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New STAR WARS film coming to theaters August 15, 2008 (1 Viewer)

TravisR

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I saw it last night and it's a fun kids movie (which is exactly what I was expecting) and a good start to what I hope will be an excellent TV series. The action was cool, most of the humor (especially the Battle Droids) was funny and the animation was good.

All the people who decided that they hate it already shouldn't go because there's probably nothing that will change your mind.
 

John Mansor

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It sure seems like either Lucas hates the Original Trilogy or he is going to continue doing things around the prequels until someone likes it.
 

Sam Favate

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I thought it was pretty good. I mean, if you go expecting an animated Revenge of the Sith or Empire Strikes Back, you will be disappointed. But for a fun animated fantasy that takes place in the Star Wars universe, you can't go wrong.

Couple of things I didn't like: No one, ever again, in any incarnation of Star Wars should ever speak a line or a phrase that appeared in any of the Star Wars movies. That kind of self-referential nonsense was never good (it's essentially winking at the audience, saying "Remember when... this happened?") and it's very old at this point. Not sure I cared for the wooden look of the characters. I prefered the animated style from the 2D Cartoon Network series.

That aside, yes, there is some silliness, but nothing on the level of Jar Jar Binks or Episode I. The animation is quite good and the planetscapes and spaceships look as good as they do in the films. I recommend it!

The savage reviews that are out there are really over the top, IMO. Some people will do anything to rip apart someone like Lucas. It's unwarranted (again, IMO). I think the movie shows the animated series will be something pretty cool.
 

Dave Mack

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I don't know. For the most part, The old Clone wars mini-eps got very good reviews and even ROTS got an 80% at Rottentomatoes. To fall to a 19% on the next outing doesn't sound like a vendetta for no reason. It genuinely sounds like a bunch of people being underwhelmed.
 

David Forbes

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Not nearly as bad as I expected. Even baby Jabba wasn't as cringe-inducing as I thought it would be. My eight-year-old son loved it, and I agree it shows the series has potential for some fun.

I wish they had done a post-Jedi show, but this is what we have. Even the dialog wasn't as bad as I was expecting (this may be something of a case of the movie beating my exceedingly low expectations).

The good stuff:

The animation and CGI is really great. No one should complain about it, and if they can keep up this quality in a weekly TV show...wow. Now, I can understand how some might not like the character design (it didn't bother me), but that's not the same thing. The CGI is stellar.

The battles are fun. Kind of long and a little repetitious, but still enjoyable.

The music was fine. It's a different kind of Star Wars and they went for a different kind of music. YMMV, but for me it fit the tone of the film.

The humor is actually okay. Nothing so awful as some of threepio's lines from AOTC, which, quite frankly, I was expecting in a film aimed at the under-ten crowd.

I really like some of the different camera shots they tried. Very non-traditional for a SW movie. Some POV shots, some handhelds. Looks like it was influenced by Battlestar Galactica camera work.

The not-so-good:

There must be some sort of in-joke with the writers for why they made Jabba's uncle a cross-dressing, hookah-smoking, flaming homosexual who talked like Truman Capote. Just really freaking weird.

The story is okay, but nothing memorable. Just a kidnap and rescue plot with lots of battles thrown in as filler.

The chick sidekick, whatever the hell her name is. Horribly cliched, the first few scenes with her and Anankin are pretty bad. But then it evens out a little as they focus more on the rescue story.

If you've already decided you will hate this, then you probably will. I wasn't expecting to hate it, but I had steeled myself to be disappointed yet again. Surprisingly, I had a pretty good time.
 

Brett_M

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I saw with my two kids today. We all enjoyed it. The animation is excellent (even if you don't like the character design) and the action is pretty good.

Throughout it's running time, I had Harry Knowles' review running in my mind -- I disagreed with everything he said in his review. He's way off base and I look forward to the show.

If you like Star Wars, you will enjoy the film.
 

Chuck Mayer

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My 5 year old son wanted to go, and we promised him we'd take him. After the reviews, I was sort of dreading it. I guess that was a decent mindset to go into with, as it's actually OK...for a collection of 30 minute shows. Seriously, the animation is a bit stiff, but not too bad. They clearly took inspiration from Tartakovsky's excellent little shorts, both in design (some of which works, and some of which doesn't) and in action structure.

I could absolutely nitpick it, but considering the primary function of the release is to advertise a TV show whose primary function will be to sell toys to young kids (as with Transformers and He-Man before it), it's got it's decent moments, it's bad moments, but very, very few terrible moments. My son enjoyed it, and when there wasn't much dialogue (which was mostly terrible by feature film standards, but tolerable by 30 minute cartoon standards), it was entertaining to watch.

Considering my opinion of the purpose of the show, this review should count as a rave. I'll never watch it again, and I can't recommend it as a movie. But if you like Star Wars, and you know what Clone Wars is, it's watchable and pleasant.

I could whine about the characters (and trust me, anyone could) or the overdose on action...but this could have been a trainwreck. And it's not.

And this comes as a surprise to me, probably as much as my review comes as a surprise to some regulars
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
Will I TiVo the show? No. Will I watch it if it is on? Sure.

Recommended for SW fans who aren't too slavish about the chronology and "canon". This jibes pretty well with the cartoon, but Anakin is presented as much more in control here than in the films.

EDIT: I will throw out an unqualified rave for the previous animated series. Those were quite a bit more inspired than this film, and spectacular in the action department. This is more polished, but less creative and energetic.
 

Chris_T

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Couldn't agree with you more Sam, especially the last part of your post.

I went this afternoon with my family and we all enjoyed it immensely, especially my 5 year old. Reading the reviews you would have thought this was a sequel to Pluto Nash. I don't believe the movie is as bad as people are making it out to be. Then again YMMV.
 

Ricardo C

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I dug it.

It felt like the series-starting TV movie it really is, but that's not a bad thing. The plot was nothing earth-shattering, but it was good fun. Ahsoka grew on me after a little while, and I really enjoyed her chemistry with Anakin.

As probably the only HTF Star Wars goon who didn't go crazy for the Clone Wars series, I still don't like the character designs, and full 3D just exacerbates the issues, for me. The animation was good enough for a TV show, but on the big screen I found it very stiff.

The soundtrack was terrific, but not Star Wars at all. Again, considering this movie is supposed to be our introduction to the TV series, I suppose new ground must be broken, if the series is to feel like a fresh entry in the SW universe and not merely a rehash of all that's come before, but it was very out of place, most of the time.

I loved the battle scenes, though, and some of the sets were really inspired (moonlight saber duel on Tatooine? Awesome), and for once the battle droids were actually funny.

However, one thing I'm really sick of, and I directly blame GL for it, is how Yoda has been completely turned into a caricature (I know we're talking about an animated character in an animated movie, but you know what I mean). Yoda's speech has progressively become self-parody. He did not speak backwards every single time he spoke in the OT, nor did he sound like he was reciting haiku throughout.

All in all, a fun flick I'll be glad to own on BluRay, but don't go in expecting something with the scope of either trilogy. This, more than any other Star Wars film to date, IS a Saturday morning serial.
 

Paul Arnette

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Exact same scenario here, my six-year-old really wanted to see this, and I was less than jazzed to see it after all the scathing reviews. I had a pretty good time.

My only real complaint was anything Hutt related. They've effectively neutered Jabba the Hutt over the course of this movie. I never had any desire to know more about Jabba than what I was told about him in Star Wars and saw in Return of the Jedi. I thought his inclusion in The Phantom Menace was unnecessary, and making this once fearsome gangster a father and showing me his family just kind of dulled the edge the character had. Thankfully, Ziro the Hutt's screen time was limited because it is characters like that nearly did the prequels in completely for me.

I'll definitely record and watch this show with my son. The one fear I have is that every plot is going to involve some overly complicated scheme to discredit the Jedi or some sort of political maneuvering. That's going to get old quick, in my opinion.
 

Chuck Mayer

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Ricardo, great to see you. And Dome as well

I agree action scenes were well conceived. The lightsaber fights were without drama, however, because no one won either. But that's the nature of a 100 episode series.
 

TerryRL

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I really dug it. Two of my kids went with me and they absolutely loved it. They begged, so I'm taking them to see it again tomorrow. It was a really fun movie and I can't wait to see the show. I honestly don't get why the critics (and a lot of fans) have ripped this movie a new one. I had a great time with it.
 

Paul Arnette

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I suspect they will re-air it. I recall seeing that there is to be a Dec. release for The Clone Wars BD in the UK, so it will probably be the same here in the US as well.
 

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