I think I'm a clone now

[rich_jacko]

I feel almost obliged to post a review of Clone Wars, so here I go:

It isn't terrible.

It isn't a "proper" Star Wars movie either. Since it's filler between episodes of a completed saga, there aren't any character-defining moments or events that change the face of the galaxy.

It's all the more light-hearted elements of Star Wars. It's the pilot episode for a Saturday morning cartoon series. It's The Phantom Menace meets Thundercats or He-Man. As long as you remember that, and enjoy that kind of thing, you'll be fine. Ultimately, a good test of whether you're going like it depends on whether you find battle droids funny (I still do).

Yes, Anakin now has a sassy teenage padawan. I've seen a whole lot of negative reviews complaining about her, but I actually didn't find her at all annoying (Well okay, not very often anyway). On the contrary, I thought the dynamic between her and Skyguy Anakin was one of the few things that stopped the film being just a collection of cardboard cut-out characters. And if you think about it, it's kind of neat seeing Anakin try to be a mentor/father figure (even if it does come off as more of a big brother/little sister relationship).

Once you get used to it, the animation style is pretty cool. There's a certain amount of geek joy in watching so much recognisable Star Wars hardware duking it out in lots of battles, some of them quite inventive. The action is pretty relentless (although it does feel like a long 98 minutes). And it's nice to see Asajj Ventress on screen again.

I give it a distinctly average three stars, as I'm feeling generous. Knock one star off that if you're not a die-hard Star Wars nut. Knock another one off as well if you've grown out of enjoying Saturday morning cartoons.

I'm not going to talk about Ziro the Hutt - I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise :o)

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On a completely different note, it's been a really good last couple of sessions for my character in hobbesgoblin's D&D game (a loony barbarian halfling with a dinosaur fixation and a worrying appetite for seafood, for those who don't know). Not content with slaying a dragon last session, this time he took part in an epic aerial race and just crossed the line in first place in a truly nailbiting finish. And now he's off to his homeland armed with enough loot to purchase a triceratops. Huzzah!

Outside the game, it was really nice to get a completely unprompted "Thank you for flying me around on my chair, Uncle Rich" from Evie as she was saying goodbye :o)

Comments

[littlejenny123.livejournal.com]

I beg to differ. It is terrible. A sad, sad terrible, tedious shame. After less than 10 minutes I was really bored. And I love the other Star Wars films, still find Saturday morning cartoons amusing, and went in with low expectations.