Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 12:00:00 -0700

It really isn’t fair to watch an early Extended Universe entry like Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2020 after we’ve been given the gift of the Abrams-Johnson sequel trilogy. If modern Star Wars were to be described developmentally, then the original trilogy is its stellar parents, the prequel trilogy is its stumbling childhood, and this movie is its awkward pre-teen years.

The Clone Wars kicks off in the thick of a broader conflict set in the Outer Rim. The Hutts control the trade routes and thus the supply lines in the area. The Separatists, led by Count Dooku (and Palpatine, of course, on the down low), hatch a plan to kidnap Jabba the Hutt’s son and frame the Jedi for it. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Anakin’s new Padawan Ahsoka set out to save Jabba’s son. And… that’s pretty much it. 80% of this movie is repetitive clone-droid battles, another 10% is lightsaber battles, and in the last 10% you get heavy-handed “banter” dressed up as character development.

Star Wars mainstays are a crutch this film leans far too heavily on, refusing to take risks with its narrative. The Clone Wars serves up a buffet of Jawas, a brief C-3PO cameo, Tatooine, the Mos Eisley jazz band, Obi-Wan’s circle light speed ship thing, lots of holographic intercoms, etc. all trying to hide the obvious: the world didn’t ask for an animated Star Wars movie. Only two years after Revenge of the Sith, it’s hard to even say this strategy wins any points in the nostalgia category. Instead, we’re left with a whole lot of nothing dressed up in royal clothes. It almost feels like sacrilege to hear the Skywalker theme played as often as it is here.

That’s not to say there aren’t good moments. This is the first entry in the Star Wars universe to have the droids talk as far as I remember, and it makes for some self-aware humor that the later movies definitely iterated on.

Droid 1: “Concentrate fire on Sector 11374265!”

Droid 2: “1137— what was that again?”

Droid 1, grabbing the other one’s head and pointing: “Just fire right there!”

— Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 34:32

The relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka is also nice, when it’s not corny. Anakin even shows some level-headed maturity and humility in reminding Ahsoka that she doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone. There’s a nice touch of psychological safety and assurance there (though it seems totally constructed when compared to his raging tantrums in Episodes II and III).

It’s also worth mentioning that the portrayal of women in this movie is painful (though it was 2007). At one point, a droid addressing Ventress — Count Dooku’s apprentice — accidentally salutes her as “sir” and then stumbles to correct itself, only to again call her “sir.” Obi-Wan condescendingly refers to her as “darling” in his British accent during a lightsaber duel, to which she just responds by clenching her teeth and growling. Anakin gets to play the aloof and displeased male around the baby Huttlet; Ahsoka does most of the caretaking and connecting with it. The Huttlet’s mom/Jabba’s partner, who you’d think would be concerned with this whole kidnapping situation, is not even present as a background character.

So, was this a good movie? Not really. But I’m interested to see how the TV series evolved over the next decade, and especially how it matures into the backdrop for Rise of Skywalker that it so clearly is today.

Isle of Dogs

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 12:00:00 -0700

In Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson brings all the style, heart, and wit of Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) to a story of his own. This story is told by means of a prologue and four (very clearly labeled) acts following a young boy and a pack of dogs as they struggle against a geopolitical scheme to try and rid their home city of its canine friends.

Isle of Dogs plays with language extensively, and uses the quirks of its world to its advantage. Dog barks are “translated” into English for the viewer’s pleasure, while the humans speak their native tongue (Japanese, occasionally translated by a literal translator). There’s low-hanging fruit, like when the lead dog Chief (Bryan Cranston) tells another to pass on a message to a “bitch you’ll find there”, as well as light social commentary, like when Chief asks to see showdog Nutmeg’s (Scarlett Johansson) “tricks” but she refuses, or when Chief tries to reckon with his own nature and violent responses (“I bite, but I don’t know why.").

But as important as dog-to-dog and human-to-human dialogue is in furthering plot points and poking fun at the absurdity of the film, some of the most profound moments occur in the space between humans and their best friends, where actions and emotions establish connections where words cannot. In particular, watching the relationships between Atari (Koyu Rankin) and the main pack of dogs unfold is satisfying, endearing, and at times hilarious.

The winsome, charming world of tactile materials in stop-motion style doesn’t bar the film from diving into more gruesome scenes, like killing live sea creatures to prepare sushi or performing a kidney surgery. It also gives a platform to build up caricatures of relevant issues, like political leaders ignoring scientific findings, youth protesting against the powers at be, and marginalized populations being abused and mistreated for the betterment of the majority. That being said, this is a Wes Anderson film, so it certainly comes complete with its problematic blind spots.

This film was thoroughly enjoyable and another wonderful addition to the Anderson filmography. Smart, touching, beautiful, and odd, it seems to both exist in another world and yet feel deeply personal, a whimsical analogy to a human’s relationship with our four-legged friends.

animation | Mohammad Moshtaghi

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Isle of Dogs