- Network: Disney+
- Series Premiere Date: May 27, 2022
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Critic Reviews
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Judging by the two episodes screened at Star Wars Celebration, Deborah Chow and the cast and crew have not only risen to the occasion, but they’ve exceeded all hopes. ... Kenobi feels like a true auteur vision. Chow’s stamp is all over this series, making it feel like a unique entry in the Star Wars saga. ... Kenobi feels high stakes, emotionally deep, and like the first Star Wars series to Matter, capital M. It’s a feat.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi is much more complex than initially believed, but in a good way. If the first two episodes of the six-episode first season (which dropped surprisingly early late Thursday night) are any indication, Obi-Wan Kenobi will take the Star Wars franchise in a bold, new direction.
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While there are still four installments to come, based on the liftoff, the Force is still very much with "Obi-Wan Kenobi," which may possess a bit less spring in its step but has lost none of its allure to those who have long followed him.
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So far, though, Obi-Wan feels respective of both its canonical past and the future that lays ahead, and while it’s the exact opposite of new ground, this does feel like a chapter of the Star Wars saga that makes sense to explore...a show we’re hyped to see through to the end.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi (the show) is an assured, pacy and exciting new series that knows just how to use familiar elements -- and, crucially, how to hold some back -- in a story that is, most importantly, character-driven.
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McGregor is wholly up to the challenge of shouldering the emotional weight of this series, which feels less like a cynical cash grab (despite being that) than a natural continuation of the saga that Lucas crafted more than two decades ago.
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Above all, Obi-Wan Kenobi works because its protagonist does. McGregor, a consistent highlight of the prequel trilogy, is as every bit as good if not better here.
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In telling the stories of the galaxy’s most famous stars, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” just has to put one foot in front of the other, sow seeds of what’s to come, and have enough self-awareness to know both its limits and what the audience wants from these characters. On those fronts, at least, the show seems right on track.
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A promising start, this shows a solid understanding of its hero and hints at an exciting new adventure in those missing decades of his life. It’s a very welcome return to form after the misfiring Boba Fett.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi, released on Disney Plus on Friday, offers a slight change of tack: a self-contained story, centring on one of the saga’s most familiar characters. Judging by the first two episodes, it feels like it’s pulled it off.
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Ewan McGregor was last seen as Obi-Wan, he brings more depth, more of a world-weary wisdom to the role. ... As is the case with many a “Star Wars” title, the dialogue sometimes borders on the corny, but director Deborah Chow (“The Mandalorian”) has a keen sense of pacing and a distinct visual style that holds our interest even in the quieter moments. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is off to a roaring start.
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[The] dilemmas are familiar to “Star Wars,” but that doesn’t make them any less engaging. Under McGregor’s welcoming wing, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” uses nostalgia like a weighted blanket: surrounding you with characters you already love, warming you with an uncomplicated quest, and inviting you to lay still, sans complaints, in order to appreciate what little time you have left with Obi-Wan.
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Fascinating, occasionally thrilling, and yet sometimes deeply frustrating series.
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Directed by Deborah Chow (“The Mandalorian”), “Kenobi” feels more like old-school “Star Wars” than its Disney+ predecessors, from the credits to John Williams’ rousing new theme. It also embraces the sci-fi weirdness of strange creatures and odd aliens around while firmly planting the storytelling in a time of haves and have-nots.
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Just as McGregor almost superheroically carried large swaths of the prequel films, he is again nothing less than incredibly watchable. And Obi-Wan’s reawakening is a strong enough hook to pull the viewer through the parts of the show that don’t work quite as well.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi feels less like a major disturbance in the force than just more Disney+ content churned out to keep subscriber numbers up. McGregor brings tremendous depth and empathy as Kenobi and the show is worth staying with for him alone. ... For now, Obi-Wan is watchable but nothing more.
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Did it need to be made? No. Is its existence a sign of creative exhaustion? Probably. But does it make the best of its thankless job? Happily, yes it does.
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The two-part premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” struggles more than any other property to date to develop its own personality outside of the two famous trilogies it seeks to connect (and even a hit Disney+ Star Wars show in its protector/child dynamic).
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Obi-Wan had a larger problem: It was dumb as a rock. Simple rules of spatial logic went out the window. Main characters kept almost killing each other, and then walking away long enough for their wounded opponent could recover.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 319 out of 562
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Mixed: 76 out of 562
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Negative: 167 out of 562
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May 28, 2022
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May 27, 2022
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May 28, 2022