Skeleton Crew: Viaje a lo desconocido

I'm approaching this review cautiously, acknowledging that 'Skeleton Crew' appears to be targeted towards a younger audience. While children may enjoy it, I found the first four episodes quite underwhelming.

The story lacks depth, feeling more like a children's movie that jumps from location to location without much consequence. The war backdrop feels superficial, and the action sequences lack the impact they should have.

The acting, while not terrible, could be stronger, especially considering the caliber of some of the cast members. Even Jude Law, at times, seems to be phoning it in.

The production design is impressive, but it can't save a story that feels slow-paced and ultimately rather forgettable.

Perhaps the series improves later on, but based on my initial viewing, I remain unconvinced. Please prove me wrong!

I can imagine how the initial pitch went like: "It'll be like The Goonies but in the Star Wars universe! We'll take the angle of kids to look into the concept, while making it interesting via elements from The Treasure Island with a visual touch of Pirates of the Carribean. Think of how Super 8 worked - a Spielberg-ish childhood fantasy!"

So much effort, so many visual details and trivia, yet, you can get bored along the way. Because Star Wars stuff is no longer being "created". It's simply being "generated" the way AI generates images. I'll be glad if this one manages to attract today's kids into the original Star Wars stories but if the question at hand is whether adults would be on board this pirate ship, not so sure here.

The Mandalorian rocks as the unique SW series that had gravitas of sort, leaning more towards Sergio Leone westerns than to cheaper space operas. The Acolyte was a betrayal to SW at the very least. Skeleton Crew is, well, neither so bright nor so demented. I don't feel like glorifying or trashing it.

But I do have some resentment with Disney's treatment of SW... They never even tried to respect and explore the essence of the concept... Rather, they turned it into a "setting" for whatever series they felt like doing. It was wrong. SW is, in and of itself, a dynamic network of valuable ideas and stories to communicate. What Disney+ had been doing is to utilise it for external agendas, concerns and pushes.

Anyways... Unlike The Acolyte, Skeleton Crew is at the very least not toxic - so far. (And I'm waiting for the great explanation to why a Jedi would need to wait for some kids to be thrown in his jail cell in order to perform his most simple trick and make the key come to him!)

As most children of the Eighties I have fond memories of The Goonies, but I would be lying if I said that's the direction I desperately wanted for new Star Wars content.

I mean, after the disappointment of the sequel trilogy and many others - all Disney live-action content except Andor, Rogue One and the first two seasons of Mando I'd rate between mediocre and bad - I'm just starving for good mature, epic Star Wars content. Give me an Andor-like show set in the Old Republic with Jedi, Sith and Nick Gillard as stunt coordinator for the lightsaber battles.

HOWEVER... to be fair I will say that Skeleton Crew is okay. It's not offensive or poorly made; not obviously cheap like The Book of Boba Fett; not aimless like Season 3 of Mando; not lore-breaking like the sequels and Kenobi; not tone-deaf like the Acolyte.

Hooray?

This is basically Star Wars Goonies, a neat little story of a bunch of kids having an adventure in the Star Wars universe. The writing is decent: effects, costumes and locations look great: the whole thing has a certain charm.

I'm guessing this, similar to Andor, is a passion project for its creators and was seen as a minor side-project by the higher-ups, who did not therefore bother to get involved, which nowadays in Lucasfilm is a blessing.

So far, so good.

7,5/10.

Since I know a lot of hate will be directed towards this show because of the up-and-down of recent Star Wars, I'm happy to say that this is an up. So far...

The first 2 episodes don't tread new ground, or very original, but that's not a bother, since it delivers well on everything. The cast and their acting are great, costume/set design are probably the best we've seen since Andor, the writing, especially the hilarious banter between the kids, was good. Again, nothing new, but it's intriguing nonetheless, and I'm excited to keep watching. It gives me heavy Treasure Planet vibes.

As someone who hasn't enjoyed recent Star Wars myself, I was surprised by Skeleton Crew. I do hope that everyone slightly interested, or even upset with recent shows, gives it a chance. Don't let the "for kids," talk put you off. Star Wars is made for all, and so is this.

Watched the first two episodes and while there is a clear effort to create a "goonies in space" show here, what is so wrong with that? This is a much different take on a story existing in the Star Wars universe. I enjoyed the look and feel of what a suburban town looks like in this world because we have never really seen that. The town they come from reminded me more of the neighborhood from E. T. then anything we had seen recently in shows. The 4 main characters are typical but enjoyable, they each have their clearly defined roles in the group and are acted well by the actors. The pirate vibe isn't necessarily something we have seen played out before and adds a slightly spooky element and an atmosphere of danger. If this was a movie from the 80s it would have fit right in. Enjoying it so far for the new story telling elements in the Star Wars universe, the hints of nostalgia of movies of my childhood, and the fact I can share this Star Wars experience with my kids. Well done!