Ush's summarised impression of the first season Clone Wars episodes.
Very late to the party, I know, but I am finally ploughing through the first season Clone Wars episodes. I thought I'd give a brief impression of each one I have seen so far. As for the original film, I gave my impressions of that when it came out- it was entirely fair for what it was.
1- Ambush: Jedi porn starring Yoda. Although without any specific objections, this episode is pretty dull really, as 'Jedi annihilate battle droids' was done back in TPM. Dooku is evil enough but looks a bit rubbish when his plan does not come through- I really feel they should give all the failed plans to Grievous, who is a much better “If it was not for you pesky kids...” villain. Dooku has an aura of cool and that jars badly every time he fails.
2, 3, 4- Malevolence trilogy: Again, reasonably fair background material; the idea of the super weapon having one weak point is very Star Wars stuff, though if both the Republic (i.e. pre-Empire) and Confeds all build stuff like that, you wonder who are the people building stuff without massive weak points that the Rebels will use later. The FX budget seemed to wimp out on the Malevolence's destruction, though. Where was the big Star Wars boom? I demand a shockwave.
5- Rookies: Cheap on voice acting... actually pretty good. The Commando droids are a neat addition- better but not TOO much better; perhaps more notable for their ability to do more than just point and shoot rather than actually being lethally dangerous, which suits well as the super droids are already the ones that just fight better, and their attempt to impersonate clones was amusing enough. Also, whilst painted as a Confed cock-up, in the end, the final score here is one Republic base destroyed for the expenditure of a trivial number of droids, which is not bad going for them. We all know the biggest problem here is Villain Decay for the Confeds, who look feeble a lot of the time, so you have to find their triumphs where you can.
6, 7 (R2 captured duology): Ahh... I dunno, seemed to be a lot of time wasting. Going to the place where someone is captive only to not find them, leave, and then end up going back for him somewhere else smacks of filler. The droid traitor thing was... ok... the droid vs. droid fight was... ok... It wasn't bad but it was generally forgettable. The assassin droid fight had some character to it, though.
8- Bombad Jedi (reviewed separately to those below on purpose)- obviously, everyone's worst nightmare for a story idea, but not as bad as you fear. 3P0's line to Amidala about the ship being destroyed being Jar-Jar's fault shows the same level of self-awareness that also made Qui-Gon's “That will not be necessary” line from TPM rather neat. Kiddy stuff is fine- so long as it is held in balance and awareness. The best kid's stuff has an adult nod (e.g. Doctor Who). Not that I am likely to watch this one ever again.
9- Cloak of Darkness: No idea what the title was meant to mean, but this was a solid episode to redeem Ventress. Obviously, Luminara looked a bit silly but we can live with that, and the traitor was clear a mile off because he was using the “I am a creep” voice from the get-go, but this isn't a crime drama. His murder by Ventress seemed a bit arbitrary- he struck me as useful- but that's the problem with working alongside nutters like her. Anyway, the achievement here is to make an episode that is good even though we know that the Republic couldn't possibly have succeeded in capturing the Viceroy.
10- Lair of Grievous: Linking this to the previous episode was completely unnecessary, but other than that, this was another good one. Classic Star Wars stuff- bad guys, monsters, fighting, dying etc. An amusing sidekick for Grievous, too quickly killed, a Jedi with “I am going to die” written across his forehead but a bearable character, a 'testing by the Dark Side' plot which might have been a little better were it not directly adjacent to something very similar with Ventress in the previous story, but in the end very watchable. However, I am left with two questions. 1- Is Fisto just a crap teacher? 2- did anyone care that everyone on the mission died except him? Because he certainly didn't. As an additional point, I don't think Windu would agree with that power line that Yoda spouts at the end either. Anyway, a clear Confederate win, really.
11/12 (Dooku captured duology)- Easily the pits of the series, and a waste of some reasonably interesting pirate characters with a distinctive technology style. The plot goes round in inane circles- it wastes time all over the place with scene after scene that gets us nowhere, and we are left with great uncertainty about how certain events happened. Worst of all, the whole episode is a violation of the coolness of major characters who just look like complete idiots in being captured by such useless people. An author might enjoy the irony of this sort of thing, but to the viewer it is just agony. Viewers get emotionally invested in their favourite characters- heroes and villains- and there should be respect for that. Like Mr Jackson himself said, no way should Windu go down to being shot in the back...
In summary, any story so generally bad that I wasn't even focussing on how annoying Jar-Jar might have been HAS to have been pretty awful.
13/14- 'Pacifists caught in war' duology- A lot to say here. The first episode here does this whole philosophical idea a disfavour, by trying to set up the idea that the Jedi are equally morally culpable to the Confeds. Aside from the “Yes it DOES matter who starts a war” point, the whole thrust of what the tribe is saying is easily counterable by two points. First, if the Jedi were not protecting the Republic, it would be conquered by hideously evil people and there would be great suffering and oppression. Taking a pacifist position is all very well but to expect everyone to hold it at any cost is insane; a pacifist existence is only possible within the framework of an order of society that is willing to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Secondly, a Jedi can simply say that it would be deeply immoral to have the power to protect others from suffering and then intentionally not use it. Jedi only ever use their power to protect others- they did not start or want the war, but now it is on they are obliged to fight it. Jedi who stray from these principles are clearly portrayed as in the wrong, so it is very unclear what point was attempting to be made.
The second episode is better in that the chief specifies his is a Gandhi stance- do not even defend yourselves, suffer at all costs- but they promptly show such a view to be of no value against those who don't care about performing immoral acts (unlike the British in India who simply did not have the stomach to slaughter unarmed and unresisting protesters, though they gave it a go for a little bit). They also show internal dissent against the idea. This puts a pacifist view in a far more sensible position- laudable in theory, useless in practise, and entirely dependent upon others who WILL protect you to extend that protection around you. Luckily, the Jedi are nice enough guys to do just that, and likewise the point is made clear that the Jedi should in no way attempt to draw those who wish out the conflict into it- even though that is a deeply selfish view. Talking of selfish, the leader of any society saying "It is entirely acceptable for all of us to die rather than ever fight back" is doing his society a disservice. His people deserved to live, if nothing else.
Mind you, I feel the Confeds would do better if they were NOT always strutting around as out and out bad guys- didn't Dooku convince thousands of worlds to secede because the Republic was corrupt and he was offering something better? “Do as we say or we shoot you” as a constant attitude seems weird in light of that.
Anyway, the action bits of this episode were all fair enough- the opening fight in the skyline being the most visually impressive- so it was a reasonable story.
More to follow later!