For reasons that may or may not be obvious, Boba Fett may have been recognized as the coolest character in all of the original Star Wars trilogy that couldn’t use the Force. Why was that? He doesn’t say much, having maybe five lines over two movies. A college friend theorized the reason was simply because of all the bounty hunters Darth Vader summoned to find the Millennium Falcon, Fett was the only one Vader singled out for special directions. I even had a Boba Fett action figure among the handful of Star Wars action figures I had. That was more dumb luck as they were all Christmas gifts and I had no real clue who that guy was when I got it.
Well, Boba Fett got his own show, played by Temuera Morrison, a spin-off from the tons of fun The Mandalorian. Can this series be as much fun as its parent show?
Boba Fett, at the end of the second season of The Mandalorian, took over Jabba the Hutt’s old territory on Tattooine with assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) as his right hand and top advisor. Morrison’s Fett made a strong impression in his Mandalorian appearances. Creator Jon Favreau has a good track record there, and the premise at least is intriguing: how Boba Fett survived the Sarlaac Pit, was eventually rescued by Tusken Raiders, and his attempts to become a new kind of crime lord just as other, powerful rivals are looking to take over Jabba’s turf, most notably the Pyke Syndicate. Surely this should be a lot of fun given the track record of many of the people involved behind the scenes, including Star Wars animation guide Dave Filoni and experienced action movie director Robert Rodriguez.
And yet, it doesn’t quite work. There’s a lot the series does to make things better. The Tuskens are given real personality beyond the xenophobic killers they have always been depicted as. Black Krrsantan, a powerful Wookiee bounty hunter from various Star Wars comics, makes his live action debut as a supporting figure, as does one figure from various animated series late in the season. Ming-Na Wen is awesome as always. Fans of various extended universe Star Wars material are bound to find plenty of connections. And Rodruiguez, helming the finale, does know his way around a gunfight as this series, even more than The Mandalorian, gives off strong Western vibes.
I suspect the problem is Boba Fett himself. It is admirable for the series to try to make him a more well-rounded character, and Morrison is not the problem. The problem is Boba Fett has basically just been imagined as some sort of badass, and seeing him try to become a different kind of crime lord, one that uses respect over fear and doing his best to be nonviolent and reasonable when he can isn’t what he has ever been before. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t come across as very interesting. It says quite a bit that the series seems to hit a high point when Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian returns, appearing more in two episodes in a row than Boba Fett himself, and in a series titled The Book of Boba Fett, no less. It does make sense. I doubt Disney would allow the protagonist of a series set in a very black-and-white universe to be some sort of anti-hero at best. He has to, well, good. But what does good mean for a character with so little evidence of being good at all based on his past experiences?
Should I be surprised? I suspect any attempt to make Boba Fett anything more than the quiet killer would be difficult, but I further suspect that Star Wars itself is fairly resistant to anything like nuance. As such, The Book of Boba Fett seems more inclined towards reminding people of other cool stuff from different Star Wars stories. Rancors, Tuskens, returning actors, and a host of other things are all present, but it doesn’t quite add up to much. I can give the show a lot of credit for giving a pair of older actors the leads in an action series as well as giving a more nuanced portrayal to indigenous peoples in the form of the Tuskens. But as a narrative, it’s less compelling. That said, I hope that, like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett becomes more of what it could be once it becomes more clear what this show is perhaps trying to be.
Grade: C+
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