How did Obi-Wan Kenobi turn out?

On May 27, the next series based on the Star Wars movie universe started on the Disney+ streaming service. This time the project is dedicated to one of the main characters of the prequel trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Of course, the most attractive thing about the novelty is the return of Ewan McGregor to the beloved role of many.

And it seems that his participation is the main, if not the only, advantage of the series. After all, the rest of the first two episodes do not offer anything new and interesting. And perhaps even break the canon of the franchise.

Classic characters return in Obi-Wan Kenobi

It's been 10 years since the events of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan Kenobi has taken up residence on the planet Tatooine and discreetly watches over the young Luke Skywalker. He has to hide his powers as the Grand Inquisitor and his lieutenants hunt down Jedi survivors across the galaxy. Moreover, one subordinate is literally obsessed with the desire to find exactly Obi-Wan.

Meanwhile, Leia - Luke's sister - is growing up in the family of Senator Organa. An energetic girl refuses to obey the rules, and one day this leads to tragedy. Then the adoptive father of the child turns to Obi-Wan for help.

Game series based on "Star Wars", as well as similar Marvel Cinematic Universe Projects (both of which, by the way, are coming out on Disney +) are strange works. Each of them is an important event for fans, expanding the canon of their favorite story. But almost all these series are built according to one, not the best principle: the audience is given the simplest plot, scoring maximum time with fan service - references that simply delight connoisseurs.

So, "The Mandalorian"Introduced a completely new character and talked about local conflicts. But in the finale of the second season, they still returned to Luke Skywalker. "The Book of Boba Fett" in the first series seemed to be a kind of crime drama in a fantastic setting. But then it turned into an addition to the same "Mandalorian": in the last episodes, the main character almost does not appear.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" in this regard could be more honest: the audience is initially offered a favorite hero who lives on a familiar, if not boring, planet. Moreover, they announced in advance that Hayden Christensen will return to the image of Darth Vader. But there is a feeling that they went too far even here. The line of young Leah is the most strange and unnecessary decision of the scriptwriters.

As if the authors at the last moment remembered that, according to the canon, Luke was not closely acquainted with the future mentor to A New Hope. And they decided to replace him with a sister. It's just hard to imagine that the ten-year-old heroine would also not remember the character who helped her. In A New Hope, she says in a message, "You once served my father." This is hardly a better reminder than a personal meeting and joint adventures. Although, perhaps, later this oddity will be explained.

In general, it seems that the creators of modern Star Wars are afraid to step aside and introduce some fundamentally new heroes. After all, even in the role of an antagonist here is the Grand Inquisitor, who has already flashed in the Clone Wars. Pleases only one minor villain, played by a very famous artist - we'd better not write about it, so as not to spoil the impression.

The visuals and the plot are not remembered

In terms of the picture, "Obi-Wan Kenobi" also does not offer anything interesting. In The Mandalorian, at least the return to practical special effects pleased: baby Yoda, fortunately, was made a doll, and not exclusively computer graphics. But then the Star Wars series became a collection of varied but equally artificial projections on panels in the studio. Heroes are surrounded by familiar aliens and painted animals.

So if you take individual short scenes from any of the three Disney+ series in the franchise, you simply won’t be able to distinguish them. Hope only for Andor, in which will returnAndor Is the First Star Wars Show for Disney That ‘Doesn’t Lean’ on StageCraft / IGN to real scenery.

But even that wouldn't be such a problem if the story wasn't too slow. The season will have only six episodes, two have already been shown. And during this time there were impermissibly few interesting events. Perhaps all the series will be devoted to one small story, which could be put into a TV movie almost without loss.

Obi-Wan Kenobi delights with Ewan McGregor

Hayden Christensen has only been shown briefly so far. Therefore, one can only guess how interesting his return to the image of Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader (and whether the actor has learned to play voice).

But it is already clear that the project is worth watching at least because of the image of McGregor. The prequels showed the development of Obi-Wan: from a young Padawan, he turned into an experienced mentor and one of the strongest Jedi. In the classic trilogy, this hero, played by Alec Guinness, looked already tired. old man.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" allows you to see the transitional period of the character's life. An aging McGregor still retains the energy familiar from the prequels. But now his hero is tormented by the traumas of the past. And it is interesting to observe how the Jedi, who once wanted to help everyone and everyone, prefers to hide in the shadows at the most dangerous moments.

It is not difficult to guess that he will still get involved in a dangerous situation. But even here, the series somewhat ironically conveys his aspirations: the Grand Inquisitor directly says that the Jedi catch themselves - they act too predictably.

I would like to believe that the meeting of Obi-Wan and Anakin will add emotionality to the project. But for now, it remains to look only at McGregor's excellent game and wait for lightsaber fights - this is not spoiled in the first series.

You can say whatever you want, but Star Wars fans will still watch Obi-Wan Kenobi, and many will be satisfied. But sometimes you still want bolder decisions and new stories, and not endless plots about the Skywalkers and Tatooine.