Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie Review

Thanks to a disc replacement program, 'The Clone Wars' marches on...

The Clone Wars' fifth season is by far it's darkest to date, with more villains per capita than has ever besieged George Lucas' galaxy far, far away. Darth Maul: alive and kicking Jedi and Mandalorian tail. Savage Opress: separating heads from bodies alongside his mad-hatter Dathomirian brother. Count Dooku: growing more brutal and impatient by the day. General Grievous and the Separatist army: ever a galactic threat. Asajj Ventress: just as dangerous as a free agent, if not more so. Hondo Ohnaka: pirating and side-switching with the best of 'em. Death Watch: on the prowl. A mysterious traitor within the Jedi's midst: gunning for the Order and willing to frame Ahsoka for murder. Darth Sidious: finally, finally popping a saber (two actually!) and demonstrating the full fury and ferocity of his power. And, at least in some small part, not-so-young-anymore Anakin Skywalker: cozying up to the Dark Side with alarming regularity and entertaining his more primal instincts and impulses. Even the series' most honor-bound heroes seem to be engulfed by the shadow of the forces allying against them. Evil is on the rise. War is spreading. Uncertainty haunts the Jedi. Death lurks around every corner. If it weren't for a few hit-or-miss, sometimes god-awful kiddie-sodes (specifically the Younglings quest and, worse, the four-episode R2-D2 & Friends adventure), Season Five would represent the Star Wars Prequel Tales' bleakest and perhaps even brightest hour.

• Revival: "Strength in character can defeat strength in numbers." Fueled by vengeance and rage, the newly reunited brothers Savage Opress and Darth Maul spread terror and violence across the galaxy. As the Sith brothers forcibly recruit Hondo Ohnaka and his pirates, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Adi Gallia chase them down, leading to a deadly confrontation.
• A War on Two Fronts: "Fear is a malleable weapon." Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Rex travel to Onderon, a world under Separatist control. There, they will train a group of insurgent rebels -- including Lux Bonteri -- to help take back the capital city of Iziz from the rule of a duplicitous king.
• Front Runners: "To seek something is to believe in its possibility." Supervised by Ahsoka, the Onderon rebels infiltrate the capital and carry out a series of strikes on targets throughout the city. As the Separatist-aligned king comes under increasing pressure to deal with the growing rebellion, the rebels choose a new leader.
• The Soft War: "Struggles often begin and end with the truth." After a rebel attempt to rescue Onderon's true king, Ramsis Dendup, an unexpected ally steps forward to halt Dendup's execution and aid the rebel cause. Meanwhile, ruling king Rash grows weary of the insurgency within the walls of Iziz, and plans to take decisive action that will test the will of the rebels.
• Tipping Points: "Disobedience is a demand for change." As a full-scale revolt embroils Onderon, the rebels strike a decisive blow against the planet's Separatist-aligned king. Unfortunately for the rebels, such victory comes at a high price.
• The Gathering: "He who faces himself, finds himself." Ahsoka escorts a group of younglings to Ilum, where they will learn from Yoda and undergo a crucial rite of passage: the construction of their lightsabers. They grapple with both physical and inner challenges as they face the dangerous task ahead of them.
• A Test of Strength: "The young are often underestimated." As the younglings return from Ilum with Ahsoka, their ship comes under attack by Hondo's gang of pirates. The children must use ingenious and improvised traps to thwart the brigands.
• Bound for Request: "When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves." With Ahsoka captured by Hondo's pirates, the younglings work together to infiltrate the pirates' den, using their wits and courage to deceive Hondo Ohnaka and launch a daring rescue.
• A Necessary Bond: "Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope." When General Grievous launches a full-scale attack on the pirate base on Florrum, Ahsoka and the younglings fight side-by-side with Hondo and his pirates to turn back the Separatist forces.
• Secret Weapons: "Humility is the only defense against humiliation." R2-D2 is part of a team of Republic droids chosen for an important mission led by the diminutive Colonel Gascon to obtain an encryption module from a Separatist dreadnought. The droids must overcome numerous challenging obstacles to succeed in this crucial assignment.
• A Sunny Day in the Void: "When all seems hopeless, a true hero gives hope." After a comet damages their shuttle, R2-D2, Colonel Gascon, and the other droids crash on a desolate planet where they must make their way across a bewildering expanse of emptiness to carry out their mission.
• Missing in Action: "A soldier's most powerful weapon is courage." D-Squad emerges from the endless wastes of The Void to arrive at the dilapidated mining town of Pons Ora. In this deteriorating town, they discover a chance to complete their mission, as well as a Clone Commando suffering from a case of amnesia.
• Point of No Return: "You must trust in others or success is impossible." The diminutive Colonel Gascon is relieved that an end is in sight for his whirlwind of a mission. When fate once again deals a wildcard, Gascon, R2-D2 and D-Squad must beat the timer to defuse an explosive Separatist plot.
• Eminence: "One vision can have many interpretations." After his failure at Florrum, Darth Maul awakens in the custody of Death Watch. The scheming Sith Lord senses opportunity, as the outlaw Mandalorian group is just what he needs to begin building a new base of power. He and Opress forge an alliance with Death Watch to target a common enemy: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• Shades of Reason: "Alliances can stall true intentions." Pre Vizsla launches his triumphant return to Mandalore, arriving as savior to his beleaguered home planet that has been set upon by a rash of violent criminals. But what of his plan to betray Maul once the planet is secure?
• The Lawless: "Morality separates heroes from villains." The resurrected Sith Lord's devilish plot continues to engulf the planet Mandalore, creating so dire a crisis that a sworn enemy arrives to investigate the source of the chaos. This is all according to Maul's plan, but his grab for power may also attract unwanted attention as he lures Obi-Wan into a trap.
• Sabotage: "Sometimes even the smallest doubt can shake the greatest belief." Public opinion has soured on the Jedi Order as the Clone Wars continue at such a grave cost to the Republic. A shocking act of terrorism against the Jedi Temple proves how fragile the image of the Jedi as benevolent protectors has become.
• The Jedi Who Knew Too Much: "Courage begins by trusting oneself." As the Republic military takes over the Temple bombing case, Ahsoka finds herself at odds with Admiral Tarkin, where she hopes that justice is swift and thorough with the captive saboteur.
• To Catch a Jedi: "Never become desperate enough to trust the untrustworthy." Ahsoka Tano has no choice but to flee the surface of Coruscant, evading pursuing clone troopers by journeying into the dangerous depths of the city-planet. The long arm of the law extends even to undercity, and time is running out for Ahsoka to prove her innocence.
• The Wrong Jedi: "Never give up hope, no matter how dark things seem." Ahsoka Tano has been captured and must face trial for sedition, murder, and destructive acts of terrorism. As the Galactic Republic military seeks justice, Ahsoka feels increasingly abandoned by the Jedi Council.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like previous seasons, the Blu-ray release of The Complete Season Five features an able-bodied 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation as crisp, clean and vibrant -- or dark, as it were -- as it should be. A handful of issues surface; a bit of macroblocking, a touch of banding and a hint of aliasing, all presumably a fairly negligible product of the source animation. But very little (if any) of it proves distracting. The fifth season's grim palette can be downright stunning, with striking primaries, gorgeous lightsaber blades and blaster fire, perfectly saturated and contrasted hues, and rich, inky black levels. Detail is straight-from-the-digital-tap flawless as well, with refined edges and a variety of textures on display, including the series' stylized brushstroke coloring. The encode is quite clean as well, save the aforementioned anomalies, and smoke, fog and water are the only feeding grounds for compression artifacts, minor as each instance is. All in all, fans will be most pleased, despite whatever easily dismissed flaws the presentation might exhibit.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Editor's Note: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has established a replacement program for consumers encountering dialogue sync issues with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Complete Season Five. The replacement is also available to those who purchased the Seasons 1-5 Collector's Edition and who are seeking resolution to these same issues. To receive a replacement disc, simply call Warner Home Video's customer service help line at 1-800-553-6937 and speak with a live representative. Discs 1 & 2 are eligible for the replacement program, although some members have reported that only Disc 2 is initially offered; further prompting is reportedly required to successfully receive both discs.

For the purposes of this review, only the corrected audio track has been evaluated and scored.

Like The Complete Season Four, the latest Clone Wars release is backed by an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Dialogue is clean, clear and intelligible no matter how chaotic the action grows. Lightsaber strikes crackle and sizzle, explosions rumble, ship engines roar and war erupts with dynamic intensity. LFE output is fuller and more satisfying than that of most animated series, with deep, thundering support that bolsters every battle, dogfight and showdown. The rear speakers are agile and aggressive as well, with engaging directionality, slick pans and an enveloping soundfield. Music prioritization isn't exactly ideal -- sometimes the score is a bit too quiet, sometimes a bit too loud -- but it hardly matters. The Clone Wars is as involving and immersive as ever.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Video Commentaries (HD): Video commentaries featuring supervising director Dave Filoni and key members of the voice cast and production crew are available for all twenty episodes. However, don't expect full-length episode tracks. Though informative and well worth watching, these are more smartly edited featurettes than anything more substantial.
• Jedi Temple Archives (HD): Another season of The Clone Wars, another generous "Jedi Temple Archives" hub. Explore deleted scenes, development reels, pre-viz animatics, vehicle and character turntables, early treatments, FX and final animation passes, lighting tests, concept art, 2D and 3D design work, character designs, color and environment concepts, storyboards and more.
• Extended Episodes (HD): Last but not least, "Eminence" and "Shades of Reason" are presented via Filoni-approved director's cuts, offering Star Wars fans more treachery, villainy and character touches than before.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Clone Wars' fifth season takes it's good ol' time getting started -- two overly long arcs, one featuring the Younglings, the other a group of Droids, drag and wade too far into kiddie waters -- but once it ignites its sabers and pits villains against... everyone, it quickly becomes one of the best of the series. (If not the entire Prequel saga.) Warner's Blu-ray release is much better, despite being hindered by a small audio sync issue Warner has thankfully created a disc-replacement program to address. With the proper discs in hand, the fifth season's video presentation is strong, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is terrific, and its supplemental package is a solid one. Warner has yet to reveal how -- and when -- we'll get the sixth and final season of The Clone Wars, but if it's anything like Season Five, it'll be a wild plummet into the throes of Episode III.