There are a lot of “firsts” going on here.  The first Star Wars film not to be released by 20^th Century Fox; the first Star Wars movie not released in the month of May; the first animated Star Wars feature film; the first Star Wars film where Frank Oz doesn’t provide the voice of Yoda; the first Star Wars film to not be scored by John Williams.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place between Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith.  Since we already know what happens in ROTS, the suspense element is a little hamstrung.  Obviously, no major character is in any real danger.  But I guess you can say that about any of the movies released after Return Of The Jedi.  Clone Wars is essentially a pilot for the new animated television series that will air on Cartoon Network beginning this Fall.  And it pretty much felt like a pilot; it was basically an extended episode of what will become the TV show.  The animation is pretty slick with its stylized character design.  It was clearly constructed to be easily (and cheaply) reproduced on a weekly basis.  But there is amazing detail work and it is light-years ahead of most (if not all) television cartoons.  However, its computer created aesthetics combined with the film’s propensity for battle scenes has a tendency to make the movie feel more than a bit like watching someone else play a video game. 

Clone Wars has (thankfully) toned down the live action version’s love for the political machinations of the Republic.  Let’s face it, large portions of the most recent trilogy felt more like C-SPAN than Star Wars.  For awhile there it looked like Obi-Wan Kenobi’s greatest challenge would be overcoming a cloture vote. 

This movie, however, brings the action fast and furious.  Jabba The Hutt’s son has been kidnapped and the responsibility of finding him has fallen on the Jedi Knights.  Anakin (soon to be Darth Vader) Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are assigned the task of retrieving baby Jabba along with Anakin’s new padawan (a Jedi equivalent of an intern).  The rest is basically lightsaber fights and battles against droid armies.  There is a little bit of political intrigue regarding the culprits behind Jabba Jr.’s abduction, but it’s kept to a minimum and isn’t near as convoluted as some of the mythology we’re given in the actual movies and, therefore, much more interesting. 

Ultimately, this is a movie for the die-hards (of which there are plenty).  It’s a solid lead in for the show, but it probably didn’t necessitate a theatrical release.  If the show makes a point of having its stories revolve around peripheral characters that were familiar with (like Jabba The Hutt) it will be a fun way to kill thirty minutes (minus commercials) once a week.  Ninety-eight consecutive minutes in a theater was bit more to ask.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with The Empire Strikes Back being a 10 and The Star Wars Christmas Special being a 1, Star Wars: The Clone Wars gets a 6.