ST Countdown to Episode IX: The Watch Along Thread II!

woot

 

I have started.

 

The first time I saw this movie was during my ninth birthday. I got to stay up late to watch it.

 

The villain dialogue in their first scene is basically, "Goooooooooooood, everything is going according to our plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, muahahahahahahaha."

 

You're welcome.

Oh damn, Rex just said "damn."

 

"I had everything under control!"

*like, 20 seconds ago*

"I could use a little help!"

@Guidman - wherefore art thou

EDIT: Ahsoka's theme is sweet.

EDIT2: You know, something makes me think Dave Filoni likes having his main characters start off immature and childish before growing and maturing through the series' events. First we had Ahsoka, then Ezra, and now Kazuda.

 

Having a fight scene on an upward position was pretty inventive.

But what the flying hell is up with this pseudo-rock ****?

 

Nah. Droids aren't people.

Also, you could basically rename this movie "The Republic Needs Reinforcements," and it would fit perfectly.

 

I'm starting a little late. I actually like the framing of trying to get the Hutts as allies in order to open up hyperlanes for troop movements.

And the Battle of Christophsis is a lot of fun. It has plenty of good Anakin and Obi-Wan moments. I enjoy Ahsoka's introduction. She's a great character and seeing her growth through the series is a lot of fun.

 

HOT DAMN, OBI-WAN JUST TAPPED HIS GODDAMN LIGHTSABER WITH THE TIP OF HIS FIRST TWO FINGERS, WHAT A GODDAMN BADASS

 

It's weird watching this movie past Christophsis. When I rewatch TCW or introduce people to the show, I always include the movie's beginning because it finishes the battle from Cat and Mouse and Hidden Enemy. It also introduces Ahsoka. So it is pretty important. It's probably been almost five years since I seen everything else.

 

The subplot wit Padme and Ziro is probably my least favorite part about this movie.

Also, that is the worst holding cell in the universe. All she had to do to escape was... slip through the bars.

 

Well i gotta say I like it much better than when I first saw it in theater. Back then, I used to dislike the animation style. Ahsoka's impatient and juvenile behavior seemed ackward for a Padawan learner. Now, after watching 6 seasons, I can now apreciate how she developed over the years.

 

I'll give this a 7. It's not the best of the show, but it's also not the worst. It's entertaining and introduces us to the world of the show very well. I can see why it would be unpopular if you went to see it in the theater. It's not worth the price. But watching it from home, as the beginning of the show, isn't bad at all. It's actually quite a fun movie. As I mentioned, I really like the framing. It gives a clear goal which guides the whole plot. It is a logical military objective. The Battle of Christophsis is really well done. It's a large battle and a nice follow up to Geonosis. Teth is a lot of fun as well along with phenomenal visuals. As always, I love Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship in this show. I think the episode does a great job at introducing Ahsoka. It's cool watching Anakin teach her; it's not a side of him we see often. She seems like a good fit for his Padawan and I quite like the dynamic between them. Dooku is handled well in the movie as well. He comes across as a powerful warrior and an effective leader. To be honest the show handles him well throughout and gives him development as a villain which is missomi in the PT. So yeah a solid introduction to The Clone Wars and it gets me excited to continue with the characters. Like I said, it's far away from being the best, but it's not where near being the worst. Over time the episode quality will improve a lot. With a view of the whole series, and Rebels, you can tell this was early on and that they were just beginning with animated story telling.

 

Ahhhh ... I know I mentioned in the other thread that I’m rating these episodes on a different scale from the films, but since this one got a theatrical release, I’m going to have to blend my arbitrary and subjective films vs. TV scales.

And I’m trying really hard not to inflate my TV ratings, because it’ll be tempting to rate the first ones I see higher, but I know there are some really great episodes in this and so I want them to stick out in the ratings I give them.

This one ... originally meant to be 4 episodes but strung together and run in theaters.

The good:

Great story boarding shows in some awesome scenes.

The gun barrel POV is super satisfying to watch.

Great battle sequences.

Some hilarious B-1 antics and lines.

Excellent sassy Obi-Wan.

Christopher Lee and Samuel L. Jackson reprise their roles.

Introduction of Ahsoka Tano.

The bad:

“Skyguy.”

Animation shortcuts (due to budget and time constraints, I’m sure) are very visible, as in one scene where you can see three or four different pairs of clones hauling crates with the exact same animation, or the Twi’lek girl’s kind of short animation loop in Jabba’s palace.

On that, not specific to this episode: all the Dave Filoni animated shows have really clunky “people falling” animations. I’m still seeing this in Resistance.

Some scenes don’t look finished—visible repeating textures on Tatooine, some scenes with Ahsoka have weird lighting, and the (awesome scene of the) walker climbing the cliffside had a few moments where I’m pretty sure I saw clipping.

Why did the Jedi Council send Anakin, of all people, to rescue Rotta? It was partly this that lent credence to Count Dooku’s version events.

“Punky muffin.”

The soundtrack was really weird and jarring for me to hear in a Star Wars project—it reminded me of the soundtrack from the Syfy Channel Dune miniseries.

“Artooey.”

Ziro the Hutt ... I’m torn because, to me, he’s really bizarre in this one, but hilarious when he’s making out with Sy Snootles and asking Mama Hutt for help later in the series.

Because it was four episodes presented as one film, the pacing and overall story arc is really weird for a film.

I really hate to do this, and I do love TCW, but this film, just for the sheer cringe factor and because it was a theatrical release, I can’t see any way out of giving it 1/10.

But random fact: the arch seen on top of the outer wall of the Teth monastery was taken from old Ralph McQuarrie art for Jabba’s palace, and was reused for the Neema Outpost arch on Jakku in TFA.


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So, back in 2008, one of my dad's employees got four advance tickets to The Clone Wars. He couldn't go (he was in really poor health at the time), so he gave the tickets to my dad, who took me, my brother, and my best friend to go see a preview screening of the film one early, warm Saturday morning.

It was so bad I didn't even bother watching an episode of the TV series until 2014, at which point I realized the show itself was far superior to the film that acted as its theatrically released pilot. To date, Ziro the Hutt may be the most offensively obnoxious character to ever disgrace a piece of Star Wars media, invented seemingly for the sole purpose of taking that crown away from Jar Jar. The film also has Ahsoka at her absolute most insufferable (I cannot believe she grew enough to establish herself as a bonafide fan favorite), and hearing Jabba refer to his squealing little slug son as "punky muffin!" made something shrivel up inside of me, something that has long since died. It's a scrap of innocence I will never, ever get back.

In short, I give this a 2/10. It's just... so not good. The Clone Wars deserved a better first showing than this.