Whilst something was exciting about the idea of Ewan Macgregor returning in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, when this series was announced I couldn't help but wonder what the story would be, what it could add to the Star Wars canon. I think the answer to the latter is actually 'very little' but nonetheless the show was largely fun to watch.
Ten years after Revenge of the Sith, the Empire are still hunting Jedi. Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram) is determined to get close to Darth Vader so she conducts a plan to lure Obi-Wan Kenobi out of hiding by kidnapping the ten-year-old Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair), forcing him to attempt a rescue.
The show does some decent character stuff. Much of this comes from the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan, with Obi-Wan here discovering that Anakin is still alive in the guise of Darth Vader and Anakin still filled with anger towards Obi-Wan. When the pair meet the tension is palpable. The other key relationship is between Obi-Wan the young Leia, who is great in this show. Here Leia is confident and clever and it's easy to imagine this girl growing up into the Leia we all love in A New Hope.
On the whole I also liked the journey that Reva goes on this series, played brilliantly by Moses Ingram who surely has a big career ahead of her. She's a key part of the show and her story is largely independent of Obi-Wan even if they face each other several times. The reveal of her motivations is perhaps a little obvious but I still felt her overall plot was interesting and satisfying in it's conclusion.
There's lots of Star Wars-y stuff here from sci-fi heists to shoot-out with stormtroopers and light sabre duals. Unfortunately, the majority of the action sequences in the film are not especially well directed which is a shame and generally they don't match the scale of the films. The show is also full of insane bits of logic which make no sense from a ten-year-old repeatedly being able to out-run grown adults to characters coming up against obstacles that they could easily go round and never even considering doing so.
My feeling at the end of the series was that this doesn't really add anything worthwhile to the Star Wars canon, over than maybe showing Obi-Wan's trauma over the events of Revenge of the Sith. There's a lot here that feels like it relies on nostalgia for the prequels and a little for A New Hope. I think the show could have been much more interesting if it took Obi-Wan away from the other characters we know and tell an entirely new story whilst still allowing him to deal with the trauma he faced.
That said, on the whole this was an enjoyable show to watch and it was lovely to see Ewan MacGregor back in the role, though I still don't feel he's ever been given the material in this universe that he really deserves. It's fun, it has some good moments and contains lots of nice call-back moments but it certainly doesn't feel like a must-see part of Star Wars.
Comments
Post a Comment