8.15.2008

Make No Clones About It


How's that for awful Clone War puns? Insane Clone Posse? Bad to the clone? E.T. clone home? Clicks and clones will break my bones? A rolling clone gathers no moss? Had enough?

I'm making fun of all the film critics who were out panning before they even saw it. I think these guys just type in movie keywords at ClicheSite.com and out pops a cliched title for their reviews. Complaining about has turned into a cliche in and of itself. The cliche line among reviewers is to complain that even bothered to make this movie--I don't follow that logic. If Lucas wants to spend his hard-earned megabucks and the movie flops--hey, it's his megabucks. On the other hand, if Clone Wars hits, people have fun and Lucas makes out, how can you say he shouldn't have made it? Where's the downside?

I'll go see Clone Wars on Monday and make up my own mind. Or Tuesday, Monday is looking like a beach day. I'm not an 'opening weekend' type of guy.

The big geek question is whether Clone Wars is G-canon or something else. I say it's not G-canon, precisely for the reason that some are complaining 'No mas, no mas!' We're done with the basic G-canon mega-storyline: the story of Darth Vader, the Fall of the Jedi, the Rise and Fall of the Sith, and the Unification of the Force. Clone War zooms in on a subplot to the mega-storyline. It fills the same purpose as the , which makes it Expanded Universe. I also say Clone Wars is EU because a main character, Asajj Ventress, originated in EU. There's a sprinkling of minor references in G-canon to characters who originated in EU (e.g., Master Quinlan Vos in Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars Insider #101, May-June 2008, p. 39)). But there is no main character in Episodes 1-6 who wasn't first introduced in G-canon.

Is there any official word on whether Clone War is G-canon or EU? Star Wars Insider says, "The biggest EU project to date, or an official expansion of the film saga? Either way, we can't wait." (Star Wars Insider #101, May-June 2008, p. 42) That suggests it's an open question. IMHO, Clone Wars' release means G-Canon should be redefined from 'anything out of Lucasfilms' to 'the Vader mega-storyline.'

It doesn't make sense to me to cry 'enough, enough' of Star Wars. The EU came about because people couldn't get enough. It's not possible to exhaust the Universe. There's been more films out of the Marvel Universe than out of the Star Wars Universe (3 Spiderman, 3 X-Men, 3 Blade, 2 Hulk, 2 Fantastic Four, 1 Daredevil, 1 Iron Man, 1 Elektra, 1 Ghost Rider, 1 Punisher). So why don't critics say 'enough of the Marvel Universe?' Maybe because it's not a cliche to say it.

Futurewise, it's key for Lucasfilms to bring out more and more new characters and storylines. Right now, I don't think Lucasfilms could just jump right into New Jedi Order on the big screen. I hope the Expanded Universe plays out on film like the Marvel Universe: start with the most familiar/most popular territory (Spiderman, X-Men), and then just keep going on for the rest of my life.

Just one more. Please, I can't resist: Begun the Bone Wars have!
Twin blade assassin Asajj Ventress of those Despicable Separatists.
If the new characters in Clone Wars make a splash, we'll see more characters from the Expanded Universe on screen. I'm hot to see Admiral Thrawn, Jacen Solo and the Dark Nest!

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