Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 2
Movie: Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 2
Watched with: Angelo
We rented Volume 1 like a year ago, and it was basically a bunch of short vignettes of Jedi beating up battle droids. It was set between Episodes II and III and did a good job of imitating the Star Wars universe, but it was basically just a series of fun kinetic animations.
Volume 2 is more like an actual movie. It still has plenty of crazy fight sequences (which are far more charming and inventive than those in the actual Star Wars prequels), but it has a fairly complex and interesting story.
Unlike its episode predessor, it has two parallel plots that run throughout--one is the staged kidnapping of the Chancellor on Coruscant while Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson in the movies) and friends try to stop it by punching robots. Meanwhile, Anakin and Obi-Wan make friends with a strange tribe on a primitive planet.
The first storyline delivers the requesite action and does a fine job of it, but it was the second one that really stuck with me. There's this incredible sequence where we see the tribe's cave paintings come to life, depicting a figure who is clearly meant to be Annakin facing increasingly powerful foes and getting stronger as he bests each, but ultimately turning on the people he intended to save. The lines of the image shatter and reform briefly into the Vader mask before falling apart.
It's really artistically original while still thoroughly Star Wars.
It is perhaps worth noting that the sequences on the primitive planet again put George Lucas's "if make them aliens it's not racist" theory to the test, though the Lemur-people's witch doctor masks are less offensive than Jar Jar on every level, and you can only get so offended by characters who do something as awesome as ride giant Yak-elephants.
All around, this little movie is leagues better than both Episode I and II. It's only worse than III because some of the actors aren't as good (they clearly cast people based on how much they sounded like the film leads, and did a fantastic job of that, but sounding like Ewan MacGregor and acting like him are two different things--Obi-Wan basically just comes off as a dick), though no one's worse than Hayden Christensen.
Basically, George Lucas can't make a Star Wars movie as good as the guy who made fucking Dexter's Lab, and that's kind of sad. But I guess I should just be glad that this exists at all.
(You can watch about half of it on Youtube, or buy the whole thing for 10 bucks from iTunes if that's your scene)
Watched with: Angelo
We rented Volume 1 like a year ago, and it was basically a bunch of short vignettes of Jedi beating up battle droids. It was set between Episodes II and III and did a good job of imitating the Star Wars universe, but it was basically just a series of fun kinetic animations.
Volume 2 is more like an actual movie. It still has plenty of crazy fight sequences (which are far more charming and inventive than those in the actual Star Wars prequels), but it has a fairly complex and interesting story.
Unlike its episode predessor, it has two parallel plots that run throughout--one is the staged kidnapping of the Chancellor on Coruscant while Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson in the movies) and friends try to stop it by punching robots. Meanwhile, Anakin and Obi-Wan make friends with a strange tribe on a primitive planet.
The first storyline delivers the requesite action and does a fine job of it, but it was the second one that really stuck with me. There's this incredible sequence where we see the tribe's cave paintings come to life, depicting a figure who is clearly meant to be Annakin facing increasingly powerful foes and getting stronger as he bests each, but ultimately turning on the people he intended to save. The lines of the image shatter and reform briefly into the Vader mask before falling apart.
It's really artistically original while still thoroughly Star Wars.
It is perhaps worth noting that the sequences on the primitive planet again put George Lucas's "if make them aliens it's not racist" theory to the test, though the Lemur-people's witch doctor masks are less offensive than Jar Jar on every level, and you can only get so offended by characters who do something as awesome as ride giant Yak-elephants.
All around, this little movie is leagues better than both Episode I and II. It's only worse than III because some of the actors aren't as good (they clearly cast people based on how much they sounded like the film leads, and did a fantastic job of that, but sounding like Ewan MacGregor and acting like him are two different things--Obi-Wan basically just comes off as a dick), though no one's worse than Hayden Christensen.
Basically, George Lucas can't make a Star Wars movie as good as the guy who made fucking Dexter's Lab, and that's kind of sad. But I guess I should just be glad that this exists at all.
(You can watch about half of it on Youtube, or buy the whole thing for 10 bucks from iTunes if that's your scene)
posted by Kane Lynch at
3:22 AM
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