The Book of Boba Fett Premiere Review: Ming-Na Wen shines brightest in a strong first chapter set in Tatooine’s criminal underworld

For the most part, the first chapter in The Book of Boba Fett is a stage-setting type of episode combined with a heavy focus on flashbacks.

Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen reprise their roles as Boba Fett and Fennec Shand in spectacular fashion. As seen in the post-credit scene in The Mandalorian finale, Boba Fett has replaced Bib Fortuna as the king of the criminal underworld with Shand serving as his right hand.

Fett isn’t a merciless gangster-like Jabba. His goal is to rule through respect instead of fear. Instead of executing the Gamorian guards who were loyal to their former masters, he rewards them. The episode does an excellent job through flashbacks of showing why respect is an important principle for Fett.

Shand serves as the audience and Fett’s guide through the customs of being a Don on Tatooine. She’s more opinionated in this series than in her appearances on The Mandalorian, which Fett seems to respect quite. Wen is easily the highlight of this first episode. Whether it’s in the action scenes or threatening to kill the messenger, Wen is a consummate badass throughout.

The flashbacks fill in the gaps about Fett’s past. How he escapes the Sarlac Pit and spent his time after Return of the Jedi are answered in this episode.

The short runtime holds the episode back just when it seems to be getting started. As good as the flashback scenes are, they do come at a disservice of establishing the expansive criminal underworld.

However, Robert Rodriguez does an excellent job of establishing the gritty tone of this series. In the action scenes, he excels at showing the brutality of Boba Fett and the skill of Shand. Joseph Shirley‘s score is great and gives Ludwig Göransson a run for his money.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in the series premiere of The Book of Boba Fett. There may be some minor spoilers. The Book of Boba Fett is available to stream on Disney Plus.

If you like the content on The Intersection and have the means, a donation is much appreciated. The Intersection will never have ads on the website. In order to expand coverage to golden-era tv shows and add new features, we need your help. You can provide a one-time donation via PayPal or Stripe below.

The Prologue to The Book of Boba Fett

The premiere uses Boba’s Bacta Tank-induced slumbers as dreams back to his escape from the Sarlac Pit and subsequent capture by Tuskan Raiders.

Boba’s ingenuity shines while he’s held captive in the Tuskan Raider camp. After emerging from the Sarlac Pit, Boba is unconscious and stripped bare by Jawas. When Boba wakes up, he and another alien are chained up.

A Masiff is keeping its watchful eyes on Boba’s every move. Boba makes a big show out of trying to cut his ties right in front of the Masiff. When the Massiff tries to strike, Boba’s able to subdue the creature. He attempts to include the alien in his escape, but the alien sounds the alarm and Boba is captured.

Later, Boba once against tries to work with the alien but is rebuffed. A dig for water leads to an encounter with an underground creature with four arms. Boba is able to kill the creature but gives the credit to Tuskan Raider Youngling who is watching them. The scene with the limbered creature is well done. It’s not as big of a scale as the Krayt dragon, but quite fun.

Boba Fett and his Consigliere

Fennec and Boba waste little time establishing the new command structure. Various heads of different organizations pay their respects. Some give tributes and others give words of support with no actions behind those words. Fennec mentions Jabba would have had him killed for such insolence. Boba offers mercy and lets the messenger go. Another example of Boba’s honor is allowing the Gamorian guards to live and retain their positions by his side. Fennec advises against these decisions citing the old way of doing things.

Boba and Fennec further defy the usual order by walking the streets of Tattooine. The usual custom is to be carried like a king or queen. A visit to an establishment run by Garsa Fwip played by Jennifer Beals. While she seems to offer support, there is something about her demeanor that appears less than sincere. Beals plays the character just right. Soon after making their exit, Boba and Fennec are ambushed.

Ambush

Fennec, Boba and the two Gamorian guards are surrounded by ninja-like warriors with energy shields. Boba struggles more than Fennec does. However, the duo is able to overcome their attackers.

Towards the end of the battle, Boba’s savagery and savvy as the top dog emerge. Three of the attackers attempt an escape. Boba vaporizes one with a wrist rocket. He then orders Fennec to catch the other two attackers. Boba as the head of the criminal underworld needs to know who is behind the attack. In spite of being in substantial pain, he was able to retain his new stature.

A great rooftop chase ensues. Wen action bonafide comes in handy in these scenes. Fennec catches the two attempted escapees. A fun melee combat scene ends with Fennec killing one attacker and capturing the other. Meanwhile, the Gamorian guards drag Boba back to the Bacta tank.

The Book of Boba Fett Final Thoughts

Great start to a fun spinoff of The Mandalorian. The 30ish minute runtime makes it difficult for the episode to balance the flashbacks with the present day.

However, Morrison and Wen are great at grounding these two characters. Morrison exudes the mixture of honorability and brutality that’s perfect for Boba. Wen is nothing less than perfect as Fennec Shand. These two great actors make The Book of Boba Fett a promising 2nd Star Wars series.

Liked it? Take a second to support Chris Lee on Patreon!