Anakin in waiting
Cross over, already
By Phil Villarreal
Pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.14.2008
If this movie career thing doesn't work out for George Lucas, there's a career waiting for him in the dairy industry. He can milk things like no other.
The entertaining but less-than-necessary Lucas-produced "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," an animated chapter in the series' ever-bloating mythology, proves the franchise's Force is still strong. The dogfights and lightsaber battles are engaging, the story conjures up suspense, and there is just enough humor to keep the material from tractor-beaming to planet OverSerious.
Those hankering for more adventures of Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) are in for a treat. The mismatched duo are a comparable match to the Luke Skywalker-Han Solo matchup in the original trilogy, and watching the future enemies work together for a heroic cause carries an elegiac joy.
The movie has a Saturday-morning cartoon feel, which makes sense given that "The Clone Wars" is the spiritual cousin of the 2003 animated series of the same title, which like the movie is set between episodes II and III, before Anakin crosses over and becomes Darth Vader.
The wise, grammatically dyslexic Yoda (Tom Kane) orders the duo to rescue the kidnapped son of gangster Jabba the Hutt. Tagging along is Jedi student Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), whom Obi-Wan arranged to pair with Anakin. It's a compelling team, with the brash and impulsive Anakin stunned to mentor a callow soldier who's more reckless and intuitive than he is.
The drawback to introducing a new Jedi in a middle chapter is there's no future for her, since Vader and the Empire have eradicated nearly all the Jedi by the start of the original trilogy. The story also suffers, with some high-intensity battles afflicted with Sit-com Syndrome, which mandates that everything return to normal by the end credits. Thus there's nothing at stake when the Jedi clash with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), who doesn't meet his end until Episode III. Plus, the fact that Jabba is siring offspring leads to all sorts of grotesque questions of Hutt reproductive practices.
Despite the drawbacks, you get a sense that animation is where "Star Wars" always belonged. Wooden dialogue doesn't seem as awkward when spilling out of computer-animated mouths, and there's none of the awkward blend of live-action and computer effects to detract from the set pieces. And the stylized, angular look of the characters lends to the pulp-comic-book feel generated by the fantastical stories.
There are no doubt many more "Star Wars" tales to be told, but here's hoping Lucas starts taking steps forward in the story line rather than dashing off rehashed middle chapters. Outer space is too vast to be confined in a slot between two prequels.
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