It's a mark of how far the "Star Wars" franchise has fallen that a video-game-like animated spin-off like "The Clone Wars" can slip into theaters with little fanfare -- and still be more exciting than most of George Lucas' already-tired trilogy of prequels. But that's not saying much.
"The Clone Wars," directed by Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni, is snappy, action-packed and fun, unlike "The Phantom Menace" and its successors. It's aimed squarely at kids, and keeps the adult fanboy-pleasing minutiae to a minimum.
The snooze-worthy machinations of the Republic's senators are wisely given a back seat in favor of easy-to-understand battles and appropriately simple character development. The computer-generated animation is bright and slick, without getting cluttered, although it lacks the texture and depth of most post-Pixar films.
We arrive in the middle of the Clone Wars -- pitting the Republic's Jedi knights and clone soldiers against evil Count Dooku's separatist fleet and its endless droid armies.
A new character, Ahsoka Tano, shows up, as the padawan, or apprentice, to Anakin Skywalker. They are given a risky mission, to return the baby son of Jabba the Hutt, who has been captured by unseen enemies. To have any hope of winning, the Republic needs the Hutt clan to stay neutral. Besides a son, Jabba also has a weird, feather-clad, lisping, English-speaking uncle, Ziro -- who is most likely to join Jar-Jar in the "Star Wars" pantheon of Most Hated Characters.
The endless, interchangeable enemy droids still aren't scary enough to be credible bad guys and still drop bad jokes at every opportunity.
And really, how can you have a "Star Wars" movie without a John Williams scoreâ¢
• In wide release
Additional Information:
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Rated PG for sci-fi action violence and brief language 
(out of four)
