First, I would like to comment that I never, ever want to watch this show on Cartoon Network again. Not for any other reason than my schedule forced me to download the iTunes HD version of the episode and the staggering quality of the animation and detail and lighting in HD caused me to rethink my need for cable completely.
Everything looked better, cleaner, crisper, I didn’t have to put up with commercial breaks and, in fact, they even took out the black spaces where commercials would go so it felt like a 22 minute movie.
There’s nothing against Cartoon Network, specifically, but this show is just too good to watch on TV, with all their stupid lower thirds running and the obnoxious commercial breaks, and in an inferior picture and sound quality. The $2.99 on iTunes is a small price to pay for the marked difference in quality.
Now if only they could sell it on iTunes to coincide with the first airing on US television.
On to the specific merits of Bounty, this was a very mature episode as far as the filmmaking was concerned. There were very specific story and character touches, particularly for Boba Fett and Ventress, that spoke volumes. But the filmmaking was mature in that it didn’t draw too much attention to them. Did anyone notice that Boba was using his father’s pistols on the job? Or the simple idea that he’s slowly taking on the traits of his father one bit at a time. He’s overcompensating with his bravado, but doesn’t feel man enough to take on the mantle of his father, but uses his pistols as the smallest act of remembrance. But that Boba is dead now, his head cut off with the helmet falling to the ground in just the same way Jango’s did in Attack of the Clones. He’s been humbled by this experience with Ventress.
Ventress on the other hand is confronted by her listlessness and her need for a goal and through this job she’s able to find herself. Will she be financing her quest for revenge? It’s anyone’s guess.
But as we move into the next episode and see the return of Darth Maul, we’ll see how involved she is.
Or maybe I’m just reading too deeply into all of this. Either way.
As for the rest of this episode, it was truly fantastic. The lighting effects, the costumes, the new creatures, the sets, everything. This was another episode that raised the bar on quality. Even the animation of background characters (that Jawa? the Eeopies? the denizens of the Cantina?) was beyond what I would have ever expected from this show as I sat in the theatre and watched the first movie all those years ago.
This animation universe has finally gotten to the point where it feels “lived in” and real. I truly believe they can do anything now. And they’re getting more and more ambitious to the point where every episode of season 6 may well make our heads explode.
Another thing I loved about this episode was the use of the sense of motion… From the space elevator to the platform (which reminded me of a level in Shadows of the Empire), this episode felt as though it was whizzing by at the speed of light.
And did I mention the space ninjas? This episode, more than any other, was a total homage to all of your favorite Kung Fu movies. The fight choreography was very, very sharp and had a lifelike quality to it that let you feel the body blows. When Dengar (Simon Pegg) hits guys and blows them up, you feel it. When Ventress executes people, there’s a visceral reaction.
This whole show is truly short format filmmaking at its best and it really needs to start winning some awards for the effort.
The people behind the show are truly cinematic storytellers and artists of the highest calibre.