Obi-Wan Kenobi review

I finished watching Obi-Wan Kenobi the other day and thought it was time to review it. I was more excited about this than any of the other Star Wars spin-off series, so I had high hopes.

I won’t give away any spoilers but will explain the set-up. Obi-Wan Kenobi has been living on Tatooine checking on Luke occasionally and working as a desert-fish-factory worker. His life is pretty grim and dull, but at least he hasn’t been found by the Imperial Inquisition.

Given that he still goes by the surname Kenobi and that he placed Luke with his only living relatives, going ten years without detection is pretty impressive. You’d think Vader would at least check the place where he grew up or that a surname search on the galactic web would turn up the suspiciously coincidental Kenobi surname so near to the Skywalker house.

Anyway, that didn’t happen. Darth is still after him and is pretty obsessed about it.

Meanwhile, Princess Leia gets kidnapped by Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Her parents contact Obi-Wan, who agrees to rescue her.

Is Kenobi any good?

In a word – yes. I loved it. It was the Star Wars I craved. I should add that I’m a huge fan, as shown by how many articles I have written about it. I loved the Mandalorian, but this somehow closer to what I had been wanting from Star Wars.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is superbly acted. Obviously, Ewan McGregor is always a safe pair of hands but the supporting cast were great as well. Vivien Lyra Blair plays a young and precocious Leia – who remains pretty similar in character to Leia in A New Hope. Hayden Christensen looked weirdly too old but was otherwise great as Vader. And Moses Ingram is great as an Inquisitor.

What makes Kenobi great are the relationships driving the plot. Obi-Wan feels guilt over how things turned out and his relationship with Leia is well done. Similarly, the dynamic between Vader and Kenobi provides some great moments.

The show wasn’t perfect, but it was fun with some decent action. There are still scenes, like in a lot of Star Wars, where storm troopers are firing a ridiculous amount of laser beams at an enemy not that far away and yet only 1 in a 1000 hits anyone. This is consistent with the rest of the films, I guess.

On the plus side, once the light sabers come out, Obi-Wan Kenobi really shines. The final battle is superb and atmospheric in a way only Star Wars can manage. The Mandalorian was great, but it didn’t have Jedis fighting out to classical music.

I could go on, but if you were on the fence, this should be persuasive enough. Obi-Wan Kenobi is great Star Wars and a lot of fun. It’s character-driven and well acted, and while it isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot of fun.

Highly recommended. Here’s a trailer: