Warning: The following review contains mild spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episodes 1 and 2.
New Disney+ Star Wars series Skeleton Crew arrives at an interesting time for the franchise.
After winning back Sequel Trilogy skeptics with The Mandalorian‘s first two seasons, Lucasfilm soon lost them with a string of polarizing live-action shows. Sure, Rogue One spinoff Andor is widely beloved. But The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka received mixed to outright negative reactions from some corners of the fanbase. The Mandalorian‘s third season likewise met with muted praise. And The Acolyte? Probably responsible for more heated debate than any other series (Star Wars or otherwise) this year.
Into this charged environment comes Skeleton Crew: a family-friendly, child actor-headlined Amblin Entertainment pastiche. If ever there was a title guaranteed to unite the fractured Star Wars fandom, this ain’t it. If anything, it’s the antithesis of what a vocal contingent of franchise devotees are clamoring for. At the same time, there’s no denying that – mostly for better, occasionally for worse – Skeleton Crew delivers exactly the “The Goonies, but Star Wars” experience it sets its sights on.
After a solid opening set piece that ends in a space pirate mutiny, Skeleton Crew shifts gears into 80s movie coming-of-age mode. We meet wannabe Jedi Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), his alien pal Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), tall tale-telling rebel Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and tech whiz KB (Kyriana Kratter). None of this is rushed; like fellow Amblin riff Stranger Things, Skeleton Crew makes a point of fleshing out its leads before they inevitably embark on a big, life-changing adventure. But eventually, our pint-sized quartet stumbles upon a buried starship that dumps them on the other side of the galaxy. Somehow, they’ll have to find their way home, with only busted droid SM 33 (Nick Frost) and Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) – a decidedly shady Force user – to guide them.
Related: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Is Disney Doing the Right Thing the Wrong Way
Disney+ only supplied two of Skeleton Crew‘s eight episodes for review. As always, this puts me in a tough position. For example, if I’d had access to all eight installments of The Acolyte earlier this year (instead of just two), my review would’ve skewed less positive. But that’s the pazaak hand I’ve been dealt, so – based solely on Episodes 1 and 2 – my overall verdict is that Skeleton Crew is perfectly serviceable TV. If anything, it’s a bit better than I expected. The story is engaging, the vibe fun, and the production values cinematic (not surprising given creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford’s ties to Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man trilogy). Kids will love it; some adults will too. But those folks who aren’t thrilled by the Star Wars franchise’s current direction? They’re gonna hate it.
And in fairness, aspects of Skeleton Crew‘s execution are a little rough. Take the show’s Amblinification of Star Wars. It’s not that the franchise shouldn’t take inspiration from other pop culture properties. Heck, the mash-up mentality is a core part of Star Wars‘ DNA. In the original trilogy, George Lucas combined Arthurian legend, Kurosawa movies, Westerns, and more besides. But for all its varied influences, Star Wars – when done right – nevertheless maintains its own distinct identity. There’s no mistaking a galaxy far, far away for anywhere else. That’s not always the case here, as Skeleton Crew‘s production design occasionally leans too hard into its Spielberg-lite aesthetic during the space suburbia scenes. Fortunately, this is less of a problem once we’re off-world, and either way, the CGI and practical effects/prosthetics and makeup are decent. (I watched both episodes on the big screen and they held up remarkably well).
Related: When Does Skeleton Crew Take Place on the Star Wars Timeline?
Another complaint I predict the naysayers will level at Skeleton Crew is the quality of its acting. Again, they’ll have a point. With The Goonies, Spielberg and director Richard Donner lucked out with a stellar line-up of kid actors, several of whom went on to bigger and better things. As harsh as it is to say, you don’t get the same impression from Skeleton Crew‘s junior performers. They’re not bad per se, however, more often than not they’re saying lines rather than playing characters. The one exception is Smith, whose more naturalistic turn as Neel results in many of the show’s biggest laughs. Otherwise, it’s up to Law, Frost, and Kerry Condon (as Fern’s mom, Fara) to carry the dramatic duties. As you’d expect, they’re more than up to the challenge.
Even so, the adults aren’t the focus. Nor should they be; this is a story about the journey from childhood to adulthood, after all. In this respect, Skeleton Crew more or less sticks the landing. In Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB there’s a very archetypal – and very thematically and emotionally potent – desire to define who they’re going to be, rather than having it defined for them. If that seems like well-trod ground, that’s because it is – and with good reason. The tension between children and their parents regarding the former’s destiny has been around for almost as long as children and parents have existed. Audiences related to it when Luke Skywalker dreamed of ditching his farm boy life for the Rebellion in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, and they’ll relate to when Wim fantasizes about a career as a Jedi Knight, and not an office drone, in Skeleton Crew.
Related: All Major Actors & Cast List for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
So, bottom line? As an intentional homage to classic 80s family flicks, Skeleton Crew just about works. As the latest entry in a long-running canon currently under attack from many of its most devout adherents, it’s unlikely to defuse the adversarial status quo. On the contrary, some Star Wars fans will immediately reject Skeleton Crew purely on principle. That’s a tad unfair – but then, that’s grown-ups for you.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.
Published: Dec 2, 2024 09:00 pm