Review: Star Wars Resistance “The Recruit”

Bar fights, starship racing, and spying on the First Order make for a promising start to Star Wars Resistance.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Kazuda Xiono (who goes by Kaz) is on a routine mission to deliver intel to the Resistance when he meets up with legendary pilot Poe Dameron. After working together to fight off a belligerent First Order fighter, Poe offers Kaz a mission to help the Resistance uncover a First Order spy.

Though hesitant at first, Kaz decides to accept the job. Poe and Kaz make their way to the Colossus – a hive of scum and villainy and the suspected home of the First Order spy. There, Kaz is taken in by Poe’s old friend Jarek Yeager, a curmudgeonly old mechanic who wants no part in the undercover work. Kaz meets many new faces at the Colossus, and gets himself mixed up in a one-on-one race against Torra Doza, the boss’s daughter.

Our Take:

Set firmly in the new era of Disney Star Wars, Resistance takes place just before The Force Awakens begins. Star Wars animation veteran Dave Filoni’s new show is set to premiere new episodes every Sunday this month on DisneyXD. The first episode, titled The Recruit, is a 42-minute special that introduces us to the characters, setting, and premise of the Resistance universe.

I really love that Resistance begins with a space battle. Sure, Clone Wars and Rebels took place in space a lot, but there’s something about this episode’s opening shot that just screams ‘Star Wars’ to me. Once Poe enters the mix, things start going fast. Within a matter of mere minutes, Kaz has switched from declining Poe’s offer to eagerly accepting it. While this part was breezed through a little quickly, it fits with everything we know about Poe. He’s a hotshot pilot with no time to waste in the minutia. He takes Kaz to the Colossus, convinces Yeager to take him in, and takes off with a quick word goodbye. At least he leaves BB-8 around to keep an electronic eye on Kaz. (I guess this means Kaz won’t be getting his own new droid, then?)

As for Kaz himself, he’s… blandly inoffensive. He doesn’t have much personality yet, so I hope that the writers have something up their sleeves for him eventually to flesh out his character further. In Rebels, Ezra started off as pretty basic, too, and evolved into someone a lot more interesting, so I have faith that the same may be true for Kaz. When it comes to the annoying green guy, Neeku, I have no faith in him ever improving. He was definitely one of the worst parts of the premiere for me. I get that he’s supposed to come across as being funny, but most of his jokes just involve him misunderstanding simple speech patterns. How has he survived on a criminal hideout in space this long? Yeager is cool, and it’s a neat angle to keep him out of the spy business. (Although I’m betting he’ll get wrangled into it with time.) If the show seems male-centric so far, you’re right! The only female character with significant screen time so far is the bartender, who is very funny but also probably won’t be a big part of the action going forward. With very little to go off of, Torra can’t really be judged yet. I did like that she seems genuinely kind to Kaz, even though he’s her challenger in the race.

Whether it’s The Clone Wars to Rebels to Resistance, it might appear like each new show has been a step down visually. Resistance’s style has been described as ‘anime influenced’. I guess I can see that a bit, like in some of Kaz’s over-the-top reaction faces as he’s bitten by the tiny creature. Mostly though it just looks like cheap CGI. Once you’re used to it, though, it’s not so bad. The colors are vivid and the locations already feel more lived-in than some of Rebels. The market was especially good-looking.

The premiere of Star Wars Resistance is an exciting double-length episode that shows lots of promise. The characters are interesting, if a bit bland so far. One of my favorite parts was the comedy, which is already working better than it ever did in Rebels. From Kaz’s quips to the gossip-spreading ‘best pilot in the galaxy’ sequence, I was constantly amused by the show’s sense of humor. I’m looking forward to a more lighthearted Star Wars show that involves more high-speed racing than it does lightsabers and Jedi.

Score
7.5/10