Here's our review of the debut episode of The Book of Boba Fett
Last year's final episode of the Mandalorian had this writer in delightfully happy tears as the Luke Skywalker we had wanted to see since we were 9 years old wrecked some robots and met Baby Grogu.
And then a second magical thing happened, the reveal of the existence of a secret show, The Book of Boba Fett.
Star Wars fans around this third rock from the sun collectively lost their shit for the second time in 5 minutes.
And here we are a year later, with Temuera Morrison (having his own McConaissance > refer Aquaman, Frontier, The Flash) debuting as Boba Fett in the character's own spinoff show!
So, what's the score? Is this Jango Fett wannabe any good?
To paraphrase a certain meth cook: YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT.
The Book of Boba Fett is another crack entry into the Star Wars canon.
The set-up from The Mandalorian pays off immensely here as Fett sets of his plan to be the Crime Lord of Tatooine with the delightful Ming-Na Wen playing Fennec Shand as his right-hand gal.
The episode: Stranger in a Strangeland is more a 'get to know Boba' episode. Via Bacta Tank dream sequences we learn how Fett survived falling into the Sarlac Pitt in Return of the Jedi (it's simpler than you may think) to taking 'tributes' from former Jabba the Hutt and Bib Fortuna, shall we say, associates.
A wee confrontation with some well-disciplined attackers demonstrates that Fett is no 'super hero' character, he's a 50-year-old man and while he may be one shrewd fighter, his flesh may not be as willing as his clearly sharp brain.
Or maybe he's having a hard time recovering from being slowly digested by the Sarlac...
The shows central arc is how Boba survived his escape from the Sarlacc Pitt via his capture by the Sand People that live near Mos Espa. Fett wins his freedom and appears to be considered acceptable by the Sand People. This explains how in The Mandalorian he has their weapon of choice, the Gaffi stick and has learned how to use it.
Of interest to note is Fett lost his armour. And the Mandalorian himself knows how this feels, the bloody Jawa stole it and left him for dead. This ties into the opening show of Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
Trivia, references and callbacks
- Direct literal scene from Attack of the Clones where young Boba picks up his father Jango Fett's hat in a dream sequence.
- The episode showed in an official canon sense how Boba Fett escaped from the Sarlac Pitt he fell into in Return of the Jedi.
- No English was spoken for the first approx ten minutes.
- Directed by Robert Rodriquez who wrote the prequel of From Dawn to Dusk: From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter in which Temuera Morrison appeared as The Hangman.
- Was that Max Rebo playing in the bar?
- Indeed, we're calling a cameo appearance from director Robert Rodriguez - the dude playing the guitar on the stool in the Cantina next to Rebo. RR is well known for his guitar playing skills - he scores many of his films
- When Boba strangled the 4 armed monster in the desert, one would think this was a call back to how Leia strangled Jabba Fett with a chain in Return of the Jedi. That monster (no official name yet?) has a very Ray Harryhausen. It also reminded me of John Carter of Mars (which was source material for the original Star Wars film).
- Spot the sexualised Twi'lek male...
- Geonosis from Attack of the Clones was spotted briefly
- Jennifer Beals (Flashdance, The Book of Eli) plays the sexy orange Twilek in the Cantina.
