Get Ready to Suck Some Canned Air!

I grew up in Southwest Florida and my father felt that it was mandatory that we learn to swim. Ever since then I have loved the water, swimming and Jacque Cousteau. So when I met my husband-to-be and found out that not only did he know the film origin of "All too easy" but also had his C-Card I was a goner. The man had grown up summering on a lake in Canada, was completely comfortable in the water and could hold his breath so long I thought he was part dolphin. I wasn't certified at the time but had always wanted to learn to scuba dive - I had found my dive buddy for life.  I eventually got my NAUI certification and the dive was on!  I must admit that it was nearly impossible to breathe canned air in the beautiful silence of Floridian fresh water springs without thinking of Darth Vader. 

Now with the advent of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Four this Fall and the Water War teaser , two of my passions have merged: Star Wars and Scuba! I was just talking with an online friend of mine, @Jedi58 - who recently got his advanced open water certification, and saying that we need a Star Wars canned-air group and that Master Kit Fisto could be our mascot. I know Master Fisto doesn't need canned air, but how could you go wrong with those gorgeous tentalocks swaying in the water?

I didn't need any assistance getting excited about season four of the Clone Wars but knowing that this great water battle is on the way and a possible introduction to It's-a-trap Ackbar I think I have blown an O-ring. 

May the Force Be With You, Always!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Strwrsgrl Review

How wonderful that the conflict in this movie involves Jabba the Hutt. I had often wondered why the Empire cared to turn Han Solo over to Jabba in Empire. I’d always assumed that Jabba had paid a bounty for Solo but the fact that his control of supply lines in the outer rim territories makes him an important figure throughout the Star Wars Saga justifies the Empire’s dealings with the Hutt. The film is full of the same kind of action and humor that every Star Wars fan expects. It has its own edgy 3-D look while staying true to the classic Star Wars palette.

Of course watching the battle scenes in the various terrains of space or new intergalactic cities is fun and I could watch light saber and clone battles 24 hours a day. However, my favorite scenes in the movie are the interactions between the characters.

“Anakin was a good friend…”

Those words spoken by Ben Kenobi have whispered in our ears since the original trilogy began 34 years ago.  Now we can see that camaraderie in detail. Anakin Skywalker is a Master with his own Padawan but Obi-Wan is still always there for him saving the day just in the nick of time. It’s difficult to choose my favorite lines where the two knights show their adoration for each other, but Obi-Wan’s, “If anyone can fly a bucket of bolts through hyperspace, he can,” is close.

The interaction of Jedi and clones is also very entertaining and intriguing. These two classes of warrior learn to care for and respect each other through many battles, which make the imminent mass murder of the Jedi by the clones all the more nauseating.

Whether it be Obi-Wan and Anakin or Skyguy and Snips, it’s great to see the Master/Padawan relationship in even its more mundane scenarios.  I simply love it when Anakin tells Ashoka, “Get some rest yourself. It’s been a long day for you little one.”

I love Ashoka Tano! Her sarcastic humor and backhanded saber style will be the envy of every kid watching – no matter what their age.  The Anakin/Ashoka relationship may seem like an excuse to pull new “younglings” into the Star Wars family to some, but Yoda reveals early in the film that Skywalker’s mastery of training a Padawan and then learning to let them go is key to his own successful maturity as a Jedi Master.  Unfortunately, we all know that attachment is Anakin’s fundamental flaw, which leads to his eventual path to the dark side.

Now that we’ve welcomed little Ashoka Tano into our hearts…what is to become of her? We don’t see her in Episode III and that makes her ultimate destiny extremely intriguing. Does Anakin kill her? Does she escape the mass extinction of the Jedi Order? Who knows? The Clones Wars is a delicious amuse bouche that gives us all the more reason to watch the television series and find out.

The Force is with us, again! 

I give Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 4.5 light sabers.