Review: Star Wars Rebels “Spark of Rebellion” (Vader Edition)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…we get a very detached series from the rest of the Star Wars universe. Now with good ol’ Light Bright chest himself!

 Spoilers Below

Before we get this review off and running, there’s a bit I need to get off my chest. “Spark of Rebellion” isn’t a movie as much as it’s really just a two part premiere episode. In fact, Star Wars: The Clone Wars did a very similar thing. 43 minutes is highly coincidental for a run time. So, if you take that into account, you won’t feel as gypped as I have.

This bridge between Episodes III and IV makes you feel very detached from the goings on in the major movies. The empire, of course, is in full force, but the only real antagonist that is featured is Agent Kallus. For those who knew about the Sith Inquisitor, the constant failures Kallus seemed rather disappointing. This just makes me want to see how much chaos will ensue when the Inquisitor starts to hunt down Kanan and Ezra. Unfortunately, I have to wait until the Rebels properly premieres in mid-October.

Besides the Empire, and the fledgling Rebel Forces, there’s nothing else to connect Rebels to the greater universe. Sure, there’s a mention to Grand Moff Tarkin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appears on the Jedi holo-cube. There’s not much more of a connection. There’s no Vader, no Emperor Palpatine, no Yoda, but at least there was mention of Order 66. That worked, but it seems like there’s more and more Force users since then. As much as I was digging Kanan, I think going with an established character here may have been more beneficiary at first, then ease Kanan into Ezra’s mentor. The mentoring of Ezra by Kanan feels very rushed, probably because they wanted the characters already meshing ahead of the Disney XD premiere.

Speaking of which, Ezra feels like your run of the mill punk-ass teenager. Too many shows have the smartass kid that turns into the pristine hero. For once, I want to see this kid go through the ringer before even getting remotely close to becoming a hero. To be honest, if he were to lose a finger or a limb, I wouldn’t complain. Kanan, on the other hand, seems like a really good mentor / badass character for Ezra, even though it does feel rushed. And Ezra going to warn the team of the trap on a whim, just wasn’t believable, even if this is a galaxy far, far away.

Let’s get back to being detached, for a second. Yeah, this two episodes felt very shoehorned. However, this is the first opportunity for a Disney-owned Lucasfilm to write stories of their own, and not rely on the Lucas material too much. Kanan meeting Obi-Wan briefly as Obi-Wan is on his way to exile would be pretty neat, or the ship crashing on Dagobah would have been a nice little Easter Egg.

I thought, for the most part, the plot was a great piece to watch. the Ghost crew: Hera, Zeb, Sabine, Kanan and Ezra really do mesh well, and this series still looks leagues above The Clone Wars. Even with the holes need to be filled, this show delivers. I think we need more face time with the rest of the Ghost crew, because we get what is their drive, but we don’t know their backgrounds. Or, more concisely, what makes them worthy of being on the Ghost. Finally, is it me, or is the Ghost the bastard child of the Millennium Falcon and a bridge troll? I plan to take a better look when the movie premieres on television.

To truly get  the most out of your experience, watch it at least twice. Or, make sure that the Watch Disney XD app is compatible with your  device. I still have a Galaxy Tab 4, and the Watch Disney XD requirements, However, the stupid app worked on my Galaxy S 3. If it shows up, it works. This ends up being less of a bother if you have a Chromecast, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV. Let it stream to your box, and enjoy the show.

This show was a very enjoyable mixed bag, because there were a lot of things I was hoping to see, but didn’t. there is a whole sesaon to go, so maybe it was just a pilot’s immaturity. the show should find it’s footing, because it has a practical clean slate due to Disney wiping all of the extended universe out of canon. A lot of Star Wars fans saw this as Disney ruining Star Wars, but this is Disney trying to create their own universe now. Why not let them try? Rebels is a very good start.

 

Vader Edition

And then there was the re-release on ABC. If there was ever something that was not worth investing millions into promoting, it would be Vader’s debut. First off, it was a minute. A single minute was what Disney spent millions of dollars in promoting. Here’s what went down. Vader used his Light-Bright chest to make a holo-call to the Sith Inquisitor, and gave the Inquisitor his marching orders. He was tasked with finding children of The Force, and persuading them to turn to the Dark Side. If they refuse, kill them, and any Jedi he comes across. This should have been in the original cut, but we get a wasted minute. You can delete it off of your DVR if you haven’t watched it, because it’s just not worth the time to watch. Just watch the new episode tonight. You’ll feel better.