The Book of Boba Fett Review!

 Alright! Today I'm reviewing the latest Star Wars Disney+ show, a spin-off of The Mandalorian and the dream project of Star Wars fans since the 80s: The Book of Boba Fett, a series that stars Boba Fett, a man that, despite his minimal screentime and lame death, had such a cool costume that he became a fan favorite and his armor served as the cornerstone for three beloved TV shows. 

Boba Fett's appearance in the second season of The Mandalorian lived up to that hype. He was a smooth-talking badass bounty hunter. Excuse my language, but if there's one thing Boba Fett has to be it's badass. He's one of the greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy. Make him cool.

So what does the show do? Get ready for Boba Fett getting involved in local politics and getting some robes from Tusken Raiders. Yay? 

I was not the biggest fan of the first four episodes. Each hit the same beats had the same structure and made zero progress in telling the story. Each Tusken Raider flashback was too long and every plotline involving the local politics was frequently uninteresting. 

The first episode happened and the Tusken Raider flashback was neat, I guess. By the time two episodes had flashbacks, the idea that this was the new Arrow and half of every episode would be a flashback sank in, a feeling which was confirmed by the next two. The local politics weren't interesting enough to warrant half an episode either, and I hated the mayor's liaison with a passion (His comedic timing didn't match the show's tone or Star Wars in general). They introduce the Hutt twins and you think the series might actually have a villain and then... it doesn't. 

The fights were also surprisingly lackluster. They lacked energy or kinetic action. The first episode's fight was particularly disappointing, it felt disjointed and incredibly low-energy. Boba Fett lacked the presence he needed in the fights. And in general.

However, for episode five the series suddenly became very interesting. It starts off with an amazing and brutal fight scene where the Mandalorian collects a bounty. A cool team-up episode was in the cards, I was excited. But then The Mandalorian stuff kept going... I mean, I loved it all, but Boba Fett is in the title. Yet he wasn't even in this episode. A shame, too. It was a solid episode of The Mandalorian. 

After that, I was ready for a return to Tusken Raider flashbacks! A fun detour for Mandalorian fans, but time to go back to the plot at hand. And then it... doesn't. Instead, it takes it a step further. It resolves a huge plot thread from The Mandalorian, introduces characters with zero relation to The Book of Boba Fett such as Grogu, Luke Skywalker, and Ashoka Tano, and then, once again, barely featured Boba Fett in his own show.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one?

Now, I loved that episode. While I do wish they recast Luke Skywalker so a more human performance could be implemented (The AI-generated voice inflection is still off), seeing him interact with Ashoka Tano and the emotional connection to Mando's quest to see Grogu again were all amazing. But at the same time, I have to remember how every surprise guest character in The Mandalorian at least related to the plot of the show. These characters in The Book of Boba Fett do nothing for it. It's amazing content, but not the content we needed right now. 

It's a disservice to both Boba Fett fans and Mandalorian fans. Now season three of The Mandalorian will be disconnected from season two, Boba Fett's disconnected from its own show, and casual Star Wars fans now might go watch The Tribal Traditions of Tusken Raiders to see Luke Skywalker. Don't get me wrong, episode six would have been the perfect foundation for the perfect Star Wars movie, but it doesn't match the vibe of the show and the increase in quality makes it feel like they don't care about Boba Fett in his own show. 

It really felt like that. The fact of the matter is, Boba Fett is undeserving of his own show. Just because fans like him doesn't make him an interesting enough of a character to headline his own show. It's the Star Wars equivalent of Joey. When you look at it objectively, Boba Fett as the movies and series show, isn't too interesting. Some stuff happened to him when he was a kid, but he has no distinct personality besides gravitas and looking cool.

Boba Fett does neither of those things here. He never gets to be cool or badass. Apparently, when you give one of the galaxy's most ruthless bounty hunters the time to express himself, he chooses to protect some random city on Tatooine? Not even with fear, but with respect? You have a character with no personality other than being cool, and then he chooses to concern himself with spice regulation for Mos Espa? What? 

Like so many other Disney productions (Cruella), it was almost like they were afraid to make the title character a villain. Or anything other than altruistic and honorable. Bounty hunters aren't known for their honor. They're known for ruthless brutality. Fett's one defining characteristic, being a badass, is completely stripped for his own show, leaving nothing in its place. 

Overall, I give The Book of Boba Fett a 5/10. "Part Tusken Raider documentary, part season three of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett is zero parts Boba Fett."

I prefer his appearance in The Holiday Special to this.