Review: 'The Rise of Skywalker' Is A Satisfying, If Flawed, Finale (Spoiler Free)

By: Dominic Jones

When the final scene of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker irised-out and the words "Directed by JJ Abrams" appeared on the screen at the world premiere on Monday night, I couldn't help but stand and applaud. Billed as the end of the Skywalker Saga (even though Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy acknowledged before hand that, some day, there will probably be more), the film does everything needed to be a fun, emotional, and satisfying end to the story that began 42 years ago.

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The First Reactions To 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Are In

By: Benjamin Hart

With the world premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story in Hollywood comes the first reactions from those who were lucky enough to see the film. Many of the attendees immediately took to Twitter afterward to share their mini reviews of Solo. Below we collected a wide swath of tweets that include (mostly) positive impressions of the film.

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The First Reactions To 'The Last Jedi' Are Overwhelmingly Positive

By: Benjamin Hart

It's finally happening, folks! We now live in a world where a select few have seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Earlier tonight the world premiere of The Last Jedi took place in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium and the film was shown to attendees soon after. As soon as the film ended the social media embargo for the film was dropped, which means a flood of reactions have cascaded through twitter over the past few minutes.

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'Rogue One' Album Review - The "Williams Way"

By Ciaran Duggan,

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story represents a new path for the Star Wars movie franchise. This film is different from any Star Wars film that came before it, which has been attributed to a number of different factors.

Firstly, it is the first Star Wars stand-alone film of the franchise, no longer focused on mere episodic content which is centered around the Skywalker family.

Secondly, a fundamental element of previous Star Wars films has altered, the music. The music, which is sometimes referred to as the oxygen of Star Wars, has been composed by legendary musician John Williams in every film prior.

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Review: 'Star Wars: Ahsoka'

By: Dominic Jones

The highly touted young adult novel Star Wars: Ahsoka has been on shelves for about a month now, and to say it's been popular would be an understatement.  The excitement generated by a fan favorite character from the gone-too-soon Clone Wars animated series as the star of a novel led to the book hitting at #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List in the Children's hardcover and children's ebook categories.  But does the book live up to the lofty expectations set by fans?

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Spotlight: Larson Jewelers' Star Wars Rings

By: Dominic Jones

We can all agree that there has never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan.  With new movies Star Wars rings coming out yearly, there are lots reasons and occasions to display your fandom loud and proud.  The team at Larson Jewelers are doing just that with their line of Star Wars rings, perfect for fans who want to do the same.  Their collection features plenty of variety, from subtle references to rings featuring big iconic characters and logos.  Some highlights from their collection include their awesome "Battle of Hoth" ring, rings featuring the Rebel Alliance logo and Mandolorian logo, and a spinner ring with the ten words that make any Star Wars fans heart flutter.  Not to mention, the Holidays are just around the corned and a Star Wars ring would make for a unique gift for the Star Wars fans in your life!

'The Battle of Hoth' Ring

One of the newer pieces from Larson Jewlers, this tungsten ring depicts the epic battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire from the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back.  The ring features rebel snow speeders, as well as the Echo Base ion cannon, on one half and AT-ATs, AT-STs, and snow troopers on the other (see the complete image below).  In addition, the snowy mountains of Hoth are represented in the background, offering more detail to an already impressive (most impressive) piece.  What's really unique about this ring, however, is it manages to be both subtle and incredibly detailed.  On first glance you may not notice that this ring is Star Wars making it perfect if you want to sneak a little Star Wars into a non-Star Wars event, however when you look at it closely it contains enough detail to impress any Star Wars fan.  Order yours here.

The Rebel Alliance ring

If the subtlety of the 'Hoth' ring isn't your speed, the Rebel Alliance logo ring may be for you.  There's no hiding your fandom with this ring (not that you ever should), the bright orange song bird insignia used by the Rebel Alliance in the original trilogy is front and center on this ring.  The rebel logo represents multiple generations of fans, as the rebel logo was first introduced back in the original trilogy, but is still seen today in the sequel trilogy (the symbol has been picked up by the Resistance) and with a variant of the classic logo seen on Star Wars Rebels.  This means this ring will never go out of style.  The ring is big and flashy, perfect for swearing your allegiance to the Rebel Alliance, and for displaying you fandom loud and proud with a symbol fans everywhere will recognize.   Order yours here.

The Mandalorian ring

When it comes to secondary characters with their own massive fan following, you don't get any bigger and better than Boba Fett.  Fett's brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, and subsequently in Return of the Jedi launched as massive fan base of people intrigued by the bounty hunter.  This lead to his backstory being told in Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, as well as countless action figures, collectibles, and, now, rings!  This ring is perfect for Boba Fett fanboys and fangirls, with six of his iconic Mythosaur skull logos covering the ring.  This ring is truly for the fans, with something iconic enough for Star Wars fans to recognize, but subtle enough it work in any situation.  Order yours here.

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away spinner ring
Admit it, just seeing the words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away....", gets you a little excited!  And we all can't wait to see those words up on the big screen again very soon.  This ring features those iconic words wrapped around it's exterior.  The ring is a spinner ring, meaning you can spin the center of the ring, allowing the iconic words to be in completion at any time.  The spinner is a nice a feature, that makes this ring stand out.  Like the "Mandalorian" ring, this ring is subtle, however unlike the "Mandalorian ring" the iconic nature of the words on the ring make it so that everyone can appreciate it, no matter their level of interest in the films.  The words "A long time a go in a galaxy far, far away" carry great meaning for Star Wars fans everywhere, so to be able to always see them on your finger will bring a smile to your face every time.   Order yours here.

Kudos to the Larson Jewelers team for all the great work they do.  You can view their complete collection of Star Wars and other geeky rings (and not so geeky rings) here.

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Review: Star Wars Ugly Christmas Sweaters

By: Dominic Jones

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening this month, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that Christmas is just seven days after opening day.  Once the movie has opened, you'll want to keep the Star Wars excitement going and combine it with holiday spirit.  A Star Wars themed ugly Christmas Sweater can do just that.  The tradition of ugly Christmas sweaters has been stood the test of time and has been seeing a resurgence thanks to Holiday nostalgia in recent years.  The good folks at UglyChristmasSweater.com have a wide selection of Star Wars sweaters and I've highlighted a couple of my favorites below,

Santa Hat Darth Vader Sweater

What's more festive than a Dark lord of the Sith?  Well, maybe not, but put a Santa hat on him and at the very least it's a great conversation starter!  The sweater is funny and iconic (you don't get more iconic than Darth Vader) so everyone will be in on the joke.  The more hard core fans will notice that the traditional snowflake pattern is replaced with TIE fighters and AT-ATs.  The sweater is unisex and made from 100% Acrylic fiber, so it is very comfortable.  It's also lightweight enough you won't find yourself sweating at parties (or in the theater for you 5th screening of The Force Awakens).  This sweater is simple and fun, perfect for Sith-mas!  The Santa Hat Darth Vader Sweater is available for $49.95 US.  You can order yours here.

Star Wars Boba Fett Ugly Green Sweater

With the iconic helmet of Boba Fett front and center, with the iconic Mythosaur skulls on the upper arm and Boba's Mandalorian insignia on the forearm this one's for all the Fandalorians out there!  It also depicts planets and battlestations in the form of 8-bit graphics.  Whether or not Boba survived the Sarlacc Pit is still to be determined, but with whispers of a Boba Fett film coming out in a few years this sweater could serve as excellent premiere attire.  The sweater is available in both men's and women's sizes and, like the Darth Vader sweater, it's made from 100% Acrylic fiber, so it's very comfortable.  Intricately designed, with lots of cool details for fans this sweater is ideal for Holiday parties and Star Wars events alike!  The Boba Fett Ugly Green Sweater is available for $59.99 US.  You can order yours here.

If Darth Vader and Boba Fett aren't your speed, UglyChristmasSweater.com have a wide selection of other Star Wars characters including Yoda, Chewbacca and R2-D2.  Let us know in the comments which one is your favorite!

You can view the whole selection here!

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Review: Star Wars Saga Blu-ray Steelbooks

By: Dominic Jones

Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox re-released the blu-rays of the Star Wars saga last week, just in time for fans who want to revisit the classic films, or introduce them to new fans, before The Force Awakens opens on December 18th.  This new set features new steelbook cases for the each of the films.

The films themselves look spectacular on blu-ray.  The discs included in the steelbooks are a repackage of the 2011 release of the saga, with the same disc art, menus, and commentaries.  All of which are still nice features, it just would have been nice to see one or two new bonus features included.  The archival commentary track, which is made up of a collection of press interviews members of the cast and crew have done over the years, is especially fun as you get a wide variety of commentators from various moments in time since the film's release.

The main appeal behind the steelbook release is the new packaging, which is awesome.  The covers look great and it's cool to have an individual case for each film (which I believe is a first for Star Wars on blu-ray).  A nice surprise was that the film's theatrical poster is featured on the back of the case.  It is a little odd that the back of the case is tinted to match the character on the front (which you can see in the video above).  This works fine for most of the films, especially for The Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi where the tint of the character matches the natural tint of the poster, however for Attack of the Clones (which features Yoda on the cover) the poster is tinted green which just looks strange.  That being said, overall the steelbooks look great and would make a nice addition to one's DVD/Blu-ray shelf.

One warning though, the steelbooks are somewhat fragile.  In a move that can only be described as Jar Jar-esque, I accidentally dropped my copy of The Phantom Menace and the case split in two along the spine.  Obviously, the solution here is to not drop your steelbooks!  So learn from my mistake and be extra careful with your copies.

Overall this is a solid, if bare bones, release of the Star Wars saga on blu-ray.  The steelbooks look fantastic and would make an fine addition to any collection (just be careful with them!)  This release is also perfect for introducing new people to the saga before Episode VII hits theatres next month or to give someone the gift of Star Wars this holiday season.

Score: 7.5/10

#StarWars saga steelbook blu-rays! Look for my review on @theswu next week!

A photo posted by Dominic Jones (@dominicj25) on Nov 15, 2015 at 4:48pm PST

You can follow me on Twitter: @DominicJ25

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Review: 'Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles' DVD

By: Dominic Jones

If you have any credits left after "Force Friday," there's another Star Wars release this September that you can spend them on, Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles, which hits DVD today, September 15th.

Much like the previous Lego Star Wars specials, The New Yoda Chronicles offers a comedic take on the galaxy far, far away.  Consisting of four episodes which create a loosely connected story set primarily between Episodes IV and V, with flashbacks taking place immediately following Episode III.  Having seen the previous Lego specials is not a must, but those who have seen them are rewarded in small ways (the inclusion of Jek-14, Yoda calling Han "Ian," etc.)

The episodes themselves are good, but don't quite reach the level of the first few Lego specials which were truly great pieces of Star Wars comedy (specifically The Padawan Menace and The Empire Strikes Out).  The New Yoda Chronicles are definitely aimed at a younger audience, with lots of slapstick humor that may grow a bit tiresome for adult fans.  That's not to say there aren't some pretty good jokes included mostly for the adult fans watching - Qui-Gon claiming to have "a certain set of skills" was a laugh out loud moment for me!  Also, C-3PO being a complete badass after having his mind wiped in Episode III was a stroke of comedy genius.

The DVD itself is very light on content outside of the actual episodes.  The only bonus feature  is alternate ending.  No spoilers on what goes down, but while the alternate ending works, you can see why the team chose to go with the actual ending in the series.  As with most content these days it would be nice to get some behind the scenes content, but seeing as this release is aimed mostly at kids its understandable that they didn't include any.

The set itself is definitely a worthy pick up if you have kids.  The humor is definitely geared at a younger audience, though adults should be able to enjoy it as well (plus there's some references that are definitely aimed at the parents).  The adventures are fun and the jokes offer a humorous take on the galaxy far, far away.

Score: 7/10

You can follow me on Twitter: @DominicJ25

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Book Review: 'Lords of the Sith'

By: Dominic Jones

Warning: Contains Mild Spoilers

The fourth novel of the "new" Star Wars canon hit shelves earlier this week, though some of us were able to pick up a copy a week and a half early during Star Wars Celebration.  The novel is written by Paul S. Kemp and takes place between Episodes III and IV (between the novels Tarkin and A New Dawn if you wan to get really specific) and tells the tale of a failed assassination attempt on Darth Vader and The Emperor, aka Darth Sidious. 

The novel is cover-to-cover action, with little down time, though it is that down time that makes the novel so compelling.  The novel gives us a brief insight into the relationship between Vader and Sidious.  Kemp paints the picture of a relationship built on distrust, as most Sith relationships are.  Sidious clearly understands how the rule of two works and knows that eventually Vader will plot to overthrow him.  Throughout the novel we see him constantly reminder Vader that he is the more powerful of the two.  Sidious also seems to be testing Vader's loyalty to the Sith.   

Vader, on the other hand, hasn't quite reached the point of wanting to overthrow Sidious and the idea is mentioned only in passing and without much detail.  This, to me, suggests just how badly Obi-Wan broke Vader's spirit in Revenge of the Sith.  Having lost to Obi-Wan clearly changed just how powerful Vader thought he was.  Prior to that duel Anakin was making grand claims to Padme about being able to over throw Sidious, now eight years later he can barely bring himself to think of the idea.  It is implied in the novel, and I love this concept, that Vader believes he won't truly be able to overthrow Sidious until he kills Obi-Wan.  And if we look at the Original Trilogy it is after he kill Obi-Wan aboard the Death Star that he begins to have ideas about killing Sidious.  Three years after his "defeat" of Obi-Wan he is desperately seeking out "the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star" in the belief that this Force sensitive kid could help him bring down the Emperor, as he reveals to Luke at the end of the film. 

And all this, comes from one single line in the book.  This is what I love about Star Wars, and Star Wars novels.  One simple line that could easily be taken as throwaway dialogue is causing me to reconsider the films that I have seen countless times. 

Though the novel is titled Lords of the Sith, it could very easily be argued that the main character is Cham Syndulla.  Cham first appeared in the Season Episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, "Liberty on Ryloth" and later reappeared in the Season Three episode "Supply Lines."  Though we didn't know it back in 2009 when we were first introduced to Cham it seems he will be an important player in this era of Star Wars.  Not only does he star in this novel, but his daughter Hera in one of the principle characters on Star Wars Rebels.  Hera is not seen in the novel and is mentioned only once, however by witnessing Cham's struggle we can begin to understand how Hera became the character we met in A New Dawn and watch on Rebels. 

In Cham we see someone who is has been fighting for his entire life and is beginning to tire of it.  In The Clone Wars it was implied that he had been fighting for a long time and we get the sense in Lords of the Sith that he hasn't stopped fighting since then.  We also see how much he has lost.  Don't let the Disney logo on the back fool you, Lords of the Sith is a blood bath with seemingly important characters being killed off in an instant.  Kemp does a great job of making the reader feel every death, even when its minor characters.  This gives the reader an insight into how Cham must feel every time one of his soldiers is killed.

My one criticism of the book is that there is a creature attack on our heroes late in the book that seems unnecessary.  The intent of the sequence was likely to impress on the reader just how dangerous the terrain on Ryloth is.  However, after the first two-thirds or so of the novel were spent showing how credible a threat Vader, Sidous, and the Empire as a whole were, the Ryloth wilderness felt like child's play and out of place this late in the story.

I feel I also must touch on the character of Moff Delian Mors, due to the news that got out about her character before the novel's release.  Allow me to state very clearly that I am in favor of more diversity, of all kinds (race, gender, sexuality, etc.) in Star Wars and was very pleased when I heard this news.  I applaud Kemp for including this.  It was a subtle, blink-and-you-miss-it reveal late in the novel but it added a nice layer to Mors character.  It is not crucial to the story by any means, but it helps make the universe a more diverse place and more reflective of the world and Star Wars fandom.  And, as I've stated before, having more diversity in Star Wars makes it more accessible to more people which means more people will become fans and we will get to share our passion with more people and that can only be a good thing.

Finally, a couple of other quick observations about the novel.  I loved the way The Clone Wars was referenced throughout the novel, not only by Cham but more so by Vader and Sidious.  It was also interesting to see Sidious slip back into the benevolent Palpatine guise he utilized throughout the prequels during a sequence late in the novel.  Another nice touch is that, even though the novel doesn't necessarily tie directly into anything, it fits nicely with the tone established by previous novels and Rebels for this era.  The Empire is all powerful, Palpatine is keeping a his Sith powers a secret from the public, Vader is mysterious and almost more of a legend to the outside galaxy, and any Rebel movements are small and locally based, though there is a sense of something bigger on the horizon.  It is really nice to see such consistency across all platforms.

All in all Lords of the Sith is chilling story, that shows the tough side of a Rebellion.  In the films and TV series (thus far) we have mostly seen the major victories (the Battle of Hoth being the exception).  In Lords of the Sith, we follow a Rebel cell whose greatest achievement doesn't make a dent in the Empire.  We see the cost of rebelling, both in death toll but also in the mental state of Cham.  We see how difficult it must have been to begin a galaxy wide Rebellion.  And we get to see the true nature of the evil the rebellion must fight.  And to top it off, it's a great read

Score: 9/10

You can follow me on Twitter: @DominicJ25
 
Read my review of A New Dawn here
 

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Review: The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars Action Figures 1977-1985

By: Dominic Jones

There can be no denying the role action figures have played in the popularity of Star Wars over the past four decades.   Everyone has heard the infamous story of the early bird kit circulated in 1977 and even today stores shelves are still stocked with Star Wars action figures (though maybe not as well stocked as they should be).  As we enter this new era of Star Wars films, no one is surprised to learn that figures based on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens are in the works, it is also important to look back and remember where we have come from. 

The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars Action Figures 1977-1985 is perfect for doing just that, looking back on an incredible era of Star Wars merchandise.  Author Mark Bellomo takes readers on a journey through the run of vintage figures, beginning with the aforementioned early bird kit right through to the six Ewoks figures released in 1985.  The book also covers other aspects of Vintage collecting including vehicles and playsets.

Each entry in the book merges as real world history and description of the figure with a brief, but comprehensive, in-universe biography of the character the figure is based upon.  This is definitely one of the strengths of the book, its accessibility.  Bellomo has made it so that anyone can enjoy the book, whether its adult fans looking back on their childhoods, fans who grew up with the prequels (like myself) who want to learn about the history of Star Wars, or kids who just want to know more about the characters of George Lucas' universe. 

There is also information on the current prices and values of all of the products in the book.  This, to me, serves three purposes: one, to give fans looking to buy the figure an idea of what they should expect to spend; two, to give fans looking to sell their figures an idea of what to sell for; and three, to let the rest of us ogle at the price and think about how much we would have to save up to buy a Mint On Card Canadian card Power of the Force Yak Face with coin ($2600), or a Mint of Card 12B vinyl cape Jawa from 1978 ($3000).  Also included in the price the figures originally sold for, which gives us great perspective on how much the world has changed.

While some of the info included in the in-universe biographies of the characters may wind up falling into "Legends", they do provide a nice overview of who these characters were.  I was also pleased to see that while this book is clearly focused on the original trilogy, the prequels and The Clone Wars animated series are treated with respect and referenced when appropriate.  Bellomo's love and respect for the entire Star Wars saga shines through in this book.

Overall, The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars Action Figures 1977-1985 is a great read and fantastic resource for Star Wars collectors of all types.  Whether you've collected the vintage action figures over the years or you want to learn more about an era of Star Wars that was before your time, this is the book for you.  The combination of historical information and in-universe backstories makes the book fun, informative, and accessible for fans of all types.

Check out author Mark Bellomo's appearance on The SWU podcast from December 2014!

Order your copy of  The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars Action Figures 1977-1985 here.

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

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Book Review: Tarkin (Spoiler Free)

By: Trey Atwood

If you think about it, Wilhuff Tarkin was a minor from the very beginning: he was a secondary villain in only one Star Wars movie. He had a couple parts on The Clone Wars and had minor appearances in a few novels and some comics, but mostly was a forgettable character. It's ironic, considering that Peter Cushing was undoubtedly the most well-known actor on the set at the time the original film was in production, only to be overshadowed by all the other main actors in retrospect. James Luceno had quite a task for him when he set out to make Tarkin, as he put it, "Larger than life."

As the second book in the newly rebooted Star Wars canon, Tarkin is an ambitious title that sets out to be part memoir, part rebel hunt. Author James Luceno is no stranger to writing for the Star Wars franchise, having published Darth Plagueis two years earlier as his other most recent book for the series. Darth Plagueis managed to make an art out of summarizing events from dozens of pre-Episode 1 era books while simultaneously following a completely different narrative arc, and with more than its fair share of callbacks to the novel, readers who enjoyed Tarkin should definitely look into reading Darth Plagueis in order to fully understand the setting in which Tarkin takes place. If you’re a new to the non-movie parts of Star Wars then it’s best that you at least see the episodes of The Clone Wars in which Tarkin appears because the book touches back on those events often.

Most of the first act deals largely centers around Tarkin's origins, which is something that surprised me: for those who only know him from the films, Tarkin would hardly seem an experienced survivalist and outdoorsman: the straight-backed, haughty government official always seemed to me more of an officer who would lead from behind than someone who would jump into the thick of the action, but in the end it makes him a more interesting protagonist to follow. In essence, Tarkin has gone in my eyes from a traditional politician and military commander to a highly-ranked hunter with a literal thirst for blood.

Tarkin’s story before the Empire is without a doubt the most engaging part of the novel, even though it’s split apart in a series of flashbacks sprinkled throughout the rest of the book and meant to break up the action found in the main plot. I found myself smiling at the Machiavellian elements that made up Tarkin’s checkered history and wanting to discover more about a character I thought I knew before.

Readers who are familiar with the Expanded Universe may notice that Tarkin’s newly fleshed-out personality has some parallels to Admiral Thrawn: a character from Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy who became an instant success. Thrawn was a genius tactician who could predict his enemy’s movements by looking at the art of the culture they grew up with, while Tarkin uses his background as a hunter to analyze his foe’s personality quirks to do the same. Like Thrawn, Tarkin is one of few Imperial villains who are written to be smart, resourceful, and even a little successful at times, rather than using the classic bad guy tactics of the Emperor and Vader. Just like Thrawn, Tarkin will make demands of his underlings that don’t make sense at first, only to have the pieces of the puzzle come together at the last moment to complete a bigger a picture and amaze them with his tactical thinking. And just like Thrawn, Tarkin has a Sherlock-caliber ability to turn minor observations into revelations that border on having more basis in apophenia than reality, and become hard to excuse at certain points.

The novel does an excellent job of subtly portraying an Imperial atmosphere and explaining the nuances of the politics of the new Empire, setting the mood well for the scenes on Coruscant and making for good contrast whenever we get the antagonist’s point of view. Luceno also writes very accurate dialog for Vader; not Anakin Skywalker. There's a difference between the two that I hadn't noticed was so drastic until I read the book.

As an example, here’s a line of Anakin’s from Episode II:
“Master, if we keep this chase going any longer that creep is gonna end up deep fried.”
And a line from Tarkin
“The liberties you enjoyed and abused during the days of the Republic and the Clone Wars are a thing of the past. Then, there was some purpose to turning a blind eye to illegality and to fostering dishonesty of a particular sort.”
Words like ‘lest’ and ‘perhaps’ appear in Darth Vader’s dialog, showing how much the years have changed him and his vocabulary. The Emperor, too, is portrayed well, and even has more than a few of his puppet master traits shown off to wrap up the ending neatly.

The most prominent part of the novel is the journey where Darth Vader and Tarkin are grudgingly sent out together to hunt a band of dissidents, but each one develops a greater respect for the other as time goes on, if not friendship. It was a good way to pave over the events of The Clone Wars to establish the professional relationship they have Episode 4. But even though the adventure itself spans the galaxy, it feels admittedly small in scale: the dissidents are shown from the start to only have the ability to cause minimal damage to the Empire, creating for a lack of tension and an anticlimactic ending. I found myself hoping that the people they were chasing would lead to a bigger organization that could one day grow to be a threat on par with the Rebel Alliance, because sending Vader and Tarkin after them felt like overkill. The book admits that their involvement is so that the threat doesn’t go public and is snuffed out quickly, meaning that no matter what, it’ll be snuffed out: Vader and Tarkin are just along for the ride because the Emperor can’t have his image compromised, which doesn’t make for as exciting a story.

The novel branches out into multiple genres spanning from a biography that brings us up to speed on Tarkin’s origins, to a cat-and-mouse chase that makes up the majority of the book, to a mystery, to a political drama peppered with espionage elements. This leads to Tarkin stretching itself thin, suffering from the same style of arc fatigue which critics of the Phantom Menace had problems with. Fans of the past Expanded Universe novels should definitely pick up this book, if for nothing else than to catalog how much of the old Legends canon has been carried over on the back of Luceno’s references, which fill the book from cover to cover. Tarkin is an interesting read, and definitely a fun one if you’re a fan of Imperials, but it’s held back slightly by a lack of focus.
7/10

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Review: 'The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions' Box Set

By: Dominic Jones

On Tuesday November 11th, 2014 (tomorrow) Star Wars: The Clone Wars 'The Lost Missions' will hit blu-ray and DVD, bringing to an end an incredible era of Star Wars story telling.  'The Lost Missions' is a reminder of why we loved this show so much and, while it wasn't the ending we hoped for, it certainly told some of the most important Star Wars stories to date.  From the sinister origins of Order 66 to the great mystery that is the Force, the 13 episode sixth season dealt with some of the biggest topics of the entire saga.  This box set is a must own for every Star Wars fan, even if you didn't follow the series (thankfully it's all on Netflix should you decide you want to catch up - which you should!)

The box set includes all thirteen episodes from this season, as well as the four "story reel" episodes that make up the "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" arc that were released on StarWars.com earlier this year.  In addition, the box set includes a sixteen minute documentary titled The Clone Wars: Declassified.  But more on those later, let's take a look at the look of the box set.

Overall, the look of the box set is solid.  Much like the season itself, the cover art for 'The Lost Missions' is different in design from the previous seasons.  The cover features both Master Yoda and a Kamino Clone Trooper (previous seasons had featured only one character) in a nod to the two arcs that had the biggest impact.  I think it was a nice touch that they included both.  It would have felt wrong to leave Master Yoda off the cover, considering the adventure we undertook with him this season, and the clone represents the way this season, in ways we had never seen before, explored the clone troopers and their creation.

The discs feature Anakin and Obi-Wan.  Both characters played significant roles in various arcs this season, including the unfinished Utapau arc.  They, along with Ahsoka (who is mostly absent from this season) and Rex, were the main characters for this series and using them on the discs almost seems to be more a reference to the fact that we have, for the most part, been following their adventures for the past six years.   

But enough about the look of the box set, let's talk about the episodes!  Season 6 was a solid run of episodes from beginning to end and you'd be hard pressed to find a "bad" episode.  Below are my mini, spoiler-free, reviews of all four arcs from this season. 

The "Order 66" arc:

This arc answered one of the biggest questions of the series and the prequel trilogy.  How did the clones go from being friends with Jedi, as we saw in the series, to trying to kill them, as we saw in Revenge of the Sith.  The arc focuses in on ARC Trooper Fives, who we had followed since season one and seen grown from a clone cadet to a ARC Trooper and whom we had experienced much joy and heartbreak with, along the way.  Fives finds himself in the midst of the ultimate conspiracy and finds out the truth about his existence.  Dee Bradley Baker turns in an Emmy-worthy performance as the clone in this arc, conveying various emotions and stages of insanity in several clones.  The arc is filled with great action, humor, intrigue, and heartbreak, and is truly one of the best and most important arcs of the series.

The "Clovis" arc:

Originally intended as part of Season 5, the Clovis arc is one we had seen previews of going as far back as Summer 2012.  When it was finally released as part of 'The Lost Missions' it demonstrated one of the areas in which the series had grown the most: political episodes.  The arc deals with the return of Padme's ex Rush Clovis as he enlists her help in exposing the war profiteering going on within the Banking Clan.  Of course Anakin gets jealous and lets his dark side take control, leading to one of the most tense moments of the season, as he physically beats Rush Clovis in front of Padme.  The arc also gave us one last taste of the late Ian Abercrombie as Palpatine and featured the final appearance of the bounty hunter Embo.  Filled with action, intrigue, and romance, this arc provides fascinating insights in the politics of the republic and the unhealthy relationship of Anakin and Padme.

The "Jar Jar Binks/Mace Windu" arc:

If you're not a fan of Jar Jar then this will probably be your least favourite arc, though I wouldn't recommend skipping it.  The arc puts Jar Jar Binks and Mace Windu on a mission together and, well, hilarity ensues (I still think there is potential for a spin off series here).  When Jar Jar is the only person who can save the people of Bardotta (due to his romantic past with their queen), we see him and Mace in a race against the clock to stop a cult from stealing the living Force from within the Bardottan people.  An appearance from Mother Talzin adds to the intrigue of this arc, as we get another glimpse into her plot.  While this arc isn't as ground breaking as others, it is still a fun ride even if Jar Jar isn't usually your cup of tea.

The "Yoda" Arc:

I would not be surprised if this arc doesn't turn out to be the most important story told in the entire run of The Clone Wars.  This arc features an exploration of the Force like we have never seen.  We are introduced to new concepts, like the relationship between the living and cosmic Force, and, for the first time, really explore what it takes to exist after death.  The arc takes us all around the galaxy to explore these concepts, from the temple on Coruscant, to the swamps of Dagobah, to the temples of the Sith homeworld Morriband, to place in the universe where life itself begins.  It also tackles the questions of how Syfo-Dias died, midi-chlorians, and Yoda's desire to find out the identity of the Sith Lord.  The arc features stellar performances by Tom Kane as Yoda and Jamie King as the Force priestesses and features guest stars Liam Neeson, reprising his role as Qui-Gon Jinn, and Mark Hamill as Darth Bane.   The story is dense and holds up well on multiple viewings.  If nothing else, I strongly encourage everyone to watch this arc.

The arcs of season six were stellar, but you may have already known that!  Let's move on and talk about the bonus features. 

The Clone Wars: Declassified:

This documentary is truly a stand out on the box set.  Covering everything from the moment George Lucas announced the series back at Celebration III in 2005 to the shows abrupt end in 2013, this documentary takes you behind the scenes in ways no documentary had done prior.  If you are looking for discussion about specific story arcs or insight on how the show was made from a technical stand point, then this is not the documentary you are looking for.  However, what this documentary does so beautifully is take inside the culture that existed among those who made the show.  From the very early days of Lucasfilm Animation to funny holiday memories to the big Emmy win, the documentary shows the people that made this series so special.  It shows how much fun it was for the crew and how that translated into amazing episodes for us fans to enjoy.  A warning: this documentary will make you want to work at Lucasfilm with these incredible people.  And yes, it will make you cry (or, at least, it made me cry!)  It is a truly wonderful tribute to the incredible people that made this show happen.

The "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" Story Reels:

This was a cool inclusion on the box set.  While in a perfect world this would have been fully animated and released on Cartoon Network or Netflix, it is interesting to get a look at the process of how the series was made.  The story reels are episodes of the show that feature unfinished animation and would have been shown to people like George Lucas and Dave Filoni for approval before being fully animated.  The episodes do feature a complete voice cast, including great performances by James Arnold Taylor and Matt Lanter as Obi-Wan and Anakin respectively.  The story of this arc is also fascinating and deals with something crucial to the original trilogy: the Death Star!  In addition, we get to see Anakin struggling with the decision Ahsoka made and the end of Season 5.  There's also some great banter and cool action (although it would have looked even better animated!)

If I had one criticism to make about this box set it's that it did not include a Jedi Temple Archives.  For those unfamiliar, the previous five seasons had included a feature where you could "go into the archives" of each episode and see concept art, production models, deleted scenes and early animation of certain sequences (much like the story reels).  The lack of these features was disappointing as I would have loved to go behind the scenes of these episodes.  That being said, this is a fairly minor criticism.

And here we are.  At the end of the last release of finished episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  It's amazing to think back on where we've come from and the adventures we have been on over six seasons and a movie.  The stories that were told captured the spirit of what we loved about Star Wars and were ground breaking achievements in the animation world.  The series was loved by so many and it was sad to see it end the way it did, but 'The Lost Missions' was more than up to challenge of providing a fitting ending, given the circumstances.  As I said at the beginning, 'The Lost Missions' embodies everything we loved about The Clone Wars.  From the way it dealt with issues the films didn't have time for, to its willingness to push the boundaries on what we perceive as Star Wars and go to places that were unexpected.  All in all, this box set is a must own for every fan of The Clone Wars and, dare I say it, every Star Wars fan out there.  Simply Amazing.

Score: 9.5/10

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Review: 'Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars' on DVD

By: Dominic Jones

The Star Wars franchise has a long history of crossing over with other universe with hilarious results, and Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars is no exception.  Following in the footsteps of The Muppets and Family Guy, the Phineas and Ferb team did their best to capture the feel of both Star Wars and Phineas and Ferb.  And, I must say, they did a great job!  The DVD hits shelves on November 11th.

Unlike the Family Guy specials which recast the Star Wars characters as Family Guy characters (Peter as Han, Lois as Leia, etc.), Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars chose simply to insert their characters into the Star Wars universe to have an adventure that occurred concurrently with the events of A New Hope.    The story follows Tatooine natives and friends of Luke Skywalker Phineas and his step brother Ferb as they race to return the Death Star plans to R2-D2, who dropped them while roaming the dune sea.  Along the way they get help from Isabella (who pilots a ship called Centennial Chihuahua) and Secret Rebel agent Perry the Platypus, as they battle against the evil Darthenshmirtz and the trio of stormtroopers made up of Candace, Buford and Baljeet (who are on a mission to buy a pair of socks for Darth Vader). 

Overall, this is definitely more geared towards the younglings.  The humor in this special is definitely targeted at a younger audience, who are more likely to watch Phineas and Ferb on a regular basis.  The episode features several songs that are catchy as can be (I guarantee you'll be humming "Rebel Let's Go" for at least a day after watching this).  In addition, getting to see the cast of Phineas and Ferb interact with legendary Star Wars characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker was good fun and a source of some good humor.  It was also nice to see that there were references to all six films, so there are jokes for everyone

That being said, there is also some good humor for older fans.  Nothing inappropriate, it's just most kids likely won't get why it's funny.  A stand out, older fan targeted joke occurs during the opening crawl when it's pointed out that none of this is canon so just relax.  I particularly enjoyed this jab at the culture that sometimes exist within fandom where we want everything to be the next major chapter in the story and we can't just relax and enjoy stuff for what it is.

When it comes to bonus features, this release features several additional episodes of Phineas and Ferb, which is great if you, like me, enjoyed the Star Wars episode enough to want to see more of Phineas and Ferb.  I would have, however, liked to have seen some behind the scenes bonus features as well, perhaps a short "making of" video or perhaps a commentary track from some of the people that worked on this.  However, this release is definitely aimed at kids and as result, bonus features aimed at kids were included.  Also included with the DVD is a special Perry the Platypus in Carbonite key chain, that's pretty cool!  I can definitely see this dangling from many backpacks on the school yard.

Overall, this is a fun special that both kids and adults can enjoy.  The team behind Phineas and Ferb did a great job of poking fun at Star Wars, without being disrespectful to its legacy.  I would recommend this DVD to anyone who enjoys Star Wars comedy and, especially, to anyone with kids.

Score: 7.5/10

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Rebels Review: 'Rise of the Old Masters' (Spoiler Free!)

By: Dominic Jones

This past Saturday, the crowd at New York Comic Con was treated to a surprise screening of the fourth episode of Star Wars Rebels "Rise of the Old Masters."  Seeing an episode with my fellow Star Wars fans is always a treat and this was no different.  Seeing as the episode will not air on Disney XD until October 27th, I'll keep this review mostly spoiler free (I'll be discussing the episode in broad terms, but no I won't tell you how it ends!)

This episode focused mostly on Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr) and Ezra's (Taylor Grey) relationship as master and padawan.  It's clear that both of them are frustrated with how Ezra's training has been going.  There are subplots involving the other members of the crew of The Ghost, however I'll be focusing on the Jedi plot for this review.

The episode especially delved into Kanan's psyche and his fears about being able to train Ezra as a Jedi.  Keep in mind, Kanan was only a padawan when Order 66 went down so for him to be training an apprentice of his own would be unheard of in the pre-Empire days (as Mace Windu says, "the code forbids it").  The plot of the episode (minor spoilers!) revolves around a mission to rescue Jedi Master Luminara Unduli who had reportedly survived Order 66.  Kanan leads the mission with the hope that Luminara could train Ezra instead of him (minor spoilers end).  He clearly lacks the confidence in his own abilities as a teacher and as a result begins to give off a bad impression on Ezra.

Ezra on the other hand, is clearly coming to terms with what training to be a Jedi actually means.  We saw in this week's episode Droids in Distress that he is clearly anxious to begin his training.  So when he and Kanan are actually training he becomes more and more aware of just how difficult it can be.  Kanan's lack of confidence leads to Ezra believing Kanan doesn't want to train him, causing tension between the two. 

The episode also serves as our first real look at The Inquisitor (voiced by Jason Isaacs), assuming he doesn't show up in Fighter Flight next week.  I will say that I do hope we get a glimpse of him setting up this plot in Fighter Flight.  I feel his introduction could have used slightly more build up on the series (more than just his cameo at the end of Spark of Rebellion).  This was likely due to the time constraint of 22 minutes, so I'll give the crew a pass on that one.  

Despite this, The Inquisitor was still a formidable villain in this episode.  Isaacs portrayed him with a perfect mix of dark side induced confidence and cunning intelligence.  The analogy Executive Producer Dave Filoni made last week, calling The Inquisitor an evil Sherlock Holmes holds up excellently.  Every move he makes is calculated and executed with near pin point accuracy.  On top of that, he is clearly a far superior warrior to Kanan.  Their duel reminded me of Luke vs. Vader in Episode V in that, much like Vader with Luke, The Inquisitor was toying with Kanan for most of the fight.  The series has been doing an excellent job so far at establishing villains like The Inquisitor and Agent Kallus who are legitimate threats to our heroes.

My only real criticism of this episode is not as much a criticism of the episode as much as a criticism of the marketing.  It's no secret that this episode contained an epic lightsaber duel between Kanan and The Inquisitor.  However, a large portion of this fight was released as clips prior to the episode's release (here and here).  I understand the desire of the marketing team to use the lightsaber fights in ads for the series however, unlike in the films where duels can last up to ten minutes, the fights in these episode aren't usually more than two minutes.  So after two 45 second clips of the fight, we've pretty much seen the whole thing.  To be fair, it is also important to keep in mind that this was the first lightsaber duel of the series and lightsaber duels are among everyone's favorite things about Star Wars.  I'm sure as the series progresses this will be less of an issue (by the time seasons 4-6 of The Clone Wars were on, the lightsaber duels were used sparingly as clips to promote the series).

Overall, this was a fantastic episode with great character development for two of our main characters.  It's fascinating to look into what it was like to train as a Jedi during the dark times and to see the struggle of the Jedi to survive.  In addition, the episode established another formidable threat in The Inquisitor, someone who we'll likely see cross paths with our heroes many times before the series wraps up.  And, as usual, there was some great humor and awesome action. 

Score: 8.5/10

Check out my reviews of Spark of Rebellion and A New Dawn!

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization. 

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'Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion' Review (Spoiler Free!)

By: Dominic Jones

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Star Wars Rebels Canadian premiere at Fan Expo Canada, where the first episode (or movie, if you will) 'Spark of Rebellion' was screened to a packed John Basset theater.  The crowd was into it and so was I!  The series gets kicked off with a bang and if this episode is any indication, the series will be even more beloved by fans than The Clone Wars.  The added bonus of seeing the show at a convention with 1000 other fans, made it clear that Star Wars is best experienced with other fans.  We all laughed and cheered together as we returned to that galaxy far, far away.... 

The episode had the task of introducing the audience to the crew of the star ship 'The Ghost' and one of the series primary antagonist, Agent Kallus.  'Spark of Rebellion' does a fantastic job of setting up the character relationships, specifically the various 'The Ghost' crew members and Ezra.  

When it comes to Ezra, it's clear that the crew of Rebels has learned from their time on The Clone Wars when dealing with child characters.  When The Clone Wars debuted and the character of Ahsoka Tano was introduced their was a certain amount of backlash to her character due to her "whiny-ness" (with hind sight being 20/20 we can now see how this was important for establishing her characters arc).  Ezra, on the other hand, is introduced in a way that likely won't "annoy" fans, while still leaving him much room to grow.  

The focus of the episode was definitely on Ezra, but the other characters also each had their moment in the sun.  We learn about them largely through their interactions with Ezra.  It becomes clear throughout the episode that while Zeb puts on a tough guy act, he definitely has a big heart and a strong conscience (there is a great scene where he slumps up against the door after doing something he clearly knows was wrong).  Sabine, who is only 16 years old, is clearly wise beyond her age, probably due to her Mandalorian upbringing.  That being said, she does show her age a bit when it comes to her art (not so much in her actions, but her reactions).  Agent Kallus is established as vile, cunning, and cruel villain.  Perfect for the Empire.  I do hope we get some more character development and back story for him, though.

Having read John Jackson Miller's Rebels prequel novel A New Dawn (my review of that is coming later this week), the characters of Hera and Kanan were particularly interesting.  Watching 'Spark of Rebellion' as well as the short 'The Machine in The Ghost', it's clear that Miller perfectly captured the voices of those characters.  If this is any indication of how well Star Wars stories will work together going forward with the Lucasfilm Story Group then Star Wars is truly entering a golden age of story telling!  Hera and Kanan definitely felt like the same characters we met in A New Dawn, although Kanan has gone through some significant character growth in the years since he met Hera (likely her influence on him), which is to be expected.

If I had to pick one nitpick for the episode, I would say that one of the jokes felt a bit out of place.  Don't get me wrong, it was hilarious, but it didn't feel like Star Wars humor.  That being said the rest of the humor throughout the episode worked perfectly and felt right.  

All in all, 'Spark of Rebellion' was a fantastic kick off for Star Wars Rebels.  The acting was fantastic and I look forward to seeing more of this cast in action.  The story was an excellent way to kick of the series.  With all new characters, the series could have taken a bit of getting used to however the use of familiar (and fan favorite) species, as well as music that evokes the classic films worked to ensure that the introduction of the series was a smooth one.  Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, Greg Weisman, and the entire Rebels team did a great job of introducing all the characters in a way that made us want to spend more time with them.  I hope we get to do so over many more seasons. 

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion Premieres October 3rd on Disney XD

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.

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Star Wars Rebels Premiere First Impressions

Pictured: The Rogue Rebels enjoy the show.

By: Benjamin Hart

Thursday night, just a few blocks away from San Diego Comic Con at Reading Cinemas, Gaslamp 15, Lucasfilm premiered the first episode(s) of Star Wars Rebels. The screening lasted approximately 45 minutes and attendees walked out with very positive reactions their first taste of the series. Several journalists from different from sites across the web, including our very own Chris Seekell, were there to experience it and they subsequently shared their thoughts online. Here are some excerpts from their (spoiler free) first impressions:


"This show is essentially what 'The Clone Wars' would be if it were set in the Original Trilogy era with Original Trilogy dialog, character driven stories, pacing, and music. I predict that 'Star Wars Rebels' will be a massive hit, will be critically acclaimed and will be popular with Star Wars fans of all ages. This series captures the magic of A New Hope perhaps better than any Star Wars project since 2005... and maybe even since 1983. It will premiere with a TV film this fall. Do not miss it. Even if the only thing about Star Wars you liked was the first film, do not miss it." - Chris Seekell, The SWU


"Rebels has laughs and plenty of action, and the hour long episode doesn’t waste a moment of dialogue. I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and how much we learned without it feeling forced. The time period in between Episodes III and IV is a fascinating era to see more of, and honestly, it’s touching to watch this ragtag group of heroes do what they can to fight back against the Empire." - Amy Ratcliffe, IGN (Amy also discussed her thoughts in this video.)


"Star Wars Rebels has more heart than you can possibly imagine. The show is truly about the characters. You feel for the orphan, you want this new group of rag tag rebels to take him in and to form that made family. We don’t learn everyone’s deep backstory, but we learn enough about the Empire and what it has taken from them that every time they have a victory against an Imperial stooge, you feel the justification." - Jason Ward, Making Star Wars


"The audience didn't hold back their excitement during the episode, cheering during some scenes and laughing loudly at others. The tone delivers on what the trailers have teased and harkens back to that golden original trilogy era. There may be darkness in this pre-A New Hope series but there’s a lot of hope and fun as well." - Lisa Granshaw, The Daily Dot


Big thanks to Lucasfilm for hosting this screening, and kudos to the attendees who took the time to share their thoughts with us! Star Wars Rebels is slated to premiere on the Disney Channel this October, and will subsequently continue to air on Disney XD.

Update: Here's an excerpt from Bryan Young's first impression post on Big Shiny Robot:

"More than anything, this show feels like "Star Wars." It emulates the formula, but remixes it for the time period in which it's set. We've seen "Star Wars" like this, but at the same time we haven't. It's a careful balancing act, and I think the creators behind the show, Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman crossed that tightrope with ease."

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