Obi-Wan Kenobi (Capsule review)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Composers: Natalie Holt/John Williams/William Ross

Number of tracks: 31

Total time: 82:54

Review:

While the Disney era of Star Wars is currently on hold for theatrical releases, the property continues to prosper on the studios streaming service, Disney+, with shows such as The Mandolorian, The Book of Boba Fett and the animated The Bad Batch still pulling in viewers. Adding to this collection of small(er) screen adventures is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a limited series exploring what really happened to the titular Jedi between the ending of Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars (1977)... besides Ewan McGregor turning into Alec Guinness. Bringing back prequel actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, respectively, the show contrives a series of adventures for Kenobi to go on revolving around rescuing a kidnapped Princess Leia as well as dealing with the threat of The Inquisitors, a group of Jedi headhunters. Airing between late May and late June, 2022 Obi-Wan Kenobi received a mixed reaction from critics and fans with the acting of McGregor and Christensen typically praised while the writing was often questioned. 

The musical situation for this series that was original intended as a film in the late 2010's is a surprisingly murky situation with three credited composers working on the show. Mainline Star Wars composer John Williams provides the titular theme ("Obi-Wan") while Loki composer Natalie Holt scores the bulk of the series... except for a handful of cues that adapt the Obi-Wan theme as well as some of Williams other legacy theme which is handled by longtime Williams orchestrator and prolific composer in his own right, William Ross. It's an odd situation that causes an unfortunate disconnect between Holt's material and Ross's contribution with the entire soundscape suddenly becoming far more "Williams-esque" whenever Ross's cues appears. 

On the thematic front the series boasts several new themes with four rising above the rest. Of course Williams Obi-Wan theme is the most prevalent mixing a minor/major key melody over a staccato string motif akin to the suspense material in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy. Frustratingly the Main theme is largely kept to the Ross penned cues, which means even though the theme is the anchor of the show, it only appears sporadically on album. The remaining trio of themes are Holt compositions which means they appear far more organically into her work with an aggressive, avant-garde influenced identity for the Inquisitors ("Inquisitors' Hunt"), a Zimmer-esque descending two-note motif for Darth Vader (1:20 in "Sensing Vader") and a plucky, string based theme for Leia ("Young Leia"). Of course a handful of legacy Star Wars themes also appear including Leia's theme ("Saying Goodbye"), The Imperial March (ending of "Overcoming the Past") and the Force theme ("Saying Goodbye") though these statements are given the "hold the iconic themes in reserve until one or two token appearances" treatment which feels highly contrived in this instance. Also a nod to the finale of "The Battle of Yavin" appears at the end of "First Rescue" while the avant garde textures of "The Magic Tree" from The Empire Strikes Back return for "Overcoming the Past".

Despite all the frustrations with the handling of the score being split between Holt and Ross, both composers deliver solid material though given Holt's clear talents one can't help but wish she was allowed to have full reign over the score. While the merging of Holt and Ross's cues is not the most jarring combination, the clear difference in style and orchestrations does cause a disconnect that honestly should not be present. With all of the above put into consideration, giving a final rating to Obi-Wan Kenobi is slightly more difficult than expected. Ultimately the score is a solid if at times bumpy ride into a sonic world that feels like a bridge between William's classic scores and the more modern approach of Ludwig Gorensson and Joseph Shirley for the other live-action Disney+ Star Wars adventures. If one can accept Obi-Wan on its own terms, there's some solid modern Sci-Fi/Action-Adventure writing to explore though don't expect this to live up to the expectations (rightfully held or not) that were inevitably thrust upon it.

Score:

3 out of 5