By Jack Ransom - December 4, 2024
Was lucky enough to get the opportunity to see the premiere of the first two episodes on the big screen before they arrive on Disney Plus. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew sees four kids (Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter & Robert Timothy Smith) make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.
Now, I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love the original trilogy (who doesn’t?), the prequels range from dull to decent (the latter adjective also describes Solo), Rogue One is a blast and unlike most of the internet I don’t have any particularly strong feelings on the sequel trilogy. When it comes to the TV side of things, I am even more in the dark. I thoroughly enjoyed Andor, I thought Obi-Wan Kenobi was fine and dipped on The Mandalorian through Season 1. Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and the myriad of animated shows I have yet to really find the motivation to watch.
The smaller scale of Skeleton Crew is what appealed to me, as well as an esteemed cast line-up (of which includes Jude Law, Nick Frost and Kerry Condon) and the notion of venturing to unseen elements of the Star Wars universe. Tonally speaking this immediately gave me The Goonies, Stand by Me, Super 8 etc. vibes, it's laced in tonal nostalgia, that will no doubt tick off boxes for audience members who grew up with that particular era of adventure mystery, but manages to feel fresh within the canon of Star Wars as we see everyday school life and suburban neighbourhoods within the large galaxy.
Episode 1 (around 40 minutes or so in length) spends substantial time grounded with our four young leads as they navigate exam peril, crushes and studying…before stumbling on a crashed pirate ship and bickering and exploring their way around it, leading to the inevitable kicking off of our adventure. This episode was directed by John Watts and there are undeniable comparisons to be made to Spider-Man: Homecoming in its tone, humour and lower scale high school approach. It lays the groundwork nicely, however Episode 2 (directed by The Green Knight’s David Lowery) ratchets up the pacing (cutting in at a lean - and honestly possibly too short 20 or so minutes) and dives head first into fan pleasing aliens as gang pull up in a Starport featuring a host of oddball alien ladies and gents boasting superb costumes, makeup, prosthetics and visual effects. We also are introduced to SM 33 (brilliantly voiced by Nick Frost) who brings his combat skills to the table, before the gang get snatched and locked up of which the second episode wraps with a suitably hooky cliff-hanger.
The far more family friendly and younger audience appropriate tone does lead to some very familiar jokes and silly moments that a child audience will no doubt find hilarious (that’s not to say there aren’t some chuckles to be had here). There is also an aura of simplicity and familiarity to the material, that I feel is fitting of the shorter episode length. Obviously this is just a review/overview of the first two episodes, but despite their calibre, Law and Condon essentially are cameo appearances so far (the former especially). Our four lead youngsters are enthusiastic, have believable friend and classmate chemistry and Nick Frost is a riot as the babbling, befuddled pirate droid.
Skeleton Crew’s first two episodes deliver a solid start to the series. The retro feeling, smaller stakes, glimpses into unseen territory and likeable characters make it easy viewing. Fans of the wider galaxy will be happy with the host of extraterrestrial designs on display and the decent action. The humour doesn’t always land and there is some pacing and structural haphazardness due to the episode durations.
Skeleton Crew Episode's 1 and 2 are now streaming on Disney+
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