6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano plunge into a dangerous mission to rescue the kidnapped son of notorious crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The renegade Count Dooku is determined to make sure that they fail, and with his deadly assassin Asajj Ventress in pursuit, this is a mission with grave consequences.
Starring: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane (II)Adventure | 100% |
Action | 88% |
Sci-Fi | 73% |
Fantasy | 70% |
Animation | 42% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX (48kHz, 16-bit); All DD 5.1 EX @ 640 kbps
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy (on disc)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
This is a stupid plan!
The wait is over. Star Wars is finally on Blu-ray. Well, sort of. The franchise's newest
film, the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars, resembles the Star Wars
universe as fans know it from the prequel trilogy, but gone is any sort of cohesion, pacing, or
urgency found in the second and third of the prequel installments. Clone
Wars takes all that was wrong with the prequels -- the bad comedy in particular -- and builds
its story around annoying characters, childish dialogue, flat jokes, repetitive action, and a bland
plot line that meanders and never accomplishes much of anything in the grand scheme of the
Star Wars canon. Say what you will about the prequels, but they emoted that Star
Wars look and feel through and through, stayed true to just about everything established in
the first three films, including music, sound effects, back stories, and action -- but on a grander,
more robust scale. Clone Wars feels almost like a well-done fan-made adaptation. If it
were indeed a big budget fan production, with no "official" ties to the franchise, some creative
endeavor meant to show off the potential for an animated film, Clone Wars would be a
success. As a finished studio project, particularly one set in such a well-known, respected, and
established universe, one with perhaps the most rabid fan base of any cinematic series, it feels
more like a test run, a rough cut, an incomplete film in every regard -- including its dialogue,
animation, sound effects, pacing and story line.
At least it has lightsabers!
Star Wars: The Clone Wars battles on Blu-ray with a 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. The video quality is generally exceptional. The image is slightly dim in appearance, but the animation itself looks fine with great colors and nice depth. The animators have given the film a very distinct look, one that may not suit everyone's tastes, but at the end of the day it looks like Star Wars and the general appearance of the film reflects that of the prequel feature films. A tremendous amount of detail is given to every frame, as each character, vehicle, and location features a unique, individual appearance. Clone Trooper uniforms are dirty and battle worn, for example, and vehicles show grime and wear-and-tear. Still, the animation is awkward; hair never flows, for example, instead simply sitting atop heads in a clump. Backgrounds are stagnant and facial features are exaggerated and stiff, looking like plastic models or toys rather than more natural, organic life forms. Everyone, even Yoda, looks more blocky than fluid. Still, the disc reveals the smallest of details, for example numerous tiny pits on Yoda's forehead. Colors are generally strong; Yoda's green skin appears true to the character's look in the live action films, and the entire palette is awash in exceptionally rendered color in most every scene. Laser blasts offer a true green or red, for example, and the various lightsabers emit their trademark glows. There are some minor instances of banding in a few shots, but for the most part, the transfer is exceptional, the sometimes funky animation not withstanding.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars features a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless sound mix. The quality is generally exceptional, featuring a room-filling and dynamic experience with decent lows that don't always rattle the furniture, but certainly get the job done. The deep bass one might expect form the explosions, the heavy steps of large battle droids, or laser blasts just doesn't rock the sound system as one might expect of a brand new Star Wars movie, but the slightly reserved bass fits well with the entirety of the mix. The entire soundstage is utilized to good effect, particularly in the film's action sequences. The track is never too loud or in-your-face. In fact, it could have been a bit more precise, but it spreads out very well all around for a robust, entertaining experience, far superior and interesting than the actual movie. Surrounds are in constant, but not overly active, use. They support the front nicely; music plays softly in the back, sound pans and flows effortlessly from back to front, and various action sequences play through the back to engulf the listener in the action. Dialogue reproduction is excellent, whether one actually wants to hear said dialogue is another matter entirely. Star Wars: The Clone Wars offers listeners a high quality, action-filled soundtrack slightly short on deep, rattling bass but otherwise a (laser)blast to listen to.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars features all the supplements a stinky Hutt baby could ask
for.
First up is a video commentary track with several participants, including editor Jason
Tucker, director David Filoni, producer Catherine Winder, and writer Henry Gilroy. Rather than
simply playing over the video, the screen breaks up into halves, with the film playing on top and
the
video commentary on the bottom right, with supporting video streams sometimes appearing on
the
bottom left, for example a scene from Episode IV early in the commentary track or
behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film, including concept art, early stages of the
animation's development, and more. The best feature on the disc and a novel and intriguing
commentary presentation, this is one commentary well worth checking out.
Behind the Story is a series of four features. First is 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' -
The Untold Stories (1080i, 24:53). This piece examines the goal of the series, the varying
genres it entails, and the back story that leads up to the series. George Lucas plays a prominent
role in this feature, discussing the purpose and scope of this film and the series to follow. The
feature progresses to become a long commercial for several episodes from the series. The
Voices of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' (1080i, 10:00) examines the actors that lent their
voice-over work to the film and series. A New Score (1080i, 10:45) features a look at
Kevin Kiner's original music. Concluding the Behind the Story segment is
Gallery (1080p), a series of conceptual art created for the film and series.
Webisodes offers 6 making-of featurettes. Introducing 'Star Wars: The Clone
Wars' (1080i, 3:41) features director Dave Filoni discussing the genesis of the story and the
expectations that come with the Star Wars franchise name. Epic Battles (1080i,
2:45) looks at the fresh approach the filmmakers took in creating the film's action sequences.
The Clones are Coming (1080i, 3:27) looks at the individuality and distinctive
appearance of the clone troopers. Heroes (1080i, 3:27) and Villains (1080i,
3:58) both examine the series' opportunity to delve into character development. Finally,
Anakin's Padawan (1080i, 3:43) takes a closer look at new character Ahsoka Tano.
Three trailers -- Launch (1080p, 2:16), Dark (1080p, 2:09), and 'Star Wars:
The Clone Wars' Video Game (480p, 1:10) -- are also included, as are four deleted
scenes (480p, 10:51). The final supplement on disc
one is the Hologram Memory Challenge game. This is a Star Wars-themed brain
game that challenges viewers to recall the locations of briefly-seen holograms and recall their
locations on a board. Finally, disc two of this set contains a digital copy of the film.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns the Star Wars franchise to the big screen with mixed, though sadly mostly negative, results. Playing as more of a rough cut of what the film could have been rather than a finished product, the film is short on plot, sometimes bland to look at, and is downright laughable in several instances, particularly in the film's insistence of introducing characters and dialogue that make Jar-Jar Binks look like a serious character. Much of it just doesn't work, and the better parts seem ripped straight from Lucas' previous films, particularly the action sequences that sometimes play like an animated version of Episode II. As it is, the entirety of the experience makes the film dull at best, practically unwatchable at worst, even at its tiny 98 minute runtime. Nevertheless, Warner Brothers has assembled a fine Bl-ray presentation of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Featuring fine video and audio quality, along with a series of special features that do a wonderful job of selling the film and series, and may make one want to give the film another spin and the series a chance, the disc itself is a winner. Star Wars fans will want to check this one out one way or another, but a rental seems to be in order before a purchase for those that have not yet seen the film.
Season Six
2014
2002
1999
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1977
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1983
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DC Universe Animated Original Movie #8
2010
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DC Universe Animated Original Movie #3
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