Disney+ Premiers New Star Wars Miniseries 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' (cnet.com) 113
CNET reviews Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new six-episode miniseries premiering today on Disney+
It's a question that's vexed Star Wars fans for decades: How did the bad guys not find Luke Skywalker when he was literally hiding in his father's old home? New Disney Plus miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, streaming now, will reveal the answer. But the real question is, can a minor continuity error actually be stretched out to create an entire TV series worth your time?
And is there really a compelling story to be told when you already know how it turns out?
Thankfully, on the strength of the first two episodes — both available to stream on Disney Plus today, followed by further installments each Wednesday — the answer appears to be yes. Obi-Wan Kenobi (the show) is an assured, pacey and exciting new series with a great cast, from creators who know how to use familiar elements — and, crucially, how to hold some back — in a story that is, most importantly, character-driven....
With blaster battles and bounty hunter droids and sneering Imperials, it's all satisfyingly Star Wars, with some nifty worldbuilding like battered drug dealers and a poignant cameo that stops Obi-Wan in his tracks. On top of that are fun new characters — look out for Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, plus Kumail Nanjiani clearly having the time of his life — combined with compelling conflicts for the characters we know.
It turns out even when you think he's a beaten man, Obi-Wan Kenobi still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
CNET describes Kenobi's character — played again by Ewan McGregor — as "hugely compelling.... a broken war veteran who not only lost a surrogate son but also saw his whole civilization fall to darkness," in a series set just before the original Star Wars movie (Episode 4: A New Hope) — so, just after Revenge of the Sith.
"More than any recent Star Wars shows, it's built from Star Wars at its best (the original film) and Star Wars at its worst (the overblown, computer-effects-blighted prequel trilogy)."
And is there really a compelling story to be told when you already know how it turns out?
Thankfully, on the strength of the first two episodes — both available to stream on Disney Plus today, followed by further installments each Wednesday — the answer appears to be yes. Obi-Wan Kenobi (the show) is an assured, pacey and exciting new series with a great cast, from creators who know how to use familiar elements — and, crucially, how to hold some back — in a story that is, most importantly, character-driven....
With blaster battles and bounty hunter droids and sneering Imperials, it's all satisfyingly Star Wars, with some nifty worldbuilding like battered drug dealers and a poignant cameo that stops Obi-Wan in his tracks. On top of that are fun new characters — look out for Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, plus Kumail Nanjiani clearly having the time of his life — combined with compelling conflicts for the characters we know.
It turns out even when you think he's a beaten man, Obi-Wan Kenobi still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
CNET describes Kenobi's character — played again by Ewan McGregor — as "hugely compelling.... a broken war veteran who not only lost a surrogate son but also saw his whole civilization fall to darkness," in a series set just before the original Star Wars movie (Episode 4: A New Hope) — so, just after Revenge of the Sith.
"More than any recent Star Wars shows, it's built from Star Wars at its best (the original film) and Star Wars at its worst (the overblown, computer-effects-blighted prequel trilogy)."
My force will go on and on... (Score:4, Insightful)
And is there really a compelling story to be told when you already know how it turns out?
Tell me you haven't heard of the movie Titanic without telling me you haven't heard of the movie Titanic.
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Or pretty much any history-based movie.
Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:5, Funny)
Those who don't learn from history are condemned to enjoy surprise twists in historical fiction.
Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:4)
Just because you know the ending does not mean the story and all the little details do not make an interesting story. I've not been interested in Star Wars since suffering through episode 7. That actually made 1-3 GOOD in comparison. Episode 7 was so bad that it not only failed to inspire me to go see the next two movies but also put me off from pretty much all things Star Wars.
1-3 was okay. It was fun to watch even if the writing was painful. 4-6 are of course still awesome, especially if you have copies before the recon changes asshole forced into the re-releases of 4-6.
I tried watching the first stand-alone movie about the rebellion stealing the death star plans but just couldn't stay interested. This may of been my fault for putting the movie on to late in the evening.
The mandolorian sounds like it could be good but I just don't want to waste my time after being so disappointed in previous Star Wars stuff. I guess for me the series had its time and now I'm done with the franchise. I'm sure Disney will continue to milk their cash cow for each new generation but it will not concern me.
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Rogue One and the Mandalorian are worth your time. Boba will disappoint you.
Re: My force will go on and on... (Score:3)
The second half of Rogue One is definitely worth the time. The first half hasnâ(TM)t a clue what it wants to be.
Re: My force will go on and on... (Score:1)
Re: My force will go on and on... (Score:2)
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Rogue One failed on every non-visual level. The only reason people liked it was because it copied the cinematic look and feel of ANH. It demonstrated that the Star Wars Universe and the imaginations of everyone associated with it at Disney is Teeny Tiny.
-It fails basic screenwriting because they never explain the context of the McGuffin. We have a movie that assumes knowledge of what the Death Star is and how it was defeated.
-Quick, how many planets made it onto screen? You don't fucking know, I don't f
Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:5, Insightful)
Just because you know the ending does not mean the story and all the little details do not make an interesting story.
I was surprised how much dramatic tension there was watching Apollo 11, even knowing that all three astronauts made it to their eightieth birthdays.
Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:5, Funny)
even knowing that all three astronauts made it to their eightieth birthdays.
Wow, that's a very long time to be stuck in orbit! Can't we do something to bring them down?
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Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, so far as I'm concerned, of all the "modern" Star Wars films, Rogue One is probably the best. I mean it's basically the Dirty Dozen in space, but it's well enough done that it's an interesting twist on an old trope. I didn't even mind Solo; a bit goofy, and the ending frankly felt a bit forced, but as backstories go, I've seen worse. I did like the Mandalorian and Boba Fett, but they're just Westerns. That's fine, it's kind of cool, I like Westerns. Some people hated Boba Fett, but for what it was, I had no issue with it.
The latest trilogy, on the hand, is absolute train wreck of bad plotting, bad writing, and terrible gimmicks. The last one somehow manages to be the worst, because the solution to the crapshow that was The Last Jedi was to make the most Star Wars movie ever, like some kid on ADHD got every 1970s and 1980s action figure and started going "pew pew pew" for 140 minutes.
Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:4, Interesting)
some kid on ADHD got every 1970s and 1980s action figure and started going "pew pew pew" for 140 minutes.
You could just say that they brought JJ Abrams back. His problem is that he fanboyed everything to death trying to literally recreate the original trilogy.
Star Wars was a happy accident.... (Score:2)
All of the failed attempts to do the prequels and sequels convinces me. The real magic of "A New Hope", "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" was producing a sci-fi fantasy movie at just the right time in history, working creatively within all the technical limitations of the day, AND getting some real quality actors and actresses on-board to do it, before any of them even realized the importance or popularity of what they were about to make.
It was "organic", in other words. You can't replicate som
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Let's be honest. It had the important ingredients; enough depth to make you sympathize with characters, rebels, bad Imperial meanies, a pretty well paced third act with some well done action sequences with a Bridge Over The River Kwai vibe, and a pretty impactful ending which brought the main characters through their full arc and did a really cool tie in to A New Hope. Also used Darth Vader pretty well, but sparingly which was good.
If Disney were to look at Rogue One and The Mandalorian as a template for fu
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The thing is ... you can watch any of this stuff on Putlocker for free. Slashdot doesn't have much commentary on Piratebay type torrenting anymore, but content is still available, and free online for things that you may find interesting but aren't willing to put money into.
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What I find interesting is that literally every review of Obi-Wan I've seen starts off by insulting the prequel trilogy. Apparently the Movie Reviewers Guild missed the memo that most classic Star Wars fans abhor the garbage Disney has vomited into theaters the last decade and the prequels, while they have their flaws, were masterworks in comparison. Revenge of the Sith, in particular, is better than most of the original movies, as it adeptly shows the culmination of Anakin's hubris and ultimate fall to dar
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Rogue One is the piece of fast food that is lucky it only has to compete with trash and actually reminds you of a decent meal.
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Just because you know the ending does not mean the story and all the little details do not make an interesting story. I've not been interested in Star Wars since suffering through episode 7. That actually made 1-3 GOOD in comparison. Episode 7 was so bad that it not only failed to inspire me to go see the next two movies but also put me off from pretty much all things Star Wars.
1-3 was okay. It was fun to watch even if the writing was painful. 4-6 are of course still awesome, especially if you have copies before the recon changes asshole forced into the re-releases of 4-6.
I tried watching the first stand-alone movie about the rebellion stealing the death star plans but just couldn't stay interested. This may of been my fault for putting the movie on to late in the evening.
The mandolorian sounds like it could be good but I just don't want to waste my time after being so disappointed in previous Star Wars stuff. I guess for me the series had its time and now I'm done with the franchise. I'm sure Disney will continue to milk their cash cow for each new generation but it will not concern me.
Not to mention not supporting one of the most avaricious corporations in the world (since Walt died).
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7 was so bad that it not only failed to inspire me to
go see the next two movies but also put me off from pretty
much all things Star Wars.
1-3 was okay. It was fun to watch even if the writing was painful.
WTF?
3 was OK, but 1 & 2 were shit.
7 was pretty good, but 8 and 9 were shit.
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I liked 3. 7 was a really really bad redo of 4 with a really emo-tard villain.
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And is there really a compelling story to be told when you already know how it turns out?
Tell me you haven't heard of the movie Titanic without telling me you haven't heard of the movie Titanic.
Let's just call that a bad example and move on.
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Re:My force will go on and on... (Score:5, Insightful)
That's the problem with movies where you know the end already. Same with prequels. That was one of the key problems with Solo (aside of the hackish writing): How do you raise the stakes if we already know that the title character and pretty much everyone we already care about WILL survive because, well, they have to be available for the movies that already exist?
Solo handled it poorly, by trying to convince us that Han and Chewie get into dangerous situations where they could barely escape, but ... well, we already knew they would, so the stakes felt hollow.
The only way to deal with this is to change the "if" to a "how". Not "will they survive" but "how do they manage to get out of this pickle" should be the question. Colombo did this on the murder mystery front perfectly. You already knew from the start who did it and why, the story was not about finding out who is the culprit but finding out how the detective will be able to pin it on them. Will they screw up? What trap will he lure them into? What evidence will surface? What accomplice will he manage to turn around?
In prequels and historic movies, where the outcome is pretty much a given, this is how you can write a compelling story regardless. Don't try to make the viewer ponder if the hero will survive when they already know that he will (or won't), engage them in a story about how they get out.
And for fuck's sake, if you want to reveal how they meet, how they got their iconic equipment and anything else the viewer cares about, don't make it a joke.
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And that's how I felt about Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. It was a prequel to a series that had an ending that had the series devolving into meaninglessness. The prequel had a good cast, writing, and production values, but I couldn't care about any of that, not when nothing mattered.
Woops, I meant the "Caprica" prequel series (Score:2)
I might have been able to enjoy it had I not felt burned by the ending to the series.
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There is a study which shows people enjoy story more if they know the ending. There are some crime story movies where you know who killed from the start.
Obi Wan series lost a lot of appeal when 10-year old child could outrun 3 grown men mercenaries for at least couple minutes. And another time a Jedi (in place of mercs). There are some limits in suspending of disbelieve.
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star wars crack pipe (Score:1)
Disney cannot get enough of its Star Wars crack pipe. Disney just keeps going back for hit after hit after hit of the Star Wars crack. Each time the product has more filler and less coke. So Disney needs to hit the crack pipe 4 times more often now. I'm thinking the crack supply is going to dwindle completely before long.
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Are you kidding, at this rate the filler supply is going to dwindle completely before long.
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Well, that pipe was mighty expensive, it has to be good for a couple more hits before they can put it down without pissing off the people footing the bill.
Not to ruin anything (Score:5, Insightful)
I will say the show thus far is quite good. Ewan McGregor thus far may have had like two paragraphs of dialog, but conveys volumes of dialog with body language alone. I would definitely recommend the show if the first two episodes are any indication of the next four.
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And what were you expecting? Deep philosophical meaning? A remake of Schindler's list? A deconstruction of modern social issues through the eyes of a precocious force-sensitive Leia?
The dialog made it clear that the head inquisitor / kebab has *not* spent the past decade looking for Kenobi, but that his ambitious, ready-to-bake (what Sith lords do to failed henches) underling, is indeed looking for Kenobi, because it's a fast track to promotion. And as usual, the Empire thugs are stupid, and good guys g
Re: Not to ruin anything (Score:2)
Epic saga? Well, here we are, still discussing it, 44 years later.
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Because it was entertainment. There are a lot of movies out there that are incredibly popular decades later, that were never considered at the level of Casablanca, Schindler's List, Citizen Kane-- and I don't say that to be harsh on Star Wars. It was a revolutionary movie, but not because the writing was incredibly deep, or that it had a powerful message-- it didn't challenge any societal norms, it didn't have any hidden philosophical meaning, it was a "good guys vs. bad guys" movie, and it was obvious fr
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I don't particular disagree with anything you say. What Star Wars did do though, was visualize an actual galaxy you could believe in. With a number of different species, languages, some magic and some WWII style space battles.
You could say that Star Wars took scifi and fantasy into the mainstream. And I would say it deserves a lot of credit for the golden age of scifi/fantasy tv series and movies that we are witnessing now.
As for the 1, 2 and 3, I thought it couldn't get worse. It could :( Fortunately there
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I was a bit underwhelmed by the first two episodes. They were competent, but could have easily been a third of the run time. Pacing was a problem in Boba Fett too.
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So human rights is politics?
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Captivale has no rights. (Score:2)
Captivale is in Russia. Enjoy the next few years of stone soup, krokodil, and getting drunk on industrial byproducts.
You’re not a Russian bot. (Score:2)
You’re a Russian human barely making enough to eat by crapping up the English speaking internet pretending to be the dumbest sort of American.
Even though what you do could be automated, your outputs are so worthless and you’re so cheap that it’s not worth the cost of implementation.
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I have so many questions but I get the feeling I'd only get incoherent answers.
Flea was in it? (Score:2)
Didn't realize that was Flea (playing the lead kidnapper/bounty hunter).
As for the series- meh. Dialogue is pretty lame. Visuals are good. Starting to hate Princess Leia... again. Prefer Star Trek myself.
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I kept expecting him to start licking sleeves or talking about johnsons. Disappointment abounded.
The gal that places Leia reminds me of my niece and is adorably precocious.
Were they even looking? (Score:5, Funny)
"How did the bad guys not find Luke Skywalker when he was literally hiding in his father's old home?"
a) Were they even looking? Other than a few Jedi, who knew that Anakin's offspring survived (or that he even had any)?
b) It's a big galaxy. And Tatooine is covered in sand, which gets everywhere.
c) Luke is really good at hiding ... they needed a map to find him in the final trilogy.
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It's all sand. I'd think with satellites and ships with cameras a couple thousand years advanced from ours at least, finding people on a very sparsely populated sand ball would be very easy. Heck it's an inverse IR problem, find the cool dots those are creatures needing to regulate their temperature lest they cook.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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They didn't. Think back of RotJ where Darth Vader says " Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for... Sister! So, you have a twin sister."
If the Emperor knew that Leia existed, he would certainly have told Vader to take care of her.
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I think the evidence is they don't actually know that there is a Skywalker to look for.
Which anyone that saw "Revenge of the Sith" should know. Padme was made to appear visibly pregnant during her funeral at the end, despite already having had the twins.
Re: Were they even looking? (Score:2)
It sounds like they don't know to look for Luke. But they worked hard to hide Leia with a different family, yet they bring Luke back home to stay with relatives. Doesn't seem super logical to me, but honestly for a story that has a deep and tangled plot (in a good way), minor plot holes like this seem irrelevant.
Also, and maybe I should know this, but does Leia have any Jedi looking after her? Or is the assumption that she's well protected by being a senator's daughter?
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The question (Score:3)
"How did the bad guys not find Luke Skywalker when he was literally hiding in his father's old home? "
I did not realize people even wondered that. And so far, two episodes in, the series does not even come close to this either.
It is more about how one of the best and most optimistic members of the old republic became a broken down hermit in a desolate, remote planet.
And from what I have seen thus far, I would say, this is actually "good" Star Wars.
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> became a broken down hermit in a desolate, remote planet. And from what I have seen thus far, I would say, this is actually "good" Star Wars.
That might, unfortunately, make it "good Star Wars".
> "How did the bad guys not find Luke Skywalker when he was literally hiding in his father's old home? " I did not realize people even wondered that. And so far, two episodes in, the series does not even come close to this either.
And that makes it "bad writing". Of course, this is *exactly* what to expect from
Re: The question (Score:2)
That was my question as well. In the original series and prequels it was implied Luke and Obi wan survived because they thought Anakin's offspring died so no logically sense looking for Obi Wan there.
I don't want spoilers but a few shots showed the imperials on a desert world looking for Obi Wan. If they knew and discovered Luke and therefore led to Obi Wan on Tatoine then yeah stupid as the empire would not leave that planet until both are dead! I pray Disney wasn't that dumb.
In the extended universe which
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It doesn't so much for Obi-wan's character, when you really think about it.
Luke wanted to join the Imperial Academy in A New Hope. He was on the verge of becoming an Imperial pilot, fighting against the Rebel Alliance. It was only luck that he happened to purchase those droids, leading to his aunt and uncle being murdered, that he ended up on the other side of that conflict.
Meanwhile, Obi-wan not only didn't help Luke, he completely ignored Leia. He wanted to train Luke, but never expressed any interest in
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So far it is disappointing (Score:1)
Ewan McGregor is excellent in it. But other than that it is terrible.
Little Leia running away from her kidnappers in the forest is comically bad and the actress playing Reva is permanently on her period or something.
After watching the first two episodes I actually felt bad for Ewan and what this might do to his career.
Re: So far it is disappointing (Score:2)
He probably should have noticed the new Disney formula. They use legacy white male characters because that's what people want to see. They then use the character as a prop for the strong confident diverse woman Disney intends to be the actual main character.
Re: So far it is disappointing (Score:2)
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I don't care if she's black. Or yellow. Or green. Or blue with orange polka dots.
My problem is that the character is poorly acted and that falls directly on the person portraying the character.
Re: So far it is disappointing (Score:2)
I'm skipping the show. I can't risk disliking it as that'd make me racist. I have nothing but best wishes for our newest token.
If the Star Wars "Cops" parody didn't exist ... (Score:2)
I could almost see Disney going for it. Just make it Cops of the New Republic maybe. Say, Gina Carano would be perfect for ..., oh right, never mind. lol :)
Troops (1997) Star Wars / COPS parody. HQ video / original soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
worst (Score:1)
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker is Star Wars at its worst.
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SW9 wasn't a movie. It was damage control.
bad start (Score:1)
The prequels are 'Star Wars at its worst'? (Score:3)
Pressing F to doubt on that one. The main contribution of the sequels has been to rehabilitate the prequels by showing us how bad things can get.
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Remember the good ol' days, when people thought Jar Jar was the worst that ever happened to Star Wars?
Then JJ said "hold my beer".
Re: The prequels are 'Star Wars at its worst'? (Score:2)
Yeah. At least Binks became interesting through fan theories making him the true Sith behind it all.
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Do me a favor. Take a piece of paper. From either side of the page, draw a line toward the top-center of the page. This simulates something known as "perspective". And now that you know what perspective is, you should fucking get some.
LOL "I'm white bu
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Yeah, the first civilizations in the world were by non-white people, and one imagines that women had a good deal to do with it too. But I do feel sorry for incels like yourself.
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The several current oldest-as-we-know happen to have statues/figurines etc clearly depicted with blue eyes
Oh Lordy, I'm really gonna love the link you provide to back this up.
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It's irrelevant anyway, the blue eye mutation comes from a single individual who lived no more than ten thousand years ago. There are
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You do realize this is actually what identity politics are, right? Not only that but as far as guilt/virtue-by-association goes, being straight and white != "my ancestors created civilization".
Ya know how I know you've never been to a hardware store? If you had, you'd know where to find a ladder so you could get over yourself.