Length is what ends up being Clone War's biggest hurdle. Each episode was designed to run in only three minutes, which translates to a lot of action with little dialog. Given how exciting the action sequences are, few should have any problem with the shows -- unless you're looking for grand story lines and deep, insightful character development, then you're out of luck.
Episodes are sequenced to focus on one or two characters at a time. The main story revolves around Obi-Wan and Anakin storming the home world of the Banking Clan. During the fight, Obi-Wan ends up running across Durge, a mercenary employed by the Confederacy to lead the droid army. While on this mission, Anakin runs into Count Dooku's newest pet project, Asajj Ventress, a Sith wannabe. Mace Windu and Yoda also star in their own episodes, as do some of the b-team Jedi Knights. The series culminates with the appearance of the Star Wars Universe's newest bad ass, Revenge of the Sith's General Grievous.
Each of the show's 20 episodes (10 per season) can be viewed either as 20 separate episodes, or as one long movie with no interruptions. The second option is the recommended way to view Clone Wars since it ends up building a pretty nice narrative rather than a few disjoined mini-stories. There are a few transitional hiccups between episodes, but the overall feel works and ties together pretty well.
Art style is what will probably take most viewers back, or at least those who are unfamiliar with the series. The reason for the style lies in its creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, who people may know from the Samurai Jack series. Though similar, the style isn't totally Jack, and carries more of an anime feel to it. As stated earlier, the series' focus is on action, so expect lots of explosions and other pyrotechnics in every episode. Even some of the more story-centered episodes manage to squeeze in a lightsaber duel or firefight.
The actual visual quality of the DVD is great and sure beats the pixelated, digital compression and poor-quality transfers we've been watching online for the past few months. Its also nice to report that the episodes are as they were when originally viewed and don't benefit from any digital alterations or other "revisions".
Clone Wars supports Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, so if you have a system, expect some great sounding battles. With the exception of Anthony Daniels, none of the original characters lend their voices to the show. Generally, the voices all work with the show's visual presentation, but will still take some getting used to (as do the visuals). Familiar strains of John William?s score are also present, as are a few new tunes.
The additional features are interesting and are about as long as the actual episodes themselves. Both the "Bridging the Saga" and other featurette are fun to watch, especially for Star Wars fans licking their chops for whatever Revenge of the Sith information they can get. What is a little disappointing about the package is that only the teaser trailer is included on the disc instead of the recently released full trailer.
Overall, Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 1 is a nice pick up, at least for Star Wars fans -- but then again you probably already have it. The short running time, as well as lack of any real attention grabbing features makes it hard to recommend for someone just looking for an action-based cartoon or to add to their collection. However, these same drawbacks make it ideal for parents who might want to pick it up for an action-crazed child or budding Star Wars fan.
