Skeleton Crew Premiere Review: Jon Watts injects Star Wars with youthful, Amblin energy

For the first time since A New Hope, Skeleton Crew creates a sense of wonder largely missing from Star Wars. However, Jon Watts maintains the danger, action, and effects that a Star Wars story should have.

Skeleton Crew Overview

Set after Return of Jedi and in the same period as The Mandalorian, Star Wars returns to its most furtive storytelling timeline with this newest Star Wars series. Skeleton Crew is certainly aimed at a younger demographic. However, like some of the best Amblin films like ET or series like Stranger Things, there is palpable danger and a sense of adventure waiting around every corner.

Skeleton Crew centers around four children who make a discovery on their home planet that thrusts them into an adventure. Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) is the hopeful human hungry for adventure despite his father’s pleas to focus on tasks closer to home. Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), an elephant-like alien, is Wim’s best friend. He constantly tries to keep Wim in check by fretting about their dangerous situations. However, Neel is loyal and stays by Wim no matter how much he protests.

Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong, outstanding) is the toughest of the group. Her confidence is reminiscent of Rey, while her constant bickering and need to one-up Wim have elements of Leia-Han Solo. KB (Kyriana Kratter) rounds out the group but doesn’t get much characterization outside of wearing a cool visor, one of the few issues in the first two episodes.

The other problem is a lot of the adult performances are a bit stilted.

The chemistry between the kids, the dark opening scene and Jude Law’s presence make Skelton Crew an improvement over The Acolyte.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is streaming on Disney Plus

Here’s a quick recap of the first two episodes of Skeleton Crew.

This Could be a Real Adventure

Skeleton Crew begins with an incredible opening that feels more like Firefly than Star Wars, which is a compliment. The episode opens with a cadre of pirates raiding a ship. Captain Silvo promises ample credits. After opening the vault, only a single credit remains. A mutiny occurs, which ends with Silvo in the brig.

This Could be a Real Adventure shifts focus to At Attin, a modern planet with a terrible name. Wim and Neel are prepping for aptitude tests. Wim is a dreamer who yearns to be a Jedi, while Neel tries to keep his friend grounded. On the day of the test, Wim misses his bus. He rides his speeder through the woods but doesn’t make it in time. Wim falls off his speeder and discovers what he believes is a Jedi temple.

Wim’s father, Wendle, is furious but convinces his teacher to retake the test and demands his son keep his head out of the clouds. Neel urges Wim to listen. However, when Wim returns to the forest to find the temple, Neel is beside his friend.

Fern and KB follow Wim into the forest. Wim and Fern have great banter, with Fern being more of the bully. Both are excited about the discovery, but Fern gives off a more mature demeanor than Wim. Eventually, the foursome falls into the hole they believe in a Jedi temple. It turns out to be a ship that takes off, with them inside it and Wim’s father watching helplessly as his son blasts off into a galaxy far, far away.

The first episode is mostly a setup episode designed to show who each of these children is and their dynamic. Neel and Wim have a loyal friendship, and Fern and Wim have a great butting-heads dynamic.

Way, Way Out Past the Barrier

Stuck on the ship, the children move to the bridge and find the pilot, a droid named SM-33 (Nick Frost). Fern convinces the droid that she is his captain. Fern wants to return to At Attin, but the droid can’t find the planet and takes them to a dangerous outpost.

While exploring the outpost, the children are separated. Wim and Neel end up finding food thanks to their valuable currency. Several adults approach the children, wondering where they’re from. When Wim tells them they are from At Attin, they get laughed at. The girls encounter a similar but kinder interaction with an alien of the night. She tries to help Fern and KB but is at a loss regarding At Attin.

The same game of pirates from the first episode arrives on the outpost. They take the children as prisoners and put them in a brig as Jod Na Nawood (Law). He reveals his force sensitivity and persuades the children to take him with them if they can escape.

The 2nd episode adds some mystery and darkness to the adventure. Despite this being kid-friendly, there’s a palpable sense of danger at the outpost. It’s not so dark to make you worry about one of the children dying, but enough to give Skeleton Crew some stakes.

Skeleton Crew Final Thoughts

Overall, Skeleton Crew is off to a strong start. Showrunners Watts and Christopher Ford deliver compelling first two episodes that are confident in the story they want to tell. Is it kid-friendly? Yes, but it doesn’t insult the audience and delivers an intriguing set of characters while injecting a sense of wonder that’s largely been lost in the Star Wars universe.

The series does need to expand on KB as a character, and some of the parent roles are a bit stiff, but Skeleton Crew is an immediate improvement over The Acolyte.

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