THE ACOLYTE
Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Dafne Keen, Lee Jung-jae, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, and Charlie Barnett
Creator: Leslye Headland
AMARÚ
Manny Jacinto does a helluva job in The Acolyte’s fifth episode, becoming one of the most interesting new Star Wars characters in recent memory. However, he isn’t enough to make the latter half of the season any more compelling than the first half. The other actors are fine, and a story centered around the Jedi possibly being the galaxy’s resident “Karens” is an intriguing premise, as evidenced by a fairly decent finale; by that time, though, I already didn’t care. I never found this show offensive, but I’m sure I’ll forget about it in the very near now.
NICK
If The Acolyte were able to maintain the energy and pace of its pilot’s opening 10 minutes, it could have been special. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between in what amounts to a pretty mediocre Star Wars product. Playing more like a mid-tier episode of Clone Wars, The Acolyte lacks exciting characters and fails to utilize its fight scenes frequently enough. For the first time, watching these episodes felt more like a chore than something I anticipated and that’s a depressing realization for a Star Wars series. Even with a late character revelation, The Acolyte can only be viewed as a disappointment.
PAIGE
It’s unfortunate to say, but The Acolyte is a very dull Star Wars series, featuring stiff performances and dreary dialogue despite having a promising premise. Though the series contains some awesome fight sequences, the action is not enough to redeem this clichéd mystery that lacks depth and emotion. I will give the show credit for trying to explore the Jedi as flawed individuals, but some of the creative decisions made throughout the series occasionally left me perplexed. In the end, this series left a disturbance in the force, or, perhaps, my expectations for Star Wars are simply too high.
