The Acolyte review: Star Wars finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel? 💫
Star Wars changes course on Disney+. After several decades devoted to the Skywalker dynasty, the license ventures towards a past yet unseen on screens. If the latest explorations of the very distant galaxy have not convinced us, with some striving despite themselves to tarnish the path traveled by the heroes, The Acolyte hopes that its distant historical context will offer it greater freedom of movement. After all, without any known characters to invite and with a hundred years of leeway, the latest addition to the Disney+ catalog has the leisure to free oneself from the rules laid down by his elders as much as paying homage to it. The Jedi Order is there, but its legendary figures have not yet appeared.
One hundred years before the birth of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Order was at its peak. Force manipulators bring peace on the galaxy and allow the High Republic to conquer new territories. But this prosperous period could come to an end when Jedi are killed. Master Sol sets out on the trail of the murderer and encounters a ghost from his past. His investigation will lead him down a dark path…
Little Murders in the Galaxy
Since its debut on Disney+the saga Star Wars seems to have given itself the mission of diversify your approach. To the monomyth at the epicenter of George Lucas' first trilogy, the platform prefers stories borrowing from the spy thriller (Andor) where the gangster films (The Book of Boba Fett). The Acolyte therefore continues on this momentum by providing the saga Star Wars new colors. It is thus a police investigation that the first episodes of this series aim to tell. With ease, the series summons all the ingredients of a “whodunit” to reinvent them in a Star Wars way. If the mystery surrounding the identity of the Jedi killer does not remain so for very long, The Acolyte deploys his quest with formidable efficiency. The borrowing from this new genre is undoubtedly the cement of this part of Cluedo lightsaber option.
The series definitely doesn't just have its new context in its favor, designer Leslye Headland manages to give substance to the first four particularly encouraging episodes. However, we would have liked the story not to play its biggest card from the outset, but we happily move on as it progresses. The showrunner of Russian Doll easily finds its balance between homage and reinvention, something rare enough within the extended universe to be underlined. A quality that we also find in the characters, whose story is the subject of an episode in its own right… and entirely successful.
“We are one, in two distinct bodies”
This notion of balance is at the epicenter of Leslie Headland's proposal. What some of the characters bring in darkness, others compensate with their share of light. This is the case of the protagonist played by Amanda Steinberg. The actress revealed by the saga Hunger Games makes a demonstration of strength, multiplying registers and tones with disconcerting ease. The actress was entrusted with a demanding score to which she pays homage perfectly. She is rather well surrounded since Jung-jae Lee and Dafne Keen are the perfect counter to the darkness that sometimes creeps in. The Jedi Master and his Padawan steal the show from the rest of the cast, inviting themselves among the characters Star Wars which we look forward to discovering more fully.
Because this is undoubtedly what was missing from the predecessors of The Acolyte, a liability to explore and real dramatic issues to attribute to its protagonists. The series is a blank page that the writers can fill in as they see fit, and this freedom translates into informed choices… or other opposites that add darkness. We can also be reassured, Leslie Headland should not pull a family link with legendary figures out of his hat. We still haven't digested the Palpatine family tree…
In a new light
Fifty years after the first rolling credits appeared, the very distant galaxy is shown in a new light. The exploration of this temporality is the opportunity to The Acolyte to abandon the aesthetics of its predecessors to offer a rich and unique universe. The Disney+ creation thus trades its western atmosphere to draw on the side Hong Kong films. Described by its creator as a fine mix between Snow Queen And Kill Billproduction benefits from a slick staging. She uses lively camera movements and rather unusual viewing angles within the franchise. If the fight scenes are ultimately quite a minority, they are exhilarating enough for us to immediately get caught up in the game.
It remains that what the series gains in innovation in its staging, she loses it a little in sets and costumes. If The Acolyte is devoid of certain hitherto immutable visual elements, and thus offered itself an opportunity to completely distance itself from the wake of its predecessors. The creative force is ultimately quite limited from the point of view of costumes and set elements. The years that separate Osha's adventures and those of Anakin are not always palpable. Ultimately, it is only when the series moves away from the limits of the outer border that something new really comes along.
This proposition is undoubtedly missing the element of madness which made the first trilogy a monster of entertainment. Some ideas still make you smile. But this feeling could well disappear as the series delivers its final chapters. The four episodes that we had the opportunity to see only seem to be a long preparatory phase for an epic conclusion.
Finally a revival at Star Wars
When he sold his franchise, George Lucas ensured that the films from his imagination would not be betrayed for profit. By getting your hands on Star WarsDisney thus only offered itself the opportunity to continue the path traveled by the heroes as much as fill the gaps left by the two trilogies. On the big screen and in streaming, Disney is having a field day, summoning famous characters to hatch Legacysequels. Heroes old and new are at the epicenter of pure nostalgia products, which have little to offer other than a long-awaited return from the galaxy far, far away to the cinema. If the operation is financially profitable — more than two billion dollars for The force awakens — the public is not entirely convinced.
Many early fans have disavowed the opuses proposed by Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams. Hope dwindles with each new incursion of the yellow logo on a black background. Yet, The Acolyte gave us hope that things would be different this time. And they are. If the series has yet to land on its feet, it proves that a new chapter is opening for Lucasfilm. The company seems to have learned from its mistakes, at least on some points. The formalization of a film returning to the origins of the Jedi is good news for Star Warswho will be able to navigate towards an unknown more thrilling (on paper) than the now corrupted timeline of the Skywalker dynasty.
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