Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Home Video – 98 minutes – 2008 – Rated PG – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX Audio Mix – Digital Copy

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” The words that were uttered by many die hard Star Wars fans when the animated big screen movie based on The Clone Wars was announced. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was initially one big pilot for the animated TV show on the Cartoon Network, but then George Lucas decided to toss it into theaters to suck more money out of his loyal Star Wars victims. Star Wars: The Clone Wars comes to Bu-ray via Warner Home Video, (which is weird since we’re so used to Fox being attached to Star Wars). Unless you still wear footsie pajamas, or you think Jar Jar was a great character, the force will really have to be with you to watch this movie.

THE MOVIE

For those of you who actually don’t know, The Clone Wars is set between the time frame of Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. So the premise is to tell the adventures of Anakin Skywalker before he turned to the dark side and developed that really bad breathing condition. The plot of the film comes to an all-time Star Wars low with Count Dooku kidnapping Jabba the Hutt’s baby son and framing the Jedi Knights. Not wanting to get on Jabba’s bad side, the Jedi’s send Anakin on a mission to rescue the little Jabba. To make the situation more sugar coated, Anakin has been assigned an apprentice to take along, a Padawan learner named Ahsoka Tano, who is a young girl training to be a Jedi.

Most of the characters from the movies are also in this side story, including Obi Wan, Yoda, Mac Windu, R2D2, C3P0, Amidala, Palpatine, and of course Jabba the Hutt. There are some new characters also thrown into the mix, with the most notable being a female Sith named Asajj Ventress, who is so badass that she can fight with a lightsaber in each hand, and toss her cape. Just as it was in the prequels, the characters are wooden and the dialogue is bad, and being that it’s really aimed at kids this time, you’ll feel like you’re watching one big episode of the Power Rangers. If you’re older than eight, after you get over the initial Star Wars fanfare, you may find yourself fast-forwarding.

The CG animation, while not on the level of a Pixar movie is very impressive and watching it on Blu-ray in its high definition glory will keep you locked on the screen during the action scenes, which are the only saving grace of the film. There are plenty of lightsaber fights, space explosions and ground battles, one in particular that takes place on the side of a mountain, a sequence that should have been done for the live action prequels just for the wow factor.

The Clone wars is not a good film, but it’s an excellent promotional tool for making people aware of the new animated series on the Cartoon Network, so for that reason alone it accomplished its task. If you’re babysitting and need to shut the kid up for an hour and a half, slide this Blu-ray in and you’ll be seen as a hero to a child. If you couldn’t even sit through any of the Star Wars prequels, then don’t even bother trying to watch this, because it may make you want to put a hit out on Lucas for destroying the great Star Wars movies of last generation to make a quick buck off of this generation.

VIDEO

While the film itself is too much on the kiddie side, the Blu-ray offers a full 1080p image with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and it looks absolutely fantastic. I’m not to crazy about the choice of character animation design, where everyone looks like a bobble head, but in terms of visuals the execution is outstanding, which is something you come to expect with CGI movies in high-definition. If you have an HDTV that is forty inches are more and you plant some screaming kids in front of it, they’ll stay glued to the screen for 98 minutes. Visually, this one is top notch.

AUDIO

This is a Star Wars movie (Well, sorta) so of course it’s going to have great sound, and the Clone Wars is no slouch in the audio department. Offering a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX sound mix, if you’ve got the system to show it off, you’ll think an epic battle was going on in your living room. All the sounds we’ve become familiar with in the Star Wars world like lightsabers clashing, ships soaring and R2D2’s chirping sound great; and the music, which is a character itself, immerses you into the adventure.

EXTRAS

The Clone Wars offers a good selection of bonus goodies, one being the video commentary that is exclusive to Blu-ray, and a nice extra is the second disc which contains a Digital Copy, which is the perfect travel mate for kids going on a trip.

A video commentary allows you to see director Dave Filoni, producer Caterine Winder, writer Henry Gilroy, and editor Jason W.A. Tucker, recording the track, popping up in another window for certain scenes so you can watch them describe the sequences as they play.

A silly game called the Hologram Memory Challenge lets you match hidden images, and if correctly done you are rewarded with clips from the Clone Wars TV show.

Webisodes is a twenty-minute series of spots to show the new characters and worlds of the Clone Wars.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Untold Stories dives into the animated TV show that is the premise of the movie, and acts as one big half hour commercial spot. If you dig the movie and TV show, you’ll appreciate this.

The Voices of The Clone Wars goes behind the scenes to show the various actors who breathe life into the animated characters such as Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, and Christopher Lee.

The New Score is a brief look at how composer Kevin Kiner took on the task of continuing the most familiar musical piece in the history of cinema and tries not to screw it up.

Four deleted scenes are available, shown in standard definition, none of which do not add or take away from the movie itself, but it must sucked to work so hard to animate a scene and have it removed.

Finally, the Digital Copy of The Clone Wars for your portable device is a nice perk to add alongside your bootleg of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from the 70’s.

BOTTOM LINE

Well The Clone Wars is basically one long commercial/toy add to make Mr. Lucas much more wealthier, but if you’re a die hard fan of the original movies, there’s really not much for you here. This is a movie aimed at kids who sleep under Jar Jar Binks bed sheets and are high on sugar filled cereals. The Blu-ray offers an incredible picture and all the sounds we desire from a Star Wars movie, so as a disc itself it’s a winner. For adult fans this may be one of those movies that you talk about to your Star Wars friends, but secretly have it hidden to watch when no one else is around.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 5.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 3.0

Bottom Line: 3.0