Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

There is a certain curiosity to be had in the story of how Star Wars: The Clone Wars arrived in cinemas in August 2008. What began as the pilot episodes of an animated television series was stitched together, given a theatrical polish, and released by Warner Bros. Pictures as a feature film, which made it the first theatrically released Star Wars film since Revenge of the Sith three years earlier. It was a peculiar move by Lucasfilm, and the marketing leaned hard on the franchise name rather than anything the film itself had to offer as a standalone piece of cinema. At 98 minutes, it sits in a strange no-man's-land: too long to feel like a television special, not developed enough to carry the weight of a theatrical release. The basic premise drops Anakin Skywalker and his newly assigned Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, into the thick of the Clone Wars as they attempt to rescue the kidnapped son of Jabba the Hutt, a mission with galactic-scale diplomatic stakes attached. On paper, it sounds like a reasonable enough adventure yarn. Whether the paper translates to screen is another matter entirely.

The film was directed by Dave Filoni, who at the time was relatively new to the Star Wars universe, having come from television animation work. Filoni would go on to become one of the more trusted creative figures in the franchise's expanded universe, which makes this particular entry an interesting artefact in his career. The animation style, handled by Lucasfilm Animation, drew on a stylised, angular aesthetic with influences from Gerry Anderson's puppet work and classic war film imagery, a deliberate choice that aimed to give the film a distinctive look separate from the photorealistic ambitions of the live-action features. Whether that aesthetic lands is a matter of personal taste, though it is worth noting that the style was designed for television screens and budgets, not a multiplex. The voice cast includes Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as the newly created character Ahsoka Tano, and James Arnold Taylor reprising Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Clone Wars microseries. The film also features Dee Bradley Baker, whose voice work across animation is extensive, and David Acord in supporting roles. For fans of animation more broadly, it is the sort of production that sits a world away from the craft visible in something like Fantastic Planet or the emotional ambition on display in Josep. In terms of action-driven spectacle, it also shares a release window with other effects-heavy blockbusters of the era, not unlike the equally loud and busy Transformers from the year before.

How the hell the TV show got made after this is beyond me. A hot mess doesn’t even begin to describe The Clone Wars movie. It’s a disaster, a clumsy, soulless cash grab that somehow ends up beating the Rise of Skywalker to the handle of worst Star Wars film. This is the film that launched the animated series, but watching it is like watching a trainwreck unfold in slow motion, and you can’t look away. I'm utterly bewildered by how it exists in the first place. The plot is a tedious, pointless mess. Anakin Skywalker’s arc feels more like a side note than anything of significance, while Ahsoka Tano is introduced with all the grace of a brick through a window. Her forced, unearned ‘camaraderie’ with Anakin feels like the writers were desperately trying to give us a “dynamic” duo, but the chemistry is so off, it’s hard to tell whether the characters are supposed to be rivals or reluctant friends. Meanwhile, the rest of the film shoves us through a series of disjointed action scenes that are as incoherent as they are forgettable. The animation itself is stiff and lifeless, with characters that look like they’re made of plastic. The voices are just as flat as the animation. It’s as if George Lucas took a few too many liberties with what’s acceptable for a Star Wars movie, and the end result is a mess of clunky dialogue, unengaging characters, and action that lacks any real stakes. This film is a total misfire, both as a Star Wars movie and as an animated feature. It’s hard to believe that this wreck of a film is the thing that spun off into a beloved TV series. Watching it feels like a chore, not a joy. A true testament to how not to do a Star Wars movie.

For me, the most baffling part of all this is that the television series that followed somehow managed to build genuine affection among fans, including people who were old enough to know better. I've sat with the question of whether this film deserves to be watched as a curiosity or avoided as a waste of an evening, and I keep landing in the same place: if you're going to experience the animated series at some point, go straight to the show and leave this well alone. The film doesn't earn its runtime, doesn't earn its theatrical release, and certainly doesn't earn the goodwill it borrowed from the franchise name. Some films are bad in interesting ways. This one is just a chore with a lightsaber.

Rating: ½  | Year: 2008  | Watched: 2008-12-04

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Physical: Amazon US

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