Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place within the three year gap between Episode II and Episode III, and gives us another look at Jabba the Hutt, albeit in animated form, as well as some of his family. Anakin (Matt Lanter) and Obi Wan (James Arnold Taylor) finish a battle on a distant planet when Anakin receives a mission by way of Padawan Ahsoko Tano (Ashley Eckstein) to investigate the disappearance of Jabba’s (Kevin Michael Richardson) son. In order to complete it, Anakin and his newly appointed apprentice must match wits and sabers with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and his pupil, Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman).
The animation was great, even though some may dislike how stylized the characters look. The mouth movements didn’t always follow the words being spoken, but it isn’t that noticeable unless you listen with your eyes. The action was actually a bit boring, though plentiful. I never got the feeling anyone was in real danger besides the clones and the droids. It was almost like watching an episode of G.I. Joe in the eighties, where gunfire is everywhere but no one important is getting hit. The voice acting was subpar. There was a consistent lack of emotion on all the characters parts that, in conjunction with the action sequences, had me trying to remember how long the running time was to gauge how much more I had to endure.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that if this were a Pixar or Disney venture, I would have enjoyed the film more due to the quality of the voice work they employ. The plot was pretty standard fare – it was very cohesive with a very small ripple, lacking any surprising twists or two. Maybe my expectations were too high as a casual Star Wars fan, I don’t know, but I came away feeling the movie’s potential wasn’t harnessed correctly. Maybe it is true – Lucas could crap in a cup, label it Star Wars, and still make a mint in profits.
As a stand-alone movie, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone other than hearty Star Wars fans who need their next fix. As a pilot to a new series (which it is), it serves it’s purpose to get the ball rolling…but that’s all. I just hope the voice actors take a few more lessons before the series really gets going, not that they’d need to. It’s branded with the Star Wars name, after all.
