Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode I: Army Of The Republic

When I first discovered the whole idea of fan editing, an attempt to turn episodes of Clone Wars into feature length movies was something that I actually wanted to do. I love the show, but the idea of having a series of movies that show the development of the key characters over the course of the conflict to bring it in line with the main Star Wars movies seemed to make so much sense. I even went as far as putting together several and came to the conclusion that it just wasn't possible, especially with the early seasons which were a lot more episodic than those that came later. After watching Smudger9's Army of the Republic I've learned two things: (1) it's absolutely possible, and (2) I think I'm going to leave this to the expert!

The decision to focus on two plots - that of the clones as well as Anakin and Obi-Wan - really worked, especially considering the Battle of Kamino at the end actually brought the two strands together effectively, even if the Jedi never directly interact with the Clone Troopers we've been following. The fact that these two plots connected gave it a solid narrative through-line that felt satisfying.

The use of dialogue from other episodes to connect the strands was done effectively. I'd tried to do it in my attempted edit and the results were poor. While I could tell where these inserts took place, my wife (who has only seen the episodes through once and was therefore not as familiar as I am with where the episodes fall chronologically) couldn't tell at all.

Transitions between scenes looked great and it really felt like a theatrical release throughout.

I suppose my only quibble plot-wise may be Ventress's introduction. Because she'd already appeared in the 2003 Clone Wars cartoon, Obi-Wan and Anakin's familiarity with her was in place right from the start of this series. However, could it have been possible to add some lines to make it seem like this was their first encounter? Perhaps make her a mysterious assassin that we find more about as the series of movies continue? It feels like this movie takes place early in the Clone Wars so to have had so much happen already seems more in media res than Star Wars sometimes is. Mind you, having attempted to play with the plot using lines from other episodes I know how challenging it would be, especially if no so such dialogue existed that worked.

That said, that was really my only issue. From the opening "A long time ago..." until the closing credits this felt like the Clone Wars movie that should have been on the big screen! I can't wait for Episode II - and beyond!

The Clone Wars series in my opinion was way easier to watch than the prequels, but the childish robot humor and other silly bits really killed it for me in parts. This edit pretty much got rid of everything that annoyed me about the show/movie.Visually everything worked. I noticed the shift in starfield after the opening crawl and there was one wipe I thought was a little hasty but not enough to take me out of the movie. Audio wise very solid, I did notice a couple of quick musical cues but that was on my second viewing and I think I only noticed them because I had headphones on, so again not very distracting. The story is very layered and I like how it moves from one storyline to the next and keeps things interesting. Characters are well fleshed out, especially with the Clone troopers arc. Pretty much wall to wall action. This genuinely felt like I was watching a war movie!
Overall very fun and Exciting! I will definitely watch this again (and again and again) and I can't wait to see what you do with Episode 2. Spot on job!

Just loved what you've done. Do more pliz =)

PS: If you can change voices or silence the B1s and B2s and make them look more machine and less stupid. I just hate what the've done with the battledroids both in episode 3 and the clone wars.

First off, I should say that I’ve never watched a single episode of this series before watching Smudger's edit. I’d heard bad reviews of the initial movie (bad animation, bad voice sync, etc.), and then I heard that it was pretty childish overall (silly droids, etc.), so although I LOVE the SW universe, I decided to pass on this. Now with Ep. 7 coming out, I’ve been more willing to consume SW media, to get myself back into the mindset.

So, first the good:
This edit is AMAZING. The story is very cohesive, the whole movie seems very well put together and seamless. I couldn’t tell where any episodes started or ended. It was like a standalone movie, worthy of being an actual theatrical release. I was a little concerned about the 2 hours + running time at first, but the story was very well-paced, action packed, and there was never a boring lull. I suspect this has a lot to do with Smudger's editing.

The quibbles:
I’m not sure if Smudger could have fixed this, but the storyline about the old guy, 99, and Heavy, seemed a little rushed and not very realistic. The old guy has 1 conversation with Heavy, and that completely changes his mentality to be a team-leader and to give the old guy his medal? I’m not sure if Smudger deleted too much, or if there just wasn’t any character development to begin with. One other little thing, the dialogue sound seemed to drop a little in certain places. The only one I can remember off the top of my head is Grievous' first appearance, I couldn't understand what he said to the hologram.

A recommendation:
This is just a personal opinion, but the duel between Ventress and Anakin could have seriously used the same background music as the duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gonn, and Maul in TPM. Epic duels just scream for that music, and it would have made it much more emotionally impactful. Also, I would have liked some appearances by Padme, and some more of Count Dooku and Sidious/Palpatine. I’m not sure if that was in the source material that Smudger decided to take Episode 1 from, or if he is saving more of that for later.

All in all, this was extremely entertaining, and now I’m seriously interested in watching the original series. I'm really looking forward to more of Smudger's episodes; I have a strong feeling they will be better paced and not childish. I'll provide reviews for those as well.

Excellent work!

Edit: From reading the rest of the reviews, I may just decide to wait until Episode 2 comes out. I think I'll get a better experience consuming only Smudger's edits than going back and watching the episodes. I definitely don't want to be subjected to some stupid "Baby Hutt" kidnap stories.

Keep them coming, please!

What an amazing fanedit! Considering this is my first ever fan edit I've watched I was very amused. The story was very well done, mainly taking the main story arc of the film mixing it very well with the first few episodes of the series into a singular film. I actually liked this more than theatrical film. And if future films are like this one I'll continue being a fan!

Guess if there is a con it's the transitions, some of it felt like it jumped quickly to the next scene, but most of it was very small and almost nonexistent, can easily be overlooked.

I really can't wait for the 2nd installment.