'OBI-WAN KENOBI' (2022) REVIEW

Lucasfilm, Disney Media Distribution

Age Certificate: TV-14

IMDb: 7.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 83/100

Cast

Ewan McGregor 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

Hayden Christensen & James Earl Jones 'Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader'

Vivien Lyra Blair 'Leia Organa'

Grant Feely 'Luke Skywalker'

Rupert Friend 'The Grand Inquisitor'

Sung Kang 'Fifth Brother'

Moses Ingram 'Reva Sevander / Third Sister'

Rya Kihlstedt 'Fourth Sister'

Joel Edgerton 'Owen Lars'

Bonnie Piesse 'Beru Whitesun Lars'

Jimmy Smits 'Bail Organa'

Simone Kessell 'Breha Organa'

Kumail Nanjiani 'Haja Estree'

Indira Varma 'Tala Durith'

O'Shea Jackson Jr. 'Kawlan Roken'

Benny Safdie 'Nari'

Zach Braff 'Freck'

Ian McDiarmid 'Emperor Palpatine'

Liam Neeson 'Qui-Gon Jinn'

The biggest rematch of the century! When the idea of an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off film was in the works, it surprised me at first. What could the film possibly be about? We have already seen padawan Obi-Wan, Jedi Master Obi-Wan and old Ben Kenobi training Luke Skywalker. Though Obi-Wan Kenobi is a beloved character and both Sir Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor have done an extraordinary job at portraying the Jedi, Kenobi's story had its beginning, middle and end. The film swiftly turned into a series and Lucasfilm wanted to focus on Kenobi's mission on Tatooine; looking out for young Luke Skywalker.

The cast of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was announced on 29th March of last year and I, too, was shocked and beyond excited to see Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse return as Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, but mostly thrilled to see Hayden Christensen return to the world of Star Wars as his iconic character, Darth Vader, with James Earl Jones as the voice actor.

Since the story was ready to set between the events of Episode 3: 'Revenge of the Sith' (2005) and Episode 4: 'A New Hope' (1977), my expectations for the series were what I knew from the comics that are canon. Although it is cool to see a live adaptation of events straight from the comics, it does not give the series a purpose. We already know nothing bad will happen to Obi-Wan or Luke since they are in episode 4.

The comics illustrates Obi-Wan living out his last few years on the planet Tatooine; set on a mission or rather, taking the responsibility to watch over his former apprentice's son, Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan protects the young boy, whether it is from Tusken Raiders or the Empire, making sure Luke does not fall into the hands of his father, Darth Vader. Though there is nothing interesting about this plot as we know Darth Vader only finds out about having a son in Episode 5: 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980), there are other missions Obi-Wan can possibly go on. My idea was for Obi-Wan to get off from the planet and help the Rebel Alliance like how Ahsoka helped the Ghost Crew in the Rebels series. In addition, it would be nice to see cameos or even incorporate Rebels characters into the series like the Inquisitors. My hope was to see Liam Neeson return or cameo as master Qui-Gon Jinn and teach Obi-Wan how to become a force ghost like himself, as well as seeing flashbacks to the Clone Wars with a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker.

The first teaser trailer for 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' was released on 9th March with the first and final trailer released on 4th May also known for Star Wars Day. Very little were shown in the teasers, the teaser images of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi were glimpses of what is yet to come. We were introduced to the live adaptation of the Grand Inquisitor and the fifth brother. The tone Rupert Friend delivers as the Grand Inquisitor is not a copy of Jason Isaac's interpretation in the animated series but Friend does a good job at portraying the antagonist, as a leader and an egoistic villain. The look of the Grand Inquisitor may be questionable as he does not look terrifying as in the animated series but Rupert friend is a well-established actor who can make a character evil just with dialogue alone.

We were also introduced to a new Inquisitor, Reva / the third sister. Not much did we know about her except she is desperately on a hunt to catch Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the trailer, we see a young Luke Skywalker for a second with Obi-Wan Kenobi looking out from a far distance. In the teaser trailer, we were only lucky enough to hear Darth Vader's iconic breathing at the end but once the final trailer dropped, we were teased with a disfigured Vader putting on his suit. Both trailers were accompanied with the legendary soundtracks by John Williams: 'Duel of the Fates' and 'Battle of the Heroes'.

As iconic and epic as these seem, I was quite disappointed by the marketing of this series. Maybe the marketing was overwhelming in America, however, in the UK, there was little to nothing advertisement. The lack of billboards and trailers matched the marketing for the 'The Book of Boba Fett' (2021). I have seen more coverage for the 'Ms. Marvel' series and that came out after 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. On the other hand, the series was promoted a lot more via social media aiming towards a younger audience.

The series was delayed for a further two days and was released on 27th May; two days after the anniversary of Episode 4: 'A New Hope' (1977). This was a good marketing strategy as Lucasfilm decided to release two episodes on the first day. Star Wars Celebration was also live, celebrating 20 years of Episode 2: 'Attack of the Clones' (2002), which I was there for all four days of the live stream. It was an incredible event especially seeing Ewan and Hayden coming back to talk about the prequels as well as to promote the new series. Next year's celebration will be in Rupert's (as well as mine) hometown, London!

Obi-Wan Kenobi debuted with two episodes on 27th May after the end of Star Wars Celebration Day one. The first episode was what I have expected it to be. The pace of the show is slow for the audience to take in the drastic change in Kenobi's life, from a powerful and highly respected Jedi master to an old hermit living in a cave on the dunes of Tatooine. The first episode started the series off strong, showing events of Order 66 from the perspective of Jedi younglings but for the next hour, we got to see Obi-Wan remembering the tragic events of Episode 3: 'Revenge of the Sith' (2005) between him and his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. There were YouTube videos dedicated to what Obi-Wan did during his time in solitude and a popular theory suggested that he had PTSD which did end up becoming very apparent as before, we have only seen a positive old Ben Kenobi in the original trilogy.

What happens in the two episodes? We are quickly introduced to the antagonists of the series; the Grand Inquisitor, fifth brother and third sister (Reva). Whilst the Inquisitors are hunting down the remaining Jedi, Reva desperately fixates on Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the assumption that she wants to please Darth Vader and make her way up in the ranks as Grand Inquisitor. We see a glimpse of young Luke Skywalker hiding away from Uncle Owen to play pretend star pilot. Owen finds out about Obi-Wan's meddling and orders him to leave them alone especially Luke as he has become very protective of his nephew and does not want Obi-Wan to ruin Luke like 'how he did with Anakin'.

Away from the Outer Rim, we go to Alderaan where we are first introduced to a young princess Leia Organa. Not once was it ever mentioned that princess Leia was going to appear in the series, therefore, it was unexpected but a good surprise. Vivian Lyra Blair does an incredible job at portraying the future senator of Alderaan at just ten years old. She embodies the stubbornness, rebellious and caring character that we know to be princess Leia in the original trilogy, portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher.

The idea of kidnapping Leia, knowing that Obi-Wan would leave Tatooine and expose himself just to save Leia, is a smart move by Reva, however, I thought association with a Jedi means treason and Bail Organa would be then committing treason by contacting Obi-Wan to rescue Leia. Even so, the execution of kidnapping Leia was probably the most PG-rated and Disney-esque content I have seen. The chase scene was bizarre and takes you out of the scene. It definitely has a comical tone to it. Apart from this small scene, we get to see Obi-Wan and Leia interact. Their scenes highlight Obi-Wan's relationship with both Padmé and Anakin. Seeing Leia also reminds Obi-Wan, as well as the viewers, how much of Anakin and Padmé lives in Leia.

Some questions I did have was how did Reva know that Anakin and Darth Vader are the same person and how can she kill the Grand Inquisitor even though he lives until 'Rebels'? I knew the show would have to answer these questions because these two events do not match with the current timeline.

Episodes 3 and 4 may have been the least favourite of episodes for many viewers, however, they do have their moments. The reintroduction of Darth Vader was the highlight and it was the first scene of the third episode. Darth Vader once again shows why he is a powerful Sith Lord by strangling innocent people; killing them without mercy; and dragging them across the sands, all to just lore Obi-Wan out of hiding. Hayden Christensen portrays a vicious and a vengeful villain, fighting Obi-Wan with such ease and though the lightsaber duel was underwhelming, the ending of the duel with Darth Vader dragging Obi-Wan's body onto ignited coal burning his arm as an act of revenge was top tier Darth Vader moments.

In the end, Obi-Wan manages to escape Vader and Leia is yet again kidnapped by Reva. The fourth episode becomes a repetition of episode 2 with another rescue mission, dumb plotlines, for example, hiding Leia underneath Obi-Wan's jacket and Darth Vader suddenly decides not to kill Reva even when she ultimately allowed Obi-Wan to get away. Any form of mistake is a good enough reason for Darth Vader to kill, he shows no mercy to anyone.

The final two episodes holds up and are Clone-Wars-level best episodes and a closing to this season of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. We finally get new footages of flashbacks from the Clone Wars. The first shot of Anakin turning his head around to begin his training with master Kenobi. The CGI on Hayden in order to make him look younger (around the same age as he was in 'Attack of the Clones') does not pay off or maybe they didn't even try to add any CGI to make him look twenty. Though the lack of CGI takes the viewers out of the moment, the cuts between flashbacks and the current battle between Vader and Obi-Wan is seamless and makes this episode memorable. Even as a powerful Sith Lord, Vader's anger and need for power like in the flashback gives Obi-Wan the upper hand in escaping Vader. Darth Vader's power is further shown; holding down the ship with only the force, determined to kill Obi-Wan. I haven't seen such power since Ahsoka in the last arc of the Clone Wars.

Reva's true intentions finally comes to light when she attacks Darth Vader, hoping to seek revenge for all the Jedi younglings he had killed during Order 66. The younglings were the only family she had known and she spent the next ten years hoping for this moment to come, only to be defeated, stabbed and told that he had always known about her trickery. To make matters worse, the Grand Inquisitor makes his return (as hoped so) to once again, remind her that she will always go back to where she came from- the gutters. Once they leave, Reva finds a communication device, dropped by Haja, holding a message from Bail Organa to Obi-Wan about helping Owen with the child. The episode ends in a cliff-hanger but we can assume Reva is plotting an alternative act of revenge against Vader.

The last episode of the series; Reva's revenge, the rematch of the century, goodbye to Leia and master Qui-Gon Jinn. Within less than an hour, the episode wraps up nicely answering all the questions we had in the beginning but leaving room for further series.

Reva returns to Tatooine in search for Luke Skywalker whilst at the same time, Obi wan duels Vader. The rematch of the century that we were waiting for since the announcement and does it deliver? Darth Vader defeats Obi-Wan in the first half of the fight but it is the memories of Luke and Leia that gives Obi-Wan the strength to fight Vader. The little details in their fight, for example, Obi-Wan's fighting stance calls back to the fighting sequences in the prequels. Not to mention the emotional interaction they both have with one another, quite similar to when Ahsoka faces Vader in 'Rebels'. Obi-Wan says goodbye to his old friend, acknowledging that Anakin is truly gone. The crack in Vader's helmet not only is a direct reference to 'Rebels' but seeing part of Anakin's face is what stopped Obi-Wan from killing him.

Obi-Wan returns to Tatooine in time to see Reva stop herself from becoming a villain. She finally acknowledges her wrongdoing and knows her family would not approve. Obi-Wan then returns to Leia on Alderaan to say goodbye and in their final moment together, Obi-Wan reminds Leia that she embodies the characteristics of her biological parents. This season finale gets twice as emotional when the prequels are mentioned. On top of all of this when Obi-Wan returns back to Tatooine, Owen allows him to meet Luke. As we all have been waiting for, Obi-Wan finally says his iconic line- "Hello there" to Luke. The last scene tops the series off perfectly with the force ghost of master Qui-Gon Jinn, portrayed by Liam Neeson. Obi-Wan has been calling out for his master since the beginning of the series and we finally get a few minutes of him leading Obi-Wan for more training; maybe to become a force ghost as well?

The series started off strong with references to the animated series as well as the comics but turned to filler episodes when Leia was constantly getting kidnapped by Reva. The filler episodes, however, did serve more Darth Vader scenes and hyped us up for a better and iconic lightsaber duel against Obi-Wan. The story could have done better if the focus wasn't on Reva so much but rather on Darth Vader's early days as a Sith. This season finale tops everything we have already seen, delivering fan service and the long-awaited cameo by Liam Neeson. Hopefully in season 2(?) there is more interactions between Luke and Obi-Wan, a training sequence with master Qui-Gon and more 'Rebels' and 'Jedi Fallen Order' characters incorporated into the show.

My rating: 8.1/10

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Though the show had some flaws, I was pleased with Ewan's and Hayden's performance as their respected characters. Even when it has been 17 years since they both have been in Star Wars, it felt like they haven't left. I cannot imagine anyone else playing Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker. 🌟

Some in the works:

👉 Netflix 2022

👉 Short Reviews

👉 Film Scores

Sabina 🦁