![]() ![]() ![]() But it is never gratuitous, even when a dying woolly mammoth’s eye looks out pleadingly before being blinded by a sharp stone. The series, about a primitive man and a dinosaur traveling together, bonded by grief, is violent and masculine. Īt a glance, you might expect “Primal” to be defined by viciousness and machismo - “Metalocalypse” but with dinosaurs. It shares this quality with “Dexter’s Laboratory,” but “Sym-Bionic Titan” is more awkward and cringe-worthy. “Sym-Bionic Titan” stands out as one of the more loquacious series in Tartakovsky’s career. But they get quickly swallowed by the unctuous gleam and artificial gloss of the central action sequences and by character art that feels dated and muddled, a mix between decades old anime and saturated graphic novels of the previous 10-15 years. The backdrops still have the clean, simple lines and balanced palettes of Tartakovsky’s other work. The humor is D.O.A., the jokes and cookie-cutter dramatic scenarios (fish out of water, a wacky intrusive neighbor) are set up neatly but executed without finesse or charm. This show somehow manages to be too much and not enough: too much camp without the bite, too much earnest replication of the flashy ’80s and ’90s animation style, too mecha and yet too little humor, too little grounding, too little nuance. But when their enemies pursue them to Earth, the three discover that they can “Voltron” themselves together into a giant robot fighter via a psychic link, à la “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” In this throwback to ’80s and ’90s fantasy mecha (read: giant robot) shows, a princess, a moody warrior sent to protect her and a robot escape a war on their home planet to settle on Earth as normal human high schoolers. Tartakovsky’s minimalist approach to dialogue allows the visuals and unfolding action to speak for themselves the additions he does make, like fresh exchanges between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi and the introduction of a new sith-in-training named Asajj Ventress, further illuminate the workings of the “Star Wars” universe. Tartakovsky proves to be the perfect match for George Lucas, who is notorious for writing dialogue as stiff as the hinges of an unoiled C-3PO. In terms of the action sequences, “Clone Wars” and “Samurai Jack” are both first-rate, but the former’s combination of light-saber fighting and Jedi parkour, gymnastics and force-pushes makes for a more dynamic watch. But the show succeeds where so many of the franchise’s extensions fail by including enough familiar characters to satisfy fans while pushing the story into invigorating new directions. show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” from 2008, this series explored the years between “Star Wars” films - specifically “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” - long before Disney+ arrived with its ever-expanding cache of spinoffs. ![]()
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