Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+ series)
Ewan McGregor is in great form, reprising the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He gets a lot more opportunities to flaunt as his character has more emotional and powerful scenes than in any of the films.
★★★1/2
No Spoilers
Directed by Deborah Chow
Writers: Joby Harold, Hossein Amini, Stuart Beattie, Hannah Friedman, Andrew Stanton
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a 6-episode series on the Disney+ streaming service that tells the story of the titular Jedi Knight ten years after the events in Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, and several years before the story in Episode 4: A New Hope begins. The Star Wars films are heavily referenced in this show, so prior experience with the Star Wars films, or at least Episodes 1 to 3 will be beneficial towards your enjoyment of this series. Since you need to be subscribed to Disney+ to watch this series anyway, every Star Wars films will be available to you on the channel to catch up on. (I can confirm that the animated series and spin-offs are not mandatory viewings, though there are minor references.) Mild spoilers from hereon if you have not seen the films.
After the execution of Order 66, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) has gone into hiding on Tatooine for the last ten years while keeping an eye on a young Luke Skywalker from afar. An unexpected call from former ally Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) prompted Kenobi to abandon his post to conduct a search and rescue for a very important person. Hot on his trail are the Inquisitors, Jedi hunters trained by Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) himself.
After having gone through all nine Star Wars films, and not even counting the spin-offs and other Disney+ series, I can finally say that I’ve surrendered myself entirely to the unending plot holes and continuity errors in the saga. There have been so many of them that it’s pointless to get upset but just roll with it. The Obi-Wan series might just be the biggest offender of the bunch; creating many situations and character interactions that jar with future events that have already been featured in earlier films or series. If you’re a stickler for such things, you’re going to have a field day with this one.
It also suffers from a bit of bloat, especially in the first three episodes. They could have made this a flab-free feature-length film by trimming down or eliminating certain scenes.
Some of you thought the action was bad, but I thought they were ok. What caught my attention more were the strange moments when characters could have easily overcome obstacles but didn’t, but it really depends on how much of it that you noticed. For example, the guard post thing completely went over me until I saw the memes, though I’d argue that architectural and design flaws are part and parcel of the Star Wars universe.
However, if you can put all that aside, there are loads to like and enjoy about Obi-Wan Kenobi - The Series. Ewan McGregor is in great form, reprising the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He gets a lot more opportunities to flaunt as his character has more emotional and powerful scenes than in any of the films. I wished it was the same for Hayden Christensen, but Anakin is more of a cameo here. It is Vader that got more of the screen time, and he dominates every scene he’s in. It’s great to hear James Earl Jones’ menacing voice again, intoning new lines. Vader shares villain duties with new character Reva (Moses Ingram), an Inquisitor who hunts Obi-Wan for an unclear agenda. She is a fascinating character in retrospect, but was unfairly maligned by impatient viewers who saw each episode as they were released weekly. An older, more experienced actor could have done the role better, but Ingram did a satisfactory job - it wasn’t the train wreck fussy fans have been complaining about. Her subplot is necessary because it helps add a little intrigue and mystery into a show where we already know where the other main characters’ stories are going. Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse were given more than just glorified cameos as Owen and Beru, and I really liked what they did with these characters. Plus, that Owen meme is especially exquisite. There are other spoiler-ish character appearances which I will not mention here, but what was misunderstood as fan pandering has become very endearing moments after the last episode’s credits rolled, and I really liked all of them and their performances.
Most importantly though is how they handled the central conflict between Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader, and I have to say it was fantastically realised. I like how there wasn’t an ounce of fat in the script. Every line was designed for maximum emotional impact. There were callbacks, but there were also resolutions. The caveat here is that the emotional resonances wouldn’t be as impactful to newcomers as it would to ardent followers of the films.
I would still recommend this as a must-watch for Star Wars fans, but passers-by might be baffled by the reception that this average episodic Disney+ actioner is getting. The strength of the show relies very heavily on your affinity towards the Star Wars films, but fans will find it emotionally rewarding.
Originally published on my Facebook page, here.