Has the “Star Wars” universe lost its mojo?
The first new “Star Wars” feature in years opens this Friday, but I can’t sense much enthusiasm for “The Clone Wars.”
Sure, it’s an animated feature, but the visuals are spectacular at times and many of our beloved actors are voicing some old “Star Wars” favorites (Anthony Daniels/C3PO, Christopher Lee/Count Dooku among them).
So why no glossy magazine cover stories, no stories about people gobbling up tix via Fandango weeks in advance?
For starters, the film is coming out in mid-August, hardly the hottest time of the year, theatrically speaking. Clearly, someone knows this isn’t an Event Movie no matter the “Star Wars” connection.
And, sadly, after three inferior prequels, only the hardcore fans are still on board with all things “Star Wars.”
I caught the film over the weekend and only saw a few folks in “Star Wars” regalia. Some professionals in slick looking Stormtrooper outfits were on hand to help promote the flick.
It’s gonna take more than a few actors-for-hire to bring this franchise back to life.
(Photo: Ahsoka Tano, a new character in the “Star Wars” universe, teams up with Anakin Skywalker in “The Clone Wars.”)
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
it is for the die hard fans, and maybe it will bring a few new younger fans in with the animated feature, however i wouldnt say the last three pequals were all that bad you just cant compare them to the first three that brought such amazment to the screen with its effects.
I could watch them all again again and it still stuns me with the size and following this story has and i continue to find something new, no other film does that.
The buzz on this thing is just terrible. The few things I’ve read about it have me dying to miss it, which I probably won’t ala my editor.
Monkey, the first three films did set the bar pretty high, but Lucas made some major mistakes with his prequels (like casting Hayden C. and writing his own scripts)
James … sad, isn’t it? A Star Wars project should be an event, not must-miss movie making. But let me know your thoughts, or send along a link, when you review it.
A fairly high bar set with “Star Wars,” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” (“Return of the Jedi” already displayed the redundancy pattern) that was lowered to subterranean levels with Episodes 1 – 3, and underscored by the weak plot of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
In his defense, Lucas writes for a comic-book-maturity demographic, but even with this rationalization, Lucas seems to ignore the much greater sophistication (and ironic simple bloodlust) of that audience today.
The buzz is low frequency because the film just is not exciting, given the series’ and creator’s recent history.
~ Dagnabbitt
Well put, Daggy … not much more one can add …