First season – Chapters 1 and 2
The series has started with little force. His first two installments confirm the little interest that exists in getting out of the most obvious formula, not only creatively, but also as a spectator who faces the story.
It has been a weekend surrendered to nostalgia, with the premiere coinciding in time with the fourth installment of ‘Stranger Things’, the new proposal from the universe of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. Accepting that there are people who are nostalgic for sensations they have never experienced, people who are nostalgic for nostalgia itself, for an idealized time in pursuit of show business, we focus on the launch of the first two installments of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, whose immobile spirit responds to an unfathomable creative laziness when something is a trend in the business world, linked to popular culture, without lifting a finger. The public is won in advance, it is practically captive – parents instill it in their children behind closed doors, like football -, as has been seen at the recent American convention of the legacy of George Lucas, where any promotional advance has been applauded with hubbub in the smell of crowds, as if it were a political rally. We do not know if the third season of ‘The Mandalorian’ will be a bombshell or not, but it has already attracted attention in advance, as is usually the case with the Marvel catalog. The fish is sold. Social networks roar protesting nonsense like the CGI without cooking or the diversity of the casting, but there is not as much discussion after the fact about the true quality of the product. In this situation, it is not easy to take risks either, but it should be emphasized that not cutting your brains at all and going for the obvious is not working as it should either. It is urgent to give a return to the fashion of nostalgia. It is unsettling to accept that Tom Cruise’s latest is the greatest representation of escape cinema at the moment.
The first chapter of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, disappointing to the highest degree, already begins by touching the potato of the staunch followers of the galactic saga. The opening phrase “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” is not missing. Next, they offer us a summary of the events described in the first trilogy of ‘Star Wars’, the second released chronologically in time, in case we have completely erased the first episodes commanded by Lucas himself. The execution of the famous Order 66, also known as Clone Protocol 66, lights the fuse. Let us remember that it was a mandate that identified the Jedi as traitors to the Republic and therefore they must be exterminated -as is well told in ‘The Clone Wars’-. The first chapter definitely starts inside a cantina, it would be missing more, where we are presented with the dark intentions of the villains, the best of the lot, the perfidious inquisitors -especially Reva, the Third Sister, played with charisma by the acrobat Moses Ingram. The setting is more baroque than in previous proposals, there is more figuration and extraterrestrial races, with the feeling that in terms of art, anything goes. The same when it comes to inventing different species that coexist on the planet that touches. You can aesthetically mix whatever you want if the result is ‘cool’ (which it is). Immediately Ewan McGregor picks up the weight of the plot on his back, embodying the mythical Obi-Wan, here tired and despondent, hidden in an anonymity that is irretrievably broken. The acting dedication of the protagonist of ‘Trainspotting’ is the best of the lot compared to the failed casting of the girl who plays -spoiler- Princess Leia Organa. Little Vivien Lyra Blair, seen in ‘Blind’ with Sandra Bullock, not only does she not look ten years old -although she is nine in reality-, she is quite below -unlike what happens in the student series-, she does not work physically either in some scenes, especially chase scenes, shot with reluctance. The character is repellent. At this point, the idea of representing an intelligent infant as unbearable has not expired. She can be rebellious, anticipating the character of the role popularized by Carrie Fisher, without falling into false petulance.
A still from ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’.
Despite the fact that little Leia’s performance squeaks, she already has thousands of fans surrendered at her feet, with the criteria of an amoeba. Let’s see if she improves her movement within the shot in future deliveries because in the first two when she appears she corrupts the staging. Deborah Chow (‘The Mandalorian’) signs the address without headaches, assimilating the hackneyed formula of «twilight hero helping helpless creature», as in ‘The Mandalorian’ or ‘The Bad Remittance’. This scheme is common in Lucas’s filmography, and there seems to be no end. The bland show ends on a high with a revelation that we ignore so as not to tarnish the viewing of viewers allergic to the spoiling of information. As expected, the sense of humor of the previous series of the ‘Star Wars’ universe present on Disney + is conspicuous by its absence. As always, the visual fusion between new technologies and the tangible is appreciated. Aliens with rubber, latex and animatronics masks.
The first two chapters of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ are available on Disney +.
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