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

Watched this with my three year old today. Simply fantastic and I already liked the Clone Wars series as is. Looking forward to part II.

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!

I like the Clone Wars cartoon... there I said it. I wish it was a little more dark, a little more adult, and a little less "stompy" on the somewhat putrid flesh of a once great franchise, but overall, it is fun. I really like the Asoka character, and also the Asajj Ventress character and a lot of the other things going for it (clone troopers, etc), even though they violate alot of the "sense" of the overarching story.

All that being said, I think that this edit really nailed the best of what Clone Wars could have been. I liked that they treated Asoka more like the youngling she is, leaving her at the temple, etc. I also like how the story of Domino company (one of my favorite arcs) complemented the rest of the narrative.

My biggest problem, however, is that the episodic nature of the story made itself known: The spider-alien general who is a major villain then disappears, the really long gap between clone segments, the abrupt appearance and disappearance of Asoka, Ventress being there with no introduction. Minor quibbles really, but they still nagged at me a bit as I watched and ultimately lessened the experience. Perhaps it was my familiarity with the source material, and I intend to show it to a friend who has never seen the show before and see if they notice.

Overall, however, I found it to be very fun and a nice change of tone for material I already enjoyed but wanted more from. Definitely a watch again.

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.