Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Review, Discuss, Debate, Celebrate.

[Blankments]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is really ugly. It's shocking that this animation was released in theaters by a major company and they didn't feel like it was subpar. Granted, it's clearly lifted from the TV series of the same name, but from the few clips I've seen here and there, it seems higher quality in the show proper. The writing is horrendous too, frequently playing like idle soundbites from a video game. That's a good way to describe it, actually: the whole movie feels like a video game cutscene. All these negatives, but there's one really good thing about it: the action sequences. It's a full scale battle frequently and always well-choreographed with good editing. Too bad that doesn't make a good movie. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an interesting foray into animation for the biggest sci-fi franchise ever, but sadly, it never really comes together as a cohesive work. D

[MCKillswitch123]

Quoting myself from the fanboy wars thread:

 

Quote

I've seen The Clone Wars animated movie today for the 1st time ever. I mean, with the late Star Wars tear I've been in, why not, right? Better not lose the opportunity to do it, when I probably won't feel like doing it later.

 

Aaaaaand it sucked. It feels every bit as much as the made-for-TV compilation of episodes that it actually is. It looks, feels and has the script of something slightly less cheap than a Disney direct-to-DVD sequel. A lot of action scenes, and they're all bland and lifeless. Dialogue is not as painful as AOTC or TPM, and the movie flows better than those two shitstains, but apart from that, it's in that camp of bottom tier Star Wars easily.

 

I don't consider the Genndy Tartakovsky miniseries a movie - I mean, it's a miniseries - but if you want something Clone Wars related, watch that instead. It's so much better than the stupid movie. I haven't seen the 3D animated show, but I imagine it's better than the movie as well. Lego Star Wars III (the game) is also a better experience than the movie.

 

Empire > A New Hope > Last Jedi > Return > Force Awakens > Rogue One > Revenge > Clone Wars > Phantom > Attack

D+

Edited December 17, 2017 by MCKillswitch123

[Avatree]

The Clone Wars is a big step up from the prequels and really fleshes out and explores the fall of Anakin, as well as it just being really good fun and engaging with all kinds of storylines brought up. 

 

I really recommend it to anyone who found the prequels disappointing... so don't be put off by this "film" if you can even call it that.

[dxmatrixdt]

Star Wars: Clone Wars has the best introduction titles outside of the cannon.  The others are Solo and Rogue One.  When the Lucasfilm logo shows, you hear radio transmissions from an intergalactic space battle and then the Star Wars logo comes up.  Instead of text scrolling across the screen, you get a quick narration.  It is challenging because one of the first things they state is ‘after the battle of Geonisis’.  This is where the arena battle and the first clone wars happened in the Attack of the Clones.  The basic Star Wars broadcast narrator goes on to state, during a space battle sequence, that Count Dooku and the Separatist army in the droid side of the clone wars has gained control over hyperspace lanes in the galaxy which made it easier for the separatists to win over and annex other plants tied to overall galactic political structure.  Relative of the Hutt’s and out on the outskirts, Jabba the Hutt resides on and were an easy target during the beginning of the war.  His is kidnapped by some unknown renegades.  Back in Coruscant headquarters, Chancellor Palpatine and Mace Windu discuss this happening.  Palpatine feels the Jedi would be best to go to the outskirts, or wherever the Hutt’s son was taken and bring him back to satisfy Jabba.  Only Anakin and Obi-Wan are available which is fine by the Chancellor to send them. 

 

As far as the action, you start off with a land battle.  Anakin and Obi-Wan are trying to master the level, there are a lot of video game combination recreation moves with the Jedi, and the troops of clones and droids feature large strategical numbers. They go through another battle and try to capture the head official of a planet.  Through this battle, they push the front lines, while light years away, Yoda and the fleet are met with resistance against the Separatist and droid defense fleet.  Yoda wants to get the fleet past the blockade and to aid General Kenobi on the outskirts.  Yoda orders Obi-Wan to handle a treaty with Jabba the Hutt while Skywalker is to take a newfound apprentice and find and apprehend Jabba’s kidnapped son.  The Jedi pairings in the land battles are strong as they are super force sensitive.  Palpatine has command of the clone army while the Jedi will act on will as generals or just as Jedi, hence Yoda trying to make a push past the Separatist space blockade.  Anakin realizes his new apprentice Ahsoka Tano is worse at following direction than he is, but he seems to find this as a virtue and reason to progress training.  The action briefly stops.  At the thirty-minute point, you are entering the third battle already.  The Clone Wars is masterfully done moment by moment, and although it gets close, it is no The Dark Knight to reign supreme at the top of film in 2008.  Still, The Clone Wars is a complete attack on the senses.  The Star Wars brand stays true to taking a character from the original and drawing a line from them to the new movie directly as the main focus of the plot.  It does everything The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi does with turning and painting original scenes, feelings, and nostalgic moments and recreating them in the new series.  The prequels carried themselves, but Clone Wars does the same thing episodes 7 and 8 do.  The sudden placement of watching a cartoon directly in Star Wars battle can take one out of understanding the entire movie, so I recommend watching this with subtitles, but be sure to absorb the subtitles and everything else going on. 

97/100

 

 

^^ and here is a little video from the description of the intro above ^^

Spoiler