Plot: What’s it about?
As the Clone Wars burn on, a crucial element for both sides of the conflict are the trade routes, which happens to be under the control of the Hutts. While the leaders of the clone forces wouldn’t normally co-operate with the villainous Hutts, so important are those trade routes, they have little choice. The issue is that whoever gains control of those routes, has an instant advantage over the other side. As both sides attempt to get in the good graces of the Hutts, the son of their leader Jabba has been kidnapped. Both sides push to blame the other, but the truth is that Count Dooku was behind the crime. He hoped that if Jabba blamed the clone forces, he would side with Dooku and hand over the routes. Now it falls to Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and rookie Jedi Ahsoka to lead the clone forces and find Jabba’s son, or lose a huge edge in the conflict.
Star Wars has arrived on Blu-ray, but not the ones we so badly want, though The Clone Wars is still nice to have around. This feature length adventure was intended to be the pilot for The Clone Wars television series, but it was given the thumbs up for a run in theaters. As the kick-off for the television show, this movie succeeds, but as a new installment in the Star Wars franchise, this leaves a lot to be desired. I wanted this to be great, I love Star Wars and hoped this would be a fun, well crafted production. As George Lucas often tells us, Star Wars was for the children and in that vein, The Clone Wars works. The movie is bright, bold, and filled with action, the kind of stuff that keeps kids entertained. But the plot is thin, the dialogue is awful at times, and the movie does little to add to the Star Wars world. I do love the animation however, as it is quite stylized and unique. I’d recommend The Clone Wars as a rental to those with younger Star Wars fans, but adult fans need to brace for another disappointment.
Video: How does it look?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. This looks fantastic, but the transfer is somewhat limited by the animation’s simplistic style. In other words, this animation isn’t as complex or deep as the work out of Pixar or Dreamworks. The detail is still impressive, but due to the simpler nature of the animation, the kind of stunning depth we’re used to with computer animated features just isn’t here. Even so, this is a remarkable transfer that pulls out every ounce of depth there is, so this is still dazzling eye candy throughout. The colors stream with vibrant hues, contrast produces inky, deep blacks, and overall detail is close to reference level. So not quite perfect, but quite close indeed.
Audio: How does it sound?
This Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX option isn’t as impressive as I expected. I mean, this is a Star Wars movie and that means frenetic fight scenes, lightsaber duels, laser blasts, and other audio dynamite, but sadly, this track doesn’t give us much punch. Even the most intense scenes come off as thin, which is a real shame. I would never have guessed this was a lossless soundtrack, as surround use is anemic at best and the power levels are weak. The basics sound fine, so dialogue is clear and the music is passable, but I expected a much more potent audio experience. This disc also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX option, French, Spanish, and Portuguese language tracks, and subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Exclusive to this Blu-ray release are a video commentary, which offers visuals to go with the audio comments, as well as a Concentration style memory match game. The commentary has a quarter of crew members and while not that insightful, it does have some decent tidbits here and there. You can also browse a trio of brief featurettes, some deleted scenes, an extensive selection of artwork, and two of the film’s theatrical trailers. This release also includes a digital copy of The Clone Wars, to use on your portable device of choice.
