Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 1 Review

Following the outline from my review of the movie, I am going to briefly comment on each episode before giving my general thoughts.

Episode 1 "Ambush"
  In order to attain the support of the Toydarians in the war, Yoda, with the help of three clones, must prove to their king, Katuunko, that the republic is strong enough to protect Toydaria from the Asajj Ventrass and the separatists, who also want his support.
  Though I never liked the whole "Yoda jumping around by using the force" thing it's a part of the canon now so I just kind of roll with it and Yoda gets some pretty awesome moments in this episode. His relationship with the clones is also fairly well handled and sets a precedent for strong clone-focused episodes on this show. On a side note I find it somewhat odd that none of the main characters (Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi Wan) are featured in the first episode of the show.

Episode 2 "Rising Malevolence" (first of a three episode arc)
  When Jedi Master Plo Koon's ship is attacked by a separatist secret weapon (an ion canon on-board Grievous' flagship Malevolence), Anakin and Ashoka break orders to look for survivors. Plo Koon, along with clone troopers Sinker, Boost and Commander Wolffe, struggle to survive in the aftermath of the attack as droid Pod Hunters are dispatched to hunt for survivors.
  Another decent, if unremarkable, episode. It's revealed here that Plo Koon is responsible for Ashoka joining the Jedi order which sets up a sort relationship for later on. Also Plo Koon has some nice moments with the clones.

Episode 3 "Shadow of Malevolence"
  When General Grievous is ordered to attack Kaliida Shoals Medical Center using the Malevolence's new weapon, Anakin proposes a daring raid with Y-Wings to take him down. Ahsoka and Plo Koon accompany his squadron on this raid, which takes them through the dangerous Balmorra Run a nesting ground for the giant Neebray mantas.
  Again this episode is ok but nothing special. It is nice to see Anakin's daring as a pilot, as opposed to just hearing about it. Really though, I don't have much to say here.

Episode 4: "Destroy Malevolence"
  Heavily damaged from the battle in the previous episode, Grievous' ship the Malevolence is being trailed by three Star Destroyers. In order to buy time, Palpatine lures Padme to the Malevolence under the pretense of sending her on a diplomatic mission. When she becomes trapped there Anakin Obi Wan and R-2 are sent to rescue her.
  There are some fun (though very brief) moments here between Obi Wan and Grievous. Palpatine's manipulation is way too transparent though. Why does no one suspect him after what happens to Padme here?

Episode 5: "Rookies"
  In preparation for an assault on Kamino, General Greivous sends a squad of elite Commando Droids to attack an outpost on the remote Rishi moon so that the republic won't be warned of the oncoming attack. Defending the outpost are five rookie clone troopers, Hevy, Echo, Fives, Droidbait, and Cutup along with their commander Sergeant O'Niner. When the base is taken and their commander killed these clones, with the helped of recently arrived Captain Rex and Commander Cody, must attempt to retake the base and warn the republic of the attack.
  This is the first episode where the show really showed promise. As I said this show has a penchant for clone focused episodes and this one really set the bar. It also includes some profanity ("What the H--l was that!") and fairly violent deaths which showed that the series would be much darker than you might expect from a Cartoon network show.

Episodes 6 & 7: "Downfall of a Droid" and "Duel of the Droids"
  When Artoo is lost during a battle, Anakin and Ahsoka are given a replacement droid, R3-S6, and sent to recover him before the separatists find him and take the military information from his memory banks. A Trandoshan captain, Gha Nachkt, retrieves him first and plans to sell him to General Grievous.
  Two rather forgettable episodes. I don't really buy the lengths Anakin seems like he'll go to for Artoo. Also the fact that R3-S6 is [Spoiler Alert] a spy felt a bit forced. On a slightly more positive note, it was cool to see Ahsoka face off with Grievous, albeit briefly.

Episode 8: "Bombad Jedi"
  Padme, accompanied, by C3PO and Jar Jar Binks, is sent to Rodia to persuade her old friend Senator Onaconda Farr not to leave the republic. Finding out that he is in league with the separatists in order to gain much needed supplies for his people, she is captured by Nute Gunray and imprisoned on Rodia. It's up to Jar Jar and C3PO to save her.
  Well, for an episode that's mainly about Jar Jar, it's not as bad as you might think. Jar Jar is not as annoying as in Phantom Menace and Senator Farr's character arc is well handled, if a bit predicable. In the end, it's just ok.

Episode 9: "Cloak of Darkness"
  Ashoka is accompanied by Luminara Unduli on a mission to escort a recently captured Nute Gunray to Coruscant for trial. Count Dooku sends Ventress to rescue or silence Gunray, before he gives the republic the vast information he has on the separatists.
  This is a pretty decent episode. Luminara's interaction with Ahsoka is well handled and is a nice set up for the relationship Ahsoka will have with Luminara's Padawan, Barriss Offee, later on. There's also a nice moment between a Clone, Commander Gree, and a Senate Commando, Captain Faro Argyus which helps show how some people in the Republic feel about the clones and also emphasizes the Spartan-like nature of the clones themselves.

Episode 10: "Lair of Grievous"
  Kit Fisto, along with his former apprentice Nahdar Vebb and a squad of clones, pursue the now escaped Nute Gunray to Vassek. They enter a castle which Gunray's stolen ship has landed by only to find that Count Dooku has lured them into a trap. Dooku hopes to test, or eliminate, General Grievous by forcing him to confront the Jedi in his lair.
  Grievous appears alot in season one but this is the only episode where he's really allowed to shine. The episode has a great, creepy atmosphere and Grievous reputation as a Jedi-killer (which was well established in the 2003 micro-series) finally feels somewhat earned here. Also, Kit Fisto!

 Episodes 11 & 12: "Dooku Captured" and "The Gungan General"
  After escaping an attempt by Obi Wan and Anakin to capture him, Count Dooku instead ends up being captured by Hondo Ohnaka's pirates. Hondo informs the Republic of his capture and offers to give him to them for a reward. Obi Wan and Anakin are sent to negotiate with Hondo and Senator Binks is sent to the planet along with Senator Kharrus with spice as a ransom. When Anakin and Obi Wan are also captured they form an uneasy alliance with Dooku in order to escape it's up to Jar Jar to rescue them.
  These episodes are a bit of a mixed bag. The interaction between Dooku and the Jedi is fun and well-handled as is the friendly banter between Obi Wan and Anakin. Hondo is also a fun character, one of a few really memorable one's that this series introduced. However the stuff with Jar Jar is a bit tedious and it's hard to buy Dooku allowing himself to be captured by a small band of pirates.

Episodes 13 and 14: "Jedi Crash" and "Defenders of Peace"
  While trying to assist Aayla Secura's damaged fleet during the Sky Battle of Quell, Anakin is wounded and stranded on a nearby planet, along with Ahsoka, Aayla and some clones (including Captain Rex). The local village of Lurmen are reluctant to help them as they wish to stay out of the war. When a Seperatist force arrives under Commander Lok Durd intending to use the villagers as guinea pigs to test their new defoliator weapon on, the villagers must decide how far they can take their pacifist principles.
  These two episodes are fairly solid. Seeing how the Jedi react to the pacifist ideas of the Lurmen is interesting and it's always nice to see Jedi outside of the regular cast get screen time. The conclusion is a bit predictable but that's the way it goes in these kinds of stories

Episode 15: "Trespass"
  Anakin, Obi Wan, and Rex lead a group of clones to the ice planet Orto Plutonia to investigate the disappearance of the local clone garrison. They are accompanied by two dignitaries from the planet of Pantora, which claims jurisdiction over the ice planet. They soon find that the garrison was massacred, along with a nearby separatist force, by the planets inhabitants the Talz. Their leader meets with Obi Wan and Anakin, asking them to withdraw all Republic forces from their planet. Pantoran Chairman, Chi Cho, insists that the Talz are not sentient and provokes a war with them. Obi Wan and Pantoran Senator Riyo Chuchi contact the senate hoping that they'll intervene and force a more peaceful solution.
  More anti-war messages in this episode. Though it's a treat visually, the story a bit too evocative of the Dances With Wolves/Avatar/Pocahontas formula to be all that interesting.

 Episode 16: "The Hidden Enemy"
   When Obi Wan and Anakin plan an ambush of separatist forces on Christophsis which is foiled, they suspect that there's a traitor in their ranks. They go behind enemy lines to investigate while Rex and Cody attempt to flush out the traitor from the inside.
  This is another good clone-focused episode. Seeing how the clones react to and deal with the traitor is really interesting. I particularly liked the bit about the clone who collects droid fingers. There's also some cool banter between Obi Wan and Ventress. On another note, this episode takes place before the movie, starting a penchant for really weird chronology on this show.

Episodes 17 and 18: "Blue Shadow Virus" and "Mystery of a Thousand Moons"
  Padme and Jar Jar are captured by droids while investigating separatist activity on Naboo. They find out that a scientist, Dr. Nuvu Vindi, has recreated the Blue Shadow virus, a deadly disease that was wiped out long ago. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi Wan rescue them and attempt to contain the virus but some of it is released and Ahsoka, Padme, Rex and some clones are all exposed. It's up to Anakin and Obi Wan to find an antidote.
  The first of these episodes is pretty bad. Vindi is annoyingly over the top and to add to the irritation you have Jar Jar as well. The second episodes a bit better, with Anakin having to deal with the possibility of losing both Padme and Ahsoka. The planet he and Obi Wan go to to find the antidote is also kinda cool, as the citizens there are trapped by a separatist booby trap they think is a god.

 Episodes 19, 20, and 21: "Storm Over Ryloth", "Innocents of Ryloth", and "Liberty on Ryloth" (collectively known as the Ryloth Trilogy)
  Anakin and Ahsoka's fleet must break through the separatist blockade of Ryloth to make way for Mace Windu and Obi Wan's ground assault. After losing much of her fighter squadron Ahsoka is disheartened but must lead the fleet while Anakin flies the Defender on a collision course with the droid command ship. Obi Wan and his landing force must take the city of Nabat to use as a landing ground but the droid commander there is using captured Twileks as a living shield. Mace Windu, leading the main assault force, must attain the help of resistance leader Cham Syndulla, who has become disenchanted with the republic, in order to take the capital of Ryloth form Wat Tambor.
  These three episodes are all pretty solid. "Storm" was the first episode where I remember really latching on to Ahsoka's character. Having to deal with losing her squadron was a good step up from the few genuine character moments she had up to this point. In "Innocents" there's some of nice Clone/Twilek interaction, and the central conflict in "Liberty", between Mace Windu and Cham Syndulla, is really well fleshed out. There's also some decent, though not amazing, battle scenes.

Episode 22: "Hostage Crisis"
   A group of bounty hunters, led by Cad Bane, infiltrate the Senate chambers and take a group of senators, including Padme and Bail Oragna, captive. They then inform Chancellor Palpatine, that unless Ziro the Hutt is released he will execute the hostages. Anakin, who was at the senate to visit Padme, attempts to rescue the hostages.
  A pretty decent season finale "Hostage Crisis" features some nice, Die Hard-esque moments between Anakin and Padme. It also introduces Cad Bane, another of the show's memorable characters, even if he is a bit one dimensional. It also features Aurra Sing, which is cool.

  Overall this season had more good episodes than bad/mediocre ones. The two that stand out the most are Rookies and Lair of Grievous. Rookies gave us a fairly mature character driven story and raised the bar for the show as a whole. Lair of Grievous is alot of fun for geeks like me, as you get alot of cool Grievous action and it features Kit Fisto. "Blue Shadow Virus" was easily the weakest episode. Ahsoka becomes more likable as the season progresses, showing some promise in "Rising Malevolence" and even more in "Cloak of Darkness" and finally becoming interesting in "Storm Over Ryloth". In addition to Ahsoka this season introduced two other interesting characters, Cad Bane and Honda Ohnaka. Like in the movie, there are alot of annoying droid chatter moments in this season. The animation (again, just like the movie) is a bit clunky and lifeless and overall a step down, which is not surprising given that the movie had a much larger budget than any episode would. As I mentioned the continuity in this show is really weird. Not only does "The Hidden Enemy" take place before the film but some of the episodes from this season would have prequel/sequel episodes as late as season 3.
  In the end, Season One of the Clone Wars showed alot more promise than the movie, but the show still had a long way to go.

Short Review: Open Range

  The western is my favorite genre. With it's romanticized vision of America's frontier spirit it's the closest thing we'll ever have to a true mythology. Unfortunately there have not been many great westerns in the last decade. Open Range is one of a few really significant ones. As I only recently saw it for the first time I've decided to review it.
Warning: There will be minor spoilers.

  Open Range was made in 2003. It was directed by Kevin Costner and stars Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Costner himself. It tells the story of four cowboys, "Boss" Spearman (Duvall), Charley (Costner), Mose (Abraham Benrubi), and Button (Diego Luna), who are confronted by an Irish-American rancher named Baxter, who wants to steal their cattle. Baxter has bought out sheriff of the nearby town of Harmonville and is basically controlling it. When one of the cowboys is killed and another badly injured, Boss and Charley decide seek justice and take on Spearman and his men.

  The conflict in the film is well established and the characters feel like real people. The relationships are well fleshed out, particularly between Boss and Charley and between Charley and Sue Barlow (the sister of the town doctor, played by Bening). There are alot of nice little moments, like Charley trying to pick up the dirt he trailed into the doctor's house while Sue changes her clothes, or Boss and Charley's final chat before the big gunfight. This gunfight, which serves as the films climax, has been called one of the greatest shootouts in film history. While I have some reservations about it (there are one or two confusing moments), it is really good. The impact of the gunfire is powerful, making the fight visceral and intense, and it's very coherently shot and edited. The visuals and music in the film are very strong and give it an old school feel. No bombastic Hans Zimmer-esque score or saturated lighting here.

  The one big flaw in the film is the dialogue. While it sometimes naturalistic and subtle, at others it's gratingly stilted and cliche'. Just a few examples should suffice: "Old Boss sure can cowboy, can't he?" "Broke the mold after him." "...they had it coming, I expect". Despite this Open Range is still a really good western and these days that's a rarity.
Score: 8.5/10

Short Review - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

As this film is still in theaters I've decided to do a shorter-then-usual, spoiler free review.

  The biggest problem with this second Captain America film is its title. While it's comic-book counterpart uses the background of a complicated plot by the Red Skull and a Russian business man to focus on the relationship between Cap and the Winter Soldier, this film makes their relationship a smaller piece of a much larger narrative involving nefarious forces inside of Shield. In other words the movie isn't really about the Winter Soldier, it's about Cap finding his place in the modern world without betraying with his old world values, something that the Winter soldier is only a small part of. I don't think this makes the film bad but it does affect the audience's expectations.
  The movies exploration of Cap's journey is really well fleshed out and this film's story is definitely an improvement over the last one, which was set up well but lost its focus after the first act. Throughout the film Cap's idealism is challenged by what he sees around him and he has to decide how to apply his values in this new, far more complex society and, unlike in last year's Man of Steel, the American icon of this film maintains his integrity in a world where moral compromises are becoming more and more acceptable.
  The action scenes, in the last film reduced mostly to one 2-minute montage, are also an improvement, though they occasionally stray into incoherent, quick-cut territory. I especially liked the long tracking shot of Cap taking on guards on the Lemurian Star, which reminded me of a similar scene from the Bond film You Only live Twice.
  There have been alot of complaints about the score, but I thought it was effective for the most part though not up to par with Alan Silvestri's score for First Avenger. I also appreciated that they used Silvestri's theme again here (albeit briefly) as this theme has been the only thing to link the scores of the MCU film's together, appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, and now in this film.
  The film's title may be misleading and there are a few silly moments, like Black Widow's Mission Impossible-esque disguise and a scene where a villain reveals the bad guys plan to her and Cap, but overall Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best MCU films to date.

Score: 9/10

My mixed feelings toward The Clone Wars movie

  When Star Wars: The Clone Wars hit theaters in 2008 it was almost universally reviled. Critics bashed it, the fans dismissed it, and it underperformed at the box office. Then the TV show came along. It too met with much skepticism at first but, as it went on, those who decided to stick with it and watch it found it to be a well-made, entertaining cartoon. So how does the movie hold up in retrospect? Did it set up the show well? Were the critics and fans just burned out from the prequels and close-minded about this new direction for the franchise? These are the questions I hope to answer in this review.

  So why am I writing this now? Well, the Clone Wars movie was recently added to Netflix along with the show (the previously unreleased 6th season is available only on Netflix), so me and my brother decided to re-watch the movie and all 6 seasons of the show and I figured I may as well review them. Interestingly enough I did not see the Clone Wars movie when it was first released. I wasn't even interested in Star Wars at the time (believe it or not my parents didn't allow me to watch the films until I was 16, in 2010). I only saw it, out of curiosity, after watching the first couple of seasons of the show and so had a slightly different perspective from people who would have seen it for the first time in theaters.

  Alot of critics said that it felt like a glorified pilot for the show, and it does pretty much feels like a three episode story arc (though each episode would be a little longer than an actual one). Because of this I've decided to review the film in three separate segments before talking about it in general.

  Segment 1: The Battle for Christophsis
  Summary: After setting up the main plot in a narration (Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped and the republic hopes to help him so he'll let them use his trade routes in the outer rim) the film turns to Christophsis, where Obi Wan and Anakin are leading the clones against the separatists. They're having communication problems and can't call in reinforcements. Obi Wan's new apprentice assigned by master Yoda, Ahsoka Tano, arrives but insists she is assigned to Anakin. The droids attack under the protection of a shield. Anakin and Ahsoka take out this shield while Obi Wan and the clones hold off the droids. Obi Wan fakes a surrender to the separatist commander to stall for time. When the shield is destroyed the battle quickly ends with the Jedi victorious. Yoda then arrives and informs Obi Wan and Anakin of the situation with Jabba's son. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with finding him and Obi Wan flies to Tatoonie to assure Jabba of the Republic's support.
  Thoughts: The most promising thing about this film was the possibility of finally getting a better look at the clone wars. While this battle delivers some of that it's a little underwhelming. Ahsoka is ok. Her and Anakin's name calling (she calls him Sky Guy and he calls her Snips) gets old fast but their relationship is actually set up fairly well. He's reluctant to take on a padawan but is impressed by her spunk and, to some extent, sees his own rebellious nature in her. She is eager to please but doesn't always listen and is a bit reckless. I also like some of the banter between Obi Wan and Anakin, though there's not enough of it.  Oh yea and Captain Rex (a clone trooper) says the D-word, setting an early precedent for some of the more adult stuff we'd get on the show.

  Segment 2: The Monastery on Teth
  Summary: Anakin and Ahsoka lead the clones in an assault on a monastery on the planet of Teth where they hope to find Jabba's son. After taking out the droid garrison they enter the monastery and find Jabba's son only to discover that he's ill. Count Dooku's apprentice, Assaj Ventress, is directed by him to obtain incriminating footage of the Jedi, hoping to frame them for Rota's disappearance and return him to Jabba himself, thus gaining his support for the separatist alliance. She then ambushes the Jedi with an army of droids, trying to obtain Rota from them. Anakin and Ashoka escape and Obi Wan arrives just in time to reinforce the clones. He engages Ventress who makes her own escape.
  Thoughts: Assaj Ventress was first introduced in the Clone Wars micro series (I think). Having never watched this series (I'd like to at one point) or read any comics or novels she was in I'm not sure if she is faithfully portrayed here but her character is alright, though not that interesting. The best thing I can say is that it nicely sets up her rivalry with Obi Wan for later on. It also creates a sort of duality between her and Ashoka as they are both apprentices (to masters who are or will be seduced by the dark side). The initial battle for the monastery is fairly exciting and well done, though there's way too much annoying droid chatter. The later battle between the droids and the ambushed clones is not as good as the film fails to create the tension the situation calls for.

  Segment 3: Tatooine and Ziro the Hutt
  Summary: Padme, learning about Anakin's mission, decides to help him by contacting Jabba's uncle, Ziro the Hutt, who lives in the underworld on Coruscant. She catches him speaking with Dooku on a hologram and learns that he is conspiring with Dooku to overthrow his nephew. She is caught and thrown in prison but manages to send a message to C3PO, who sends Clones to rescue her and arrest Ziro. Meanwhile, Anakin and Ahsoka arrive on Tatooine where they hope to deliver Jabba's son to him. They're ship is shot down and they are forced to trek across the desert. Anakin decides to send Ahsoka and R2D2 with Rota to Jabba's palace alone and in secret while he carries a decoy Rota on a different route. Dooku intercepts him and they fight. Ahsoka is ambushed by magnaguards and struggles to fight them off. Dooku show's Anakin his struggling Padawan on a hologram and Anakin steals Dooku's speeder and races off to save her. He arrives at Jabba's Palace and, not seeing his Padawan around, threatens Jabba, demanding to know where she is. Ahsoka arrives with Rota, and Jabba, enraged at being threatened and still believing that the Jedi are plotting against him, tells his men to execute both of the Jedi. In the nick of time Padme contacts Jabba, informing him of Ziro's treachery and Dooku's deception. Ziro admits to these crimes and Jabba agrees to allow the Republic to use his trade routes.
  Thoughts: I appreciate the continued development of Anakin and Ahsoka's relationship here. He is reluctant to answer questions about his past and he shows increased confidence in her when he sends her out on her own. This confidence is rewarded when she defeats Dooku's magnaguards to complete her mission. On a more negative note the Zirro subplot feels a little rushed and thrown in and Ventress does not reappear after her escape in the second act.

  The film was criticized for having stilted dialogue. I would agree with this for the most part. Alot of it is mundane exposition and there's alot of clumsy references to the live-action films (At one point Obi Wan say's "If anybody can fly a bucket of bolts through hyperspace, he can.") and annoying lines from Ashoka and the battle droids. However there are some decent exchanges between Anakin and Ahsoka and also between Obi Wan and Ventress. There's also a line that I can't help but feel might be a jab at the prequels: Anakin: "I don't want to talk about my past. Ashoka: "Okay, fine. There's so much more we can talk about out here. Like the sand."
 The animation in this film is notoriously clunky. The character designs are meant to resemble wood carvings from Rankin and Bass stop motion films and definitely take some getting used to. The real problem is that the movements often look stiff and the visuals and lighting are generally cheap looking. Another big problem with the movie is that the film feels like it should have been a three part episode rather than a fully realized film. Not only is the plot episodic it just feels unimportant. Rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son to secure trade routes seems like a really minor issue in the overall Star Wars universe. Besides this it's hard to really care about or even fully understand the story. Does Palpatine want the trade routes for the republic? If so does Dooku know this? Is Dooku really planning to help Ziro seize power or is he just using him? Regardless of the answer to these questions, Palpatine can just use whatever outcome takes place to his advantage so why does it really matter in the end?

  Fortunately, though the story doesn't impress, the main characters are, for the most part, likable and this makes you want to route for them despite the convoluted plot. Anakin is much more likable here than in the prequels, partly because, I think putting him in a leadership position gives him an opportunity to show more admirable qualities rather than just whining all the time. Ashoka does get annoying with her excessive use of nicknames, but her spunk does make her somewhat likable (I may be biased as I've grown to know her character better over the show's six seasons). The villains, especially Ventress, are appropriately threatening and we get introduced to Captain Rex who here is pretty much just a cooler-than-average clone, but becomes more interesting in the show. The voice actors are not as comfortable with their roles as they'll become in the show, but their fine for the most part. The score by Kevin Kiner, though it's not quite John Williams, is still very good and one of the stronger elements in the film.
  Overall, despite its sloppy pacing and overly complex plot, the Clone Wars movie manages to be a decent if forgettable set up for the show. If you are interested in watching the show, this is a good a place as any to start. Otherwise you can probably skip it.

Score: 6.5/10

Coming soon: Clone Wars Season 1 review.