10 years after the fall of the Jedi, former master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is forced out of exile to stage a desperate rescue attempt of a kidnapped young Princess Leia (Viven Lyra Blair). With the menacing Jedi hunter Reva (Moses Ingram) hot on his heels and the looming shadow of Ob-Wan’s former pupil Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) growing larger, Kenobi is forced to rely on all his wits and help from the growing uprising within the galaxy to save the Princess and make it back to Tatooine alive.
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton & Jimmy Smits
Watch it now in on Disney+
Like so much of the gap-filling approach Disney has taken to recent Star Wars fare – setting stories in unexplored time periods between films – Obi-Wan Kenobi’s toughest challenge is justifying its own existence. In a universe this expansive do we really need to be following the same familiar characters yet again? Fortunately the series has a huge leg-up over others in the return of fan-favourite Ewan McGregor, easily the best part of the prequel films and iconic in the role. He’s equally fantastic here, picking up right where he left, with an understated, meditative performance as an Obi-Wan wracked with guilt and without hope.
Series director Deborah Chow frames her narrative as an exploration of hope and guilt within a galaxy filled with dread, positioning Kenobi as a kind of helpful Liam Neeson Taken type – his very particular set of skills can help a lot of people – whose spark gradually returns to his eyes as he recognises the impact he brings to the people around him. Running parallel to that is the story of Moses Ingram’s Reva; the formidable presence of the imposing Inquisitor tasked with hunting down surviving force users rivalling the titular Jedi himself in terms of screen-time. Ingram does what she is given exceedingly well, but the role is rarely written to expand the character beyond silently seething or bursting with rage. The finale manages to add some more context to her character, drawing parallels with Obi-Wan’s own journey, but does so whilst condemning Ingram to a lacklustre mission, ending her story with a whimper rather than a bang.
Where the show falls short isn’t in its themes or McGregor’s performance, but rather the narrative itself: an unfortunately dull and cliched buddy film that drags more than it excites on the way to a thrilling finale. Chow clearly intends the show to be more of a character study than previous Star Wars media, consistently honing in on Kenobi’s mental state throughout his journey, but doesn’t bring enough interesting characters or inventive set-pieces into the mix to create a consistently entertaining show. Kumail Nanjiani’s Haja, a con-man posing as a Jedi, brings a few much-needed laughs and O’Shea Jackson Jr. is clearly relishing being a part of the Star Wars universe but neither is given much to do outside of unloading exposition.
The action, when compared to Lucas’ prequel films, is similarly lacklustre. Gone are the intricately choreographed lighsaber fights of the early 2000’s, replaced by what feels like the same retooled blaster shootouts and space standoffs we’ve seen since Disney took over the franchise. The final big action sequence aims to rectify this – a lightsaber battled overflowing with raw emotional weight and featuring some visually genius use of the vibrant blue and red lights of the blades – but is hampered by choppy, rapid-cut editing. It’s a suitably epic end to this adventure but one that proves Chow doesn’t have Lucas’ eye for the dance of the battle.
We’re living in an age where audiences expect a certain level of surprise in their big-budget entertainment and Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t disappoint in that regard, delivering plenty of fan-service moments for eagle eyed fans to dissect and obsess over. While these are fun to see, they don’t do enough to overcome how inessential the story feels. It’s great to see Hayden Christensen back in a galaxy far, far away and he does a great deal to show just how much Anakin has given himself over to his hatred in the intervening years, but only a handful of scenes really reinforce the loss Obi-Wan feels over Anakin and the desire for vengeance Vader has.
It’s hard not to wonder how a smaller scale story would have landed; perhaps the previously scrapped adventure featuring Darth Maul or something set during the Clone Wars to showcase the brotherly bond between McGregor and Christensen in live-action. There’s a certain element of cheesiness in seeing a young Leia running around as Bounty Hunters stumble over themselves trying to catch her that works against the more poignant story of Kenobi. That isn’t to say that what is here is awful, but it could have been so much more potent had the narrative been more focused.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is further proof that Ewan McGregor’s interpretation of the Jedi master is just as iconic as Alex McGuiness’. Buried within too much filler is a powerful performance of a man struggling to come to terms with the loss of a dear friend and the idea of moving forward without him. Deborah Chow clearly understands the character and the personal story she wants to tell here, but struggles to balance it with the other Star Wars elements fans expect – thrilling action, memorable side characters and investing larger narratives – on the way to a finale that features some of the best pieces of Star Wars content produced since Disney took over. The force might not always be with Kenobi, but it will always be with Ewan McGregor.