Rating: 7/10

Ah, Boba Fett; a character that has been in the “Star Wars” franchise since the holiday special that aired in 1978. He would go on to speak four lines in the six and a half minutes that he was on the silver screen. Still, the green-armored bounty-hunter gained massive popularity, with his helmet being a recognizable s taple of the franchise. In later media, we saw a young Boba Fett, before he donned the iconic outfit and subsequently got eaten by a pit in the ground, thought to be dead for good… however as season 2 of “The Mandalorian” showed, he lives on. 

“The Book of Boba Fett” (TBoBF) tells the story of his journey, stepping out of the slimy Sarlacc pit, into the hot, sandy dunes of Tatooine, and of the tales mentioned in “The Mandalorian.” This show sheds a new light on the titular character of Boba Fett by making him a bit more than a contract killer. 

The CGI is breathtaking, thanks to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). They always push the boundaries of visual effects, whether computer generated or practical, and they did not hold back here. The performances are great, Temuera Morrison portrays a very distinct version of Fett that we haven’t seen before. Ming-Na Wen gives us a great performance as the master-assassin, Fennec Shand, a fantastic addition to the cast with a bright future in the lore.

Unfortunately, this show also would have benefited from better pacing. The episodes themselves are paced well, but the pacing through the arc of the series could have allowed the story a better flow, which would have led to a better payoff in the end. 

It would be safe to say the majority of fans initially thought this was going to be a show all about Boba Fett, but instead it has subverted our expectations, by adding in cameos from new characters, which didn’t end up paying off. If it didn’t have “Boba Fett” in the title, then this tactic may have made more sense. Or perhaps if they had related these characters to Fett in the show, rather than assuming the audience has seen the other series they originate from, it might have grounded the characters more to TBoBF. 

In general, the characters that the show introduces – both as cameos or new additions to the Star Wars universe – were very enjoyable, occasionally more enjoyable than the title character. But that’s easy enough to pull off when the green cowboy isn’t in two of the episodes at all. It makes sense in the context of this show, but viewers had spent the previous four episodes exploring Boba’s new found characterization, only to interrupt this arc with a large gap of a completely different story – then all of a sudden it’s the season finale.

This show is enjoyable, despite all of the little problems. At the end of the day, “Star Wars” is a good story that has the opportunity to be silly and over the top, while also taking the time to have some serious story beats. It is good that this show’s ensemble of characters are in the galaxy, as it gives them the freedom to interact with the many other toys in the box that is Star Wars. This show left some of the audience indifferent to the idea of having another season but hey, who doesn’t want more Star Wars?