THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT (2022) – Bounty Hunter turns goody goody
Rating: ⭐⭐ 1/2
This is a spin off series to Disney Plus’s hugely popular The Mandalorian. The character Boba Fett was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, as the bounty hunter who caught Han Solo and got him deep frozen in carbonite! In the original Star Wars movies, Boba Fett was made out to be a villain and had barely a few words uttered in his entire limited screen time. Yet, despite this, Boba Fett became one of the most popular and iconic characters that came out from the series.
In The Return of the Jedi, his character was presumably killed off when he fell inside the mouth if a giant worm monster in the sands. In this series, we are not only told how he survived that ordeal, but also given a totally contradictory image of his character. Instead of the silent blood thirsty murderous bounty hunter he was portrayed to be, the Boba Fett we have here is virtuous and a really good guy! If you can accept that then you can sit back and enjoy the series as it revisits the world of Star Wars during the times of the original movies. Like The Mandalorian, the planet Tatooine is lovingly recreated with the buildings, vehicles, costumes, and strange lifeforms inhabiting the planet. The Mos Eisley Cantina is featured repeatedly in the series and never looked better. This series will no doubt bring out the sweet nostalgic feeling for Star Wars fans as we are constantly being taken back to the original Star Wars with its references. There is even a guest appearance of R2D2 and a certain Jedi!
Even though The Book of Boba Fett seem to have all the right ingredients that made The Mandalorian such a hit, it somehow feels lacking in an overall satisfaction level. Perhaps its Temuera Morrison’s personality that fails to project a larger than life persona for his character, or the rather predictable flow of the series’ plotlines. This is never more apparent than in Episode 5 which was totally devoted to The Mandalorian (played by Pedro Pascal) and where Boba Fett did not even appear. That episode was by far the series best and most engaging episode! Indeed the best bits in the series were those involving other characters, particularly those from the original Star Wars movies, and The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.
The Book of Boba Fett will probably be a fun ride for most Star Wars fans but not necessarily one that you may want to take a ride again too soon. As a redeemed villain, Boba Fett failed to come across as a very charismatic hero but more like a fatherly figure. Look upon it as a sort of “Mandalorian Lite”.
