Entertainment, Movies - Navy Times

Film Review: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars,’ 2½ stars

The conspicuous lack of hype surrounding “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” signals that the grand ambitions of George Lucas’ sci-fi empire have been spent.

Finally.

After the epic space wreck — some might say betrayal — of “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” it would be impossible for any addition to the franchise to be a disappointment again. With expectations so drastically lowered, the computer-animated “Clone Wars” turns out to be, surprisingly, not terrible. It is basically a 98-minute pilot for the new children’s TV series of the same name. But it’s not trying to be anything more, so it works just fine.

Set between Episodes II and III, “The Clone Wars” is a self-contained chapter in the fight between the Jedi Knights, backed up by their clone soldiers (the future stormtroopers), and the droid armies of the Separatists. The political stakes in this contest are hazy, but that’s OK, because the plot, centering on the evil Count Dooku’s scheme to foment war between the Jedi and Jabba the Hutt’s gangster clan, is just a convenient segue between battles.

The animation style, with its herky-jerky movement and shapes composed of angles instead of curves, is more algorithm than artistry. The richness of detail is a few steps above the average video game, but nowhere near the standard set by Pixar. Still — despite the fact that it is inherently less surprising to see a cartoon character leap 80 feet in the air than to see Ewan McGregor do it — the animators manage to create plenty of coming-at-you visual excitement. One of the best sequences has Jedi Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice, Ahsoka, slashing their lightsabers through droid hordes while racing up the side of a cliff. It’s definitely in the “Star Wars” spirit.

So, too, is the dialogue, which seems to have boiled down the Lucas style to its essential comic-book cliches: “So, the poisonous traitor rears his ugly head again,” and, “Your training has come a long way, boy.”

The latter is intoned by Christopher Lee, reprising his live-action role as Count Dooku. Samuel L. Jackson makes a cameo as Jedi Master Mace Windu, as does Anthony Daniels, the original C-3PO. The other voices are impersonations, but Yoda still sounds like Yoda.

There are numerous nods to fan-favorite creatures — as always, no droid is safe from the tiny, grasping hands of the Jawas on Tatooine — as well as some new characters, such as the vampiric Ventress, wielding a double-bladed lightsaber a la Darth Maul, and Ziro the Hutt, Jabba’s uncle, with a lisping drawl and flamboyant pirate outfit that just might be an homage to Johnny Depp.

To anyone still holding out for Lucas to finish his vision of a nine-movie cycle, “The Clone Wars” is not going to satisfy. But if you’re willing to regress to the mental age of 12 for a couple of hours, it’s an amusing ride.

Rated:PG for sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking.