Posted: Thursday 14th August 2008

Reviewed by Jason Palmer

The war between The Galactic Republic and The Sith continues to wage on. Obi Wan Kenobi (the voice of James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) are in the midsts of battle against an onslaught of droid soldiers on a distant planet. TheSeparatists far outnumber the Republic and the Jedi council is stretched to breaking point defending their quadrants from the forces of Count Dooku (reprising his role, Christopher Lee) and his droid army. Summoned by Yoda (Tom Kane) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) to help with a delicate political matter, Anakin and Obi Wan are called in to help the Hutt clan, a dangerous race that control the supply routes to the farthest reaches of space. Jabba the Hutt has requested the Jedi's help in finding his abducted son Rotta. Despite being a known double-crossing gangster, the Jedi feel that they must do everything in their power to try and safely find Jabba's son since the Hutt clan's allegiance could play a pivotal role in them winning the war. Anakin is ordered to go and find Rotta along with his new apprentice in tow, the feisty Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) who mirrors the same energy and attitude Anakin has. Obi Wan and Yoda in the meantime stay on the front lines of the war and lead the Clone Army to battle against the dark side. Count Dooku and Darth Sidious (Ian Abercrombie) have their own sinister plans in motion. It is they who have stolen Jabba's son and plan to frame the Jedi for his abduction. Sent to keep tracks on Anakin is Dooku's most dangerous apprentice Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman). Can Anakin Skywalker uncover the truth behind the young Hutt's disappearance in time or will the dark side prevail as the battle lines are drawn in The Clone Wars.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place between the end of Attack of the Clones and the beginning of Revenge of the Sith. This is an epic saga in itself and this movie is the first chapter to be told in this time period. It all eventually culminates in the events of episode 3 and the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader so it's nice to see this part of Anakin's early Jedi life explored in more depth. This film has also been made as an introduction to a new Star Wars themed television programme scheduled to begin in the not too distant future. At the start of Clone Wars we find Anakin and company in the throws of battle as the Sith Separatists try to take control of the galaxy. It's the perfect stage for these animated tales to take place. With animation there's a freedom to explore things in a more fantastical way compared with the restraints of live action.

If The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were told in animated form and this story became the first live action episode one, the Star Wars franchise may have been better for it. Most fans didn't like the first 3 episodes. I was a fan of the third but what I longed for across those three movies was action and adventure. Surprisingly, The Clone Wars achieves all of this far more effectively than episode one ever did. Because of this, it's a very enjoyable watch and definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Critics have been quick to say that the story is simplistic but this is aimed at a younger audience. This being Star Wars, it's obviously going to get die-hard fans into theatres. As a fan you need to approach this film in the right way. Yes it's animated and yes it's for a younger crowd but the essence of the franchise is still burning brightly in this picture. I loved the lightsaber fights between Anakin and Dooku and Obi Wan and Ventress. The clone trooper's battles with the droid army are really exciting and the characters are all true to their flesh and bone counterparts. It's also nice to see some of the original cast reprise their roles in animated form. Anthony Daniels returns as C-3P0 and this marks him as the only actor to have appeared in all 7 feature length Star Wars movies. It's quite an achievement and it helps to build up the authenticity of these animated adventures. It's a shame they couldn't secure Ewan McGregor or Hayden Christensen for their respective roles but their replacements do an admirable job nonetheless.

There are of course things that don't work in this film. Firstly there is some very corny dialogue on display which you can tell has come straight from George Lucas. Then there are some truly bizarre characters thrown in. The worst being Ziro the Hutt, a relative of Jabba. He is played as a camp, southern drawled slob with a painted face who runs a karaoke bar in the seedier part of town. It's a character you would expect to find in the colonial south and every time it was onscreen it was cringe worthy. Quite what possessed them to go down this route is anyone's guess!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Clone Wars. As a fan of the franchise I was hoping that this would be fun and entertaining but also action packed. Being a war movie, it's full of amazing set-pieces and it's visually stunning in parts. There are great fight scenes which try to place you slap bang in the middle of the action and the story is interesting and fun. I would very much like to see the further adventures of Anakin Skywalker on the big screen because Star Wars: The Clone Wars was a very enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes in a galaxy far, far away. Let's hope this is the start of the Star Wars franchise getting back on track.