Thursday, December 11, 2008

Star Wars: The Clone Wars "Bombad Jedi"

I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm a Jar-Jar fan, but I certainly don't hate him like a lot of other Star Wars fans do. Yes, I do feel he robbed the final battle scene of Episode I of any real drama, but it didn't rankle me that much. And I rather liked how he was handled in Episode II... an innocent soul manipulated by evil into giving it the power it needs. And I liked how the History Channel documentary pointed out that Jar-Jar reflects Anakin's childhood innocence, and the farther Anakin falls, the less we see of his childhood friend. And really, as grim as Episode III needed to be, Jar-Jar would have stood out pretty badly.

In Clone Wars, however, Jar-Jar has found where he truly belongs. This show has always had a feeling of fun to it, and so rather than standing out, Jar-Jar fits right in. I have to admit that I laughed out loud when he accidentally destroyed his own ship, and again when 3PO had to relate it to Amidala.

Which brings me to another thing I liked-- the fact that Anthony Daniels and Ahmed Best were doing their voices. It just felt so natural and right. Anthony Daniels really shines in this one. You would think that since C-3PO and Jar-Jar are both the comic relief characters that they wouldn't work without a straight man to play off of, but their styles are so different-- Jar-Jar the manic and 3PO the depressive -- that they actually play off each other beautifully. I hope we get more episodes of them together later in the series.

And lastly, I loved getting to see Rhodia. The world itself fits the Rhodians perfectly, and has enough grandness that it feels at home in the Star Wars universe. I was also very pleased that only the lead Rhodian spoke "Basic," and that Rhodians came in different colors and shades.

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