Try as I did, I had a hard time sitting through the new STAR WARS cartoon

At least I saw it at the Concord Drive-In

I was seven-years-old the summer Star Wars came out, and its no exaggeration to say that the film was the pop culture event of my childhood. That glorious experience of seeing the film for the first time on a Saturday afternoon at Walnut Creek's Festival Cinemas is still fresh in my mind, as was the anticipation of seeing th subsequent chapter, and greatest film of the Star Wars franchise, The Empire Strikes Back. So, I thought it was kind of funny that, 31 summers after Star Wars, the seventh feature film in the franchise is in movie theaters, and I don't know a single person who has seen it.

Except me. I caught a 10:50 p.m. screening on Sunday night at the Concord Solano Drive-in.

Because of the Clone Wars's atrocious advance reviews, and my disappointment in the prequel trilogy (Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith), my expectations were rock bottom. I just don't have the enthusiasm for Star Wars that I did when I was seven (my constant references to Star Wars in  second grade resulted in a parent teacher conference. My teacher informed my folks that I was "obsessed") . My feeling is that the first three Star Wars films appealed to the kid in all of us, and the prequel trilogy appealed only to kids who play video games all day. The Clone Wars is definitely in the second category. Characters and dialogue are stiff and stilted, narratives are either overly comlicated (read: boring) or unbelievably naive and simplistic (read: stupid). However, I did find myself enjoying some of the visual elements of the cartoon, and that was an unexpected treat. I've always loved exterior shots of space ships, and there's plenty of cool to look at in that regard. There's also a truly weird subplot involving a relative of Jabba the Hut—a weird, wormlike character who should have been voiced by the late, great Paul Lynde.

Star Wars: the Clone Wars has been a minor flop at the box office, and its no surprise. The former mainstream franchise audience has been reduced to hardcore geeks and gamers. So if you're either geek or gamer, and have a fascination with Star Wars, sure the Clone Wars is worth a peek. Everyone else steer clear, and try renting Danny Boyle's Sunshine, if you're in a sci-fi mood. No matter what, may the force be with you!

 

Posted at 05:28 AM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink