Calgary 10 Reasons to LOVE CLONE WARS

Actually, the heading is incorrect. For me, there are hundreds of reasons to love Clone Wars (I just can't get enough), but everyone seems to be posting their own top 10 lists (to love or hate Star Wars) and so I felt the need to contribute my own views.

In no particular order (because it's all AWESOME!!), here's 10 things to LOVE about The Clone Wars:

*Anakin Skywalker - bold, brash, dynamic, incredibly powerful in the Force, a fierce, cunning warrior and a loyal, dedicated general. It's no secret, he is my favourite character. He's complex - constantly fighting the lure of the dark side. And he's the most 'human' of the Jedi. Watching him in action is a pure joy for me! And I love seeing the HERO he is/was...prior to ROTS.

*Obi Wan Kenobi - suave, cool under pressure, genteel and absolutely LETHAL with a light saber. Undeniably one of the most exciting characters to watch on screen. I don't really have to explain what makes him THE ultimate Jedi. Just watch!

*Ahsoka Tano - fun, fearless, strong and independant. She faithfully follows the Star Wars formula (along the likes of Leia and Padme) for girl power! I love the interaction between her and Anakin (similar to the bantering between Han and Leia, but without the 'love' interest angle). Am really psyched to see how her character develops and where she ends up.

*Asaaj Ventress - I found Ventress to be a curiosity in the micro series, and she didn't really 'speak' to me as a character. After seeing her in Clone Wars though - wow!! She's devious, fierce, wickedly fast, a real BADASS. A worthy villain - wonder why she's not Sith yet?? Maybe we'll find out...

* Captain Rex and the Clones - Again, I wasn't initally a big fan of the Clones, but Clone Wars has me hooked! I lumped these guys together but really, they could each be their own category. From Captains, Commanders, Special Forces, to regular Grunts - they are loyal, heroic, determined, dedicated, and dogged fighters on the battlefield. They never give up. They are the unsung heroes of Star Wars. And I think they'll become the real heart and soul of the series...

* Epic Space Battles - honestly, whenever we jumped to a space battle scene, I didn't feel like I was watching a cartoon. It's so REAL. And fast! Simply spectacular!! Fantastically conceived and flawlessly executed.

* Obi Wan vs. Asaaj - Holy Hell! Was this ever exciting!! The cutting remarks and the banter between them made it even more dynamic to watch. LOVE that Obi Wan was using Force powers to jump around and push Asaaj back. LOVE that Asaaj wouldn't give him an inch and just kept coming.
'We know of Dooku's plan...it will not succeed.'
'It will when the truth dies with you!' - great stuff!!

* Anakin vs. Dooku - powerful and personal. Dooku's constant baiting of Anakin is wondrously sinister. Both are lightening quick. Dooku really tries to get under Anakin's skin and get him angry - tempting him to fall to the darkside. Makes you wonder if Dooku is aware of Sidious' plans for the 'Chosen One'???

* The music - Nope. Not your traditional Star Wars fanfare. And yet the tunes are haunting, melodic, gutsy and even tribal at times. There are familiar tunes mixed with new beats. More percussion makes it feel like a war drama. It really helps the animated medium stand apart from the SW films. I can't stop listening to the soundtrack - it's really amazing!! And in the same John Williams style, the music can relate the story to you without words.

* Battle Droids - are really funny!! They're really well suited to the animated show and give the otherwise dark feel of the Clone Wars, some much needed levity.

* Sweeping cinematic shots - In true Star Wars tradition, there are several expansive shots that just take your breath away. And the incredible thing is that they don't look animated. The shots of Anakin, Ahsoka and R2 walking across the Dune Sea, Coruscant at night, the Senate buil

 

My Ten reasons to Love

The Visual Style - The images look fantastic. The texturing on everything is thick and tactile. I am a big fan of the Tartakovsky style of the series that preceded it, but this one has it's own style that I'm really liking more and more.

Obi-wan Kenobi - If there was any doubt that this man is the Jedi's Jedi, watch this film.

The score - A new direction in Star Wars music, but one that really suits the different pace of, what will be, a TV series.

Ziro the Hutt - Playing on all the old pulp tropes of the southern crime lord and party fiend, Ziro is funny and interesting. I hope he returns in the series.

Black Sun - Ziro's tattoo and droids all sport the Black sun logo, which makes for a very exciting possibility of future story arcs.

Droid Humour - In the main films, droid humour is tired and does nothing but elicit groans. In cartoon form, one-liners and slapstick are elevated to high art. I would watch a whole episode just with the battle droids bouncing their vaudeville grade comedy off each other.

Clones with character - Finally the Clones have some individuality and personality. It will give their inevitable betrayal of the Jedi that much more depth. Clones age at an accelerated rate leading to some interesting situations to explore.

Ahsoka's future - The possibilities here are great. We know that Anakin does not learn patience and acceptance. Will Obi-wan's failure with Anakin carry on with Ahsoka? I hope they make good use of her in the grand arc of Anakin's tale.

Voice work - Getting many of the secondary characters voiced by the original actors adds a lot to this work.

Asajj Ventress - Didn't she die in the last series? Doesn't her survival cheapen what appeared to be a key moment in Anakin's fall? If she must return I really want to see her character explored. She can't become Sith because there can be only two, making her another cog in the machine of the Emperor. How will she respond if she ever figures this out?

My reasons to dislike Clone Wars

Constant repetition of the plot - given that this is the first arc of episodes strung into a film, every 20 minutes they kept repeating their objectives. The Jedi have to get the Mcguffin to the location by sundown - for important for galactic reasons. The Sith have to prevent the Mcguffin from reaching its goal, also for important galactic reasons. Don't insult me, I can keep up with this complex notion without constant reminders.

Inconsistent motion capture/animation - The clones dive and move like real people. Everyone walks like they are floating along on rails. I believe this will improve as the series progresses.

Constant Bickering - Anakin and Ahsoka chafe on each other. I get it. But the conflict is so forced its comical. Anakin asks for help, Ahsoka gives it, Anakin says that he had it under control. Bah, that's a Monty Python argument. If the target age is 10, so be it, but write conflict better. Artooie? Really ?

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In summary I loved Clones Wars because it looked and sounded great, and set up a lot of fantastic possibilities for the future series. However The plot and dialogue were patronizing, which is likely due to being several years outside the target market. I hope beyond hope that the series writers step up their game and give us a little more meat in the future.

 

Gah. . .trying to pin down what I enjoyed about the film would be like trying to individually label grains of sand, but I'll do my best to express how the movie made me feel.

I freely admit that I've grappled with the prequels in the past, though of late I've turned around and come to enjoy them for their own merits. But the prequel trilogy is by it's very nature a much darker animal than the original trilogy; we're not dealing with the plucky Rebel Alliance's struggle and ultimate triumph over the evil of the Empire, we're dealing with answering the essential question that's been on the mind of every Star Wars fan at one point or another: how did things get so bad? As the prequel trilogy moves forward we see the dominoes fall as things get more and more grim, showing us how even the most noble can fall prey to pride and how republics become empires. I used to deride Phantom Menace for what I percieved as it's childishness, but in point of fact Episode I is literally the last real moment we can have that kind of old-school Star Wars swashbuckling adventure. Everything is cleaner, grander, somehow safer in Episode I, and while the forces of evil are very real and can cut and hurt our heroes (the loss of Qui-Gon Jinn) we're given that classic Star Wars ending with evil punished and celebration.

The Clone Wars film gave us back a sense of that fun, that bounce that I haven't felt since Episode I. I was impressed with how they managed to skillfully weave together the political manueverings as well as the all-out action, making a nice blend of the hallmarks of each trilogy. The back and forth between characters was enjoyable, the pacing was brisk, and the humor was welcome in cutting the tension.

The epic battles were--y'know--epic , but what struck me were the little moments in the film that brought forth the reality of the situation. Little touches like the heroic clone rising to make the charge from the trench on Christophisis. . .and having his helmet blasted off. The trooper giving Artoo's dome a reassuring pat as he reaches the safety of the canons far from the front lines. The bit that really hit home was in the aftermath as Ahsoka's shuttle arrives. Obi-Wan and Anakin are talking, but my eyes kept being drawn to the clones helping their wounded comrades, or limping across the battlefield. In that moment I realized these guys get hurt. They don't just fall over and lay in a heap like the battledroids. Beneath that armor is a living person, and they're putting it all on the line out there.

While it might be cliche to introduce a new character to a longrunning series, in this case Ahsoka Tano is a welcome breath of fresh air. Her tendency to nickname virtually everything in sight did tend to make my eyes roll a little, but at the end of the day she's a kid. Kids tend to do things that defy an adult sensibility. And she is amazingly fun when paired off against Anakin. You can tell Obi-Wan is just loving Anakin's discomfort in dealing with someone just as brash and overconfident as he once was (and let's face it, still is). The moment where she's sitting there, her head downcast after destroying the shield and we see with Anakin that--Jedi Padawan or no--she's still a child beneath all that braggadocio is touching to both the audience and the Jedi General. The fact that he's willing to take her on and continue the bickering sibling dynamic he once shared with his master says a lot for the man who was once said to 'give without any thought of reward'.

Villains you adore hating (or adore as you hate them) have long been a hallmark of Star Wars and this film proves no exception. Asajj Ventress is just awesomely badass in the best Maulian tradition, and I was struck with how her relationship with her 'master' Dooku contrasts that of Anakin and Ashoka. With his Padawan, Anakin is trying to teach her the ways of the Jedi as best he can while at the same time looking out for her welfare and well-being. Dooku uses Asajj as a tool to attain the ends of his own master. It will be interesti

 

I got one reason:
STAR WARS!!!
'nuff said.

 

A-MEN to that Cody!

 

Totally Agree.

I absolutely love this new medium to view Star Wars on. I just can't wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray and to watch it on my TV.

 

I've noticed (thru multiple viewings) all but one of these 'Easter eggs'....

Did you??

http://www.starwars.com/kids/read/cwspotter20080822.html?page=1

 

I think I caught all but the one inside Ziros place. ick.

 

I had no idea about Admiral Yularen! I am in shame now...

 

I'm sure you'll make a red, white, and black duckt tape dunce cap to display your shame, Ruus'ika.

 

I have to agree i really enjoyed the movie whats not to like. My jaw hit the floor for about the first 5 mins of movie and i was hooked!

 

the sweetest thing about this movie, is that everyone i've seen it with has loved it!!. and i mean loved it. I know everybody on here is a frickin crazy ass fan boy(or girl) and notices every little thing there is threw seeing it 10 to 12 times, myself included. But i've seen it with someone whose never seen a starwars movie, someone who's only seen the original trilogy, another whose only seen revenge, and a few who've seen em all. And i have to say, the people who've only seen a little of this universe's reaction is what mine was man. frickin awe. frickin awe struck. being able to sit and watch something totally new to me, and yet familair at the same time, while someone right behind me is just being introdueced to a whole new galaxy is the sweetest thing ever. I think everyone over thinks this crap with there 10 reasons to like and even one reason to dislike the movie. The movie was the Bomb Diggity, and the best part about the movie is,... that its gonna be a frickin tv show, so it's not over. over all the years that i've been in love with starwars, i finally went into this one feeling content and happy, theres nowhere to go but awsome. so i think this thread should end, cause theres no 10 awsome things about the movie, and to me theres absoloutly nothing wrong with it, only that it's super sweetness will go on this fall, and everybody should be excited about that, fanboy or not.

 

I agree with you - I don't think there's anything wrong with TCW either! But not everyone is as uberfan-ish as some of us And folks should be allowed to express their opinions freely on these boards (whether they liked the film, liked just parts of the film or didn't like it at all).

Dr. Haggis - I'm perplexed about your comment about the 'inconsistant' animation??? I've watched the film numerous times now and I'm still in awe with the depth of the animation. The characters don't seem to be 'floating' across the ground - in fact, the fluidity of their movements when they walk is really well done. For example, when Anakin and Ahsoka walk across the desert, you see little clouds of sand kick up when their feet hit the ground, as well as leaving imprints. Perhaps another viewing will improve your opinion?

 

There are a handful of shots where the motion of the characters is "too smooth" typically when walking. As if it was given a quick animation, and the subtler movements weren't added. Most of it is fine, and the animation/motion cap on the clones during the temple battle is very well done. Given how fast animation software updates, I bet they changed their process several times during their production ramp up.

It was small issue, but enough to lose the moment for me, and was notable to include in my review. Given the quality of the bulk of the animation, I think the series will only look better and better as it goes along.

 

i thought the jawas kinda looked a little funny