The clone wars are over and the Empire won, but the story isn’t over yet! What happened during the rise of the Empire? And how did the rebellion come to be? Star Wars Rebels answers these questions.
Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Science-Fiction
Created By: Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, Carrie Beck
Cast: Taylor Gray, Freddie Prinze Jr., Vanessa Marshall,
Tiya Sircar, Steven Blum, David Oyelowo & Jason Isaacs.
Network: Disney XD
Average Runtime: 25 min.
Release Period: 2014 - present
The Republic has fallen and the Empire is
ruling the Galaxy with an iron fist. Star Wars Rebels is the
space-opera’s second TV show, exploring the occurrences that happened 15 years
after the rise of the Empire and takes place right between Revenge of the
Sith and A New Hope. Dave Filoni, who also developed the preceding
series The Clone Wars, creates it amongst others.
Rebels explore a complete new area of Star Wars lore
and treat us with new characters and heroes. It broke several records outside
the US, as the most-watched broadcast episode on a network and garnered modest
positive reviews by several critics. The animation was praised among others,
for its photorealism.
I currently started with Season 2, so like
with The Clone Wars I can’t give you a full insight of the television
series, but I will let you know what my thoughts are so far.
---Spoiler
Free Review---
This television show follows a group of
rebels who are taking on missions to sabotage the expansion of the Empire in
the Outer Rim Territories. When a young orphan by the name of Ezra (Gray)
crosses paths with these rebels, he unleashes a set of events that will forever
intertwine their destinies. Ghost rebel leader Kanan (Prinze Jr.) takes a
liking to Ezra, revealing a secret while trying to protect him that will draw
the full attention of the Empire.
Star Wars Rebels is a very entertaining television show
that explores the vast world of this magical science-fiction universe. Still,
there are some shortcomings to this series such as some stories and characters
coming off as too childish, but this might simply be because the series is in
its early stages, as it was the case with The Clone Wars.
I also found it very odd that the stories
in Season 1 mostly took place around the same planet, since I hoped for the
rebels to fly to other planets and help out where they can. Especially since
they are wanted persons and staying on the same planet over again will soon
draw the Empire’s attention, where they are hiding.
Other than that though, Rebels
really managed to capture the spirit and mythology of Star Wars;
exploring different sides of force sensitives and visiting old Jedi training
temples. I also loved the fact that old characters from the prequels and the
former TV show made guest appearances. This production truly elevated my fanboy
spirit and is a nice time filler, until The Force Awakens is released.
Character wise, I thought it was very
smart to give the fans a new array of personas and supporting cast. It not only
gave the viewer a whole new set of heroes to cheer for, but the characters
themselves were also troubled and flawed, making them more relatable. Even the
former Jedi who are hiding from the regime, have trouble upholding their moral
principles. I also liked how they made use of classic characters; it was subtle
and so far never felt forced.
I never was a big fan of Freddie Prinze
Jr. but his portrayal of Kanan so far was actually quite good. Him and Ezra are
my two favourite characters in this television show, even though the boy makes
stupid decisions from time to time, without thinking about the consequences.
What I like about these two is the fact that both are tragic characters that
suffered through a painful and dark past.
Further regular characters are amongst
others the lovely Hera, a Twi’lek pilot of the rebel ship Ghost. Sabine, a
teenaged Mandalorian rebel and potential love interest for Ezra and my two
least favourite characters, Zeb (a Lasat) and C1-10P, better known as Chopper.
The last two are too childish for my taste.
As far as villains go, I found the Grand
Inquisitor (a dark Jedi Pau’an) to be the best of the villains. He not only was
ruthless but also gave off a threatening vibe that sent chills down my back.
The animation of Rebels tops that
of The Clone Wars and a gem to look at. The style and design of the
original trilogy was captured perfectly and the emotional display of the
characters is top notch. Star Wars Rebels is a great looking animated
series.
Verdict: The new Star Wars television series
sets the quality bar a bit higher, topping the already good The Clone Wars.
Two or three episodes have a couple of week moments but this is because it
needs time to develop, as any other TV show. Other than that, it has good
characters, a solid story and the music we all know and love. I will give Star
Wars Rebels an 8 out of 10.
Have you seen Star Wars newest television
series? If so, do you agree with my opinion? Leave a comment below and if you
are interested in further Star Wars reviews, visit my movie review blog
on: http://axelmovrev.blogspot.de. or my previous review on The Clone Wars. Thank you very
much for reading and if you liked it, share this review.
