Clone Wars

I took my son to see "Clone Wars" yesterday. It's pretty okay. The dialogue is horrid, but the story isn't bad, and there are plenty of fun battle scenes.

Chronologically, the "Clone Wars" movie seems to take place between Discs 1 and 2 of the "Clone Wars" cartoons from last year. Anakin is a full Jedi, but the war is still raging and it's unclear who will win. The new twist is that Anakin is assigned a padawan, Ashoka Tano, a perky young humanoid in a tube top who likes to refer to people by nicknames. We also get to meet Jabba's young son and his uncle, who has an effeminate Southern accent.

The computer animation is good, but somehow seems only skin deep. There are tons of light saber fights, but they just don't seem that overwhelming in this format. The battle between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon in Episode I was one of the coolest things ever committed to film, but such battles just lose something when they're animated. Yet even the cartoon series had some moments of beauty, such as the lengthy standoff between Anakin and Asajj Ventress in the rain on Yavin IV. No such moments in the new movie.

Still, a reasonably diverting romp. And I look forward to the new TV series.