Yes, yet another review. And I will confess: I have only read one or two of the others. But I've been sooooo busy lately I think I have at least a teeny excuse, right? *insert emotiYodacon with halo here* Well, in any case, I went to see the movie on the 21st, and here are my thoughts!

First, I'd like to talk about my own personal view of continuity. Generally, when it comes to books, comics, and movies, I have an expectation that things will line up. I think that George's amazing galaxy deserves at least that much. In fact, so do we, as such a devoted group of fans! If things don't seem to line up properly, though, I'll try to find ways to tie things together in my own mind - the issue of Leia remembering Padme comes to mind. It may not completely make sense, but I try my best to live with it and explain it. It's not enough to ruin Star Wars for me.

Now with the Clone Wars period, I am a lot more lenient than with other periods. There is so much material out there created by so many different people, I don't bother to try to figure out if all the stories line up and tie together chronologically. It's a big war - I'll live. I (try to) just accept it without bothering to explain it - it's more enjoyable that way.

However, I did find these links interesting, and I really would appreciate it if someone would (ASAP) make the necessary timeline changes as mentioned in the second link. The first is for the Wookieepedia article on Star Wars canon. Apparently there is now something called "T-canon" for the TV shows, which is higher than C-canon but below G-canon. (Which I dislike, but that's another blog . . . .) The second is for a thread from the starwars.com message boards on Clone Wars continuity.

I could keep talking along the lines of continuity and canon, not to mention my own opinions about what Star Wars elements (not to name names or anything . . . ) fall into what levels of canon, for quite awhile, but I'll spare you that and move on.

I went into the movie theater not necessarily with low expectations, but more with the realization that this would not be a normal Star Wars movie. Sure, it's Star Wars, and yes, it's a movie, but it is not a Saga movie. I think not having the same expectations as I would for a Saga movie really helped me to enjoy the experience much more. Overall, I thought Dave (and everyone!) did a great job. The movie served its purpose - to generate interest in the TV series, and to be something that people weren't expecting (that is, people don't usually expect to see the first few episodes of a TV series to appear in theaters in movie form).

Specific elements:

-The beginning. It was sad not to hear the usual FOX theme at the beginning (to be sure, I sang it in my head!!! ), but I didn't let that get me down. And yes, the opening theme, if I remember correctly, was slightly altered. But I didn't mind that too much either - again, it's not a true Saga movie. Which brings me to . . .

-The music. I thought Kevin Kiner did a great job! No, it's not original John Williams. But again - aww, you know by now. See above. So without holding Kiner's work to the standard of John Almighty , I really enjoyed it! I especially enjoyed some of the pieces with what I consider more of an Asian flare. I think these were on Teth, and maybe Tatooine as well. Although I am by no means a music expert, so "Asian" may not be the correct term here. But whatever.

-The battle on Christophis. Yeah, so it's a silly name. I'll live. Actually, the first time I heard it, I thought it was "Crystosis," which I thought was ironic, considering it's described as a crystalline planet. Anyway, I thought the battle was pretty good. Sure, there were a few times I found room for improvement, but you can find that anywhere. And mostly, I really liked the shots - I felt right in the middle of the action. The only part I had a noteworthy problem with was General Loathsom. You're kidding me, right? A) I thought he was silly. B) I thought his name was silly. C) He was just really silly. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with him for too long.

-The voices. First of all, big high-fives to the fantastic actors who decided to make a return appearance. You guys rock. (ROTFL - I've got to share this real quick. When I heard Mace talk for the first time, I was like, "Wow, whoever they got to play him is really good!" It took me a few minutes before I remembered, "Oh yeah . . . some of the movie actors worked on this film, too." ) Secondly, I must say most of the rest of them weren't too bad at all. Obi-Wan was awesome!!! He was consistently perfect - I think I only noticed the difference on one or two occasions. Anakin was noticeably different to me, but I think his voice actually fit the character quite well, if that makes any sense. Padme struck me as a bit, um, girly at times. (I think I noticed the same thing with the other Clone Wars series as well . . . I'll have to go back and watch it again.) Like, "Oh my gosh, like, 3-PO, like, do something! Like, call my hunky Jedi husband to, like, save me!" Sorry, like, couldn't resist! Okay I'll stop. But I didn't notice that the whole time - just part of the time.

-Anakin. Considering I once wrote a blog about what kind of a father Anakin would be, I was really curious to see what kind of a master he would be in this movie and series. I thought some of his lines were a little . . . unlike him. Don't get me wrong - I thought they were good for the most part; I just sometimes had a hard time believing they'd come out of his mouth. And the whole thing about Ahsoka not making it as Obi-Wan's apprentice? Get real! She's almost exactly like Anakin, and Anakin made it - he even had Obi-Wan's praises! Ahsoka would have done fine, especially since there are parts of her that are like Obi-Wan. Which brings me to . . .

-Ahsoka. Love her! I think she's great, except for the "Artooey" thing. C'mon guys - there are plenty of ways to express affection for Artoo without adding "ey" at the end of his name. That was silly. Other than that, I think she's a very interesting and well-thought-out character. Now that I've had time to get used to the idea of Anakin having a padawan, I'm more comfortable with it. I can see Yoda doing what he did, too. Sneaky little Yoda. Although there is the question of whether or not he would feel comfortable putting a padawan's future in the hands of a Jedi who still has some issues that need to be worked out . . . . But another blog, that is. Meditate on this, I will.

-Anakin and Ahsoka. I've already mentioned my thoughts on how the master interacts with the padawan. Besides those, I have thoughts on how they both interact with each other. Quite simply, I think some of their banter borders on flirting!! Anyone else get that vibe? Maybe it's just them being ornery with each other, as both are prone to be, but . . . I don't know. In their tones and expressions, I just got the feel of something more. And that's weird. So hopefully that'll change. And "Sky Guy?" Yeah. Needs. To. Go. But overall, I like how she challenges him and makes him realize what Obi-Wan has had to put up with. And I looooove how she interacts with the clones!! She totally wants to be "one of the guys," and I think she's going to have a lot of father/big brother figures now. Speaking of which . . .

-Rex and the clones. Love them! There were a few times where I was like, "Noooo! Rex!" But then I reminded myself, "Oh yeah, he's gotta be part of the series, so I'm sure he'll be okay." Phew. One thing: I'm not sure where I stand with the crazy clone hair. Some of you will remember how reading the Republic Commando series totally changed my view of the clones. I'm really big on them having individuality now, so in that way, I like the different do's. On the other hand, isn't that kind of . . . unlikely, considering they're in the military? Isn't there some kind of haircut regulation or something? Maybe not. But we'll see - maybe this element will grow on me as time goes by. In general, though, I thought the clones were all portrayed well.

-Anakin and the clones. Awhile back, I started thinking about Anakin's thoughts on the clones, and how he treated them. We only see a little of this in ROTS, when he wants to go save Oddball and co. We also see it in some of the novels, and I imagine in the comics as well, although I haven't read any, so that's just a guess. I really enjoyed seeing him interact with them more in this movie, and I definitely can't wait for the series. I wanted to blog about this element earlier, but I think I'm going to wait until the show starts and see if I get any more thoughts. This subject was also mentioned in an interview with Karen Traviss about her new Clone Wars novel, but I can't find the link now! Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

-Asajj. Poor Asajj - never can get the job done. She is cool though, I'll give her that. And I liked her voice just fine. I wish they had said her name in the movie, instead of just Ventress. (Or am I missing something?) I had to explain her character to my dad, so that definitely makes me wonder how other viewers who aren't quite as "in the know" as we are got along. I'm sure Dave and George thought about this. Perhaps they figured this was mostly going to be viewed by relatively knowledgeable fans anyway, so it would be okay?

-Ziro. I think they could have done a much better job with this character. To me, he came off as silly and obnoxious, not to mention as a bit of an embarrassment to Star Wars. (Yes, right up there with Jar Jar. ) (And yes, I've noticed that I've used the word "silly" a lot in this blog! ) Maybe they wanted "silly"; they may have wanted him to be a not-too-bright, not-too-cool criminal. A villain to give the kids a laugh. But I'm sure they weren't going for "obnoxious."

-Anakin, Padme, and Palpatine. One thing I get really tired of in Star Wars TV shows is that things that are mysterious in the movies are made so obvious! In Palpatine's office, for example, Padme totally lets the cat out of the bag about her feelings for Anakin with her reaction to his current situation. And she and Anakin don't do much better in their conversation later on. If Ahsoka was paying attention - stretching out with her feelings, anyone? - she totally could have sensed something. I wonder if this will come into play later on . . . . (Somewhat random: I wonder what Padme will think about the whole padawan situation. And will she and Ahsoka ever come into contact?) The other thing was Palpatine. In both Clone Wars series (okay, the previous series and the movie so far), it seems that his evil intentions are more obvious that they should be. But maybe that's just me.

-Battle droid humor. It was cute in TPM, but since then, it's gotten old and unfunny. I'm sure it's probably for the kids. There's a few times where I'll chuckle, but it's just so over-used now that I start to sigh and think, "Okay, let's move on now." I think it has its place, as long as it's used sparingly, and when it is used, it needs to be well-timed and well-done.

-Hyperspace routes issues. I thought it was a great idea to have the Republic move into the grey area of dealing with scoundrels for the greater good of winning the war. It brings up the age-old question, "When does the end justify the means?" I think this was especially well-planned regarding Anakin. It adds to his confusion about right and wrong. Is it right to deal with the bad guys if the greater good is involved? It's the same line of thinking that led to his turning to the dark side, if you ask me. "The Sith are bad, but I'm trying to save Padme, so joining them and doing whatever terrible deeds I may have to do is worth it." Very interesting.

-I loved Yoda's foreshadowing line about how Anakin might have to deal with the loss of a padawan. Um, whoa!! As if we didn't already know, it doesn't bode well for Ahsoka. The only question in my mind is what her end will be. Heroic? Saving Anakin? Saving someone Anakin cares about? How will Rex react? He's supposed to grow really fond of her. Does she die trying to save him? Does he die, or almost die, trying to save her? Anakin will almost certainly find a way to blame himself. How? He'll also find a way to blame someone else. Who? Count Dooku? Asajj? Again, very interesting. Hmmm . . . do we know how long Dave and GL plan on keeping this series going? I think they had a minimum in mind, but do we know of a maximum?

-R2 has a girlfriend, R2 has a girlfriend!!! Hee hee! (Wait, is he cheating on the Falcon?! ) I noticed R2-KT (thank God for Wookieepedia!!) made an appearance! That is so great! Good for them. (Confused? See here.)

All in all, this was a pretty great movie. I think as long as you go into it with the same (or a similar) mindset as I did, you'll really enjoy it. Although I'm guessing most of you already have.

Can't wait to see how the series goes!! MTFBWY!!
Jade

P.S. Why the heck do we not have any new pictures to choose from for the new series?!?! Geez!