So, I think we all know Boba Fett. Even if you’re not the most familiar with the Star Wars franchise, I’d venture to guess you’ve at least heard his name. After his iconic appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to the original 1977 film, he instantly became one of the most popular characters in the series. Given the recent boom of Star Wars content that has been coming out and his fairly prominent role in the second season of The Mandalorian, it’s no surprise that the character would get his own television show.
The Book of Boba Fett, airing on Disney+ (Disney’s streaming service, if you didn’t know) over the course of seven weeks starting on the 29th of December 2021, stars Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, as they struggle to lay claim to the old territory of Jabba the Hutt. The show follows a generally episodic format during the first few episodes and becomes more serialized as the show goes on.
A quirk of the first few episodes are the extended flashback scenes. At the start of the show, Boba is still recovering from his time in the Sarlacc pit and must spend long periods of time resting in a Bacta tank (a vat of healing liquid). While in the tank, Boba experiences vivid dreams of memories from when he first escaped from the Sarlacc pit, about five years before the show takes place. These flashback scenes take up about half of the runtime of the first few episodes, but appear less frequently as the show starts to put more focus on the present storyline.
The storyline itself is decent for the most part. Due to the stand-alone nature of the initial episodes, the show lacks a very engaging plot as it opens. With the present storyline taking a backseat in terms of plot, the flashback scenes, which follow Boba being taken in and becoming a member of a village of Tusken Raiders, provide most of the excitement. As the show goes on, however, the storyline takes place in the present day of Tatooine and becomes much more interesting: Boba and Fennec uncover evidence of the villainous Pyke Syndicate’s plot to use the city of Mos Espa as a trading route for spice.
Aside from the story, the show’s other aspects are a mix of good and bad. The dialogue feels unnatural at times, and the acting is generally a little stiff. The special effects are fairly inconsistent in terms of quality, especially regarding the CGI. Some of it, like the Massiffs (the wolf-like animals used by the Tuskens), or the droid that drives the Pyke’s rocket-powered train, is incredibly well done, and in some scenes looks so good as to be mistaken for a practical effect. A lot of the other CGI is less than spectacular, however. The Hutt twins look rather like video game models, with the lighting and texturing being not very realistic at all. The same can be said for the rancor Boba is given in episode three, which suffers from the same problems, along with exhibiting fairly stiff movements in some scenes.
The character design is a mixed bag, some of it being great (I particularly like the designs for the different members of the Tusken Raider tribe), and some of it being, well, not so great. The designs for the Tatooine biker gang introduced in the third episode look simply out of place in the show, especially given the planet they’re supposed to live on. It would make more sense if the show took place on a more tech oriented planet like Coruscant. On the other hand, the action in the show is very well done. While I can’t say much without spoilers, I will say that the fight scenes in the last few episodes were very fun to watch.
At the end of the day, The Book of Boba Fett provides a more in-depth take on one of the franchise’s most beloved characters. While it certainly has its faults, the exciting action and intriguing story make the show worth checking out.
This was very informative. I appreciate the clarity and depth.
Thanks for breaking this down into easy-to-understand terms.