Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions [Blu-Ray]
Cast: Tom Kane, Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter (VOICES)
Release Date: Own It Today On Blu-ray & DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 9/10
Synopsis:
Against a backdrop of ever-shifting loyalties, uneasy alliances and ancient hostilities, the conflict between the Republic and the Separatists ramps up, setting the stage for Darth Sidious’ ultimate act of treachery against the Jedi. In these uncertain times, some of the deepest mysteries of the light and dark sides of the Force are revealed as an intrepid clone trooper uncovers a shocking conspiracy, Anakin Skywalker’s closest relationship is tested to its limits, and Master Yoda makes a discovery that could forever change the balance of power in the galaxy.
The wonderfully inventive, action packed and always entertaining ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ has finally (and also a bit sadly) arrived at its conclusion and ‘The Lost Missions’ mark some of the most impressive and action-packed episodes yet. ‘The Lost Missions’ (or as some refer to it: Season Six) does an excellent job of really getting down to some scenarios that have a very important role to play in the crucial events known to come in the Star Wars universe following the period of the Clone Wars, making these some perfect subjects to touch on here at the end of the series.
This time around the story arcs definitely imply end game in almost every way. When the story arc’s start breaching key material such as issues with clones obviously relating to order 66, tests of the relationship between Anakin and Padme, as well as Yoda and the other Jedi making some discoveries that begin to lead to some truly dark places, you know they’re wrapping things up for the series and they do an excellent job of accomplishing just that. The least important story arc included in ‘The Lost Missions’ in my opinion would have to be one including an evil plot that Mace Windu and Jar Jar Binks must fight together, but nonetheless even that one is fairly entertaining and action packed. It even brings some answers to long unanswered questions from the films, such as whatever happened to the frequently mentioned long dead Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas who was supposedly the one who placed the order for the clone army to begin with so long ago. I felt it was in most ways a very solid conclusion to a truly marvelous series. It should (hopefully) please most Star Wars fans as much as it did me, myself definitely being a huge Star Wars fan (nerd?).
Fellow fans will want to make certain to pick up a copy of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions’ on Blu-Ray in order to complete their collection of the series and at long last be able to enjoy every moment whenever they wish. The gorgeous high definition video presentation and a solid Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio presentation, along with some great bonus content such as four additional unfinished story reels (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) make this a definite must own for all Star Wars/Clone Wars fans.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the show’s original 2.35:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio on all of the included episodes. The video presentation looks phenomenal; all of the colors bright and smooth, shapes and objects are sharp and detailed, with even the numerous action packed sequences never resulting in any noticeable flaws or faults in the video throughout. Fans should be more than pleased with these high definition video presentations.
AUDIO:
Unfortunately the Blu-Ray release doesn’t contain lossless soundtracks for ‘The Lost Missions’ episodes but instead includes a lossy 5.1 channel Dolby Digital soundtrack on all 13 episodes that still sound pretty fantastic. It’s no surprise considering the previous seasons that these 5.1 tracks are incredibly active and seem to be always throwing noises and effects throughout the available channels while at the same time never detracting from the audibility of the dialogue occurring in the episode. These 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks do an impressive job holding up for lossy soundtracks and should leave most pretty satisfied for the most part.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions’ includes a couple of great bonus goodies. Included on the release is a Never Before Seen 16-Minute Documentary Covering All Six Seasons of the series. Also included on the Blu-Ray release (not available on the DVD, a BD exclusive) is a pretty wonderful treat: Four additional story reels from ‘The Lost Missions’ Season that fans will definitely not want to miss out on. While the animation on the episodes is obviously not fully completed, they are surprisingly detailed reels, fully colored and aside from general movements like legs moving while walking and the like, they look surprisingly far along; they also feature voice work from the cast which helps tremendously.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.