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

Intelligent condensed edition of the heavily padded animated series. smudger9 wisely cut the juvenile elements, as well as Jabba’s kid, choosing to focus on Domino squad. I didn’t understand what he was doing initially, but it makes sense as the edit progresses.

Video - Good cutting throughout as the narrative weaves between Jedi Obi-Wan and Anakin and Domino squad, skitters over to Greivous and the delicious Asajj Ventress. Blacks are solid throughout and there are no problems around flares, bursts, explosions, etc ... Some of the edits seemed quick but never too noticeable.

Audio - Clear 2.0 stereo. No subs, though the dialogue was clear and understandable throughout. That includes droid-speak and garbled mutterings of Admiral Trench.

Narrative - Some unavoidable problems here, I’m afraid. smudger9 has shaved chunks of time, so there is a loss of cohesion. With the necessary re-arranging, there is a “jumpy” feel to the story. Character arrivals and departures are frequently abrupt. The same could be said for the Lucas originals and live action, however. In my eye, clone 99's story was nicely done, yet the subject of a spy onboard Resolute was broached and forgotten.

Enjoyment - Despite my teasing of Trekkies, I have been just as obsessive / compulsive at times with Star Wars. And, as I have commented with TrekVerse fans, Star Wars buffs can also be guilty of jumping for any installment of the canon. Which is why most older fans bought these “kiddee” videos, and learned to leap over lame portions.

smudger9 has done all the leaping for us. Despite above-mentioned quibbles, this edit holds together well and is enjoyable from start to finish. His version is more battle action heavy, less character study. Yet it is also Clone Wars, so what do you expect? It does not quite work for me as a fledged theatrical release, but it is better than a stitched together TV series or a vintage serial (no recaps!).

Anyone who does not have a problem with the animated series in general will have a blast with this.

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!

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.

Smudger9 has done what I had previously thought impossible: He made the earlier parts of The Clone Wars TV series into an enjoyable viewing experience. I have frequently expressed my deep-seated hatred for the beginning of the series, and was really surprised by what was done in this wonderful edit. I'll go through my favorite things about the edit before I get to my minor complaints.

Pros:
-What I really like in this edit is how smudger9 took multiple arcs and was able to mesh them into a single cohesive story.
-I found myself much more attached to characters (specifically the clones of Domino Squad) due to his editing.
-Some really awful story arcs were cut (Jabba's son, anyone?)
-Ashoka wasn't pushed to the front. While I have nothing against her, she wasn't important to the story of this edit and would've detracted from the plot.
-Most of the editing was extremely well done. It was barely noticeable mostly.

Cons:
-There were a couple of points where you could tell a conversation had been modified. It would have a slightly noticeable visual and audio glitch when it happened. However, it was rare.
-There was a poor ratio of action vs. character development, but I can understand this since most of the character development happens in cut story arcs. However, it would've been nice if a little more could've been preserved.

All in all, a wonderful edit that created a movie worthy of any Star Wars collection.

Wow. I'm in a separate boat when compared to most Star Wars fans when it comes to TCW, since I personally believe it is the best thing to come out of the prequels and possibly the entire star wars universe in general (yes, some story arcs I believe are better than the original trilogy). But I never could've put together an edit like Smudger9 did. For those of you who haven't normally seen the show, his flawless editing may seem almost nonexistent. But being a constant fan of the show, I was amazed at the way he weaved multiple story lines (spanning 3 different seasons) that originally had NOTHING to do with each other into one cohesive narrative. The only things I didn't enjoy came from being an avid fan of the show, so if you haven't seen TCW before you won't even care. I personally love the encounter with Cody and Grievous during "Grievous Intrigue" and am very unsure as to why you removed it. The other thing I missed was the removal of Fives/Echo's scene with 99 in which Heavy's badge is shown. I understand why it was removed as it wouldn't have fit with the pacing/narrative, but that is one of the more emotional scenes in the whole show, and for a show filled with mainly action scenes, those types of moments are far and few between. But I digress, as these are just my personal feelings and shouldn't effect anyone who has not seen TCW. Anyway, this is a fantastic edit, and just a couple of tweaks away from a perfect one IMO. Great job, and I really hope you don't pull a Q2 - Please continue with these fanedits!