Two out of Five stars
Running time: 98 mins

Impressively animated and packed with flashy battle scenes, this has about as much depth as a video game and is clearly aimed more at kids than at die-hard Star Wars fans.

What's it all about?
Taking place between episodes II and III, Star Wars: The Clone Wars kicks off with the Jedi knights – including Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) – and their clone army battling Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and his droid soldiers. However, Dooku has a nefarious plot up his sleeve and he sends his slinky sidekick Ventress (Nika Futterman) to kidnap Jabba the Hutt's son, knowing that Jabba controls the Republic's trade routes.

When the Jedi learn of the kidnapping plot, Anakin and his feisty Padawan protege, Ahsoka (Ashley Drane) are assigned to rescue Jabba Junior. However, they are unaware that they are falling into a trap laid by Dooku and, er, Jabba's sleazy uncle, Ziro (Corey Burton).

The Good
It takes some getting used to, but the animation is pretty impressive, particularly during the battle scenes. Also, the animated Anakin is actually an improvement on the live-action version as this one can act and has more than two facial expressions.

The film is also packed with action sequences, to the point where they become boring, because it's like watching a friend play a never-ending video game.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the quality of the animation is overshadowed by a flimsy plot and some woeful dialogue (Ahsoka calls Anakin Sky Guy throughout and nicknames Jabba's son Stinky). Also, some of the voice work is embarrassingly bad – for example, Burton plays Ziro like a cross between Truman Capote and Cartman from South Park.

Audiences will no doubt be split over new characters like Ahsoka, Ventress, Ziro and Stinky the Hutt (who is surprisingly cute), but their inclusion does raise the issue of what exactly happens to Ahsoka between now and Episode III. Will she get killed off in a future cartoon?

Worth seeing?
Kids will enjoy it, but for old school Star Wars fans, this is The Phanton Menace all over again.