By Jennifer Ariesta.
The Acolyte is the latest Star Wars streaming series on Disney Plus. It’s a detective story set in the High Republic era, the Jedi’s Golden Age, centuries before the Skywalker Saga.
A Jedi master has been murdered. The suspect is Osha (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan who got booted from the Academy six years ago. The girl in question is now working as a meknek (mechanic) on a trade ship and swears on her innocence. Convinced that there’s something more than meets the eye, her former Jedi Master forms a team to investigate the truth.
At the center of the story is an intriguing aspect never before seen in live action Star Wars. It has the benefit of lead star Stenberg’s captivating performance, which showcases tremendous duality so essential to the role. As for the rest of the ensemble, although the most touted name is Lee Jung Jae of Squid Game’s fame, someone else sneaks in and steals attention. It’s Manny Jacinto, playing the weaselly role of a poison peddler involved in the central murder plot.
Visually, the budget shows on screen: the smooth visual effect, the well realized settings, the costumes and makeup – impeccable as always. The show also introduces hand to hand combat to Star Wars, a first! And as befits any Star Wars stuff, the score is pretty good.
Too bad, as a detective piece, the mystery so far feels half baked. A key twist is revealed way too soon before it can build actual suspense. At first, it seems like the mystery is going to be spoiled for audiences only so we can watch the characters figure it out, but it turns out they laid out all the cards unambiguously. There is a compelling story happening here, but the way it is structured and edited does not do justice to it. Everyone’s motivation is laid bare too quickly, leaving no room for intrigue. Such a wasted opportunity.
There is also a sense of flimsy character dynamics everywhere. The writing simply did not sell the intended emotions convincingly. For example, one character bears a fatherly affection to the protagonist, but their interactions, dialogues or dynamic with each other fall flat. On the other spectrum, another character is highly suspicious of the protagonist, but his reasoning and what little we are told of their history totally do not warrant the excessive apathy. Between the intention and the output, something gets lost in the chasm.
But more crucially, this series further illustrates how Star Wars the franchise simply isn’t that special anymore. Its lore has been so overused that even hearing characters say the famous lines “May the Force be with you” or “I have a bad feeling about this” does not inspire the same excitement anymore. It now feels like cheap shots at nostalgia, not to mention predictable.
I blame this on Disney Plus and its push on milking every single one of their IPs to the bone. Series after series exist to expand the universe, but somehow these attempts only dismantle the mystique of the saga and its lore. But that is the price we pay in this IP-driven streaming age.
Verdict: Big budgeted production and stellar performances cannot overcome a derivative lore and wafer thin plot. Tolerable for diehard fans, but quite forgettable for the rest.
