Star Wars: Skeleton Crew - Season One (2024) Cre: Jon Watts & Christopher Ford
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Disney's endeavours into the 'Star Wars' universe have proved inconsistent, if nothing else, but, when I saw the announcement and subsequent trailers for this Jon Watts and Christopher Ford created series, I thought it had the potential to be a really good time. Either way, I was optimistic.
Visually, this was at about the same standard of the other 'Star Wars' series that have come out on Disney Plus, which is to say; fairly good, if not exactly mind blowing. Like most ventures into this universe, it maintained some of the classic editing techniques, such as the screen wipe, to tell its visual story. I quite enjoyed it - everything about this series felt like a bit of a throwback, in a nice way.
The show hit on a lot of traditional themes of childhood and coming-of-age, be it curiosity, adventure, independence, bravery, friendship, or ang of the other little milestones on the way to growing up. It felt like 'Star Wars' meets 'Peter Pan' meets 'The Goonies'.
The four child protagonists had nicely defined characters, who were all endearing in their own ways. It was honestly quite sweet. I do think that the side characters lacked depth though - this extends to the parent characters, who needed a little more personality, in my mind.
I think it's fair to say that the story was a little safe, although, it would be equally fair to say that it didn't really need to be anything else. It lacked focus, at times, but maintained a fun and enjoyable feel throughout. It was silly, it was swashbuckling, and it was full of adventure. In many ways, it was nice to watch a 'Star Wars' story that wasn't so concerned with the workings of the rest of the universe.
All four of the child actors who starred in this show had some really strong moments, and were generally quite strong throughout each episode. Of these, my favourite had to be Robert Timothy Smith, whose character; Neel, was an absolute treasure, and no-doubt a new 'Star Wars' fan favourite. He was just so likeable and sweet, which I would attest to both great character design and Smith's acting.
Ravi Cabot-Conyers and Ryan Kiera Armstrong had a really nice on-screen bond, though each had plenty of stand-out scenes on their own too. I was particularly impressed with Armstrong's displays of bravery - they came across as very believable. Kyriana Kratter provided some pretty good acting too, although, I'd have liked her character to have a little more going on - there was only really one episode where she got to stand out.
Jude Law looked like he had a tremendous time filming this series. He seemed very much committed to his somewhat silly and mysterious pirate character. I wouldn't say this was one of his best performances or anything like that, but I personally enjoyed his inclusion in the show regardless.
Nick Frost proved to be the best of the side characters, voicing an intriguing character with a lot of cheeky energy and underlying humour. Tunde Abebimpe and Kerry Condon had flashes of quality, while the likes of Kelly MacDonald, Jaleel White, Stephen Fry and Alfred Molina, all provided some entertaining guest appearances.
Overall, whilst, no, this may not have been a franchise-altering or ratings-breaking new series, it was a wonderfully enjoyable little adventure, that I definitely recommend - especially to younger members of the fandom. It's a really easy watch, and will leave a smile on most people's face with ease.
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