Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Much like The Empire Strikes Back, season two of The Clone Wars sets a darker tone as the war between the Republic and the Separatists continues. The Jedi Knights are still a central part of the story but they face a myriad of enemies including the ruthless bounty hunter Cad Bain (voiced by Corey Burton), space pirates, a Zillow Beast, mind-controlling worms, and Boba Fett (Daniel Logan) who's seeking to avenge his father's death.

My family fell in love with the series after watching season one on Blu-ray and we watched all of season two on Cartoon Network. As much as we enjoyed the episodes, the experience on cable pales in comparison to the Blu-ray. The video quality is vastly improved with no compression issues and I prefer the look of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to the 1.78:1 HD cable feed. I'm disappointed the audio is a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track versus Dolby TrueHD, but it's certainly an improvement over the stereo feed through cable.

Video Highlights

• VC-1/1080p encode on a BD-50 discs
• Amazing animation
• Stable contrast
• Rich color saturation with deep hues
• Inky blacks

Audio Highlights

• Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (448kbps)
• Crisp dynamics
• Impressive frequency response
• Intelligible dialog
• Creative sound design

Bonus Materials (all in SD)

• Magic of the Holocron featurette
• Return to Geonosis featurette
• Creating Mandalore featurette
• Attack of the Zillo Beast featurette
• Jedi Temple archives
• 64-page production journal with concept designs, original sketches, and notes from supervising director Dave Filoni

I really like the direction the show took in season two showing the seedier aspects to the Star Wars universe and the struggles the Jedi face as defenders of the Republic. The high-quality animation is mesmerizing, especially for a weekly TV show, and I tip my cap to the team at Lucas Animation for their dedication to producing an entertaining series with impeccable attention to detail. Highly recommended.

Release Date: October 26, 2010
Studio: Lucasfilm / Warner

Series: 9/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics