The magical world of "Star Wars" has undergone something of a facelift over the last ten years. Once the preeminent sci-fi/fantasy franchise in the world, "Star Wars" has become a ghost of its former self: associated most recently with money, complicated special effects and amateurish writing; not the sense of wonder, adventure and humanity that characterized the original trilogy. Almost this entire shift in quality corresponds to the three "Star Wars" prequels, released in three-year intervals between 1999 and 2005. Those prequels, which range from passable to lousy, have gone a long way to dehumanize what was a distinctly human franchise. If the original trilogy was vibrant, bustling and full of life, the new trilogy is colorless, plastic and antiseptic.
The latest addition to the "Star Wars" brand is the animated full-length feature film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which takes place between "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith," the second and third prequels. "The Clone Wars" is the first installment of an animated "Star Wars" series set to debut on Cartoon Network and TNT this fall.
"The Clone Wars" is the story of the ongoing galactic civil war between the governing Republic and the secessionist Confederacy, played out in battles fought by Confederate droid armies and Republic clone troopers. Leading those troopers are Jedi knights, protectors of peace and justice in the Republic. Two knights in particular, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, are at the center of "The Clone Wars," just as they are at the center of the entire "Star Wars" storyline. New to the mix is Jedi hopeful Ahsoka Tano, a young woman sent by Jedi master Yoda to train under Skywalker.
Early in the film, Skywalker and Tano are called away from the frontlines for a mission with far-reaching consequences: find and rescue the kidnapped son of gangster Jabba the Hutt, whose criminal organization controls important shipping lanes that might swing the war toward one side or the other.
"The Clone Wars" is the most episodic of the seven "Star Wars" films, and tells only a fraction of a story that will no doubt be explored in the upcoming serial. But because its story is so short and diverting, "The Clone Wars" is more lean and Spartan than its three predecessors.
"The Clone Wars" is very much like the final (and most exciting) forty-five minutes of "Attack of the Clones," filled with non-stop action and fireworks. The beginning battle scene, in which rival armies fight ferociously in the streets of an alien city, is particularly compelling. In the second act, a platoon of clone troopers, led by Skywalker and Tano, scale a vertical cliff wall to access a heavily fortified temple.
One of the more surprising and touching elements of "The Clone Wars" is the sense of brotherhood and fraternity among the clone troopers’ ranks, and the strong impression of loyalty between the troopers and the Jedi who command them.
The funny and heartfelt moments in "The Clone Wars" will surely annoy many "Star Wars" fans and others who find them too juvenile. But "The Clone Wars" was made for kids, just as every movie in the franchise was made for kids.
*** out of ****
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