Star Wars - The Clone Wars [2008] - DVD Review

Star Wars - The Clone Wars [2008]
Directed by Dave Filoni

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-12-08
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Icelandic
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the 2008 CGI-animated theatrical film that serves as the kick-off to the weekly animated Clone Wars TV series. The concept came about way back in 1977's original Star Wars film, when Leia says in her message to Obi-Wan Kenobi "Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars." Initially a simple offhand reference that would reveal Luke's past, the phrase captured fans' attentions for years, until Episode II: Attack of the Clones revealed just how the Clone Wars figured into the battle between Republic and Empire.
The 2008 movie is full of familiar characters--Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku--and a new one: Ahsoka Tano, a young girl who has been made Anakin's Padawan. Together, the two headstrong youths embark on a mission to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped child, battling each other as much as they battle the Separatist forces. There are some good sequences, including duels with Dooku and his assassin, Asajj Ventress, and it's interesting to see some new corners of the Star Wars universe, such as the seamy underbelly of Coruscant. But Ahsoka and her penchant for nicknames that are too cute to stomach seem aimed only at tween-age audiences, and for all that goes on in the movie, nothing really happens in the end. The 2003 animated Clone Wars micro-series, which had the advantage of being directly tied into the live-action film series, had much more emotional bite.
At least some familiar voices return: Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO, and still the only actor in every movie), Christopher Lee (Dooku). Other voices include Matt Lanter (Anakin), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka), and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan). But even the traditional opening crawl has been replaced by a narration more suited for Starship Troopers. Veteran Star Wars fans will probably want to see The Clone Wars--once--but it won't take them long to discover that this Star Wars isn't theirs any more. --David Horiuchi

DVD Description
In Star Wars - The Clone Wars, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army.

Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side...

Synopsis
Would-be Jedis (and Sith) everywhere can jump for joy at the big-screen arrival of Star Wars - The Clone Wars. Series creator George Lucas executive produces this all-new, CGI-animated tale that revisits classic characters, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme Amidala in the midst of the Clone Wars. The film will be followed by small-screen adventures on Cartoon Network.

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Customer Reviews

brilliant introduction to star wars for the kids
i grew up on star wars . i took my son ( 4 ) to see this film , he loved it and now is a fan and loves all things star wars related.

Not for Science Fiction, or Star Wars fans.
I tried to open minded about this film when I first went to the cinema, determining that "I'm a star wars fan, and no matter how bad it is, it's still Star Wars."

That feeling lasted about um... a second and a half from the start of the film. It started off fine with the, "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away." I smiled, prepared myself for the classic theme and it... never came. I had been told it was 'remixed' beforehand, but I was expecting something not too different, the new composer didn't even keep the first 4 notes.

Then we move onto the 'Opening Crawl' - which didn't exist. Another staple of Star Wars, even found in the games, gone, poofed completely. It was replaced with a narrator speaking over a kind of WW2 'news reel'. A few minutes into it and already the film has lost all its feel of being Star Wars, by no doubt intentional design decisions. In my book, if the writers/directors/producers etctera intentionally changed something, and it turned out badly, it's still bad.

It got worse, the opening battle could have potentially been something good and enjoyable to watch, instead it was as if it had been played in fast forward, I could almost imagine the 'Benny Hill' theme being played in the background.

Admittedly, I was a bit biased towards the 'art style' before hand so I thought, if I'm going to write a review on it, I'll avoid mentioning it as it would be rather unfair and not truly neutral. So I will avoid commenting on it except to say, that it gets worse. When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine walked into a scene, his style was seemed to be entirely based on a... bobblehead toy. There is 'stylised' drawing (which I would define by the early 1990's Batman cartoons) and then there's 'caricature' - Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I felt was the latter. Additionally, the animation was jerky, possibly as a reference to the 'Thunderbirds' puppets. In my opinion, it didn't work, it just made it look even worse.

The film is a childrens oriented film, and I'm perfectly happy to accept that. In honesty, this was the strongest part of the film. The new Padawan was someone that children could enjoy watching and identify with. There was even some humour involving her and "Stinky the Hutt" that could be enjoyed by the little 'uns. However, I think in trying to appeal to children, they actually managed to make the dialogue even worse than Attack of The Clones and going on to insult the intelligence of the kids in the audience to boot. A typical conversation, which was repeated several times in the films follows.

Character A: "Jabba the Hutts son has been kidnapped."
Character B: "The Jedi Order must go and rescue Jabba the Hutts son."
Character A: "If the Seperatists rescue Jabba the Hutts son first we'll lose the war."
Character A: "Then it's agreed, we must rescue Jabba the Hutts son from being kidnapped."

While this conversation was on-going (and going, and going), the characters tones would randomly change from low to high to low again. I believe, when Obi-wan was speaking, this was an attempt to copy his voice from episode III, it didn't work. The only character that avoided this was the Padawan, Ashkoja, which, truth be told, made her scenes are more watchable than any others.

Finally, a good word about it, scenes that didn't have any characters in them, for example space and 'landscape' scenes did look particularly good and demonstrate the potential for how enjoyable the film COULD have been. However, due to several strange, strange design decisions that seemed only to have been changed for the sake of being changed, I would recommend against even renting this film. If you must see it, wait for it to come on television.

Thoroughly enjoyable
I watched this in the cinema with my young lad. Surprisingly to me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be buying the DVD without a doubt. I would definitely recommend this film.