Mini Series The Book of Boba Fett 1.03 - Chapter 3 - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Wuss...

 

The chase scene was rubbish but nice to see clones of C3PO and R2D2 along the way.

I don’t mind Boba taking his helmet off. We’ve just had the Mandalorian for two seasons with his helmet on, which I’m happy with, and Boba has the same helmet, so a change is good

 

The Vader comparison is a good one. For both of them I’ve just assumed the whole time that the bacta baths are a means of trying to salvage the health of the remaining skin cells as best as possible which is both soothing and helps prevent infections. I don’t think it’s (directly) the difference between life and death and I don’t think it has anything to do with Boba being a clone.

 

Pork consommé!

 

Sort of. But not quite. A lot of people here, including many who are not particularly critical of Star Wars, thought the episode looked very amateur. Mostly everyone liked the Boba Fett stuff, but thought the whole thing looked fan made. Because it did. Because that’s Rodriguez’s schtick. That said, I still enjoyed it well enough as many did. It just wasn’t visually up to the standards of the show.

 

I think it's because there's a huge disconnect with them and their riders. These kids have cybernetically enhanced themselves, so they have a non-conformist rebellious streak in them, to look and be different. They are a gang. And yet their rides don't reflect their personalities. The rides look fresh out of the showroom, very clean and something your sister would ride to college while obeying the speed limit. It's like a Mad Max gang driving immaculate Chevys. I get the 50s vibe, but it feels forced and unnecessary. Luke and his friends wouldn't have been seen dead driving those things. They might look great whizzing round Coruscant, but Tatooine is not Sunset Strip.

 

The fans who are forgiving loved it, I think because Morrison showed his Gaffi Stick war face which is pretty good. Also there was Dark Troopers which was a new effect and a call back.

Otherwise, there were some pretty bad parts, like how they teased Tython in the previous episode and it ended up being Simi Valley, a generic Western shooting spot. The battle was pretty bad in terms of build up over the season, Mando had his jet pack and loads of weapons but didn’t use any of them when it seemed he should have. And also, I think some fans (me at least) were negative on it because it was obvious Boba wasn’t the old school Boba. They were making him soft, and now TBOBF is soft too.

And idk if this was RR’s fault or if it’s just Disney’s instructions but the action sucked. Lots of Stormtroopers ducking behind rocks and getting blown up without rhythm. I think RR was a brilliant action director when he had creative control but I don’t think he has that right now, Disney is bringing in cameo directors to shoot stuff they already story-boarded in pre-vis, same as with MCU.

 

@Bor Mullet
@Glitterstimm
Numbers don't lie. In terms of votes The tragedy was very well received.
*Someone* might have complained, but that's true for every episode, and singling this one out as one of those who underperformed is just factually incorrect.

The tragedy

 

It was the worst episode so far imo! (Up until this episode came along) I am not one for hyperbole... If it's great I'll call it. No agenda other than wanting good SW. It looked cheap and like it had been shot out the back of RR's house.

I had to double check - I gave it a 5/10. This I gave a 3/10. Last week was a solid 8/10.

 

Well for an episode that's received warranted, as well as intense, criticism, it seems to have done OK on the poll average.

I'm ready for Episode 4: The Clans of Tatooine.

Or Episode 4: A New Hunter.

 

Oh you aren't? Because it seems to me that you literally just said that the Vespas were the worst SW thing ever.

Besides, just look at the votes. More than 50% of people voted 9 or 10. Overall people absolutely loved it.

 

@3sm1r looking at those scores for TM S2E6, that does seems crazy. I gave it a 7, but I've always had low standards for these shows. I think fans might have still been high off the Ahsoka episode, which I would say was maybe the best of the series, assuming you like the other Filoni cartoons.

 

@Glitterstimm
No, it's just that hating Rodriguez was not a thing back then as it is now.
People were mostly just talking about Boba kicking butts, how cool the black droid looked, what would happen to Baby Yoda, etc etc.

 

To address the first point - Yes, I absolutely mean what I said about the Vespas! I would give a few other examples that come close, but the Mods claws come out when you compare a negative to another film. I'll just say some of the Naboo and Canto Bight designs and leave it at that. But these took the cake...

The second issue. I was about to start making a point about people rating The Tragedy way higher because they were probably coming off the "seeing Boba fett kicking butt again" high...but realize that is incredibly arrogant. And the poll speaks for itself, so I'll just speak for myself - I hated it. I think I judge it harder because you will struggle to find a bigger Boba Fett fan, and it just wasn't for me. His look, the action, the setting - nothing worked. I do not like RR in this sand box.

I've also never reconciled the physical look and change of costume for Boba Fett. TM is a solid dude (muscular people - Don't extrapolate more than exactly what my words are!! Hahaha) and Boba Fett was quite lean. It would be like Vader being a foot shorter. Would it ruin the character for some people?? Yep, you bet it would! Because we are SW tragics that pick everything to pieces

 

Another ep where I'm on the fence. I'm not outright disliking the show, but it could be doing a lot more (Mando for comparison was much more enjoyable week to week). I'll start with likes and then do dislikes.

First of, the fight with Black Krssantan was great. I loved how sudden his appearance was, coming so soon after the flashback, which format previously dictate would take around half an episode, but instead Boba gets violently yanked out of it. The fight was quite visceral, really showing off the power of Wookiee strength used for 'evil' for once. Good stuff. That giant 'Millenium Falcon'-esque passenger cruiser that brought the Pykes was a cool way to show common Corellian design elements in the way it looked aesthetically. I'm liking Boba's current smaller scale position, though I hope that by the end he's putting on a better show if there's gonna be a multi-way gang war. Rancor bonding was neat, can't wait to see that pay off. Also glad that this was more front-story than back-story.

On the flip side, man, the end of that Tusken flashback couldn't have been more predictable. Really cheap way to end it really, I would have much preferred if for once they weren't all massacred. Felt like a very overused cliche, and rather tone deaf in its brevity given how impactful the end of last week's ep was. Not sure which way I fall on the cyber-mod biker gang, though they feel like they'd fit more in something like Resistance (not a criticism of that show, just that the bold colours and scrappy teens would fit like a glove in it).

Although I like Boba being on the backfoot (for now), I wish he was doing more in the present to cement himself. So far he's just mostly strolled around and talked to his enemies who then keep warning him off. I want a bit more spikiness from him, a bit more edge. Like he was in Mando really, I really dug his portrayal in that show. I still haven't quite been hooked in by the elements on display.

Oh, and give Fennec Shand way more to do, she feels like she's only there to give Boba someone to talk to, let her drive more action and plot, let her bounce off ideas or contribute.

 

Yeah, those 1950s hot-rodders of Lucas' generation sure didn't qualify as counterculture non-conformist! Young people cruising around in souped-up shiney rides stealing from The Man were just adored by polite society, parents & teachers alike! Darlings of authority.







If the 50s references aren't your style...Low-riders now, anyone? The hardcore East L.A. vatos don't count as rebellious, they're on the straight-and-narrow!





And what even indicates the bikes they're riding are "straight out of the showroom"? What, they're shiney? These are people who're investing in personal physical upgrades to their own freakin' bodies. Pretty sure that philosophy probably extends to their little desert-cruising gang-a-hole bikes.

For all you know they bought those things in factory ****ing beige and splurged out on custom neon paintjobs while they were tinkering under the hood. You know, like a hotrodder would. Which is the reference.

 

I was on the verge of writing a similar response, but you beat me to it.

But I will emphasize that "bright and shiny" is actually very subversive for a place like Tatooine. It says something about your aspirations and values if you can look stylish and slick even on a desert planet.

Dull and grimy might be subversive on Naboo, but that's the banal norm on Tatooine. Subversive isn't universal, it depends on where you're at, context is everything.

Edit: I should also add that bright and shiny also can emphasize youth and health, which on Tatooine suggests these kids are the heroes.

 

Um... You are no more enlightened than the rest of us - We all get the reference. Doesn't change the fact their look, design and use in the show was tripe!

 

I gave it a solid 10. It's the perfect episode and the series is a 10 as well.

Love how they have made Boba softer, caring, less fearsome, more negotiable and not using that old school armour to full effect if at all, after all its not all about blasters, rocket packs, flame throwers and disintegrations. Its also awesome to see his face all the time, lets not forget he is getting a second go at life and must worry about getting hurt.

Really looking forward to the next episode, more kids biker mod stuff please, and hopefully we will find more out about the bikes modifications and tune that make them so fast. Bacta tank scenes are very therapeutic and need to be as some of the CGI's are scary real.

All in all superb.

 

You're judging that by Earth standards. The gang do not wear the same style of clothing, it's all very outlandish, especially for Tatooine. Their enhancements are all different and kind of scary that they would willingly give up a limb or eye for an technical upgrade. As for their speeder-scooters, they stand out, I wont touch on the 'mod mirrors' again but the metallic paint colours stand out. They are a gang of individuals, the only commonality is the make of their speeder-scooters (I still think they looted them for a crashed freighter).

 

And yet you won't say why/how.

 

…5 years later.

 

Oh, I was just talking about the reception of the directing style here, not it’s overall enjoyability. Even folks like @Darth Chiznuk who mostly only criticizes Resistance and my posts about the MCU, had some pretty critical words for Rodriguez’s direction. But lots of those same people who criticized the direction, including me, enjoyed it anyway because of what happened in it. And so it receive a pretty good score. That said, under the surface of the generally positive poll results was a lot of criticism for the directing. And there was an unusual amount of criticism for the directing compared to other episodes (esp. compared to Chow’s and Fakuyiwa’s episodes). The poll numbers don’t capture that detail.

 

Fair enough It's still a bit odd that Rodriguez' amateurish direction would be singled out when there are episodes directed by - we don't do that here.