“The Book of Boba Fett” is one that should simply stay closed.

By: Adam Beam

SUTV News

One of the many big surprises of “The Mandalorian” season two was the return of bounty hunter Boba Fett. It was even more surprising that at the conclusion of the aforementioned season that Boba would be receiving his own spin-off series. Now, with the first season fully concluded, how does one of “Star Wars” most famous characters hold up in his series? Well, it’s complicated.

Now to start things off, Temuera Morrison is great as Boba Fett, and he adds some much needed depth to an otherwise one note character, but by far this show is at its weakest when focusing on the present day activities of our titular hero. Whenever the show focuses on the inner workings of Tatooine and the conspiracy, it is painfully slow. The first four episodes of this series follow a very similar format, and it makes these episodes a slog to get through. When it focuses on Boba’s past, it’s far more interesting and would’ve made for a much better show. Unfortunately, these scenes are too few and far between.

Suddenly, by episode 5, the series gets a much needed boost of energy. This is mainly due to the fact that we aren’t focusing on Boba Fett anymore. The show essentially becomes “The Mandalorian” season 3, and guess what, it’s pretty great. The action is better, the story is far more interesting, and it’s just a relief to not be stuck on Tatooine for a while. However, it’s not a good sign for your series when the best episodes of your series don’t even feature your main character. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was building to a satisfying conclusion, but that’s simply not the case. The final episode of this series suffers from some extremely disappointing payoffs and the pacing makes the overall finale a total mess. With such a weak ending, it makes the series as a whole even weaker.

Now it’s not all bad, there are some genuinely great elements to be found here. The visuals are just as impressive as ever, with some standout digital and practical effects. There’s some great action scenes, you just have to sit through some of the more poorly staged sequences to get to the good ones. As mentioned when focusing on The Mandalorian it’s much more engaging and emotionally investing. And of course, since this is a “Star Wars” property, the music is top notch. Even when nothing epic is going on on screen, the music really adds some needed weight.

Unfortunately, these elements can’t save an underwhelming and bloated series. While helping to expand the character of Boba Fett, half the time he feels like more of an afterthought. While the series provides some truly amazing “Star Wars” moments, it doesn’t justify it’s 7 episode run. As a series that’s trying to be an appetizer till “The Mandalorian” season 3, you just realize that you’d rather be watching “The Mandalorian” season 3.