Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie) review (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

I guess we can't be surprised I chose to watch this since its the debut of my girl Ahsoka.

Summary from Wikepedia

Spoiler

During the first year of the Clone Wars, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a small battalion of Republic Clone troopers against the Separatist droid army on the planet Christophsis. Awaiting reinforcements, the two Jedi greet a shuttle carrying the young Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been assigned by Jedi Master Yoda to serve as Anakin's Padawan. Anakin reluctantly accepts Ahsoka's apprenticeship, and the two succeed in deactivating the Separatists' energy field while Obi-Wan stalls the droid army commander, allowing a Republic victory. Ahsoka earns Anakin's respect.

Following the battle, Yoda arrives and informs the Jedi that crime lord Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta has been kidnapped. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with retrieving the Huttlet, while Obi-Wan is sent to Tatooine to negotiate with Jabba over a potential treaty between the Hutts and the Republic. Anakin and Ahsoka track the kidnapper and Rotta to the planet Teth, where they are ambushed by Separatist forces led by Count Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress, discovering that Dooku hopes to frame the Jedi for Rotta's kidnapping in order to get Jabba to ally with the Separatist army. The Jedi manage to escape the trap along with R2-D2 and hijack a derelict transport with which they travel to Tatooine. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives on Teth and defeats Ventress in a lightsaber duel, though she manages to escape.

Meanwhile, Senator Padmé Amidala, secretly married to Anakin, learns of her husband's mission and fears for his safety. She decides to contact Jabba's uncle Ziro on Coruscant. The Hutt refuses to cooperate, apparently believing that it is the Jedi who are responsible for the situation. However, Padmé soon discovers that Ziro has actually conspired with Dooku to have Rotta killed for Jabba to have Anakin and Ahsoka executed in return, which will force the Jedi Council to take Jabba into custody and allow Ziro to seize power over the Hutt clans. Padmé is discovered and detained, but a chance call by C-3PO enables her to summon a squadron of clone troopers, and Ziro is arrested.

Upon their arrival on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka are shot down by MagnaGuards. Anakin devises a ruse to confront Dooku while carrying a decoy Rotta, leaving Ahsoka to take the real Rotta to Jabba's palace. While Anakin fights off Dooku, Ahsoka is ambushed by the MagnaGuards, whom she defeats. The two deliver Rotta safely to Jabba, who nonetheless orders the Jedi to be executed for their supposed kidnapping attempt. However, Padmé contacts Jabba in time and reveals Ziro and the Separatists' responsibility for the kidnapping. Acknowledging the Jedi's heroism and allowing the Republic to have Ziro punished for his betrayal, Jabba agrees to the treaty while Anakin and Ahsoka are retrieved by Obi-Wan and Yoda. In the meantime, during his escape, Dooku reports to his master Darth Sidious about the failure of their plot, but the Sith Lord assures him that the tide of war is still in their favor.

My review:

Spoiler

I'm a bit unsure about the structure. The plot is primarily about Jabbas son, but the first part was all about something different. I do think that it was a way to introduce Ahsoka and get her to have a bit of a relationship with Anakin, but I don't think that was the best way to go about it.

I also can't help but to wonder about her age. I know she's super strong and talented, there's no doubt about that. She's still quite impulsive, and it is a bit questionable bringing a teenager into a battle isn't great for their mental health really. Its Star Wars and she's not human, so I'll give it a pass I suppose, but that is one thing that bothers me a bit about her background in general.

First we have the battle on the planet. Despite my belief that this section doesn't make a lot of sense, I did enjoy this part. It wasn't super long and it wasn't overly complicated like a whole war would be, but it was an interesting mission for them and a good way to get Ahsoka and Anakin to have a better understanding of each other. One part of the section that threw me off was the whole fact that Obi Wan "surrendered" to buy Anakin more time, despite not actually doing so. That's a war crime and not the best way to even go about it. There are so many things that they could have done to save the day, yet they chose that. Again I suppose it's a fantasy world, but I still don't like it.

One thing I greatly enjoy is watching Ahsoka fight. The Jedi in general are actobatic and interesting fighters, but Ahsoka is especially so, and her use for the reverse grip is different and provides a really interesting change. I've read quite a bit about this topic in particular, and her fighting style does improve since she is a fresh padawan, but right now in this section she already looks awesome.

Anakin and Ahsokas relationship makes some sense from the beginning. Anakin does seem like he would be against having a padawan, but he also has some loyalty. I am a bit surprised they made him appreciate her so quickly, but I suppose the filmakers just wanted to get it over with. She does seem like someone who might fit with Anakin, although Anakin seems overly mature in this movie a he himself is generally on the more reckless side. They have similarities though, with both being young, strong, and a bit reckless as padawans, so there is some they have to learn from each other.

Now we move onto the Hutt. This part of the movie is significantly longer than the first for sure. I enjoyed it overall. The battle scenes were okay and the plot was good. There was very typical traps set, but interesting ways of getting around them such as using decoys and psychological manipulation. One part I was unsure about was Ziro and his role. It is unclear in the movie what he actually gave to Douku that helped him with the plot, and it seemed that his only role was to give away secrets.

I understand that they try to keep the atmosphere more humorous and upbeat but I'm not a fan of Ahsoka and Anakins joke competing during the battles. It just seems awkward to have that in a battle scene. The priorities seem so off and imo it ruins the intensity of the moments.

Overall, the movie was good. It's not the best I've seen, I perfered Rogue One. However, it is entertaining enough and I like seeing the start of Ahsoka, as she is my favorite character in the franchise. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5, its still worth watching for those who want to learn more about the Clone Wars and it's a good lead up to the Clone Wars series from my understanding.

@Darth_Felflame @lexus @TicTok_Togruta @perhapz

 

[RainbowDevil]

Lol you've seen nothing when it comes to both war crimes and them joking around during a battle, theres an episode in Season 1 where the 2 of em count how many droids they've killed. Both of those I never really minded? Cause like who cares it's a tv show and it's about aliens in space we can just guess that war crimes aren't the same and that battling with droids and being in a billion battles might make you look at the whole situation in a different way.

Nice review tho, glad you liked it. In general both the film and the show serve the purpose of deepening the lore of star wars and showing it to viewers without breaking the universe... usually. And yes Anakin and Ahsoka fit each other like peanut butter and jelly, and they never really stop doing the exact same thing in most situations

 

[Ashla_K]

I haven't seen the Clone Wars yet but I'll take my time to watch it now that the series is complete.