Attacking the Clones Redux

Last night I took the boys out to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I'm an old school Star Wars fan and it was fun to take the next generation out to the cinema and indulge in George Lucas' whims.

Predictably, the film is generally getting mediocre to bad reviews. I went into the theatre expecting laser shoot-outs, light saber battles, a whiny teenager, and Yoda throwing predicates, subjects, objects, and modifiers into a blender until they come out all wizened-sounding. And that's exactly what I got.

I'd read some reviews of the film prior to seeing it and by far the worst was Roger Ebert's. I am forced to ponder what exactly he thought he'd be getting from this movie.

Exempli gratia:

The two armies attack each other, for some reason, only on a wide street in a towering city. First one army advances, then the other. Why not a more fluid battle plan?

Was Ebert expecting the screenwriters to study Patton's tactics?

The Separatist droid army executes a series of lateral obliques…

Kenobi: "Dooku you magnificent bastard – I read your book!"



Ebert hates the animation as well.

The characters have hair that looks molded from Play-Doh, bodies that seem arthritic, and moving lips on half-frozen faces -- all signs that shortcuts were taken in the animation work.

I thought the animation was great. Interviews with the film's makers reveal that they designed the look by starting with the 2003 Clone Wars cartoon series and crossed it with Thunderbirds, the 1960s TV show featuring chain-smoking puppets. The movement isn't as smooth as it is in other animated movies but who cares? It wasn't distracting. The only true Thunderbirds moment I can recall is when Obi Wan is jumping into his proto-A-wing fighter. Here it genuinely does look like he's a marionette being moved about on strings. Personally I loved the style of the animation. It was a nice change of pace to see something that didn't look like Shrek or Finding Nemo.

Another element of the animation that I liked was the use of darker colors. It's almost as if Darius Khondji shot the thing. Latsly, there's some really nice shot composition to be had as well. Take the shot above with Obi Wan in the foreground. It's a cartoon so you can have as much depth of focus as you want. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its worthy of Gregg Toland but it adds to the 3D effect and sure looks pretty.

OK. Enough bitching about Roger Ebert.



Plot-wise, it's standard Star Wars fare. With the Clone Wars raging, Jabba the Hutt's progeny has been kidnapped by the Separatists. The Jedi vow to rescue the Huttlet in order to gain the Hutt clan's favor and the hyperlanes they control. Count Dooku looks to exploit the situation to get the Hutt's on his side. There are epic scenes of clone troopers duking it out with droids, light saber duels, and lots of cheesy dialogue ala Flash Gordon. Plus Anakin gets his own padawan, a whiny/sassy teenager named Ahsoka Tano who is, truthfully, pretty annoying. Just like Luke and Anakin.

Along the way we also get to me Ziro the Hutt who made me laugh. Ziro is Jabba's uncle and he speaks in English instead of Huttese. Ziro is clad in tattoos and hangs out in one Coruscant's seedier neighborhoods. Oddly enough, Ziro speaks with a New Orleans accent. I now read that Lucas himself wanted the character to sound like Truman Capote. Why he should want this is beyond me and I guess I'm a horrible person for not having been offended. Truth be known, I didn't view Ziro as this weak, effeminate gay stereotype; instead I was just amused at having a slice of The Big Easy in the Star Wars universe.

The filmmakers decided to not address Anakin and his move towards the Dark Side. Palpatine's maneuvering behind the scenes is virtually absent save one scene where he appears in his stylish dark robe on one of those hologram message hoolies. Anakin is the loose cannon we know from the prequels but he shows no signs of his Sithy future. What you do get is lots and lots of action. If you go expecting to see the rivers of Christophsis choked with the bodies of the dead and the Jedi bringing Hell with them, then you won't be disappointed.

Star Wars: Clone Wars is the introduction to a TV series of the same name due this fall on the Cartoon Network.