Anakin leads a squadron of Y-Wing bombers against the warship Malevolence
"Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by ego."
What's the story:
With the help of his Padawan, Ahsoka, and Jedi Master Plo Koon, Anakin utilises new long-range Y-wing bombers to lead a bold strike on General Grievous' warship the Malevolence and its destructive weapon.
EPISODE REVIEW
Star Wars’ contribution to popular culture and cinema is vast, but amidst the lightsaber duels, iconic dialogue, and even more iconic characters, the importance of the attack run on the Death Star is often overlooked.
A New Hope and Return of the Jedi’s climaxes are amongst the finest scenes of action cinema in film history, and writer Steve Melching has these movies in mind with this “guys on a mission” episode.
Following on from the previous episode, General Grievous’ battleship Malevolence is still marauding through Republic space, devastating the Jedi led fleet with its formidable ion cannon.
Having previously rescued Plo Koon and his men from death at Grievous’ hand, Anakin formulates a bold mission plan, using the clone troops of Shadow Squadron to launch an attack on Malevolence, the target being the tyrannical General.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars mission statement is to provide thrilling adventure, and with Shadow of Malevolence it’s mission accomplished. Opening with a bang, as Malevolence destroys a medical frigate (a nod to the opening of Episode IV), this instalment maintains a high level of action and suspense without sacrificing character.
Ahsoka’s relationship with and influence over Anakin is deepened, the Padawan voicing concerns over the mission early on, and persuading her Master to change the attack’s focus when she realises he cannot see beyond his own abilities the frailties of his men.
General Grievous displays all the traits of a boo-hiss villain – lack of compassion for his troops, disdain for honour in the theatre of war, a tendency to shout everything he says (sounding strangely Fozzie Bear-like on one occasion), and is worthy of Darth Vader comparisons - no mean feat for a character who first appeared in Revenge of the Sith.
But, it is the climactic attack run on Malevolence, a stunningly well-executed animation showstopper, that shows how fruitful Star Wars move to TV could be.
A massive scale set-piece with director Brian Kalin O’Connell’s heart-stopping directorial swoops and flourishes the stuff of live action blockbusters, Shadow of Malevolence’s finale is actually just a skirmish.
Imagine what a full-scale battle is going to look like - and possibly how many episodes it could run for: George Lucas is a man inspired by Akira Kurosawa, the master filmmaker who gives the last hour of Seven Samurai over to the climactic battle.
The episode keeps Obi-Wan as support, the series spending time giving life to the clone troopers, here Matchstick and Broadside specifically.
Add in some fan-friendly dialogue lifted from the movies, and this third episode stands as the best so far.
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9:17AM, Nov 03, 2008
