Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on entertainment from the Nerd-o-sphere.  This week, Patrick and Dave continue their review of the Star Wars Disney+ miniseries The Book of Boba Fett!

• The Show:  The Book of Boba Fett Ch. 3: The Streets of Mos Espa
• What’s it About:  Following the events in season two of The Mandalorian, Boba Fett had laid claim to Jabba the Hutt’s former criminal empire.  His rise to prominence is not met with open arms and Fett must navigate the Galaxy’s criminal underground in Tatooine.
• IMDB Score: 7.1/10

The Nerds’ Take on The Book of Boba Fett – Chapter 3:

Dave: Episode 3 of The Book of Boba Fett shifts the focus squarely to the “present day” struggles of our favorite bounty-hunter. While the first two Episodes delved deeply into Boba’s backstory, Episode 3 shifts that focus while, at the same time, tying in the backstory and making it all come together in a way that sets the stage for where we are heading.

At the center of everything appears to be the Pyke Syndicate. In the flashback aspect of things, it certainly appears that the Pykes cut a deal with the Nikto speeder gang. The end result is that the Tusken tribe that took Boba in ends up getting slaughtered by the Niktos, or so it seems. I have read in several places how the scene harkened back to A New Hope, when Luke races home to find Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru murdered and burnt to a crisp by Stormtroopers. The scene does not carry anywhere near that emotional wallop, but there are similarities.

Meanwhile, in the present day, Boba ends up befriending, and employing, a group of cyborg like teens who also appear to be a speeder gang of sorts. This aspect of things is not done terribly well and felt a bit rushed, dare I say forced. None of the characters are fleshed out very well, at all. On the other hand, Boba getting yanked from his Bacta tank by Black Krrsantan, and their ensuing fight, is done quite well. It literally takes everyone in Boba’s employ, including the Teen Cyborg Titans (as I am dubbing them), the Gamorean Guards, and Fennec Shand to finally subdue the Wookie and take him down. It is an epic throwdown and does an excellent job of showing how bad-ass Black Krrsantan is.

As cool as that is, perhaps an even better part of this Episode is when The Twins show up to tell Boba they are abandoning their claim to Mos Espa and, as a peace offering, they give Boba a Rancor as a pet. The Rancor comes with a trainer, who is none other than Machete himself (aka Danny Trejo). This trainer/keeper teaches Boba how to befriend the fearsome beast who, we learn, might not be as fearsome as was portrayed in Return of the Jedi. It leads to speculation that, perhaps, Boba will end up riding a Rancor into a battle in the not-too-distant future. There is also the chance that Boba could be getting played by this mysterious Rancor trainer. Also, as The Twins take their leave, Boba decides to let Black Krrsantan go free, which certainly suggests that this most bad-ass of Wookies will end up being an ally of Boba’s later on.

The Episode ends on a bit of a lackluster note though as the Teen Cyborg Titans engage in a chase through the streets of Mos Espa as they try to stop and capture The Mayor’s right-hand man. This chase scene felt very lame, compared to so many epics chases that we have seen in Star Wars movies over the years. It was like they tried to make this feel like the Pod Race scene from The Phantom Menace, but they failed badly in that regard. Truth be told, the speeder chase through Endor nearly 40 years ago in Return of The Jedi looked and felt better than this. At the end of it all, we learn that The Mayor has been working with the Pykes. A bunch more Pyke soldiers are arriving in Mos Espa and the Episode ends with Boba realizing it is time to go to War.

I did like this Episode more than last weeks. Yes, things are still moving a bit too slowly and there has been some questionable writing going on here and there. But there was a lot to get excited about in this Episode, notably the notion of Boba having a pet Rancor and having Black Krrsantan as an ally, rather than an enemy. The theory that Crimson Dawn could be behind everything, and that we will, in fact, get an appearance from Lady Qi’Ra before this first season is all said and done remains very much intact, and might even have been made stronger by this week’s Episode. And yet, there is still something a bit off about this series so far. Maybe they are going to build to something really big in the end, but they sure seem to be taking a bit too long to get there right now. I was glad to see this Episode finally shift its focus away from the past and look to the present as I feel that is the much more compelling aspect of the show. With the prospect of a big battle brewing between Boba and the Pykes, business, it would seem, is about to pick up. As relatively uninteresting as the Teen Cyborg Titans might feel, and as much as Fennec continues to carry the series, one can’t help but wonder how Boba can possibly lose with a pet Rancor and a bad-ass Wookie by his side as well. And, of course, if you read enough on-line about the show, you will come across theories as to how this Episode tied in with an Episode from Season 1 of The Mandalorian. Whether that is true or not, the prospect of an appearance from Mando, at some point, is very intriguing and quite possible.

All in all, I felt this third Episode was s a bit of a bounce back Episode for the show. Whether they can maintain their momentum as we head int the back-half of the season remains to be seen. But there was enough going on here to make me interested in seeing how it all plays out.

Dave’s Rating:  4.00/5.0

Patrick:  We are nearing the halfway point of this initial(only?) season of The Book of Boba Fett, and I continue to be underwhelmed.  While this episode was an improvement on last week’s effort, I still find myself stuck waiting for this series to bring a unique story to the table.  Episode 3 is a bit heavier on action, but the story as I have indicated in previous reviews is one most audiences know, just IN SPACE.

This week, Boba Fett continues his efforts to gain control of Jaba the Hutt’s former crime empire. While being briefed of the current power structure in the Mos Espa, Fett is visited by a merchant who controls water distribution. He offers Fett tribute in exchange for Fett bringing down a gang the merchant accuses of stealing water the merchant sells. When Fett confronts this gang, he discovers the gang to be a group of youths who modify themselves with droid parts.  Of course, there is more to the story than what the merchant has told. The kids steal because they are poor and can’t find work. So, Fett of course hires them. The scene is meant to show that Boba Fett is going to be fair when faced with conflict and make sound decisions.  You see, Boba Fett is a crime lord, but with honor or something. Fett also offers the gang of youths jobs as part of his bodyguard crew? Underlings? It’s not exactly clear. What is clear is that this gang looks woefully out of place on Tattooine. The gang members have a steam punk look with slick fancy clothing that just looks out of place in desert aesthetic of Mos Espa. And that’s before the gang boards their brightly colored motorcycles, I mean speeders. These vehicles are gaudy, over the top and look like they really belong in Coruscant.

There is a brief interlude where Boba Fett has another flashback dream to first his childhood on Kamino, but then back to his life among the Tuskan Raiders. He goes to press their rights as protection for the Pyke syndicate. He learns the Pykes are basically double dealing for protection with the speeder gang from the last episode. Fett says the Raiders will take care of the other gang and serve as protection for the Pyke. When Fett returns to the raiders he finds they have been slaughtered in his absence, presumably by aforementioned rival gang, and likely on the orders of the Pykes. Fett’s dream is interrupted by the highlight of the episode as he is roughly pulled from his Bacta tank by the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan, an extended universe fan favorite introduced last week.  What follows is a knockdown, drag out slug fest between Krrsantan, Boba Fett, his new recruits, Fennec Shand and his two body guards. It’s a dynamic scene that highlights Krrsantan as a legit bad ass. It’s a nice bit of service to fans of the extended Star Wars Universe. After capturing the wookie, Fett is visited by the Hutt twins who apologize for sending Krrsantan and offer a baby Rancor as a tribute before bowing out of the world, telling Fett Mos Espa has been promised to another faction by the slimy mayor. So, all that work to introduce Jabba’s cousins to then minimize their role in the series for now.  Ok? It seems like a waste after the standoff in episode 2.

Now we get to the absolute worst part of The Streets of Mos Espa. Moving to confront the Mayor, Fett and his steampunk entourage are forced into a speeder chase after the Mayor’s assistant. Once again the terrible special effect budget of the series rears it ugly head. Once again, the effects of the speeders do not blend well with the Mos Espa scenery at all.  This is further complicated by the bright colored speeder bikes as they contrast so hard with the browns of the city is looks goofy. To make matters worse this speeder chase had absolutely no speed. Everything looked painfully slow. These vehicles are supposed to be zipping through a city and every vehicle looks slower than my wife’s old 1990 Ford Escort. The whole thing kills what should be a thrilling little scene. Instead, we see a slow, video gamey looking slog.

So where am I here? Well, I definitely was less bothered by The Streets of Mos Espa when comparing back to The Tribes of Tattooine. The series has moved on from the civilized savior story with the Tuskan Raiders, but the crime underworld story is still pretty pedestrian and predictable. I will continue to be bothered by a Star Wars show with poor special effects. There’s no excuse and it kills the moments of the episode.  So yeah, better episode, but still nothing special.

Patrick’s Rating:  2.33/5.0

Overall Nerds’ Rating for Book of Boba Fett – Chapter 3: 2.83/5.0