Tag Rupert Friend

A Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Part V” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
EPISODE: “Part V”
STARRING: Ewan McGregor, Vivien Lyra Blair, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Indira Varma
WRITERS: Joby Harold, Andrew Stanton
DIRECTOR: Deborah Chow
PREMIERE DATE: June 15, 2011
SYNOPSIS: Obi-Wan, Tala, and the Path must escape an Imperial attack.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’m a little confused as to why people are questioning how “canon-friendly” Obi-Wan Kenobi is, because of this new connection we’re seeing between Obi-Wan and Leia. Granted, there’s nothing in A New Hope that suggests they knew each other. But there’s nothing that says they didn’t, either. The two character don’t even have any shared screen time in the movie. The closest they come to contact is when Leia presumably catches a glance of the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.

And yes, Leia is a little formal with Obi-Wan in the transmission that Artoo delivers. But it’s presumably been almost a decade since they’ve seen each other. A little decorum isn’t uncalled for. Thus far, Obi-Wan Kenobi fits into canon just fine. At least as far as I know.

Before our recap, we get a warning: “There are certain scenes in this fictional series that some viewers may find upsetting.” Given the temperament of a lot of the fans, it seems like that’s the kind of warning that should come before every Star Wars show…

These are the flashbacks I’ve been looking for! Granted, Hayden Christensen doesn’t look much like the teenager that Anakin is supposed to be. But it almost doesn’t matter. Even as someone who’s willing to be critical of the prequels and their shortcomings, it’s thrilling to see him in the role again.

Wait, I’m confused. In his transmission to Obi-Wan, Bail says: “If he’s found you, if he’s learned of the children…”

He’s talking about Darth Vader, right? That seems to imply that Obi-Wan tipped Bail off that Anakin had survived as Vader. But when did he do that? Why did he do that? That “If he’s found you…” line is frustrating in that it unintentionally raises nagging questions.

We learn here that Reva was a youngling that Anakin stabbed during Order 66, but survived. Her fixation on finding Obi-Wan was wrapped up in her hatred for Anakin, and that he couldn’t prevent Anakin’s fall and subsequent slaughter of those close to her.

This works fairly well as Reva’s motivation. I like that she’s after Vader more than she is Obi-Wan. It speaks to the idea that all these Sith secretly hate each other, and when the chips are down will turn on one another.

And so Tala dies a heroic death via thermal detonator. Yeah, that feels about right. You knew she wasn’t going to make it through the series. You just knew it…

Someone who evidently will make it through the series? The Grand Inquisitor, who returns at the end of the episode. Many speculated this might be the case. And his big line, “Revenge does wonders for the will to live, don’t you think?” is awesome.

By the way, does the Grand Inquisitor have a name? We briefly see the rank of Grand Inquisitor bestowed upon Reva in this episode. So we know it’s a title, not a name. So what is Rupert Friend’s character’s actual name? Did Rebels ever cover that?

At the end of the episode, Reva discovers Bail’s recorded message to Obi-Wan, which reveals Luke’s location. I had a feeling things would come back around to Tatooine at the end. And I’ve got a theory about how things may go…

Years ago, in conjunction with the release of Revenge of the Sith, Dark Horse Comics put out an anthology miniseries called Star Wars Visionaries. In one of the stories, “Old Wounds,” a revived Darth Maul arrives at the Lars Homestead looking for Luke. (This was obviously published years before Maul was canonically revived on the Clone Wars animated show.) Obi-Wan arrives and a battle ensues. But ultimately, it’s Owen Lars who surprises Maul with a head shot, killing him instantly…

Could we be looking at a similar scenario with Reva in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale? It would be consistent with the Owen Lars we saw in the first episode…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi “Part II” Review

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

SERIES: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
EPISODE: “Part II”
STARRING: Ewan McGregor, Vivien Lyra Blair, Moses Ingram, Rupert Friend, Kumail Nanjiani
WRITERS: Joby Harold, Hannah Friedman, Hossein Amini, Stuart Beattie
DIRECTOR: Deborah Chow
PREMIERE DATE: May 26, 2022
SYNOPSIS: Obi-Wan travels to Daiyu to rescue Princess Leia.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

When I first saw the publicity images of Obi-Wan on Daiyu, I thought we were looking at the underbelly of Coruscant. That would have been cool to see. But from a story perspective, it makes more sense to keep Obi-Wan away from Coruscant. He is, after all, a wanted man. And Coruscant is, after all, the center of the Empire.

Most of the best planets in Star Wars are simple in concept and easy to understand. Tatooine is the desert planet, Coruscant is the city planet, Kashyyyk is the wookie planet, etc. By those standards, it looks like Daiyu is the crime planet. A sort of low rent Coruscant where corruption reigns supreme. It serves its purpose fine here, so I’ve got no complaints.

Kumail Nanjiani’s character, Haja Estree, is a Jedi impersonator. I like that. A trickster who preys on people’s need for hope. Yet deep down, he secretly has a desire to legitimately do good. I have my doubts about whether we’ll see him again in this series. But I certainly wouldn’t mind it.

I appreciate that we see Obi-Wan using a blaster, and reluctant to use his lightsaber. When he uses the Force to save Leia in this episode, it’s a big moment because he presumably hasn’t done it in years. When he uses the lightsaber for the first time on this show, it should be a similar kind of moment.

Plus, we’re getting our lightsaber fix with the Inquisitors. Having Obi-Wan use one too, especially so soon, would be overkill.

The actress that plays the “I was someone’s daughter once too” girl is actually Ewan McGregor’s daughter, Esther Rose McGregor. Ironically, Obi-Wan tells that character he’s looking for his daughter.

Is that the Star Wars equivalent of a meth lab we see in this episode? I’m thinking it is. And I kind of love it.

I was angry, yet sadly not surprised to hear Moses Ingram, who plays Reva, has been getting racist messages from a small portion of the Obi-Wan Kenobi audience. There’s no place for that. Never has been. Never will be. And I was happy to see the official Star Wars social media accounts come to her defense.

I’m now convinced we’re getting a Qui-Gon Jinn Force ghost scene. We’ve seen Obi-Wan try and talk to Qui-Gon a couple of times now. You can’t not pay that off. Liam Neeson, who of course plays Qui-Gon, may have said he doesn’t do TV. But what else is he going to say? His appearance is, theoretically, meant to be a surprise. Andrew Garfield had to lie for months about not being in Spider-Man: No Way Home. I’d bet money it’s the same kind of situation with Liam Neeson and Star Wars.

Plus, we found out at Star Wars Celebration last week that Neeson is doing voiceover work on a Tales of the Jedi animated show. He’s coming back, folks. We just have to be patient.

I was more than happy to see Reva turn on the Grand Inquisitor, presumably killing him. As I said last time, I don’t love the idea of the Inquisitors, as I think they devalue Darth Vader. So the less of them that are around, the happier I am.

As it turns out, though, the Grand Inquisitor may not actually be dead. He’s obviously on Star Wars: Rebels, which takes place years after Obi-Wan Kenobi. So either he survived the stabbing, or there’s a cloning situation happening here, or some other wacky scenario brings him back. Remember, this is the Star Wars universe, where Darth Maul can survive being cut in half and dropped into a pit…

I’ve enjoyed Rupert Friend’s portrayal of the character, though. It looks like he was having a ball doing it. I got Ian McDiarmid/Revenge of the Sith vibes.

Obi-Wan’s reaction to learning Anakin is alive was very well acted by Ewan McGregor. The revelation does make me wonder, though…who did know Anakin was Darth Vader? Was it common knowledge within the upper ranks of the Empire? It must have been on some level, because the Inquisitors obviously know.

What about Yoda? Did he sense Anakin was alive? Can Obi-Wan contact Yoda, the same way Bail Organa contacted him, and ask?

Oh, the pressing questions…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Part I” Review

Rob Siebert 7 Comments

SERIES: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
EPISODE: “Part I”
STARRING: Ewan McGregor, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Jimmy Smits
WRITERS: Stuart Beattie, Hossein Amini, Joby Harold 
DIRECTOR: Deborah Chow
PREMIERE DATE: May 26, 2022
SYNOPSIS: Inquisitors arrive on Tatooine looking for Jedi. Meanwhile, Princess Leia is kidnapped.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Let’s kick this off on the right note: With gratitude. Ewan McGregor didn’t have to come back to play Obi-Wan Kenobi again. I’m sure his experience making the prequels was a mixed bag. And that’s to say nothing of how audiences reacted to the movies. (Much of the criticism was justified. But much wasn’t.) I actually spotted an recent interview he did with Rotten Tomatoes where he references the difficulties of making the prequels. So to have him come back nearly two decades after the fact is a major blessing for Star Wars fans.

And of course, that also goes for Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton, and Bonnie Piesse returning as Darth Vader, Bail Organa, Owen Lars, and Beru Lars respectively. This may all be more than we deserve, quite frankly.

Age/timeline check: Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. Which is to say, nine years before the events of A New Hope. So naturally, the young Luke and Leia we see in this episode are about 10. And, as I’ve always read Obi-Wan was 25 in The Phantom Menace, that would make him about 47 here.

Our director for this episode, and the series at large, is Deborah Chow. She’s widely known for The High Cost of Living and The Possibilities of Fireflies. But Star Wars fans will know her as the director of two episodes of The Mandalorian: “Chapter 3: The Sin” and “Chapter 7: The Reckoning.” This is the first time one of these live action Star Wars shows has had one universal director. It’s a tall task. But Chow also has a lot to work with here in terms of story, the talent involved (not to mention her own talent), and the experience she now has working in the Star Wars universe. I’ve got high hopes.

One of the downsides of having Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett come out back to back? That’s a lot of desert stuff. I can’t say I’m looking forward to Andor as much as some people are (mostly because I hated Rogue One). But one of the upsides, at least judging by the trailer that just came out, is that we don’t see any desert scenes.

The episode, and the series at large, kick off with a quick five-minute recap of the prequels. To some, that’s probably the best way to watch the prequels. They might be right, actually. The contrast between the all the CGI backgrounds in the prequels and the actual places and sets in Kenobi is a stark one.

I must confess, having not seen all of Star Wars: Rebels, my familiarity with the Inquisitors is limited. But as I understand it, most or all of them are former Jedi Knights who’ve turned to the dark side and joined the Empire to hunt for Jedi in hiding.

At face value I don’t like that. Never have.

Much like having a planet full of Mandalorians devalues Boba and Jango Fett, having a big group of Sith inquisitors decreases the novelty of Darth Vader and his turn to the dark side. It also devalues Order 66. How effective could the big Jedi purge have been if enough survived that they needed to bring in Inquisitors to hunt them down?

Of course, that’s to take nothing away from the performances of Rupert Friend as the Grand Inquisitors or Moses Ingram as Reva.

Having Leia play such a pivotal role in the series is a big surprise. Coming in, I think we knew Jimmy Smits was going to be involved as Bail Organa. So a Leia cameo wouldn’t have been out of the blue. But this? This is beyond what I think anyone would have expected.

Vivien Lyra Blair, who plays Leia, does a fine job by child actor standards. The character is, thus far, written fairly well. I like that she’s characterized as, no pun intended, rebellious. Blair and Smits were able to create a father/daughter chemistry that felt very natural.

I appreciate that Obi-Wan has a job while in seclusion on Tatooine. That might be an odd thing to appreciate. But it’s one of those things that you (or at least I) never thought about when it came to the original movie. The guy had to make ends meet somehow, right? It makes me wonder if he had a job at the beginning of A New Hope.

I liked cynical Obi-Wan, i.e. the guy who refused to help his fellow Jedi in need. It speaks to him having spent a decade being beaten down by the desert. It’s a different character than we’re used to seeing.

Owen Lars refusing to give up Obi-Wan’s location was a wonderful character moment for him. For so long he’s been seen strictly as an antagonist for Luke. And maybe he is. But it’s always been in the spirit of wanting to do what’s best for his nephew and surrogate son.

It must be said that the chase scene between Leia and the bounty hunters did not come off very well. I’m not sure whether it was the actors, or the direction, or the editing, something else, or a combination of all of it. I understand and accept the notion that Leia knew the terrain better than they did, and was also smaller and harder to catch. But the impression I got was that Leia was moving very slowly, and that the hunters could have caught her quite easily if they’d simply picked up their pace a little bit.

We see that Obi-Wan buried he and Anakin’s lightsabers in the desert, presumably years ago when he first arrived. This is a nitpick, but how is he able to find that box again so quickly? Especially after 10 years. Did he pick that specific a spot? It just looked like a bunch of sand to me…

Overall, a good first episode. I can’t say I was blown away, but I definitely enjoyed it. Judging by premiere episodes alone, I’d say Obi-Wan Kenobi isn’t quite as strong as The Mandalorian, but better than The Book of Boba Fett.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.