Artist Star Wars: The Clone Wars

It's a problem when a film feels like a videogame, which implies a story that's more fun to play through than watch. Unfortunately, there's no interactive option for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a prelude to the CGI TV series The Clone Wars. And with its simple, goal-driven plot, its wordy, cutscene-like interludes, and its stiffly modeled characters, it wouldn't even make for a particularly high-end videogame. For a while, the Clone Wars movie (which producer George Lucas openly admits was "almost an afterthought" to the TV show) gets along on speed, visual novelty, and Lucas touches like the old-fashioned scene wipes and rich audio track. But where Genndy Tartakovsky's 2003 Clone Warscartoons had the sense to concentrate on crisp action and Jedi ass-kickery, the latest iteration is pure Lucas: talky, flashy, and focused on juvenile relationships.

Updated 12/20/2009