Star Wars: Clone Wars, Volume 2

-20^th Century Fox (2004)

Summary: 

The animated series that’s arguably better than the prequels is better than ever on DVD. Again!

My Thoughts: 

Before the theatrical release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Clone Wars Volume II first aired. It continued the tradition started with the first volume by showing bite sized installments of the series on Cartoon Network and on the web. Like with the first volume, this DVD features the episodes edited seamlessly together. I prefer watching it this way, although it was great have to wait in suspense between cliff hangers before the next installment would air.  

The second volume of Clone Wars opens with the most kick ass squad of clone troopers ever rescuing the Jedi who were trapped at the end of the first installment. God, I love those clones! After they rescue the three remaining Jedi from Grievous, the film shifts to a meeting of the Jedi council where they debate the merits of whether or not to make Anakin a full Jedi Knight, which they do of course. It wouldn’t be a prequel without the Jedi bringing on their own destruction! 

The action doesn’t get going again until Anakin and Obi-Wan team up in the war effort to keep pounding away at the droid army. The high peak of the episodes is the invasion of Coruscant and the subsequent battle with an extremely badass General Grievous. That’s not to say that the slower story moments aren’t great, with Anakin performing a Jedi trial by rescuing an alien people from some horrible genetic experiments. There’s a moment where Anakin has a vision of what is to come on a cave wall that is simply awesome. There are also some really great Yoda moments where he causes some giant Droid ships to collide with the Force. But wait, there's more! Yoda also rides a kick ass Star Wars version of a llama, which makes me wonder why they made a figure of him with a stupid bug and not one with a sweet Tauntan looking llama.

The way the series ends it makes viewing the Clone Wars animated series essential for anyone who wants to get a whole picture of Revenge of the Sith. It also explains why Grievous is coughing like a 19^th century poet with the consumption in that film. Speaking of that, the only shame of the series is that General Grievous is so completely awesome in this DVD, while he’s a shadow of that in his Revenge of the Sith appearance. Sigh, thanks again George. 

The picture quality and sound mix are of course both excellent as with most anything that THX has its hand in. Unlike other cartoon releases that I’ve reviewed recently, Clone Wars is presented in glorious 5.1 Dolby Digital. Sweet, sweet Dolby 5.1.

Extras: 

The feature length commentary is certainly worth viewing, though it does feature a few moments where it drags. There’s a lot of trivia and inside information to be gleaned, so you’re better served watching it than not. 

“Connecting the Dots” is a featurette that explores the connection between the Clone Wars series and the films, so this is another worthwhile feature for the Star Wars enthusiast.  

“Video Games” is another thinly disguised commercial for Battlefront II and Empire at War. Bah. 

“Still Galleries” contains some neat sketches and storyboard work and also some pictures of the posters and artwork.

A trailer for Revenge of the Sith and a really cool Star Wars Lego CGI movie called Revenge of the Brick, round out the last of the extras.

Score:

Film: 8.5

Extras:  7.5

Edition: 8.5

-Paul

Click Here For a Review of Volume 1