Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode II: A New Threat

Star Wars: The Clone Wars tells a universal story of war between good and evil, and in that turmoil the daunting challenge to not become that-which-you-fight in Anakin's efforts to stop the Dark Side. A scope that cries out for feature-length presentation on the big-screen.

Smudger9 continues the daunting task of condensing multiple episodes and storylines into coherent movies.

If you haven't the time to watch the feature film plus 6 seasons, settle in with Smudger9's movies instead.
If you want to find out why (and how) the clones turned on the Jedi, insert these Clone War stories in your Star Wars movie line-up.
If you enjoy animated Star Wars and are sad that Rebels is ending, watch Smudger9's Clone Wars.

My favorite of smudger9s edits. A totally streamlined, exciting film that makes good use of the fanedit phenomenon. The plot isnt as episodic as some of the others in this series, but the real achievement here is the further, more intriguing development of Anakin as a worthwhile center weight. With the photorealism that f/x are taking on nowadays, how bout just replacing Hayden in the prequels with our Clone Wars Anakin? I think i could utterly enjoy the prequels without irony if such a move, however weird, was made.

I groan every time the battle droids speak (ummmm....sir...., etc. etc), but thats a fix for the really uber-detailed, masochistic editor. In terms of story, and commitment to character, i highly and absolutely recommend this one. Whether it was intentional or limited by the editing choices given, that final scene, with Anakin, R2D2, and Ahsoka, is incredibly moving. Note no Padme for the final moment (and she could have been there). There is a simple, austere sense of accomplishment and relationship here among the heroes that really matter to this chapter. And I found myself, again, moved by the power of realizing THIS Anakin is fated to the Dark Side. It's an Anakin worthy of the title of "hero". Can you imagine his final battle with Obi-Wan played out in animated Clone Wars movie? Chills thinking about it, THIS Anaking getting his legs cut off and left for dead, THIS Anakin getting the helmet put on, etc.

A superb edit, that uses the freedom of not having the obligation to include moments that just don't fit to create a thrilling adventure film.
Grievous becomes properly menacing and the plots of the sith grow darker and more intriguing. Totally recommended.

Disclaimer: I know TCW quite well at this point, so am hyper-aware of where narratives come from and how they interlock. In this sense, what smudger9 is achieving is brilliant - he is condensing the show into accessible films that tell the story, and where necessary he is able to cleverly repurpose a scene for a new narrative.

Unfortunately the problems of the show still plague this edit, but some of the narrative choices are a tad questionable. For example, by the time the film wraps we have seen about 6 plots and subplots introduced, with at least half of them going unresolved. That's a lot of plot for 2 hours 10 minutes, and the first half is very disjointed for this reason.

Overall I can't recommend these edits highly enough if - like many - you'd rather not trudge through the series itself. Smudger's video/audio editing is superb, and if there are problems with the narrative that's at least partly the source - TCW was *very* condensed (some would say ambitious) in the way it told big narratives in short time frames.

Overall, a very very good edit.

I think this EP II is somewhat less than EP I. In terms of narrative i think it is not very cohesive, we jump from one story to another and back too quickly and a bit confusing. Audio editing is good but could be better, sometimes lines would feel a little out of place. Although i'm pointing out this things i won't give you anything less than a 10 because you, and other fans, who can make these excellent edits with such passion don't deserve otherwise. Face it as a good "critic" and i'm looking forward to see the EP III.

PS: Hope you continue to silly droids and other character moments as much as you can, and if possible to make the droids more voice menacing and soulless or silent for the most part. I for play the mod empire at war for forces of corruption and I've used as much as i could of star wars battlegrounds droids voices as much as i could. =)