I’ve been on a month-long Star Wars bender. Of course, it won’t be wrapped up until after I play through The Force Unleashed next month, but I caught a couple of doses of Star Wars.
Obi-Wan is a snarky badass
The Clone Wars movie (which, if I understand correctly, is really a pilot for an upcoming TV series) is a computer-graphics animated telling of the story of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you should try to catch this on the big screen. That said, I wasn’t super-excited by this feature, so if you’re not a serious fan, there are probably other movies that you could go catch. There are continuity errors (Anakin battles Dooku, which never happened… they re-arranged the OPENING GOD DAMNED THEME… and R2 isn’t a mouse droid because the MSE Messenger Droid hadn’t been invented yet, as Emi pointed out), and while the opening half-hour is an awesome, epic, intense battle of the Clone Wars, the rest of the movie drops down in pace. Things are cutesied-up for the anticipated TV cartoon (kids) audience. But, y’know, it’s got good lightsaber duels and all. And Obi-Wan gets his snarky attitude back! (The novelization of Revenge of the Sith was filled with great one-liners that were inexplicably missing from the film.)
On a brighter (er… well, better) note, I just finished the Legacy of the Force series of 9 novels. They read REALLY quickly — it took me under a month — which isn’t to say that they’re simple or light, but rather to say that they’re difficult to put down. The story is set 40 years after A New Hope, and is bleak and dark. The New Republic has long since failed, Jacen Solo (son of Han and Leia) is going to the dark side, and yet another Galactic Civil War is about to break out as Corellia decides it’s had enough of the Galactic Alliance. The series brings in many of the classic characters (Boba Fett, the Solos and Skywalkers, and characters from throughout the EU books such as Admirals Pellaeon and Daala, many of the New Jedi Order Jedi Knights and Masters, etc). It also does a great job at trying to tie some serious themes back through the Star Wars story, all the way back to prequel-trilogy analyses of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s successes and mistakes. And if I didn’t mention this yet, it’s bleak and dark. All in all, this was a satisfying read.
By Heartless_ August 18, 2008 - 10:10 am
I just find it funny how so many Star Wars books go right into doom and gloom sequences of the expanded universe’s history. None of them can be happy stories about the good guys winning and restoring peace.
Personally, my favorite books are the Bounty Hunter Wars and Han Solo Trilogy.
By Heartless_ August 18, 2008 - 10:13 am
Oh, and I enjoyed the Clone Wars movie. Better than most of the prequels, more visually consistent overall, and a glimpse back to the old movies.
However, Anakin remains as the biggest Star Wars character flop of all time. Just a tragedy, since Darth Vader is probably one of the best ever.
By Tachevert August 18, 2008 - 12:03 pm
I thought a lot of the books ended cheerfully, up until New Jedi Order. Then things definitely took a turn for the dark.
Although, all told, Shatterpoint is probably the bleakest book of all — and I absolutely loved it.
By Heartless_ August 20, 2008 - 7:26 am
Well some end cheerie, but they all have bleak overtones about where the New Republic or Old Republic is headed. I find some of the stuff set after RotJ to be a bit fantasy injected into Star Wars, while most of the Galactice Civil War era books are pretty gritty Star Wars. Anyways, great universe to escape to without a lot of heavy thinking involved.
By Emi August 23, 2008 - 9:18 pm
Overall, I liked the movie, even with the too cutesy parts and the few things I perceived as errors. I’m glad there is more Star Wars stories to be told. I’m sure I’ll watch the animated series.
My friend at Trusty Plinko Stick also has a review up. Check it out.