Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) has starred in the past two episodes, which is a step towards Star Wars functioning as a cinematic universe. Also, the production team created good renderings of Luke Skywalker and Cad Bane. Lastly, chapter 6 exhibits great cinematography, editing, pacing, and sound.
The Book of Boba Fett is available on Disney Plus.
This The Book of Boba Fett chapter 6 review may contain spoilers.
Story: The Book of Boba Fett or The Mandalorian?
The last episode began an arc staring Din Djarin. He was last seen at the end of The Mandalorian season 2 saying goodbye to Grogu (Baby Yoda). Subsequently, the last 2 episodes of The Book of Boba Fett have felt more like the beginning of The Mandalorian season 3 than a continuation of the story that the first 4 episodes tell. Many fans will find this refreshing because it’s a sign that Disney is finally embracing Star Wars as a cinematic universe, in the same vein as Marvel. This entails characters frequently crossing paths throughout different movies and series, which is what many Star Wars fans have been eager to see for a long time.
However, this Din Djarin story arc pushes the boundary because Djarin ends up replacing Boba Fett as the star of his own show. In Thor: Ragnarok the Hulk joins forces with Thor, but the movie is still about Thor. Boba Fett wasn’t even in chapter 5, and he only appeared briefly in chapter 6, but has no lines. It’s great to experience Star Wars as a cinematic universe, but Boba Fett should still be the star of his own show.
A Long Awaited Meeting
In The Book of Boba Fett chapter 6, fans finally get to witness a dialogue exchange between two characters that have been destined to cross paths for a long time. At long, long last, Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano speak. This is what needed to happen for Star Wars to become a cinematic universe. Luke Skywalker needed to meet his father’s former apprentice. It simply wouldn’t make sense for these two characters not to know each other. Now that they finally do, Star Wars has earned the title of cinematic universe. While their dialogue exchange is brief, it’s still impactful.
Characters and performances: Visual Effects Bring Characters to Life
Wow Mark Hamill has aged well! Oh wait, that’s a digital rendering of him, which the animaters did a great job making. The staff credits aren’t specific about who did what to bring Luke Skywalker to life, but they list Scott Lang as a Jedi stunt double and Graham Hamilton as a Jedi performance artist. In truth, many people on the production team deserve credit for this CGI rendering of Luke Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker and Grogu in a bamboo forest.
Luke Skywalker
Other critics have noted that his face looks very stoic, and his speech looks unnatural. However, Luke’s face has always looked this way, even when he was portrayed by putting Mark Hamill in front of a camera. The original 6 Star Wars movies have always been criticized for bad acting. Even in the famous “I am your father” scene, Luke looks more like a little boy finding out that Mickey Mouse isn’t real than a young man finding out that his arch enemy is his father. Hence, the CGI model of Luke in this episode actually captures the role quite well.
Furthermore, one can only see that the dialogue doesn’t line up perfectly with his lips if they are looking for it. If one just watches without looking for it, then it’s not noticeable. This is a big improvement over Luke’s CGI model in The Mandalorian, which looked like an animatronic when speaking.
Cad Bane
The big surprise of this episode is the highlight of this The Book of Boba Fett chapter 6 review. Prominent bounty hunter, Cad Bane, makes his live action debut, and it’s awesome. For many, this was a big surprise because they had expected him to die in The Bad Batch, which takes place prior to this series. The original plan was for Boba Fett to slay Cad Bane toward the end of The Clone Wars, but somewhere along the line that plan was scrapped. This scene would have gone something like what’s shown in the video below. Many expected The Bad Batch to follow through on the original plan for Cad Bane’s death, since the show is in many ways a continuation of The Clone Wars.
Many members of the production team deserve credit for creating this character as well, particularly in the visual effects department. His blue face, glowing red eyes, and jagged teeth look great. If you’re wondering who is actually standing on-screen, it’s a stunt actor named Dorian Kingi. Corey Burton, the same voice actor that portrays him in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, also voices the character here. He does a terrific job with the voice, so sticking with him is a nice touch. The character is played perfectly as a sci-fi cowboy who’s confident in his aim.
Pacing and Editing: A Suspenseful Standoff
The pacing and editing are integral in showing the passage of time on the planet where Djarin found Luke, Grogu, and Ashoka. Since two storylines are happening at once, it’s important to convey how they fit together. The pacing and editing do that effectively by alternating between the two storylines in the right spots, like when Djarin lies down.
Cad Bane approaching Mos Pelgo.
The Cad Bane scene is particularly well paced and well edited. The dialogue exchange building up to the shoot-out is slow, which builds suspense. Also, alternating between close ups of faces and close ups of guns really helps paint this scene as a sci-fi western standoff.
Cinematography and Sound: Loud Gunfire is a Nice Touch
As I touched upon in the last section, the Cad Bane scene is very well done. The use of close ups combined with the slow dialogue make it suspenseful. Also, the sound greatly enhances the experience. The music climbs with the buildup to the gunfire, then Cad Bane draws and fires his loud blaster. The loud sharp sound of his blaster drives the brutality of this scene, which is what many fans were hoping they would see in this show going in.
Grogu being blasted by a training droid.
Another good use of cinematography is when Ashoka brings Din Djarin to where Luke and Grogu are training. They’re on a hill, above where Djarin is standing. This shows how Grogu is now out of his reach, because in order for Grogu to become a Jedi he must let go of him.
Videos by (Star Wars, Master Kenobi, and Noah Jones.)
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- Sandcrawler with a mounted Krayt Dragon skull.
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- R2-D2 and Din Djarin watching droids build Luke’s Jedi Temple.
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- Din Djarin landing in Mos Pelgo with his Naboo Starfighter.
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- Grogu choosing between a beskar chainmail cuirass and a lightsaber.
