So, as a lifelong Star Wars fan (born 1973, New Hope original) and stoic defender of even Disney’s weakest efforts in the continuing saga, I have to confess I did not yet enjoy either animated series of Clone Wars or Rebels. This being the case, I am not completely versed in the history and deep fan-love of this interesting title character. Yet I do understand how important it is to those fans that this so-called live action version live up to the storylines and legacy of the animated Ahsoka and attending characters, not least of which is her old master, Anakin Skywalker himself.
Rosario Dawson and producer / writer / director Dave Filoni introduced us to Ahsoka in the often dull and preposterous Book of Bobba Fett – indeed, she was the best thing in the whole series by a mile, hence her own spin-off series in her own right shortly after. It was a good plan by Disney that came with some high risks. As the final episode hit the small screens on 3rd October 2023 and reviews and ratings come flooding in, it looks as if, to all intents and purposes, it is well liked and a relative success. I can say that I liked it very much, and was never less than entertained. But, before I praise its virtues, I want to mention what I didn’t like.
Small niggles, but worthy of mention: I thought the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, played by a wooden and pause indulgent Lars Mikkelson was very poor. He looked and sounded like he was thinking how much his contact lenses hurt the entire way through, and I found it annoying how I kept thinking of him as a lovechild of Avatar and The Smurfs. Fortunately, he only really existed as a plot point and was left out of the main action quite wisely. I don’t yet know if this is a common gripe, but he did not work for me.
Next was the droid Huyang voiced well enough by David Tennent but looking all wrong for the Star Wars universe. The design and concept of this character weren’t right for me; it didn’t match the aesthetic at all, in my opinion. In fact, this is a gripe for several of the new ideas, which often seemed shamelessly borrowed from other sci-fi works. For example, the stormtrooper with a gold face that was essentially a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, and the whole “witch” thing, which was so much more Lord of the Rings than Star Wars. Why can’t the writing team find interesting and exciting things out of the existing lore, rather than adding on new and incongruous elements that simply don’t fit. Annoying.
However, the action and look of this series in general is a definite return to form. With this and the superlative Andor in the can, it is now possible to point to the extended TV exploits of Disney Star Wars and say there is some good stuff worth seeing in there. As can be seen in my previous reviews, I found The Mandalorian a mixed bag of cute entertainment, decent action, and absolutely terrible writing / directing. This and the aforementioned Andor have done a lot to redress that shortcoming, which hungover badly in both Book of Bobba Fett and the woeful Obi-Wan.
I felt engaged and unconfused from episode to episode. And was rarely bored. They have caught on to the trick of not dwelling on complicated plot points too long – Ahsoka keeps moving, and that is to its great credit. Rosario Dawson is a natural in the orange skin of the titular character and often acts everyone else off the screen with one wise look. Acting skills is not something I would hugely praise in the supporting cast, but at least they mostly look the part: Sabine, Hera, Ezra, Baylan, and (probably most of all) the fascinating face of Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, all wore their costumes well and satisfied their purposes in the story without grating.
Then there is Hayden Christensen, returning once more, heavily de-aged by CGI to play Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka’s old master and sometime lover (perhaps). To reintroduce him into the universe in a good light is a masterstroke. Younger fans especially may need to see that before Anakin was lost to the Dark Side, becoming Darth Vader, there was a noble and good man inside. As the final moments of the final episode in the season culminated, I felt a shiver up my spine and a tear in my eye at how they chose to finish it. This, indeed, is a great through-line to the saga that I completely approve of. I am sure it has also done no end of good to Christensen’s future career.
On the whole, the effects were solid and often very impressive (except please avoid animals running until you get better at it). The action scenes and lightsaber fights were great. The pitch of tone vs. humour was pretty spot on. And in conclusion it is a show I would recommend, with only the above caveats attached. It is a positive step in the right direction, and there is plenty to learn from both the good and bad elements for future projects. I just hope they have a masterplan to link it all together as good as Marvel’s phase 3 was…
Rating: 7.5 / 10
The Wasteland 