In August of 2008, George Lucas released to theaters the latest
"epic" that takes place in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
His most recent effort is an all-CGI animated film that takes place in-between
the Star Wars prequel films Attack Of The Clones and
Revenge Of The Sith. But
for those expecting another epic tale of high adventure among the stars, bear
in mind that, despite its theatrical release, The Clone Wars is basically a
pilot for the same-named TV series that airs on the Cartoon Network. By its very
nature, a pilot must introduce the characters of a TV series, as well
as set up the basic situation that viewers are likely to expect. But, for the
most part, pilots have no real ending, and that’s part of the problem with The
Clone Wars: there’s no satisfactory ending, since the overall story will be
continued very week on the TV series.
Another problem for me is the overly stylized "animated" look that the
characters have, which gives them oddly blocky features that doesn’t distinguish
them too much from the weird looking aliens. I mean, it’s CGI, after all; why
not push the boundaries of the medium by creating more realistic humans? But the
biggest problem is the lack of credibility that this project has--especially
when you consider that the whole Clone Wars story was far better told in Clone
Wars, the brief cartoons directed by animation genius Genndy Tartakovsky that
also initially aired on the Cartoon Network. They are now available on
DVD--although they’re officially out of print, you can still get them through
secondhand sellers in the Amazon marketplace.
The Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars cartoons may have been individually short, but
they were vastly entertaining little nuggets that captured the fun spirit of the
Star Wars films to the point that they were simply exhilarating to watch. By
comparison, with its hackneyed main plot of rescuing the kidnapped Stinky, Jabba
The Hut’s baby son, The Clone Wars movie pilot appears dull and tired. The fact
that Anakin is saddled in the film with an annoying little know-it-all brat as
an apprentice makes one realize that the Lucas dream factory has truly run out
of fresh ideas. And despite the fact that original prequel film actors
Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Daniels all lend their voices to
The Clone Wars, this still feels like a second rate project that should be
avoided at all costs. --SF
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