This review contains spoilers for episode 3 of The Book of Boba Fett, 'The Streets of Mos Espa’, now available to view on Disney+. To remind yourself of where we left off, check out our review of The Book of Boba Fett episode 2.
In 1995, a famous soccer pundit once said “you can't win anything with kids” after Manchester United’s young team line-up lost against Aston Villa. But the comment came back to haunt him when Manchester United went on to win both the Premiership and FA Cup that same season. Will that be the case with The Book of Boba Fett now the series has premiered its own youthful squad of misfits in episode 3? Here’s hoping, given the new odds the former bounty hunter is set to face as his past and present finally collide in “The Streets of Mos Espa.” But despite new young blood, this chapter functions as a somewhat superficial set up of narrative elements for the rest of the season at the expense of meaningful character development.
Boba’s increasing benevolence may well be signposting his downfall. On the plus side, he manages to acquire a group of angst-ridden youths to beef up his muscle power against the incoming Pyke Syndicate. Adding to the long list of brunette women in the Star Wars universe, Sophie Thatcher (of Yellowjackets fame) plays the leader of an Alita: Battle Angel-meets-Akira-like bike gang who’ve upgraded their bodies with droid parts and are wreaking havoc on the locals with their thieving. These juvenile delinquents give off the whole “we’re just misunderstood, man!” vibe and could give The Outsiders a run for their money. A few scenes show just what they are capable of; a chase sequence through Mos Espa on their Teletubbies moped-esque speeders adds a punch of flare to the burnt landscape – with a cyberpunk theme tune to boot – but it looks a bit budget compared to the high-octane exhilaration of the train stunt in the previous episode.
Earlier, the youths help Boba survive a sneak attack by Black Krrsantan while he's indisposed in his Bacta tank, but it’s a far less satisfying fight than the cantina takedown he administered against the swoop-gang. One has to wonder how a massive Wookie managed to get past their defences, but Fennec Shand’s late stage arrival hints she might not be as loyal to her saviour as once thought. It would certainly explain her frustrating lack of screen time, save for that opening fight scene and a few snarky comments here and there. But in an episode that spends so much time signalling future alliances – Boba befriending a rancor and setting Krrsantan free – and potential treachery, the action and storyline feels pretty disjointed. And with all these new characters thrown into the mix, it never takes the time to let the viewer get to know the motivations of anyone but our eponymous antihero.
Of course, it’s his name on the title card, but even in The Mandalorian with supporting characters like Cobb Vanth and Frog Lady, there was a real sense of who they are and what they stood for. So far, there’s none of that in The Book of Boba Fett, save for our titular lead who continues to be haunted by his childhood, reminders of his clone heritage every time he comes across a stormtrooper helmet stuck on a spike, and seemingly his need to atone for his bounty hunter sins after being given a second chance at life. But the way in which his antihero’s journey is being told feels somewhat pedestrian and, given the legend of this character, he arguably deserves better than what he’s getting, as do the characters he associates with.
The decision to decimate the Tusken tribe Boba had been made an honorary member of is both an obvious and lazy one. Barely any time is dedicated to their deaths, but I guess they’d served their purpose to bring the bounty hunter back from the brink and show his heroic side. Now their murders simply add pathos to his journey and push his plot forward while their names are lost in the ether.
Without Temuera Morrison, The Book of Boba Fett might have completely faltered by this point. He brings warmth and depth without pretentiousness to a character that could have easily followed the outlaw-ish arrogant route. Even when the plot feels a bit paint by numbers as it has in this chapter, Morrison keeps you rooted to your seat. Fingers crossed he’ll have audiences on the edge of them next week.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/34zyjsM
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