Listings for Friday, July 3, through Thursday, July 9, 2009

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Capsule by J.R. Jones

From the Chicago Reader

Adapted from the Cartoon Network series and buffed up for the big screen with 3-D CGI, this Star Wars animation takes place in between Episode II--Attack of the Clones and Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, with Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker trying to forestall an intergalactic incident by rescuing the kidnapped son of Jabba the Hutt. The trapezoid of scrolling type that used to open the movies has been replaced by voice-over, which probably says something about the deterioration of children's reading skills, and Hayden Christensen, who played Skywalker in the two earlier movies, has been replaced by ones and zeros, which is a big improvement. Without the grandiose narrative structure of the six live-action releases, this feels even more pointless, a mechanical attempt to milk the kids for every last dime. Dave Filoni directed. PG, 98 min. --J.R. Jones

This movie is currently playing at: Lake

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