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So once again Boba Phil had taken one for the team, like the hero he is. He had subjected himself to a viewing experience he didn’t much like with Skeleton Crew, the latest offering in the Star Wars universe from Disney & Lucasfilm.
So far, so expected. No need to go on any further, right? But wait! Circumstances happened.
I have largely skipped out on all things Star Wars since season 3 of The Mandalorian shat its own bed, and then Ahsoka did the same thing right into my eyes. Even an abused spouse has their limit, right?
The Acolyte passed me by, and by the sounds of things I missed nothing but an opportunity to point and laugh at the television. I have the BBC for that.
There were no plans to watch Skeleton Crew at all, but then a 5-year-old son who is Star Wars obsessed combined with a total lack of anything to watch on TV with him one evening, and the fateful decision was made. My kids and I settled down to watch.
And, you know what..? Skeleton Crew is good stuff!
Bear with me here. It is good stuff for some very clear reasons that are almost caveats, but that doesn’t change the fact that somehow Disney has managed to let somebody create some good Star Wars again.
The last time this happened was also seemingly by accident with Andor.
How can this be? Well, here are those things that are like caveats.
Skeleton Crew is good because it does exactly what it says on the tin. Nothing more, nothing less.
The pitch was always a Spielberg adventure, and Amblin movie set in the Star Wars universe, and it is exactly that.
Just like with Andor, where Tony Gilroy seems to have had enough clout to completely ignore whatever bullshit idiocy flows from Lucasfilm and forge his own path, so it seems that multi-billion-dollar Spider-Man success with the MCU has bought Jon Watts headroom, and he uses it to be laser focussed.
This is simply what it sets out to be. A fun, child-centric adventure coloring within the Star Wars lines.
It really is The Goonies in Space, or the adventures of the kids from ET if they had found a Corellian freighter instead of a cute alien. Nothing more, nothing less.
Because it knows this, it stays in its lane. It simply does not bother trying to cross-generational divides and satisfy middle-aged fans of yesteryear.
No juggling this and bags of lore while trying to keep the kids happy. It also largely eschews the search for a mythical new “modern audience” that seems to drag the rest of Star Wars down.
As a result, Skeleton Crew is creatively successful and a great way to spend a bit of time watching something new with the kids. It is for kids, lets be clear about that, but it is refreshing because it sticks to that. This feels like a teachable moment for Lucasfilm to ignore yet again.
The tone is consistent with the Amblin ideal, right down to the curiously absent parents and the middle class suburban environments that get left behind for a rip-roaring adventure.
The episodes keep moving at enough pace to keep a five year old engaged, but have enough mystery for older kids. At no point am I checking my watch or wondering if even starting a family was a terrible idea.
As a parent, that is high praise indeed for kids TV.
Is it perfect? Well, there were lesbian space mums, and the girl boss character spends as much time scowling and being as unlikeable as her more adult counterparts in just about every current TV show and movie, but that doesn’t ruin it.
Neel, the Ortolan kid (same species as Max Reebo from Return Of The Jedi) is the MVP as comic relief. None of the kids are too annoying, and Jude Law gives a surprisingly understated performance proving himself adept at the material. Nick Frost is clearly having the time of his life hamming it up as SM-33, the decrepit droid first mate of the Onyx Cinder freighter.
Each episode takes them to a new location for a new mini-adventure within the overriding arc, with recognisable Star Wars creatures at every turn, space pirates, and enough background detail to make it feel part of the parger universe comfortably.
If you have kids, it is worth your time to watch with them. If you don’t have kids, but you still remember being one in the 80s, then there are probably also much worse ways to spend about 40 minutes in front of your TV once a week. It is good kids TV, and as a result it is Star Wars that doesn’t suck.
The post SKELETON CREW: 2nd Opinion appeared first on Last Movie Outpost.
