What a colossal letdown. I'd rather have an Obi Wan film trilogy in the same vein as Rogue One or Solo than this cheesy poorly written fluff of a tv show.
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jaydogva25 June 2022
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JayDeeezy24 June 2022Lucasfilm needs to let the past go. This and Boba Fett were so mediocre. It should be a telling sign that the only show with new characters and stories (Mando) is the only one that's succeeding to capture our hearts.
Obi Wan had a few fun moments with a solid climax but the rest of the show was full of boring filler, non-compelling new characters, and an on-the-nose precocious child Leía who could dodge adult assassins with a 10 year old light jog. The ultimate character journeys for Obi Wan and Anakin were not significantly expanded upon - we're left pretty much at the same place as the end of Revenge of the Sith.
Maybe some fans appreciate a plethora of content, but to me this seems like an uninspired notch on the bedpost for the Disney+ repertoire to present at shareholder meetings. Sagas have value because they have a beginning and end. Otherwise if we keep bleeding it dry there's nothing special about It anymore. I'd rather see new characters and new adventures and respect our old heroes by letting them rest in their place in history. Let's move forward. -
spectrx1 July 2022Oh how the mighty have fallen. And I'm not talking about Obi-Wan, I'm talking about Disney. For a studio who usually has top-notch stories and writing in their movies, the Star Wars franchise has been a huge step down for them, and Obi-Wan, unfortunately, is no exception. The show had some truly great moments, but they were few and far between, buried under ridiculous, contrived, nonsensical story and plot elements. And the 3rd Sister inquisiter has WAY too much screen time, aside from being over the top, cheesy, and just outright annoying. This is worth a watch, but just don't expect too much.
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Supermanfan-1310 December 2023I actually enjoyed Obi-Wan Kenobi a lot more than I expected to. After reading all the mixed reviews I was expecting a slow moving, boring show but this was anything but. I was very entertained from the very first episode to the last. I was actually wanting more episodes when it was over. I'm glad that it's already been renewed for another season. Some of these negative reviews are just ridiculous, people are hating for the sake of hating. As most here have already pointed out, Ewan McGregor is the best part of this series. He's great as Obi-Wan. You can tell they put a lot of love into this because the attention to detail is very obvious. While it's not as good as the Mandalorian it's still a good show in its own right and definitely worth the time of watching it.
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hoernkeem24 July 2022'Obi-Wan Kenobi' is a six episode limited series set in the Star Wars universe 10 years after the events of the 'Star Wars: Episode III' film. It follows the titular Ben Kenobi as he has secrets himself on Tatooine to monitor the raising of young Luke Skywalker in an attempt to ensure the child stays off the Empire's radar. Ewan McGregor who is Kenobi in the prequel trilogy reprises his role in this series. Other returning cast members include Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Deborah Chow, who directed 2 episodes of the first season of 'The Mandalorian', directs the entire season of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'.
As stated 'Kenobi' picks up with Ben hiding in the desert on Tatooine while Luke is being raised by his aunt and uncle. Obi-Wan remains haunted by Order 66, in which most of the Jedi were killed, as well as the betrayal by his former student Anakin Skywalker. The Empire shows up on Tatooine hunting Jedi and they find one albeit not Kenobi himself at first. One particular member of the Inquistors named Reva seems to have a grudge and is seeking the elusive Obi-Wan Kenobi for some unknown reason. Despite admonishment from her supervision Reva continues to hunt Kenobi and orchestrates the kidnapping of Princess Leia Organa to draw him out of hiding. The balance of the middle episodes involve Obi-Wan trying to remain off the radar yet still recover the kidnapped Princess Leia. This leads to a showdown not only with Inquisitor Reva, but with Darth Vader himself. The whole time Kenobi is struggling with his connection to the force which makes fighting all these Empire enemies problematic. In the final act Reva finds out about Luke and heads to Tatooine for that child only to encounter more resistance than she anticipates, but her own worst enemy winds up being herself. Kenobi is able to track down Leia as well as foil the best laid plans of both Reva and Vader.
The plot of this show is tough to execute because, as these showrunners go back and elaborate on events that occur between the prequels and the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, you have to make sure everything still makes sense. On the good side there are a lot of lost years with Kenobi to work with to make a story, however, it becomes problematic using Luke & Leia when neither ever reference any grand events with Kenobi prior to events in 'Star Wars'. They try to do that dance and make it work for the most part. What we really tune in here for is additional showdowns between Vader and Kenobi which we get finally. They fumble around it for the majority of the show as Kenobi has limited force access to start and is in hiding so runs more than he fights. The final showdown is cool but still lacks the wow factor of some of the better Star Wars universe lightsaber sequences. Reva was a completely botched villain in my opinion. The secret of who she is was pretty easy to discern, and her plans throughout the show are bizarrely complex, and then, along with that, the portion where she goes after Luke at the end makes less than no sense. While it was satisfying to see some Kenobi/Vader action it didn't really live up to how good it should have been, and most of the other characters and plotlines were generally weak. That said it was still nice just to be immersed back in the Star Wars world, and see McGregor back in this role, even if this endeavor fell short in many respects.
Overall: C+ -
I waited until all of the episodes were released before passing a final judgement on this. I can say I'm glad I did, as the first couple episodes were 3/10 stars for a tv show with the latter being more toward a 7/10.
With that said, I'm trying rate this show as a whole. Would I recommend it to anyone? Would I watch it again?
It's hard to slap a number on this. I did like it more than the recent film trilogy despite it being very campy at times (tbh I'm not entirely sure if that was at all intended, which make some moments even more hilarious) with a weak and noticeable production value that did take a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me.
Reva's arc was a classic Star Wars story that actually justifies its existence in the end, even if it does it poorly. Why it was such a centerpiece in a show titled Kenobi... I dunno. Honestly I think this show would have received much less backlash if it was simply titled something else.
Taking everything into consideration, would I recommend it to anyone? I would recommend it to anyone that loved the prequels. I do think it falls out of purview for mostly anyone else though.
Would I watch it again?
Yes, I will rewatch a few of the episodes just for some of Vader's sequences, as much as I don't want to admit it. The last few episodes focus more on the relationship between 'Ben' Kenobi and Anakin, which in turn give us a better transition of Anakin to Vader than the films did alone.
This show is dumb, light hearted and sometimes heavy. It's a very true to form Star Wars story with the exception of having poorer production and slightly lesser quality in writing, and if you can laugh at the scenes where the child outruns bounty hunters by walking, you'll get some enjoyment out of this.
If you wanted a purely serious tv series based on Kenobi like I did, you won't get that. But maybe you'll find something passable in the meantime.
6/10. -
Rob133125 September 2023Obi-Wan Kenobi may not the best thing from Star Wars that I've seen but it's still worth watching. Ewan McGregor is a great actor and one of the best parts of the prequel trilogy. I was really looking forward to this when I first read about it and the even more so after I saw the trailers. It did not disappoint! I don't consider myself a huge Star Wars fan but I normal fan who does enjoy most of them. I really liked The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett was worth watching. I don't understand most of these negative reviews, it's like most of the people writing them didn't want to enjoy them. If you saw him in the prequels and saw the trailers what were you expecting that you didn't get? Anyway, if you're a fan of Star Wars I definitely recommend you give this a try.
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DuskShadow24 June 2022And Kathleen Kennedy is to blame no doubt.
The entire franchise was not only explored and fleshed out almost fully years ago, but had properly explained the Force, all the various users of it, Emperor Palpatine, his real motivation behind creating The Empire, etc. Even stories revolving around the children of Luke, and Leia & Han and other characters were well done enough to satisfy og Star Wars fans. From the first films release in 1977 to the eventual move to novels and comic books, the latter of which fully took the reigns during the late 2000s, and ended in 2011 and directly there after. EVERYTHING needed to create more movies and tales had already been done to compltion, and the world could have been in awe and given over a handful of films continuing the direct saga of Star Wars... But it was not to be simply because of the idiots at Disney that never bothered to read a single comic or book on the franchise.
And as a result, the show of Obi Wan is but another retcon and reimagining which does not pay proper homage, respect, or tribute to how the epic mythos of Star Wars could have, and should have been. Instead we are subject to a fairly boring, lazy, and pulled out of thin air meaningless romp that felt as hollow as the 7th through 9th films of recent years that helped to spell the downfall of what was once so great and awesome.
The only reason I gave Obi Wan a 5/10 was due to Haden's return since nobody else should have played the character of Anakin/Darth Vader. I have no idea if the fellow has been doing well or needed the money, but at the least I am sure he and Ewan Mcgregor had some respect and loyalty to the true nature of how Star Wrs used to be...and thus gave us something akin to a minor amount of satisfaction. We all know how things end with the franchise. We all know what happens to all the characters. They can keep pumping out Mandalorian or Fett stories or anything, but Disney has tarnished, if not almost completely ruined Star Wars.
Stick to the first 6 movies at least, and at most include Rogue One, The CGI Clone Wars show, and articles regarding the novels surrounding the years after Return of the Jedi that were written over a decade ago. I mean you can even include Rebels, The Bad Batch, and Mandalorian for all I care. Its just sad how little it all matters anymore thanks to all the blundering and idiocy from Diseny and their flunkies. *smfh * -
allmoviesfan9 September 2023So much cool stuff here: John Williams composed some music, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returned to their iconic Star Wars prequel roles - Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader respectively - and a young Princess Leia is a focal part of the story. Plus there's Jimmy Smits and Ian McDiarmid and the menacing voice of James Earl Jones.
Also: some cool action, especially when Kenobi and his old padawan square off, and definitely a bit of a puzzle piece filler as far as events of the wider trilogy goes.
All of that great. Loved it.
I wanted to but just couldn't give this more than 7.5 rounded up to 8 because all this happens between Leia and Kenobi - and she was of an age where she'd surely remember such a meaningful connection - yet Leia doesn't mention it in the original trilogy. Nor does anyone else. Surely they could have come up with another story to get Obi-Wan back into the action? One that fits better in with the original trilogy events?
Still, good Star Wars entertainment. I'm never going to hate anything from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. -
owen-watts28 June 2022Feels like it's been re-written a dozen different times by a dozen different dispassionate writers who are painfully trying to squeeze creative blood from an algorithmic marketing decision. Makes the rookie prequel mistake of heaping acres of tension onto the unchangeable fates of established characters rather than giving us new characters to care about. Some nice effects work and young Leia is gloriously cast, but the action is shoddily constructed, it treads oceans of water and it is likely the weakest and ropiest bit of live action Wars TV yet made. Severely hope we don't get more.
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Rating: 5.0
Favorite Episode: Part VI
Being generous with this rating, we had great writing: Vader going full Starkiller, Vader setting Obi-wan on fire, the blend of Vader and Anakin both in voice and saber reflection when he was speaking to obi wan in part VI etc.. But a ton of horrible writing: Vader letting Obi-wan go in episode 3 then getting mad at Reva for letting him go. Reva surviving being stabbed by anakin twice, that random Jedi somehow finding Kenobi in episode 1, Obi-Wan becoming more powerful we've ever seen him in canon in the span of 1 day with zero re-training, grown men unable to catch Leah slowly running in episode 2, Reva interrogating Leah for no reason, Leah being kidnapped twice in a mini series.. The presentation felt cheap: shaky cam, weirdly bright lightsabers, and music that wasn't even Star Wars despite John Williams doing the opening theme of the show. Reva had everything handed to her on a plate making her plight weightless and annoying especially since she took a good amount of screen-time. Only after digging did I find the writer of this series didn't even watch Revenge of the Sith before doing the script. It seems both marvel and star wars are doing quantity > quality, they won't stop until more people raise issue with this level of writing. -
dakjets27 December 2023I have followed Star Wars since childhood. I've been somewhat skeptical of Disney's eagerness to "milk" the franchise. I didn't like some of the individual films. But still gave this series a chance.
I'm happy for that.
First, however, I would like to point out that I think there is a big difference between the various episodes. The first two episodes didn't quite take off. That I still stayed to watch was due to the reunion with Evan McGregor, who is back as Obi Wan himself. His character is both exciting to follow and when his nemesis Darth Vader appears, it becomes great entertainment. The series also picks up when the familiar battle scenes start and the sci-fi effects are good too.
This series also introduces several great new characters, especially Moses Ingram as the cruel third sister.
All in all, a lot to enjoy for a Star Wars fan.
A good sign for me; I sat up all night. Had to see it finished. I have to give Disney credit for at least being able to entertain me with this one. -
wms-9274127 June 2022If I were to catalogue the entire Star Wars list of TV shows, movies, and cartoons, and decide where amongst them Obi-Wan Kenobi should be placed, it would have to be near the bottom.
They really didn't need to make this program. It doesn't really add anything to the overall opera that is the Star Wars universe, and in fact it renders parts of A New Hope senseless. Where The Clone Wars (animated series) and The Mandalorian expanded the Star Wars universe, this tries to pigeon-hole itself between episodes three and four, enriching nothing and making other things inexplicable.
I suppose I'm not really sorry I saw it. I've seen pretty much everything I could possible watch in and about Star Wars, and I couldn't live with myself if I had missed it. But I am sorry they made it.
I wonder when the powers-that-be at Disney will realize that apart from Solo, the more these stories are removed from the Skywalker saga, the better they get! Anakin Skywalker was a minor character in The Clone Wars series, and that remains, to me, the best Star Wars has gotten. -
ercfunk-445-95004625 June 2022New Star Wars with Disney seems to have the same problem, again and again: bad writing. With the exception of Jon and Dave's work, new Star Wars is getting worse with their writing. It doesn't matter how well the actors do their roles when they're poorly written, there's no saving it. Either get a team that knows how to write or just stop.
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jojunno5 June 2022After multiple episodes it's safe to say this series is an absolute train wreck. I couldn't imagine worse writing if it was intentional. How do you screw up Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and princess Leia this badly? And yes, the new characterr Reva is atrocious. Has all the depth of a mud puddle. No sane person would praise this trash. There has to be an agenda at play if anybody is saying anything positive about this High School level production.
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chera_khalid26 September 2023The "Obi-Wan" series ignites the Force once again with my resounding 8/10 rating, and I couldn't help but love it. Ewan McGregor's reprisal of the iconic Jedi master is a tour de force, seamlessly bridging the gap between the prequel and original trilogies. The film editing masterfully weaves together a narrative of introspection and action, crafting a tale of redemption and self-discovery. Its strength lies in its exploration of the enduring legacy of the Jedi and the consequences of their fall, resonating with themes of hope and sacrifice. The music, with hints of John Williams' iconic compositions, adds a nostalgic touch, and the cinematography captures the vast, desolate beauty of Tatooine. "Obi-Wan" is a triumphant return to the Star Wars universe, a reminder that heroes can find purpose even in exile, and my love for it is as timeless as the Force itself.
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thatsgottahurt-19 June 2022I actually enjoyed the first few episodes. Seeing Ewan McGregor back prompted some nostalgic feelings, but any goodwill quickly dissipated with episode 4. It was terrible. Full of Star Wars tropes and cliches, it was difficult to watch. The Empire is basically a massive bunch of incompetent fools, unable to even extract information from a (mouthy) child. You would be better off having Boy Scouts guard something than Stormtroopers. They continually miss, can be disarmed and killed in seconds and can be distracted without effort. The writing and directing are both just awful, particularly in episode 4. It's lazy and uninspiring. There's little in the way of plot or character advancement and it's boring, it's actually boring.
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finn984927 May 2022First off, without spoiling, I appreciate Ewan McGregor's performance and the dynamic between him and a special character I shall not name. It really fills a lot of gaps within Star Wars lore that's been left out to interpretation. My main complaints are mostly nitpicks other viewes are willing to forgive, and I often get a general feeling on why I miss Star Wars movies. And that's the quality in the sets. So far in Obi-Wan, there's more than a few times I'm reminded of watching a TV show. I don't feel that immersion. The biggest flaw as well is that there's too many humans in the background, and not enough aliens. The floors often look too flat, and there isn't enough to express the crowded nature of towns, streets, etc. Plus there is a forest scene that feels too much like our Earth's forest, and not a Star Wars flavored forest. It's the same sorts of issues I've had with The Mandalorian and Boba Fett. But hey, that's just me. Obi-Wan is my favorite Star Wars character, and I'm still locked in to see how the story unfolds.
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Zeyders10 December 2023While this series can't be called great, it's a good one for fans, especially the younger generation. As I saw it, the whole mini series is aimed more at the younger family audience with the simple plot, dialogues and direction (Disney+ as it is), but adult fans will also enjoy watching an old favorite character.
The mini series is done well. There are some minor flaws in the graphics, but they are not so critical and you can admire it. Pleasant coloring with all the favorite leitmotifs. Good for younger fans as it teaches different things.
Regarding the shortcomings, we should say about the usual and simple plot with child-friendly dialogs, which will not be particularly interesting for adult audiences. It will not provide any new experience, but rather just a good pastime. There are a huge number of different omissions.
Overall, the mini series fulfills its purpose. Fans will have a good time, but nothing special should be expected from it. -
FestusNord27 May 2022Overall, a solid start but, there are flaws.
I'm seeing alot of hate for Reva, which is unfair after only 2 episodes. Jury's still out on her. 5th Brother's appearance really annoys me. I'm tired of seeing legacy characters as children in main character roles, although the girl playing Leia did a bang-up job. And, some elements feel inexplicably cheap.
Everything else is good so far, I'm cautiously optimistic for the rest of the series. -
cloetehenri25 June 2022I was very much looking forward to Obi-Wan Kenobi, hoping that it will add some interesting content between the Clone Wars and Rebels series, both of which I really enjoyed. The acting was generally excellent, except for the character of Reva, who I mostly just found to be annoying. The visuals were generally also stunning. Despite this, overall I was left rather disappointed.
As expected, the plot was mostly just filler, considering the limitations of having this story take place in between a lot of established events. However, considering the characters the writers got to work with, it could still have been excellent. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment for me was that I found the writing to be rather lazy, which often suspended my immersion in the story: The stormtroopers being unable to get around a 20 m stretch of fire in the minutes that it takes to evacuate Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan reaching a door milliseconds before tons of water and somehow not a drop spilling through the door, lots of gun fights with hordes of people standing exposed metres from each other and still somehow missing their shots, characters having secret conversations with other characters metres from them apparently being completely deaf, and so the list goes on.
At this stage, Disney really has to start focusing on high quality writing, instead of just milking the nostalgia of Star Wars fans. Perhaps a series set completely apart from the well-know characters is the way to achieve this. -
Ashitaka13711 July 2022The Mandalorian was a very pleasant surprise, and that stopped there. Sad to see that after a great animated The Clone Wars Star Wars show and much hope after The Mandalorian show, this is where Star Wars is at.
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ivobg25 December 2023I was very, very sceptical about this...
I have only watched Mando 3 seasons and was highly disappointed. The Space Cowboy soap opera wasn't feeling like Star Wars to me.
Disney Wars 7/8/9 were another huge failure.
But last week I was browsing YouTube and watched some fan Tribute to Darth Vader, very well done, where I saw a scene I've never seen before - Obi-Wan dueling Vader on some dusty planet. That got my attention and after short research I saw it's from the series about Kenobi.
Then I decided to give it a try, despite I was very sceptical.. Just wanted to see that dueling scene.
BUT... The story grabbed me very strong!! That was what I wanted to watch and was hoping to watch from Disney, not the nonsense sequels they've made!
I believe these Kenobi series (well at least season 1) are successful simply because the inclusion of Ewan McGregor for the role - his charisma gives a big boost for the production.
Leia and Luke as a kids - that was a good move!! Well played by the little girl, I liked her a lot! Sadly we didn't see much of young Luke, but I guess we will, in Season 2.
Another good move was the early Darth Vader! I absolutely applaud everything about his character and he made my day!!
The only disappointment were the villains, but we all know that Disney always portrays them as fools.
Another thing I didn't get, was why Reva went to kill Luke, instead of trying to continue hunting to kill Vader?
It made no sense to me. What was she hoping, that Vader will take her back, no matter she betrayed him and tried to kill him?? Ha ha.
Also it didn't make sense why she enjoys hunting and killing jedi, after her enemy was Darth Vader?? She could've get a better chance to kill him, but not in a duel... Foolish.
Also, how she survived after been grilled in the stomach by a lightsaber??
These minuses destroyed the perfection that this production could have.
But, despite everything, as I said above - this is the first Disney Wars creation that I liked. And I really liked it!! It brought me 40 years old good memories!
I hope S02 sticks to the original story line, as it did in S01. -
CRMas0n8 June 2022Moses Ingram Is truly horrific in this. How did she ever get cast to play this part. She is not believable, not intimidating, and has no dynamic or depth. The little girl however is great. What a wonderful new young talent.
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themadcamel8 July 2022What kinda person grows up watching Star Wars, understanding the legend this guy was supposed to be, and with all of today's advances in filmmaking, writes this?
I mean it was like watching Michael Jordon trip over his shoelaces in front of the hoop.
Watching Picasso draw a stick man.
Jonah Lomu drop the ball.
Beethoven play chopsticks.....
I can't help but feel the goal here was to make it bad... gathered a team of experts, and nailed that goal in the best way possible.