Book of Boba Fett review: The desperate side of Star Wars

Tatooine can be a dangerous place. Star Wars. Not everyone is the type of person who sits in a bar like Mos Eisley, that “wretched hive of scum and villainy,” but even the good and just people of the desert planet would likely admit that the wretched hive has all the power. A planet far away from the concerns of the Imperial and the Rebellion, it doesn’t feel like a place for redemption. It’s ever-present slave trade, moisture farm raids, and criminal overlords seem to just emphasize the matter.

It is this that makes the heroes of Star Wars so popular. It is fitting that Luke Skywalker, of all people, grew up in this environment. This is what gives him his charm. And it’s a large part of Boba Fett’s as well, at least in the first episode of The Book of Boba Fett, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” which debuted Wednesday on Disney Plus.

Image: Disney Plus

There’s a lot on Boba Fett Fans of this will immediately feel at home. Mandalorian, which won’t be a surprise to anyone who watched the bounty hunter’s return in that show. They are very similar. The men have a lot in common. Director Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau agree on one thing: This is the western show that features the cool, outlaw man in a helmet. Off.

And it’s a good thing, too, because to hide away Temura Morrison’s face for too long would be a grave mistake. The New Zealand actor, described in 1995 by Roger Ebert as “a leading actor as elemental, charismatic and brutal as the young Marlon Brando,” is on full display in Boba Fett. The mysterious appeal of Mando is gone, replaced by the tensions and pains of aging.

Morrison’s magnetism comes from a sense of desperation that seems to occupy Boba Fett at all times. The show starts with a flashback to Fett’s notable ending in the original trilogy, death via Sarlacc pit. But watching Boba’s escape from the belly of the beast doesn’t just feel like adding more details to his Wookiepedia page; it shows the desperation and hunger of a man willing to survive, even if he isn’t exactly sure why.

These sections are for “Stranger” set in these flashbacks are short on conversation and long on Boba Fett getting beaten up. Jawas, Lizards, and, most importantly, Tusken Raiders all appear. Morrison is pushed repeatedly to survive, barely allowed to drink water as he’s made part of a two-person chain gang. The same references can be seen in these scenes. Mandalorian, with the long shots and dramatic scores of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns.

And while Mandalorian seemed to relish isolation, Boba Fett can’t find a moment to himself. Out of the Sarlacc pit and into the hands of Jawas for old Boba, there’s isn’t much difference. There is the desperation of noir on Boba Fett’s Tatooine, which Guillermo del Toro recently described to the film magazine Little White Lies as “the tragedy that emerges between the haves and the have-nots.”

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The next section of “Stranger” concerns Boba Fett’s new reign as a “have.” He’s been named the new head of the Hutt crime syndicate, which is a little like getting into Studio 54 after the last days of disco. There’s some prestige in the title, but things clearly aren’t what they used to be. Even though the title is prestigious, it’s clear that the mayor (David Pasquesi), only sends him to pay his respects and ends up demanding more. From Boba.

Pasquesi played once the ex-husband for Julia Louis Dreyfuss. VeepHe clearly knows how to get under the skin powerful people. He infuriates Fett’s second-in-command, Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), with his rudeness and diplomacy-is-war-by-other-means attitude. Amidst a collapsing organization, the majordomo’s head appendages feel like a nautral-born jester’s hat, mocking a proud tradition.

There’s some nice comic work in Boba FettMatt Berry plays a droid that was loyal to the Hutts. Pasquesi is one of the show’s stand-outs, allowing for a quick repreive from everyone on the show who would shoot first and ask questions later (most people).

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Fett doesn’t want to be an extravagant crime boss like any of his slug-like predecessors. He would like to be the crime boss for all people and walk under his own feet, with two green-pig-guy security guards at his side. He is determined to lead with respect and not fear. However, it is not clear if Tatooine and its various bosses would like such a ruler.

Ming Na Wen also gets some nice shots. Book of Boba Fett is focused on Morrison’s rage, boiling just underneath the surface. It’s hard to tell where any of this will go, but the show seems to content for viewers to understand that first and foremost, this is a man who will not serve a master. But not anymore.