6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally -- Yoda in action!, February 18, 2001
This review is from: Star Wars - Jedi Council: Acts of War (Paperback)
`Jedi Council: Acts of War' is a very mixed bag, full of elements good and bad in terms of both artwork and story. As such, it is also a comic about which I have very mixed feelings. The story takes place roughly a year before the events of `The Phantom Menace', and probably shortly before the events of the eBook `Darth Maul: Saboteur.' The art in this comic often has a very cartoonish quality, which I felt didn't mesh particularly well with the Star Wars setting, but the plot was fun if a little unbelievable and misguided.
In this story, Darth Sidious is taking steps to begin finalizing his plans to take over the galaxy. Knowing that the Yinchorri are a violent race which, like Hutts and Toydarians, aren't subject to mind control with the Force, he coerces their intelligentsia caste into having the warrior caste start attacking a few settlements. Sidious knows the Jedi will have no choice but to get involved, killing two birds with one stone - the Yinchorri will end up in no position to bother Sidious when he makes his move, and Jedi will die. When a couple of Jedi who had been sent to investigate are killed, the Jedi Council organizes a team that will head to the Yinchorr system and find their headquarters, stopping the violence. While the Jedi are thus occupied, Sidious has the Yinchorri lead an attack on the Jedi Temple itself, and things escalate from there.
The plot moves at a fair clip and the comic certainly never gets boring, but it is difficult at times to keep track of all the characters. First, there are Sidious and Maul, who we see pretty much sitting around talking and scheming, and then their lackeys. There are Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon who we all saw in the film, as well as the rest of the Jedi Council. But there are also eight or nine new Jedi who are all major characters in this series who are brand new, and once you remember who's named what, the book is practically over. The most important new character is Jedi Master Micah Giett, Ki-Adi-Mundi's predecessor on the Jedi Council. I personally found him obnoxious, unappealing, and just not a likeable character. However, this comic does flesh out the various members of the Council some, and it shows us some camaraderie and coordination between the Jedi which we've only gotten a glimpse of before in the Ongoing series.
There is also a *lot* of action in this series. Lightsaber fights, space battles, ambushes, all kinds of neat stuff. While it's always clear what's going on, as I said before I am not very fond of the cartoonish quality of the art. I also didn't care for the lightsaber art - they just didn't look right, they were too dull. Other comics have handled them much better. In addition, the Jedi and their Force abilities seemed inconsistent throughout the story. One minute four Jedi are being overwhelmed by massive numbers of aggressors, fighting for all they're worth and barely holding their own, while a few pages number an equal number of Jedi facing equal odds are having no trouble holding off the attack simply using the Force. It didn't make sense why they didn't just use the Force in the first place. Speaking of Force use, we finally get to see Yoda in action, and let's just say the little guy doesn't *need* a lightsaber.
Overall, this is a fun, fast-paced Jedi adventure story, with an okay plot, bearable if not great art, and lots of fun, fast action. Recommended.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Far from good, November 30, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Star Wars - Jedi Council: Acts of War (Paperback)
What better way for peace-loving Jedi MASTERS to act than to go on a genocidal killing rampage against an alien race! The whole mindset of the Jedi Order is thrown in the garbage in Acts of War and it is one of the biggest disappointments in the Star Wars universe. The art work is absolutely horrible, looking more like cartoons than ART. The dialogue is bad, what little of it that there is when the Jedi aren't hacking off limbs and heads. The storyline goes absolutely nowhere. Each page is the same as the last, with the Jedi acting as murderers more than noble peacemakers. Certain little things added to my frustration in this book, like going through hyperspace THROUGH a planet and emerging on the opposite side???? Come on now! Any rookiee fan can disabuse you of that notion very quickly, so I don't see how the writers could have possibly slipped that in. Oh yeah, and in the end they gave Darth Sidious this goofy looking smile that totally made him seem like a baby with a lolli. If you are seeking outstanding artwork, a good storyline and better character development seek out Prelude to Rebellion or Outlander. Those are outstanding in all of those three attributes. If you want cartoons with the intelligence of the mighty morphin power rangers, buy Acts of War.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good battle, not much else, March 14, 2003
This review is from: Star Wars - Jedi Council: Acts of War (Paperback)
With the Republican Senate becoming increasingly impotent, a new threat to peace appears in the form of the Yinchorri; a reptilian race whose resistance to Jedi mind control, and possession of a shield against light sabers makes them particularly worrying. But, when Mace Windu leads a group of Jedi to investigate, they find that the Yinchorri are more dangerous than they could have expected. And, unknown to either side, there is one other player in this game, Darth Sidius.
Admittedly, this book suffers from two very real weaknesses. First of all, it has a very weak story that just kind of begins and ends, without having the feel of being a complete story. And secondly, the illustrations of this graphic novel are not of a very high level.
That said, though, my nine-year-old son enjoyed the exciting battle scenes that (for the most part) make up the story of this book. He enjoyed this book, and highly recommends it to you. As for me, I give it a more guarded recommendation.
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