The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 7 Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

The Book of Boba Fett has been a mixed bag.  There have been highlights (such as the arrival of the Mandalorian, which was met with cheers in our household) and lowlights (the introduction of the Mods has been a real "What??!" moment).  This final episode is similar, with some genuinely awesome high points, and some strange moments that raise a few eyebrows and a few questions.

Firstly: Boba, Fennec and Mando (along with the Mayor's Assistant) visit the scene of the Sanctuary bombing.  This is not ignored or played down; it was a declaration of war from the Pykes, and Boba knows it.  His thinly-spread army are monitoring the situation on three fronts in Mos Espa - the Gamorrean guards; the Mods and Black Krrysant are out on patrol.  Does anybody else think this is a bad idea, or is it just the way it's filmed that shows large crowds of people outnumbering our heroes?

There are a few very interesting lines of dialogue early on in the episode which are strangely inaccurate.

Boba Fett, looking around the ruins of the Sanctuary bar:  "We are at war... even if we win, there might not be anything left of this city."  Okay, so that one is proved to be true.

Fennec Shrand: "The Pyke Syndicate has not yet arrived in numbers, but the minute they do, we will see them before they see us.  The truce you negotiated will ensure that they remain neutral, and we will have the upper hand over the arriving soldiers."

To quote Luke Skywalker: "Every word of what you just said was wrong."

As if to prove the point, Cad Bane appears at the front door of the Sanctuary bar - "I thought you said nobody could sneak up on us."  The discussion is short, and highlights just how many times Boba has been wrong throughout the series.  The Tusken raiders were killed by the Pyke Syndicate; and then to add to the list, "He killed Vance; the reinforcements aren't coming."  Is anybody keeping track of the inaccurate comments?

It very quickly degenerates - all three reconnaissance groups are attacked by the locals: the other crime families who promised Boba that they would stay out of any future battles instead betray him, and without warning attack Boba's troops.  Spread thinly, and unable to join forces with each other, their situation looks bleak.  Indeed, the Gamorrean guards are forced back over a precipice - I have to say that I was sorry to see them go.  Fennec races off from the Sanctuary to support the Mods, leaving Boba and Mando - and the Mayor's Assistant - preparing to defend their central position.  The Pykes seem to have unlimited numbers, and the heroes are desperately outnumbered.  So much for 'not yet arrived in numbers'.  The crime families have all made a deal with the Pyke Syndicate to get Boba Fett off the planet.

Meanwhile, Grogu has made his decision:  Mandalorian way or Jedi training?  R2D2 pilots an X-wing to Tattoine, landing at Peli Motto's repair station (she fixed up Mando's new Naboo fighter).  She's delighted to see him again (as we all are) and notes he's wearing his new Beskar shirt.  R2D2 leaves Grogu with Peli, who will take him to be reunited with Mando.

At the Sanctuary bar, the Mayor's Assistant plays a useful role - yeah, you don't say that very often - by buying Mando and Boba the time they need to prepare a counter-attack.  His wordiness is ideal for stalling for time, as he embarks on a long speech in front of the Pykes... which seems to end badly.  I genuinely feared for his personal safety, and thought he was going to get shot - by a member of either side.

It all falls apart, and in a highlight of the episode, Boba and Mando fly into the scene, jetpacks firing, and guns blasting - and they can't miss.  The Pykes can't shoot straight, and it looks like the battle might turn... until the Pykes start finding their aim.  Boba and Mando fight as a great team, each covering the other's back, but their Beskar armour starts to feel the strain.  The only complain I have is that there are far too many Pyke soldiers to be plausible - to quote Boba, "They just keep coming."  Still, a fight is only a fight when it's balanced, and the people of Freetown come in on a light hovertank, more guns blasting... and still they're outnumbered and pinned down.  Black Krrsantan, previously thought gone, also manages to stage a retreat to the Sanctuary bar.  Indeed, the soldiers note that the Pyke "are falling back."  Except that's just to make way for Scorpenek droids (like the Destroyer Droids from Episodes 1 and 2, or like something out of RoboCop, and with very heavy shields).

There then follows a very long and futile attempt to destroy these droids by defeating their shields.  It's not going to work... and in fact, you have to wonder why the Pykes didn't start off with these droids in the first place.  It's a running battle, which means the heroes are running away and failing to make any progress at all against the Scorpenek droids.  It all looks grim (hasn't it always?), until Peli Motto manages to catch up with the Mandalorian (with precious cargo in tow).  The sequence where Grogu and Mando are reunited, and Mando realises that Grogu is wearing his little Beskar shirt, is the best moment of the series.  Sorry, Boba, but it is; you became a supporting character from the second that Mando appeared at the start of episode 5. 

Boba decides it's time to call in the final round of reinforcements:  his pet Rancor.  Remember how Boba said earlier that even if the heroes win, their might be nothing left of the city?  Well, the Rancor certainly goes a long way towards making that happen.  It turns out that Rancors are completely impervious to everything except fire, as it tears its way through the city and the first Scorpenek droid, while Mando and Grogu (who can now use the force more precisely) take on the second.

Which just leaves a wayward Rancor, and a dangerous gunslinger.  Grogu puts the Rancor to sleep (it seems that he's totally fearless), while Boba and Cad Bane get the fight they were due.  Cad Bane has a long history in Star Wars (the Clone Wars in particular), and a good villain needs a good death.  There are no lightsabre-wielding Jedi around (Luke Skywalker chickened out), and no exhaust shafts to throw the villains down, so it's a straightforward gun fight, fist-fight and scrap to the finish.  In the end, Boba finishes Cad with the wooden stick he carved with the Tusken's help - a poetic end: Cad slaughtered the Tuskens, and so Boba kills him with the Tusken's staff.

The battle is won; all that's really left is to explain what happened.  It transpires that the Mayor is not offworld, he's still on Tattoine, overseeing Boba's intended demise and conspiring with the Pykes (Fennec sorts them all out in a brutal conclusion).  The other crime families were also in on it - people really didn't like Boba Fett at all, although I missed why.  

Grogu and Mando are reunited, ready for their next series of adventures, and no surprises, the back seat in Mando's Naboo fighter is just the right size for Grogu (who loves the turbo boost button).  No date yet on when they'll be back on our screens.

And if you watch right to the very end of the episode - even past the credits - you'll discover another twist in the story:  Cobb Vanth was not killed by Cad Bane's shot - it wounded his shoulder, and he's now recovering in Boba's bacta tank.  I was particularly pleased by this: although the armour belonged to Boba Fett, at least Cobb Vanth was putting it to use in upholding the law.  Boba, even with his armour, was not as interesting and had less character that Cobb Vanth had without the armour, and giving it back to Boba seemed like a complete waste.

So, that's the first series of Boba Fett wrapped up.  If I had to compare the series overall to anything else, I would probably compare it to Forrest Gump (which seems a little strange, I know).  Both stories follow the title character through important events, meeting people who are more famous, better known and more interesting, and then telling the story from that character's perspective.  

Boba Fett the character (and Boba Fett the series) was definitely better when the focus was on the characters around him, which, to be fair, was exactly how it was in the original films.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 6, Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I mentioned last week that Star Wars has a very, very wide extended universe.  Fans have watched the films so many times that they know all the tiny details of each scene, and whenever any part of that scene resurfaces in a later film or episode, there's a thrill of recognition.  Our resident Star Wars superfan was almost bouncing all the way through this episode.

Last time, the episode focused on the Mandalorian (and was all the better for it).  Mando's story has been running at a tangent to Boba Fett's, and the overlap has been fascinating.  Well, this epiosde runs another tangent, as most of the episode is spent following Mando's quest to see Grogu, affectionately known as Baby Yoda.  As one fan put it on social media, "The Book Of Boba Fett, featuring a cameo from Boba Fett."  Boba gets more screen time than the previous episode (that's easy, he wasn't even in the last episode), but still has nothing to say.

If I have one criticism of this episode, it's that the first half lacks pace.  Maybe that's the point: the Mandalorian is in a rush to see Grogu, give him his gift, and get back to fighting in Boba Fett's army.  However, Jedi have never been in a hurry, often to their frustration of their visitors.  For example, do you remember the time Luke went to find Yoda on Dagobah, and Yoda gave him the runaround for several hours?  If you do, you were in for a real treat in this episode:  it's all here - training remotes, force jumps, force lifts; frogs; and that extended backpack run.  The only thing missing was lifting rocks with the Force, but I suppose the frogs will count instead.  I'm not going to cover it in detail, but a lot of time is spent on content that could have been cut out (although the real fans would probably have wanted to see it).

Mando is directed to a landing area by R2-D2 (yes), then made to wait to see Grogu, while watching super-sized ant droids build Luke Skywalker's School for Gifted Children.  Eventually, he is received on Luke's planet by none other than Ahsoka Tano (the cameos cameos come thick and fast and are all excellent).  She is as inconveniently cryptic as all Jedi are,  but does take Mando to where he can see Grogu in training with Luke.  Mando decides not to talk to Grogu directly  - after all, Grogu is training to be a Jedi and not to form attachments, and a visit from Mando wouldn't help this - but does leave the beskar gift that the Armourer forged for the Foundling Grogu in the last episode.  Interestingly, Grogu does seem to recognise that Mando had been on the planet, as his spacecraft departs for Tattoine.

And back on Tattoine, we see Boba Fett (you might remember him, even though he wasn't featured at all in the last episode).  In this episode, Boba manages about 10 seconds of screen time, but doesn't actually say anything.  I'm sure this was great in the original films, when he was all dark and mysterious, but it just comes off as strange now that we've met him, heard him and seen him without his helmet.  Without the mystery, he really is very boring.  Even the Mayor's assistant (the sycophant) gets a line, and it's a typical zinger.  Fennec Shand lists the recent events which lead them to believe war is coming, including Mayor Mok Shaiz leaving the planet...  the assistant comments, "It was a scheduled vacation, actually."  Is that like a work event?

Mando steals the scene, again, by simply walking into Boba's palace and delivering a couple of lines of dialogue - he knows where he can raise an army if it's needed.

And where from?  Mos Pelgo, the small town marshalled by Cobb Vanth (also known as The Marshall), who keeps peace and is your standard sheriff.  Mando and Cobb have a debate about the residents of Mos Pelgo joining Boba's army of recruits and fighting against the Pyke spice runner Syndicate.  Their discussion concludes with Cobb Vanth saying that he'll discuss it with the residents of 'Freetown', and Mando heads back to Boba Fett's palace.  No sooner has he left, than a dark, mysterious stranger walks in from across the desert.  Younger viewers will miss all the references to classic Westerns, but they're all here...

...and viewers of Clone Wars will recognise the mysterious stranger before he's even lifted his head to reveal his face: this is none other than the sharp-shooter Cad Bane.  Cad warns Cobb away from joining Mando in his battle against the Syndicate; Cobb is taking it all under advisement.  However, Cobb's immature and trigger-happy deputy takes exception, and pulls his gun.  Cad Bane shoots the deputy and Cobb before either get a shot off... things aren't looking good for either of them.

And things are going from bad to worse:  a few episodes ago, Boba Fett went into town to advise Garsa Fwip (owner of The Sanctuary bar) that her bar was under his protection.  Well, that works out well, as the Pyke Syndicate leave a bomb in the crowded bar, and promptly blow up the whole establishment.  Battle lines have been drawn (and with only one episode left, they'd better get on with it).

The episode concludes with a return to Luke and Grogu on their idyllic little planet.  Luke's school has been built, and Luke presents Grogu with a choice:  he can either take the gift from Mando (a very cute, Grogu-sized garment made of beskar chain mail) or from Luke (Yoda's old lightsaber).  Is it fair to make Grogu choose?  Can Grogu choose both?  I suppose the Mandalorian Way and the Path of the Jedi are ideologically opposed - Jedi are supposed to avoid and refuse emotional attachment, while for Mandalorians, loyalty and unity are essential.  One thing's for sure, if Grogu knew how Luke Skywalker's School for Gifted Children works out (with Kylo Ren), then he'd be running for the hills.

Speculation around the final episode...

Is Cobb Vanth actually dead?

Will Cad Bane appear again?

Will the Hutt twins make a return?

Are there any more cameos that could possibly be included next week?  R2-D2, Ahsoka Tano, The Mandalorian (and the other Mandalorians), Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Cad Bane, Cobb Vanth... even the Jawas and the skull of the Krayt Dragon that the Mandalorian helped to kill...

Will Boba Fett actually say something?

Stay tuned... 

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 5, Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

One of Star Wars' greatest strengths is the breadth and depth of its universe.  There are key characters on far-flung planets that are easily recognisable as part of the Star Wars saga, and the films and series play on this extensively (for example, the unexpected arrival of Lando Calrissian in the Rise of Skywalker; or the appearance of Jabba's torture droid in the kitchens in the previous episode of Boba Fett).  These characters have their own lives, and we see the small part that intersects with the main plot.  That's how Boba Fett's series came to be - he had barely a handful of lines in the films, but here he is with his own series.

Except it seems like the series is starting to run out of new material.  He escaped the Sarlaac pit, and... he met with the Tusken raiders... hijacked a train... reclaimed his ship and killed the Sarlaac...  thank you very much and good night, roll credits.

Charging into Episode 5, with only a few brief hints (which were enough) in previous episodes, is a far more intriguing character, with a far more interesting back-story:  The Mandalorian.  It is unfortunate for Boba Fett that he's been completely upstaged by a much better character - on his own show.  Boba doesn't make a single appearance in this episode, and he isn't missed.  His deadpan, emotionless expression is just not enough, and without his armour and gadgets he's just not interesting.  He was at his best in the films talking sass to Darth Vader and flying around with his jetpack; the writers here just haven't done anything more with him (and he's spent half the series without his gadgets).

The Mandalorian, meanwhile, has plenty of sass, weapons and gadgets.  Within his first few minutes on the screen, he's pulled out a bounty hunter's tracker device; then a puck; then the darksaber - and then, when surrounded by thugs and told to consider his options carefully, replies, "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold."  Ah yes, Mandalorian sass.  Boba Fett, pay attention.

The episode is 99% Mandalorian - even the opening music has been remixed to include the recognisable Mandalorian riff.  We see how he's returned to operating as a bounty hunter, but still misses Grogu (Baby Yoda).  He meets up with The Armourer, and the last of the Mandalorians (apparently they're down to just six in total), Paz Viszla -- the extremely heavily armoured one.  Mando asks for the beskar spear to be melted down and turned into something useful for Grogu.  We don't see what it is, but I expect we'll find out soon.  Paz Viszla believes that Mando isn't worthy to carry the darksabre, which Mando claims is getting heavier to handle every time he wields it.  The Armourer gives him a training session in how to fight with a darksabre; Paz Viszla has other ideas and fights Mando in order to take it from him.  The fight doesn't have the typical flow of a lightsaber battle - these are two heavily armoured combatants, not a pair of Jedi in light robes - and loses nothing for it.  It concludes with The Armourer forcing Mando to admit that he has removed his helmet; as such, he is no longer a true Mandalorian, and must be expelled from the order.

I don't see that making much difference to him.  

He receives a distress call from Tatooine (where else?) and sets off on a transport ship, in one of the funniest scenes in the episode.  He's asked to check all his weapons before boarding, and despite weapons being part of his religion, he complies, and unloads most of what he's wearing into a security case.  blaster; knife; wrist rockets; grappling hook... the list goes on.  And, in contrast to Boba, who really is nothing without his gadgets, we see how Mando is still a strong character without all his weapons.  Sitting on the passenger transport, he shares a moment with a young Rodian, before looking at the knotted kerchief, which has a shape similar to Grogu.  He misses him.

The landing on Tatooine is uneventful (if comical... Mando retrieves all his weapons without incident, the valet droid lives to serve another day), and Mando makes his way to his old friend Peli Motto.  Peli featured in the Mandalorian's own series, when she carried out repairs on his Razor Crest, and looked after Grogu while Mando dealt with a bounty hunter who was looking for them.  Well, Mando's back, and Peli remembers him and his old ship... he's looking for a replacement, and she has just the thing.

Watching this with my son, we were both convinced it was going to be a podracer.  Those twin engines at the front and the cockpit at the back (covered by a huge tarpaulin) worried us both; thankfully, we were wrong - it's an old Naboo single-seat fighter, of the type which young, chirpy Anakin Skywalker flew.  Fortunately, this is an upgraded model - with significant improvements.  And - note - the droid port on top has been removed, and has been covered with a clear glass dome, leaving room behind the pilot which is suitable for carrying a small passenger, probably.

Yes, Mando flies it through Beggar's Canyon (the podracing track); yes, he tries spinning ("That's a neat trick..."  sigh) but this is definitely Mando's ship, not Anakin's.  He carries out a flypast of the transport ship that dropped him off - the young Rodian is still on board, and Mando gives him a nod before executing a range of high-speed maneouvres close to the transport.

This draws the attention of the local traffic police (in X-Wings, naturally).  We did a double-take at one of the pilots in the X-Wing (has anybody here seen the Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience?).  This is a hilarious scene - written purely for the laughs - "Didn't you used to fly a Razor Crest?"  "No, officer, you must have me confused with someone else."  This lasts until Mando gives up and presses his turbo-boost button (one of Pelo's many modifications) and goes charging off into the distance.  "Okay, see you."

Mando returns to Pelo on the ground; she mentions that someone's looking for him.  Who?  Who else?  Fennec, who wants to enlist him into Boba's mercenaries.  Mando agrees to fight without payment... but first:  "I got to pay a visit to a little friend."  I wonder who?  And I wonder if he'll be seen next week?

The main character in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was Brutus, who was better developed and the hero of the story; this episode of The Book Of Boba Fett didn't feature the title character, was actually the next episode of The Mandalorian, and was much, much better for it.

*I don't read other people's reviews before I write my own; I just borrow the images from fans' sites.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 4 Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

As we saw last time, the Boba Fett of the past (bouty hunter loner) is now homeless.  The Kintan Striders (the Nikto speed bikers) have burned down the Tusken camp where he was living, and killed all the members of his tribe.  All he has left is his trusty bantha, which he rides across the sand, in search of a new (or an old) home.  He returns to Jabba's Palace, which is too heavily guarded to be attacked.  However, while he's settling down for the night - campfire and roasted meat - he finds a woman lying in the sand.  There's been some rocket fire, or some flares have been launched, and Boba, in the near darkness, finds an unconscious woman.  You'll need to watch this in near darkness too, or with the brightness turned up, as the producers decided to shoot this at night with the barest of illumination.  Boba takes her to a doctor's... well, she needs modifications and cybernetic implements, and since the Borg aren't coming to Tatooine today, Boba finds a back-street modifications expert (side note - Picard Season 2 is on Prime starting in March).

In the better-lit doctor's surgery, (or 'mod-parlour'), we can see the the woman is Fennec Shand, who will become Boba's trusted second-in-command.  Fennec undergoes significant modification - the number of wires, pistons, pipes and so on inside her show a serious degree of fixing and replacing which was needed after taking a blaster at close range.

Fennec has a bounty on her head, and she assumes that Boba is going to collect, but he has other ideas.  He wants her to help him get his revenge on the Nikto speed bikers, and to do that, he wants her help in retrieving his Firespray gunship from Jabba's palace (now occupied by Bib Fortuna).  She agrees.

Two are better than one, and the two of them are able - in a long and entertaining sequence - to sneak into the lower regions of Jabba's palace.  The kitchen scene is particularly funny and very true to the feel of the original trilogy of films - Jabba's assistant droid ("You are a protocol droid?  Yes or no will do?" has been appointed head chef, while there's a distant relative of General Grievous on chopping and slicing.  The architecture and characters of Jabba's palace are very well executed and re-create the atmosphere of Return of the Jedi.  

Boba acts as a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain - he wants his ship, he wants his armour, he wants revenge, and he wants to set up his own tribe ('Gotra') and run the crime scene in Mos Espa.

And his shopping list is taking shape:  he and Fennec seize his Firespray Gunship - none other than Slave I.  It's smaller than I remember it, but given that we didn't see much of it in Return of the Jedi, I'll go with it.  It's still airworthy, and Boba and Fennec are able to retrieve it without too much difficulty (Fennec is a crack shot).  However, siezing it and getting away with it are two different things - Boba can't find the gate or the way out (it reminded me of Kirk trying to steal the Enterprise from Spacedock).

Fennec decides to stick around, Boba, "Has a few scores to settle."  And what scores!  After annihilating the Nikto speed riders as if he were merely swatting flies, he goes back to settle a very old, very large score - the Sarlaac.  This is a great scene - the wreckage of Jabba's barge and support craft still litter the crater of the Sarlaac pit - nicely done.  Not only does he want his revenge on the Sarlaac, but he thinks it holds his Beskar armour (not realising that it was the Jawas who stole it while he was unconscious).  Is he after revenge on the Sarlaac just for its attempt to digest him?  Or is he primarily after the armour?  I think it's the latter, but he can certainly hold a grudge and it might just be more revenge.

Either way, the Sarlaac gets a sonic torpedo in the neck (nice sound effects, consistent with Attack of the Clones) and will probably have indigestion for a thousand years.

Boba braves the Sarlaac's acid-filled stomach to search for his armour - and comes out looking even worse than when he went it.  Fennec:  "What you need is a bacta tank."  Put it on the list of 'needs'.

If two are better than one, then a tribe would be even better, and Boba and Fennec decide to form an alliance.  We see a brief flashback scene where Boba kills Bib Fortuna and takes Jabba's throne.

In the present, we see Boba's scars are healed (on the outside at least) and he's ready to start taking full charge of the situation in Mos Espa.  His gang of biker-riding Mods (see, the name stuck) are patrolling the streets, and he's going to start showing his face around town.  One person who isn't too pleased is Black Krrsantan, the giant black Wookie who tried to kill Boba.  Boba returned him to the Twins; the Twins told Boba to keep him.  No master, no aim, no self-esteem and decidedly unwanted, he's now stewing quietly at the local bar.  One wrong move and he takes objection to a group of gamblers, throws them around the room, and then holds one up by his arms.  The barkeeper, Garsa Fwip, tries to persuade Krrsantan to let the gambler go; she'll cancel his bar tab if he does.  He declines - the poor gambler loses his arm - he drops a bag of coins and walks out.  Better let the Wookie win.  Boba recruits him into his ragtag group of mercenaries.

Boba hosts a meeting of the local crime lords; as the Daimyo, he's in charge and he's looking to get everybody together to tackle the Pykes.  Each of the crime lords has tried to overthrow Jabba and Bib Fortuna, but have each been unsuccessful.  Boba proposes an alliance; when they decline, he points out that they're all sitting on the trap door to the Rancor's cave.  All except Boba, naturally.  They still decline - they have no advantage in supporting Boba, so he permits them to leave, providing they remain neutral in the conflict.

As the crime lords leave, there is something familiar in the background music that plays, suggesting the impending appearance of a well-know character, just as Fennec completes the line, "Credits can buy muscle, if you know where to look."

A good episode, plenty of story development (mostly focused in the past this time), and with a very, very clear message that good things are going to happen with Boba's credits.  Very excited for next week's episode.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett Episode 3, Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

Boba Fett has always been a loner.  

Well, since his father died, at least.  Before then, he was surrounded by thousands (or millions) of copies of himself, all growing and ageing faster than him (and we see this briefly in this episode's flashback scenes).  But since the Clone Wars, he's become largely self-sufficient and independent (up until the point where he recovered from the Sarlacc pit and became dependent on the Tuskens).  Boba with his armour, weapons and gadgets was a solo (Solo?) bounty hunter who could look after himself.

This episodes flashback scenes look at Boba after he had become a fully-accepted member of the Tusken tribe.  He met with the Pykes (who run the train we saw last time) to collect the protection money - only to discover the Nikto riders had already claimed the protection money for the Tuskens' region.  The Nikto riders are the same gang of thugs we saw in the Mandalorian series recently, who go around terrorising the resident tribes on Tattoine, and who mark their territory with a graffitied pair of horns on a suitable wall or tent... and they have been to 'visit' the Tuskens while Boba was meeting with the Pykes - they've slaughtered the Tuskens and destroyed the camp.

Boba the independent bounty hunter has changed, and in the present, Boba is clearly in need of support - something like a small army of gangsters, mobsters or mercenaries.  Every sequence filmed in Jabba's palace emphasises how alone he is - he has Fennec Shand, his trusted lieutenant, and he has his droids, but that's it.  No friends, no band playing music...  he doesn't even have a Rancor in the cellar.

He has a steady stream of visitors, and the latest is Lortha Peel, a water-monger from the Worker's District of Mos Espa.   He tells him to his face, "No-one respects you," and explains that he's had water stolen by a gang of youths with 'modified body parts.'  No, these aren't the Borg, sorry.  Boba goes out to investigate - in the middle of the night, as you would - and finds the group warming themselves by a fire.  He tells them to pay Lortha for the water they stole - at a reasonable price, and not the over-inflated price he was selling it for.  They explain they have no work because there is no work, and Boba gives them all jobs working for him.  A small gang of youths who ride brightly coloured speeder bikes and have mods in their bodies.  People are calling them various things, but it seems obvious to me that they're meant to resemble 1960s mods.

Mods

Also Mods.

And the brightly coloured Vespas they're riding?  I'm sorry, but the only answer here is toys.  These bikes have been designed to sell as toys to go with the action figures.  There's been widespread criticism of these primary-coloured vehicles on a dusty, poor, sandy, harsh planet, and I agree that it's totally out of place on Tattoine.  There are plenty of other planets where these would fit in (Coruscant would be a start), but not here.  And all I could think of was this unfortunate bunch of short-lived Daleks, who were nicknamed, among other things, the Crayola Crew.

Dr Who meets the Power Ranger Daleks.

Not long after they were introduced, the producers of Doctor Who were back-pedalling rapidly to bring the Daleks back to the more measured tones and sleeker bodies they were famous for.

I digress:  Boba hires his band of mercenaries and they return to his palace, speeder bikes and all - which works out well for him, as he's attacked while he's sleeping.  Remember last time, when the Hutt Twins warned him to sleep lightly?  Well, he's quietly having flashbacks of Kamino (the watery planet where he lived with his father and the clones) when the Wookie gladiator Black Krrsantan comes barging in with a very rude awakening.

The Mods (I can't find an official name for them) come running to Boba's defence - he's caught defenceless with no armour or weapons - and show an array of puny weapons that are really not making much impact on the giant Wookie.  The blaster they used was so weak that they could have just shouted, "Pew! Pew!" instead.  In the end, Fennec triggers the trapdoor and the Wookie is unceremoniously dumped into the Rancor pit (with no Rancor).

The Twins come to Boba's palace (is it Jabba's?  Whichever) to bring Boba tribute.  Boba offers them the wayward Wookie, on the understanding that they release their claim to Jabba's estate.  They're leaving the planet anyway; and the Wookie is turned loose.  And the tribute they bring to Boba?  His very own Rancor!  See, he's starting to make the place look like home.

Boba has had enough of the mayor's political maneouvres and goes into town - full armour, and escorted by the mods.  The mayor's assistant (who is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters) stalls Boba and Fennec at the front desk, disappears into the back office and locks the door behind him, before making a run for it.  There's a cliche-ridden overly-long chase between the assistant and the mods (they narrowly dodge a protocol droid; they topple an astromech; they smash through a large canvas portrait of Jabba) before the assistant smashes broadside into a cart of fruit.  There's nothing new here and it seems overly long.  Boba jetpacks in and asks the assistant where the mayor is:  he's gone to meet with the Pykes.

The Pykes were the people on the 'train' last time, taking sniper shots at the Tuskens - wearing their golden masks.  Boba dispatches the mods, and one of them (they probably have individual names but I've missed them) sees a dozen or more disembarking at the space port.  This is clearly the start of an invasion and a power grab.

How will it end?  As Boba says in a comical scene, "Keep an eye on them."

A solid episode; more happening than last time, but the Mods are like Star Wars Marmite - you either love them or you hate them.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 2

CONTAINS SPOILERS 

The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 2

Boba Fett has clearly had a tough life.  Living in the desert in his Long Johns is no mean feat - at least his armoured suit probably came with air conditioning.  

We join him in Episode 2 picking up the pieces of his awkward and disjointed attempt to develop a working relationship with the mayor.  You will recall from the first episode that the mayor's representative did verbal gymnastics to persuade Boba the he should be the one paying tribute to the mayor, not the other way around.  This was always going to be a problem, and the story wastes no time in developing this further.  Boba visits the mayor (armour and helmet on, blaster in hand), and the mayor explains that the territory of Mos Espa now belongs to the Twins.

The Twins are Jabba the Hutt's twin cousins, who are (somehow) carried around by a troop of seat bearers.  There's a comedy moment where you realise that the seat bearers really are suffering in the heat, struggling to hold up the Hutts.  Boba and the Hutts trade some not-so-veiled threats and you know that this could develop into a long-running feud.  "Sleep lightly, bounty hunter."  

The flashback period in this episode deals with the Tuskens' struggles with a hover train that periodically travels through their territory, taking pot shots at them and randomly killing the Tuskens or their Banthas, or both.  The rest of the episode is a series of stitched-together cliches from a number of genres:  Boba goes to the local bar (call it what you will) where a biker gang are trashing the pool table and the jukebox, making a nuisance of themselves and intimidating the regulars.  Boba beats them up and steals their bikes - in this case, speeder bikes.  Great to see speeder bikes in the series, they really help set the story in the Star Wars galaxy.  

Boba trains the Tuskens in the way of the speeder bike (this is go, this is stop, this is backwards).  You almost wonder how Luke and Leia got to grips with them so quickly.  Comedy moments follow as the Tuskens learn which control is forwards, and which is reverse.  It's genuinely funny, but it's generically funny, as physical comedy tends to be (it's not a 'laugh it up, fuzzball' or 'who are you calling scruffy' moment).

Forwards!  No, the other forwards!

There then follows the pursuit of the train by Boba and the Tuskens on their trusty steeds.  This is classic cowboy western material, with blasters instead of shotguns and speeder bikes instead of horses.  Again there are some funny comedy moments, in particular the point where one of the Tuskens gets into the train and fights his way through it.  He engages one of the Pykes who's climbed through one of the train's skylights, drags him down, then a few seconds later replaces him with an unmistakeable message - all clear.  Physical comedy is often based on entrances and exits (think of any farce set in a hotel or a long corridor - people entering and exiting through one or more doors... it's a classic) and the exit of the Pyke and the entrance of the Tusken are in that genre.

Sure enough, the train driver (a droid, and a surprisingly shiny droid at that) tries to outrun the Tuskens... that doesn't work, Boba arrives in the driver's compartment; the droid makes a comical exit and Boba brings the train (yes, he even yells, "Stop the train!") to a grinding halt.

The Tuskens sieze the cargo - this is a classic train robbery - and tells the train owners that they must pay a fee to travel through the Tuskens' territory from now on.

One of the Pykes, evicted from the train.

This happy ending means that Boba is accepted into the tribe.  He is welcomed into the tribe with a fire-side dance, where is given a gift - a newt or a lizard or something, which jumps into his face and up his nostrils.  Peter Parker was bitten by a spider; Bruce Banner was zapped by gamma rays:  Boba Fett gets a newt up the nostrils.  It sends him off into a trance and he ends up wandering the desert, having flashbacks of the Sarlacc pit and finding a tree in the desert.  He siezes a branch from the tree, and returns to the Tusken camp, weary, dehydrated and still wearing his trusty Long Johns.  But no more, for the Tuskens now give him several layers of dark itchy material (in the hot weather?) and carve the branch into a stick.  He is now welcomed to the tribe as a fully paid-up member, complete with dark clothes and big stick.

It's a by-the-numbers story, where the 'present' is far more interesting than the 'flashback'.  Here's hoping for some progress in both timelines.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

The Book of Boba Fett: Episode 1

CONTAINS SPOILERS

The Book Of Boba Fett, Episode 1: Stranger in a Strange Land

One of Star Wars' most famous supporting characters, Boba Fett had barely a handful of lines in the original trilogy but had an extensive back-story retroactively created in Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. His story ended dramatically in Episode 6 Return of the Jedi, with his ignominious head-first plunge into the mouth of the Sarlaac Pit on Tattoine, but he was mysteriously resurrected for the new Mandalorian series.  In fact, Boba's plight has been discussed repeatedly and at length over the past 40 years:  did he escape, or was he slowly digested over a thousand years?  And if he did escape, how did he do it?

Episode 1 of the new Disney+ series, The Book of Boba Fett, starts with Boba in a bacta chamber (lying horizontally, compared to Luke and Anakin Skywalker who were vertical in theirs).  He's suffering flashbacks in his dreams, and well over half of the episode time is spent in flashback, which is helpful as the current story is set several years after the Sarlaac pit.

Boba blasted his way out of the Sarlaac Pit using his wrist-mounted flamethrowers, and clambered his way through the desert sand, breaking through the surface of the sand exhausted and depleted.  And vulnerable. The Jawas find him first, and strip him of all his armour, weapons and gadgets. The Tusken raiders - the sand people - find him next, revive him and drag him off to their camp.  So, this is an origin (or re-origination) story, which reminded me of Batman Begins - the hero spends most of his time without his suit of armour.  His time with the Tusken raiders is typical desert prison material - there's no point trying to escape when the captors hold the water supply.  Nevertheless, Boba is determined to try - even after being betrayed by another captive, a red-coloured Rodian (like Greedo).

Events take a twist while Boba and his fellow prisoner are taken into the desert to dig for water.  Water on Tattoine is found in organisms that look like sea urchins and which hold water, and Boba is commanded to start digging for these urchins which live just below the surface of the sand.  The Tusken who is in charge is a youngling, a juvenile who needs to earn the respect of the camp, and who has been given prison duty to learn desert craft.

The Rodian, while digging for water urchins, uncovers a large, dangerous six-legged lizard creature.  After a dramatic and well-executed battle scene, the lizard makes short work of the Rodian, and starts pursuing the young Tusken.  Boba intervenes, leaping onto the back of the creature and using the chain that was previously shackling him to the Rodian to strangle the lizard.  The lizard falls down dead, and the Tusken lives to tell the tale.

Well, he would if he was an honest Tusken. Instead, he steals the credit and tells the rest of his tribe that he killed the creature.  He shows the tribe the spoils of 'his' victory - the head of the creature - and regales them with with details of the fight.  The action here is excellent - for a character who is covered head-to-toe in inscrutable costume, the young raider has a youthful animation - bobbing his head excitedly and rocking his shoulders with excitement and delight.

One of the older members of the sand people can see through this little Deception, and again without words or expression conveys this extremely well.  He hands Boba one of the water urchins to drink, knowing full well that there was no way that the young raider slew the lizard, and it must have been Boba's doing.

Boba in the present is a man who carries the wounds of his past.  This is not the same ruthless character who was Darth Vader's favourite Bounty hunter, and he wants to change the way things are run on Tattoine.  He has not recovered from his time in the Sarlaac pit, or his time with the sand people; as he explains: "The dreams have started again."  He sleeps in a bacta tank; his face and chest are layers of scar tissue; he trusts his lieutenant, Fennec Shand, but nobody else.

He has taken over Jabba's palace, which has not changed since the Hutt was in charge. The palace looks exactly the same as it did in Return of the Jedi, and the crew have used some of the same camera angles from the original film (but without any of the fanfare that accompanied the nostalgia shots in The Force Awakens  for example).  This understated approach works well, and underlines the fact that this might be the same building but it's not the same place.  Jabba's palace was full and noisy; Boba's residence is empty and quiet.  As he quietly remarks to Fennec at one point, "We're going to need a protocol droid."

Boba's entire approach to running his business on Tatooine is completely different to Jabba, and he says so. However, not everybody is keeping up with the regime change.  Citizens of Mos Espa still bring him tribute; local businesses are still paying him protection money and the local criminals are out to assassinate him.  Others think that his new ideas make him look weak, and expect him to pay tribute - the scene with the mayor's messenger are equally tense, awkward and hilarious.

He visits Mos Espa - a large, crowded city - on foot, helmet off. I guess when you've gone through the experiences with the Tuskens in the Tatooine desert, you realise that the man is more than just the armour he wears and the weapons he carries.  There follows a failed assassination attempt, and an impressive extended fight scene, where Boba and Fennec are ambushed by a team of well-trained soldiers, and need the assistance of their Gamorrian bodyguards (the same species that Jabba had as his bodyguards).  

This is a new, different Boba Fett, but this is still classic Star Wars, and I am excited to see how the Book of Boba Fett unfolds (weekly on Wednesdays on Disney+).

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT EPISODE LIST

Episode 1 Stranger in a Strange Land
Episode 2 The Tribes of Tatooine
Episode 3 The Streets of Mos Espa
Episode 4 The Gathering Storm
Episode 5 Return of the Mandalorian
Episode 6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger
Episode 7 In The Name of Honor

 

Film Review: Star Wars The Last Jedi

I loved it.

My first impressions from the first few minutes was that this was a retread of Empire Strikes Back.  The First Order have tracked down the resistance base on a remote planet, and the resistance are trying to evacuate before the First Order land troops and... oh, wait a minute, there is no shield, no cannon and the base is going to be obliterated from space.  And things seem to go well for the resistance, as they are able to stall long enough to get almost everybody safely aboard their cruiser and off to safety.  But not before Poe Dameron (X-Wing ace turned hot-headed insubordinate comedian pilot) decides to sacrifice the entire bomber fleet just to destroy a Dreadnaught.  Let's here it for Pyrrhic victories!

Worse still, the First Order have developed a way to track the Resistance through hyperspace: running away is not a way to escape, and hyperspace fuel is in limited supply.

At the end of the previous film, Rey had successfully tracked down Luke Skywalker, and much of this film covers her efforts to persuade him to join the Resistance.  So, we have space battles interspersed with the story of a Jedi master and a young Jedi-wannabe/trainee on a remote, green, damp planet.  Like I said, I kept recalling Empire Strikes Back throughout this film. I haven't looked online to see if anybody has listed all the parallels between The Last Jedi and The Empire Strikes back, but I saw a few (and I'm only a casual movie-goer).  Luke Skywalker has traded his youthful naivety and enthusiasm for jaded cynicism.  The way he casually lobs his lightsabre over his shoulder is both funny and tragic at the same time.

My only niggle with the film is the amount of time spent on the story with Rey and Luke.  The other storylines were far more exciting and just downright interesting; Luke and Rey - less so.  Luke goes for a walk.  Luke catches a fish.  Luke wanders around his island.  Yawn.

The plot makes a lot of sense, and there's a direct causal link between the Admiral and her tight-lipped need-to-know authoritarian attitude, conflicting with Poe Dameron's "we have a right to know what's going on" and the subsequent demise of the resistance fleet.  If she'd told Poe what her plan was, he wouldn't have sent Finn off to find the code breaker, who wouldn't have subsequently told the First Order about the resistance's plans and their cloaking frequency (or whatever it was).  If they'd all stayed home, sat tight and waited it out, they might all have survived.  I'm not blaming him or her, but it seems like the two characters managed to deliberately out-hard-head each other - aiming to be the most stubborn character and the one who wins, until neither of them do.

Some of my favourite aspects of the film is how the script addresses some of the criticisms that were levelled at the first of the new films (The Force Awakens).

"Finn should have had that fight with Captain Phasma, not with some random stormtrooper with a cool elbow mounted weapon."  Cue large-scale, violent, hand-to-hand fight between Finn and Phasma.

"Snoke is too much like the Emperor and there's no real explanation for him."  Kill him off - now who saw that coming?

"More Poe Dameron!" - definitely fixed in this episode.  He kicks off the action at the start; we see more of his character throughout this film (borderline arrogant, but still funny) and he commits mutiny.  This is not a replacement for Han Solo; this is a whole new character who has his own ideas, opinions and history.

"Do something different!"  - I saw most of the parallels between The Force Awakens and A New Hope.  In fact, it felt like a rehash of the story with new faces. As I mentioned earlier, The Last Jedi has elements of The Empire Strikes Back in it, but those elements have been rearranged to produce a fresh story (and no, I didn't for one second think "It's salt!", I knew full well it was meant to be snow).

All-in-all, I'm excited for the next installment; I'm looking forwards to the Han Solo movie and I feel even more optimistic for the future of the Star Wars saga.

Some of my other film reviews:
Cloverfield
Inception
The Green Hornet
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
Transformers: Bumblebee
Transformers: One
Tron
Wing Commander
Pixels