Streaming: Obi Wan Kenobi
on Disney +
Mister Marquee Says:
Hello there
Number: 4/5
Ewan McGreggor is back as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars during the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope when we all assumed he was just sitting around in the desert aging 40 years in 20 years. When an old friend comes calling, Obi Wan has to dust off his lightsaber and go on one more adventure before waiting in the desert again for A New Hope.
If you liked the Star Wars prequels, this show is for you. If you didn’t like the prequels, there’s still a chance that Ewan McGreggor’s near universally loved take on Obi Wan was a highlight for you. Now that the kids who grew up watching the prequels are old enough to yell as loud as the angry fan boys who told them not to like the movies, Disney feels safe to open up that corner of Star Wars again. If there’s one thing Mickey loves, it’s playing it safe.
Obi Wan Kenobi is behind the eight ball when considering that it has to pick up after Revenge of the Sith and tell a compelling and emotionally satisfying story before an ending we all know. Does it create plot holes? Yeah, some, but not as much as the angry Twitter fan will lead you to believe. Trying to cram a good story into the frame work established by a couple sentences in a movie from 1977 is a tall order, and considering the circumstances, I’d say this show mostly hits the mark.
McGreggor pulls weight in the lead role and is every bit the heartbeat of the show he needed to be. There are some amazing visual moments and excellent fight choreography. One thing Disney gets right about Star Wars is making lightsabers look dangerous.
Hayden Christiansen gets his shot of redemption before Vader does. Every appearance of Vader is a pants-soiling occasion and gives the character more menace than he’s had outside of that glorious minute of carnage in Rouge One.
Obi Wan Kenobi is a project that probably should have failed. You could argue the series is too short, but I’d rather have six solid episodes than risk the series being stretched too thin like the Netflix Marvel shows. Obi Wan hit the mark for me as a really solid Star Wars show.