]

{Words}

Why Ahsoka is like this I really don't know.

{Words}

I believe that it was made to bring the good qualities of Anakin the fanboi's don't always tend to see out into the open.

People see Anakin as reckless, as you said, but I believe Ahsoka was made so that Anakin appeared to be the nicest and most cautious in the Order.

I haven't seen the movie yet, and I don't plan on it until the DVD release.

[Jason Skywalker]

Man, i gotta wait 'till the 28th before i can go see it.

 

Can't wait though.

[El Sitherino]

Yeah, sounds like I'm going to go see Pineapple Express and save this for DVD. Kudos on the review Prime, very well put.

[Ravnas]

Well, I bit the bullet and went to see this, and you know what? I had a blast seeing it. I was born a year after ROTJ came out and I never got into the prequels(Hell I didn't see Episode IV till AOTC came out:D) But honestly I had a lot of fun watching it, though I was also stone cold drunk seeing it:xp:

[mimartin]

First off I believe Prime’s review is very good, well thought out and most importantly fair, but I do take a minor exception to a few things.

Releasing Clone Wars in theaters was a mistake.[/Quote]I disagree there is no way I would have gotten my twelve year old cousin to watch Clone Wars on television. However, taking her to the movies with the promises of a soft drink and candy got her to give Star Wars a chance for the first time.

But you know what? This might turn into a fun TV show, if you are a Star Wars fan.[/Quote] Perfectly said, although I found the first three episodes to be rather fun and so did the three kids that went with me. Yes, I had to suppress my inter nit-picker and release my inter-child, but I had fun.

The Good:...[/Quote]

I could not agree more.

The Bad:...[/Quote]Again, Prime hit the nail on the head. My major grip was the music.

The Ugly:

Ahsoka Tano. I loathe you. [/Quote] Now I disagree with you here. I understand why you feel this way, but to me she was tolerable. Well almost tolerable

Her pet names for Anakin and R2 were like finger nails across a chalk board to me.

Like I wrote above, my twelve year old cousin was not a Star Wars fan. She has never watched more than a few minutes of any Star Wars movie, but yesterday I could not get her to shut up about Star Wars the rest of the day. We had to go to Wall Mart and Target in an attempt to find Ahsoka Tano action figure so she could play with her brothers. I was unsuccessful, but she now owns an Aayla Secura action figure.

Final Thoughts:...don't dismiss the series just yet. It may turn out to be something worthwhile, or it may be complete suckage. It is still too early to tell.[/Quote] No way I could improve on this advise and observation.

6/10

I’d go a little better 7/10

Remove the Basic speaking purple Hutt, the cuteness from stinky and a few of the many “Sky Guys,” and add John Williams and it would be an 8 IMO.

 

[Sigundr]

Remove the Basic speaking purple Hutt, the cuteness from stinky and a few of the many “Sky Guys,” and add John Williams and it would be an 8 IMO.

 

John Williams alone could make it an 8.

 

I still really want to go see it, but I'll probably HAVE to wait until it comes out on DVD. Stupid APSUH/English 11 Honors work. They ruin teh funz.

[Rogue Nine]

It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be, but it still wasn't all that great. That being said, I enjoyed it about as much as I could have.

 

Things I liked:

• Anakin isn't a whiny emo crybaby - This was kinda jarring, especially since we're all so used to Hayden Christensen's lachrymose performance in Ep III, but in CW Anakin does appear to have grown a pair and demonstrate actual leadership and mentorship skills. This is probably because the interaction between him and Padmé is kept to a minimum, but still refreshing nonetheless.
  
• Ahsoka isn't as annoying as I thought she'd be - Yeah, the 'Skyguy' and 'Stinky' and 'Artooey' references got real old real fast, but on the whole, I didn't mind her so much. She was spunky and full of zest and energy, which makes sense if you consider the target demographic for this movie. Now, she may not seem like a typical Padawan fresh out of the Jedi Temple, but this didn't really bother me. Jedi are still people behind all their training and whatnot, so a Padawan learner having an actual personality beyond 'Yes Master' is a good thing. Her vivaciousness also helped Anakin demonstrate his maturity and level-headedness which, as I said before, actually made me believe that the Chosen One isn't some nancy momma's boy.
  
• The music, while different, isn't that bad - Probably gonna catch a lot of flak for this one, but I enjoyed the music. It's more contemporary than we're used to from Star Wars, but it fit the tone of the movie. Sure it's no John Williams, but then again, this isn't your typical Star Wars movie. The sweeping and grand quality of Williams' compositions would have felt out of place with all the happenings in the film, in my opinion. Kevin Kiner does a pretty good job, and I really liked some of his more rock-driven tunes.
  

 

Things I didn't like:

• Obi-Wan's voice actor is a smarmy git - I realize they couldn't get Ewan McGregor to reprise his role, but good grief. The guy they picked was so freaking over the top. Almost every single line he delivered was incredibly over-acted, which pained me greatly, since Obi-Wan is one of my absolute favorite SW characters. He was so campy and dumb that I thought I was watching some stupid Saturday morning cartoon.
  
• Ziro the Hutt = Cartman - I am completely serious. The moment Ziro started talking, he sounded like Cartman from South Park, inflection, accent and all. That coupled with his drag queen-like appearance was too much for me to take seriously and it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
  
• Why did they include Padmé? - She was completely unnecessary. Her sideplot could have been completely written out.
  
• Battle droids are still dumb as bricks - Yeah, they're funny-looking and inept, we get that. But you don't have to keep ramming it down our throats that they're stupid too, with all the campy jokes.
  

 

And a few more minor nitpicks... This is obviously pretty early on the in Clone Wars, as the troopers are still wearing their Phase I armor... Anakin already has his eyebrow scar from Asajj Ventress, meaning that he acquired it early on as well... Why was the R4 unit on Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter located in front of his cockpit rather than to the side? Aside from being out of sync with the live-action depictions, it just doesn't make sense for a pilot to have a big ol' astromech dome right in his forward line-of-sight... Amazing how a seemingly crap hunk 'o junk space freighter can be made to fly extremely nimbly and evasively, just by having Anakin sitting at the controls. I know he's got the Force and the skillz and all but still...

 

Yeah, so the movie probably isn't worth a $10 ticket, but if you've got nothing to do in the morning, it probably isn't bad matinee fodder.

[Astrotoy7]

.....on the other hand I know I shouldn't get mad at a colouring book for not having a novel-level plot....

 

awesome reviews Prime and Niner

 

Im glad you have verbalised this Primeski.

 

For those that have seen the movie and become angered and upset, I hope they can also verbalise that they are being angered and upset because a kids movie has let them down.

 

I couldnt see Ashoka's character being any other way. Her talents and attitude need to be exaggerated if she is meant to be someone that makes anakin think responsibly. The only other 'teen jedi' the SW universe has ever revealed is in EU in the YJK series. Whilst they didnt have the 'tude, their skills were similarly precocious.

 

Still, Ashoka has a saber and can use it, making her far less annoying than Jar Jar in a heartbeat. No fart jokes, waggly tongues and goofy walks

 

@Niner... Ziro was a joking homage to Truman Capote If Cartman heard you were comparing him to fat gay dude with a smart mouth, he'd kick you in the nuts

 

mtfbwya

[Prime]

For those that have seen the movie and become angered and upset, I hope they can also verbalise that they are being angered and upset because a kids movie has let them down.

And I think that is the heart of all the complaints and disappointment. When I first heard about CG Clone Wars, I immediately thought micro series + CG, or CG equivalents of the films. I was wrong, and disappointed because of it. I'm certainly not angered, but can't help but feel it was a missed opportunity.

 

Could the reason it turned out this way be partly a result of the general American view that animation = for kids?

[Astrotoy7]

...Could the reason it turned out this way be partly a result of the general American view that animation = for kids?

 

Even with the huge popularity of Pixar films, and films like Beowulf, comparing themes of these movies to those explored in Japanese animation are quite disparate (pokemon excluded of course!). There is a depth and complexity that is not present... though perhaps the more cynical of film buffs amongst us could argue that Hollywood popcorn flicks are often lacking in depth and complexity, animated or not!

 

It is all Kersher's fault. Him giving TESB "a much darker patina " (GL's own words) set a remarkably hard act for any 'space flick' to follow. . .

 

There are many interviews around where GL clearly cites his motivations for making CW. Alot of it has to do with pushing a new format and testing animated features and serials as a palatable medium. It would be an impossible task to set out to make a film that would be pleasing to everyone in every way. Given the huge amount of SW fans across the globe, not every person will be pleased. As long as the film maker themselves is pleased with what they've done, that is all that possibly matters.

 

Again, Kudos to GL for sticking to his vision, both good and questionable bits of it! l personally cant wait for the animated series , and the prospect of the live action series gives me goosebumps of fan-joy

 

mtfbwya

[Jae Onasi]

My son had a movie birthday party, and this was his movie choice. We had a good time. As long as you realize it's geared towards the younger crowd, you won't be disappointed. I think seeing it at the theater is worth it for the scope of the battle scenes. The flight scenes in space, while animated, are still going to look a lot better on a big screen than on TV. Anakin as a mentor is far more emotional than other masters, but I thought this was in keeping with his nature. Ashoka reminded me a lot of Mission, actually, with her sassy personality. I loved the little side references to different movies/games--the Jawas, gizka, etc. The writers left enough open to explore a number of different things in the TV series.

 

The music for me was meh. It lost some of the grandeur that Williams had created. 'Snips' and 'Skyguy' was rather overdone. I did wonder how 10 cannons could be so important that an entire division was sent to destroy them instead of just going around them to some other part of the city, but I suppose that's a strategic question I'm not supposed to ask....

 

If the kids want to go see it again, we'll go, otherwise I'll wait for the DVD to come out.

[Prime]

Thank you Prime for submitting your sanity, cash & review for those of us that were still debating on seeing it

Always willing to take one for the team.

 

I believe that it was made to bring the good qualities of Anakin the fanboi's don't always tend to see out into the open.

People see Anakin as reckless, as you said, but I believe Ahsoka was made so that Anakin appeared to be the nicest and most cautious in the Order.

I understand the purpose of the character, and it did help Anakin's character, but I think she could have been just as effective in that role if her rebelliousness was toned down a magnitude.

 

Now I disagree with you here. I understand why you feel this way, but to me she was tolerable...Like I wrote above, my twelve year old cousin was not a Star Wars fan. She has never watched more than a few minutes of any Star Wars movie, but yesterday I could not get her to shut up about Star Wars the rest of the day. We had to go to Wall Mart and Target in an attempt to find Ahsoka Tano action figure so she could play with her brothers. I was unsuccessful, but she now owns an Aayla Secura action figure.

Like I said, I know I'm clearly not the demographic they were targeting. I just feel like they potentially alienated older fans in the process when they didn't have to.

 

Now, she may not seem like a typical Padawan fresh out of the Jedi Temple, but this didn't really bother me. Jedi are still people behind all their training and whatnot, so a Padawan learner having an actual personality beyond 'Yes Master' is a good thing.

I'm ok with personality. It just seems to me to be out of place to have a padawan that is so abrasive to her elders/superiors. I just can't picture that attitude not being drummed out years ago.

 

Ziro the Hutt = Cartman - I am completely serious.

I actually liked Ziro, if not the backstory so much.

 

And a few more minor nitpicks... This is obviously pretty early on the in Clone Wars, as the troopers are still wearing their Phase I armor... Anakin already has his eyebrow scar from Asajj Ventress, meaning that he acquired it early on as well... Why was the R4 unit on Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter located in front of his cockpit rather than to the side?

There definitely seems to be some retconning going on.

 

I still greatly prefer the previous CW micro series...

[ET Warrior]

I'm going to go ahead and copy the review I posted on my blog. I very much disliked The clone wars, btw.

 

 

He's done it. It has finally happened. George Lucas has destroyed any last remnants of faith that I may have had lingering in him, and in no subtle fashion I might add. Star Wars: The Clone was is, without doubt, the most horrendous piece of 'cinema' I have ever intentionally subjected myself to. Before I get into the specifics of my claim, I will provide a little of my history with Star Wars to help drive home just how betrayed I felt last night.

 

Among my earliest memories are of watching a poorly recorded version of A New Hope with my dad. I loved it from the beginning. There was something absolutely magical about the Original Trilogy. Star Wars completely changed my life (For better or worse). I own two Star Wars T-shirts, a Star Wars hat, a (bad ass) Jedi Costume, my car had a star wars bumper sticker, Yoda hangs from my rear view mirror, I own and have read well over 50 star wars books, and I have watched the Original Trilogy more times than I can recall. I have never once in my entire life been ashamed to admit my devotion to Star Wars, even after the disappointment that was the prequels (and the special edition, the special special edition, and the future super special deluxe mega 3D editions).

 

So understand the full weight of my meaning when I say that I am extremely embarrassed that Star Wars: The Clone Wars even exists. There was not one single redeeming quality that can be gleaned from that movie. My friends can all attest, the evening ended with me curled up in the fetal position in the movie theater. Be warned, ye faint of heart: Spoilers and heartache are to follow.

 

The movie starts with a gut-wrenching and disgusting rendition of the Star Wars main theme, followed by a Starship Troopers-esque voice over explaining the thin and contrived plot that the rest of the movie will be centered on. (Have you always wondered just how it was during the Clone Wars that the Galactic Republic planned to gain control of vital shipping lanes? STAY TUNED!) And then it went downhill from there. The primary focus of the movie is on Anakin and his new padawan Ahsoka. Anakin is every bit as annoying as he was in the prequels, but he can't even compare to how annoying Ahsoka is. Everything from her nickname for Anakin (Skyguy. Seriously, die.) to her ridiculous 'I act arrogant but I'm really insecure' demeanor, everything is painful to watch. Of course, when they're not center stage, the movie likes to jump to the battle droids, who were apparently programmed to be completely retarded (I'm talking JarJar Binks stupid), which could have been a key factor in the downfall of the separatists. (omg I leaned forward and fell off a cliff. Noooooo)

 

The movie could have at least salvaged some watchability with exciting action sequences. This should have been easy to deliver on, but apparently not. I found this particularly mind boggling, how is it possible for all six live action star wars movies to have VASTLY more entertaining and energetic lightsaber fights than one that was animated? It's an ANIMATED MOVIE! YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO. I have only scratched the surface of the terrors that were unleashed upon the masses in The Clone Wars, but I can't really talk about them without blood shooting out of my ears.

 

Of course, I recognize that this movie was intended primarily for children, but that still is no excuse for how absolutely abysmal it was. It is possible to create a movie that is primarily for children that adults will still love (Pixar, anyone?). And if the kids who looked bored out of their skulls last night were any indication...They failed in that regard as well. (maybe because the entire script was apparently written by 4 year olds?)

 

Don't watch this movie unless you actually hate yourself.

 

[Astor]

I'm going to go ahead and copy the review I posted on my blog. I very much disliked The clone wars, btw.

 

Don't watch this movie unless you actually hate yourself.

 

So George Lucas destroyed any faith you had in him? That's nice.

 

I think i'll watch it myself than be swayed by another review

 

Good. However, let's not make it a snipe-fest either.

I'm getting tired of editing this thread - Cz