"The Clone Wars" grow darker
John Gregg
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: Entertainment
Cartoon Network's second season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" introduces a new villain whose destructive agenda gives the animated serial a darker and more mature atmosphere.
His name is Cad Bane. Designed in the likeness of Spaghetti Western outlaws popularized by the late Lee Van Cleef, Bane sports a cowboy hat and two, gunslinger's laser pistols. Traveling with a motley crew of dastardly bounty hunters, the blue-skinned mercenary proves a cunning adversary for heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Obi-wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor).
Season two opens with great respect and enthusiasm for the source material. It has already delved deeper into the heart of what makes "Star Wars" a classic. In a certain way, the cartoon proves better than George Lucas's recent prequel films.
In the two-part season premiere, "Holocron Heist"/"Cargo of Doom," the evil Chancellor Palpatine (Ian Abercrombie) petitions for Bane to steal a valuable artifact from the Jedi Temple. Possession of this artifact will allow Palpatine to find and kill potential Jedi before they can be trained as warriors. Concerned only with money, the crafty Bane takes the job.
The writers know the viewers tuning in are already well-versed in Jedi lore, so they do not waste much time with further explanations. There is no need to show how the artifact Palpatine desires works, which allows for immediate flow into the action of the episode.
What follows is a desperate race to stop the bounty hunters. A large percentage of the 60-minute running time is set ablaze with laser bolts and, of course, brilliantly colored Lightsabers. These action pieces are faster than last year's and more intense than one might expect from a cartoon.
Even with this spotlight on the action, the story manages to remain interesting. There is a great sense of tension throughout because Palpatine's ultimate goal boarders on genocide. A classic struggle of good vs. evil remains the focus, even in animated form.
His name is Cad Bane. Designed in the likeness of Spaghetti Western outlaws popularized by the late Lee Van Cleef, Bane sports a cowboy hat and two, gunslinger's laser pistols. Traveling with a motley crew of dastardly bounty hunters, the blue-skinned mercenary proves a cunning adversary for heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Obi-wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor).
Season two opens with great respect and enthusiasm for the source material. It has already delved deeper into the heart of what makes "Star Wars" a classic. In a certain way, the cartoon proves better than George Lucas's recent prequel films.
In the two-part season premiere, "Holocron Heist"/"Cargo of Doom," the evil Chancellor Palpatine (Ian Abercrombie) petitions for Bane to steal a valuable artifact from the Jedi Temple. Possession of this artifact will allow Palpatine to find and kill potential Jedi before they can be trained as warriors. Concerned only with money, the crafty Bane takes the job.
The writers know the viewers tuning in are already well-versed in Jedi lore, so they do not waste much time with further explanations. There is no need to show how the artifact Palpatine desires works, which allows for immediate flow into the action of the episode.
What follows is a desperate race to stop the bounty hunters. A large percentage of the 60-minute running time is set ablaze with laser bolts and, of course, brilliantly colored Lightsabers. These action pieces are faster than last year's and more intense than one might expect from a cartoon.
Even with this spotlight on the action, the story manages to remain interesting. There is a great sense of tension throughout because Palpatine's ultimate goal boarders on genocide. A classic struggle of good vs. evil remains the focus, even in animated form.