‘The Book Of Boba Fett’ Review – High Hopes Fall Short
The Star Wars shows have been some of the strongest and most fun additions to the galaxy’s lore. But how does The Book of Boba Fett stack up?
Star Wars has proven that many of its television series offerings are often better and more fun than their feature-length films. So how does the infamous Boba Fett’s return to the galaxy far far away stack up?
The Book Of Boba Fett – The Good
via Lucasfilm
Boba Fett has been a tragically underused piece of Star Wars lore for too long. A brief appearance in the original trilogy cut short by a jet pack ride directly into a Sarlacc pit, along with a few appearances in books, comics, and the holiday special make up a majority of his story. The animated shows gave us a few more glimpses at the galaxy’s favorite bounty hunter. But he’s always a side character in somebody else’s story. So his return to live-action in The Mandalorian dovetailing into his own stand-alone series was a dream come true for many fans.
In some regards, The Book of Boba Fett lives up to our expectations. We see Boba escape the Sarlacc pit, we see what he does for the years between then and The Mandalorian. We see Boba attempt to take over Jaba’s old seat of power on Tatooine, and we see a fair amount of character growth into a person who seemingly just wants to be a fair and respected leader. It’s a departure from his usual depiction and one that I personally found much more likable and relatable.
Add to all of that a couple of top-notch cameos from Black Krrrsantan and Cad Bane and the always fantastic Fennec Shand, and there’s a lot to like. Plus, of course, Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen are always great on-screen with some great chemistry.
The Bad
via Lucasfilm
This is a show that felt like it wanted to do a lot and missed the mark. Overall, it was enjoyable. But at times it was slow to progress the main plot, instead of focusing on Boba’s flashbacks with the Tusken Raiders. While getting to know their culture, traditions, sign language, and watching Boba grow as a person was undeniably worthwhile, it felt like it dragged in a few key spots. Especially when we knew in the present-day timeline there were spice cartels and gang takeovers to look forward to.
Not to mention that after getting to know and love the Tusken Raiders, they were unceremoniously killed off-screen just to hit an emotional beat for Boba. It felt like when movies fridge the only woman character to propel the protagonist’s story forward. Only this time it was with an entire indigenous tribe. It just felt gross.
It also speaks volumes that the best episode of The Book of Boba Fett didn’t include Boba Fett literally at all. That isn’t hyperbole. The best episode of the season was more of an extended teaser trailer for The Mandalorian season three. I know that sounds bad, but it was a very fun episode.
Overall
vie Lucasfilm
Is this show worth watching? Sure. It’s enjoyable enough. But more to the point, if you want to keep up with what’s happening in Star Wars right now it’s more or less required watching or you risk confusion down the road.
The Book of Boba Fett has its moments, but it also has a few pretty deep valleys of dull, or even out-of-character goofiness, for example with the street tuffs and their color-coordinated Vespas. This definitely wasn’t Star Wars‘ best addition to the canon, but it was also far from its worst. It’s decent, it’s fun, and if you’re bored by any given episode, the episodes are short. But most importantly, this show is the perfect waystation between a few other shows, so you more or less need it.
What did you think of The Book of Boba Fett? Which cameo was your favorite? What do you hope to see in the future of Boba Fett? Let us know in the comments.
The full season of Book of Boba Fett is on Disney+ now!
