Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram

Release Date: April 30, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Obi-Wan Kenobi begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Please Note: Disney/Lucasfilm provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

THE SERIES – REVIEW:

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ rejoins Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi approximately ten years after the events of ‘Revenge of the Sith’ now living a quiet life in seclusion on Tatooine where he keeps on eye on young Luke while trying to pass the time and find purpose. But when Leia is kidnapped and Bail Organa arrives at his homestead pleading for his help, Obi-Wan eventually relents and heads out into a world filled with Inquisitors hunting the few remaining Jedi in order to try and track down Leia and bring her back safely. Unfortunately, his journey becomes far more dangerous as his presence is noted and tracked by a group of Inquisitors and brought to the attention of Darth Vader himself who Kenobi will be forced to confront once again after all of these years.

All six episodes of the series are directed by Deborah Chow who does a great job at the helm of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ guiding along the tale with plenty of style and care, showcasing a clear passion for the material throughout. The series features a handful of returning cast members from the prequel trilogy along with numerous newcomers to the franchise and stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Sung Kang, Rupert Friend, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton, and James Earl Jones, along with more and each contribute fitting and altogether capable performances for the most part in their roles.

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ reunites viewers with Obi-Wan ten years after we last saw him go into hiding following his showdown with newly appointed sith Anakin Skywalker, now settled into a quiet life on Tatooine watching over young Luke, until Luke’s sister Leia is kidnapped which forces Kenobi out of hiding. The series delivers a thoroughly enjoyable, action-packed and visually gorgeous ride that brings back fan-favorite Ewan McGregor in the role of the Jedi Master and McGregor falls perfectly back into the role as if no time has passed. In addition to McGregor, the series also sees the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin (and of course the legendary James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader) and sends the two on a game of cat and mouse that builds to a pair of breathtaking showdowns that alone make it worth giving the series a chance.

The series does a commendable job of finding adequate reasoning for it to exist from a logical standpoint and it rarely feels forced along its course, utilizing plenty of clever ideas that have been introduced since ‘Revenge of the Sith’ was released but that fit into the storyline quite nicely. Dedicated ‘Star Wars’ fans who haven’t already had the pleasure of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ definitely won’t even want to consider overlooking or skipping this one because it’s an incredibly fun and visually delightful ride with more than enough heart and action to keep you enthralled every step of the way. It’s also an absolute treat to see Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their iconic roles after all this time.

OVERALL:

Lucasfilm brings ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series’ home for the first time on physical 4K Ultra HD, featuring all six episodes of the series in a 2-disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Steelbook set that includes all six episodes in quite gorgeous Ultra High Definition with HDR-10 for fans to permanently add to their collections. The great UHD video presentations are only splendidly complemented by hard hitting and immersive Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtracks on each episode, in addition to a handful of solid extras including a few enjoyable Featurettes and more. The set arrives in a nicely crafted Steelbook that features original artwork by artist Attila Szarka, with 3 Concept Art Cards for the series included within. Diehard ‘Star Wars’ fans and those who thoroughly enjoyed ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ in particular should be quite thrilled with what the release has to offer and if you’d like to physically own the series and are already considering a purchase, this one is highly recommended!

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10, with the show’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio on all of the series episodes. The video presentations look spectacular as a whole and provide clean, sharp and richly detailed presentations from start to finish on every episode, with no notable faults or troubles to be uncovered along the way. Detail is outstanding and looks noticeably vibrant on character faces as well clothing, along with spacecraft, the long-spanning sand landscapes of Tatooine, various other locales and pretty much everything else appearing onscreen, and it all holds up splendidly even during the many fast moving and darkly lit action sequences. The HDR-10 addition also offers some nice fine-tuning in the colors of many objects and outfits in addition to plenty of other tidbits and it’s all perfectly complemented by deep, rich black levels that allow Vader’s costume to look truly menacing and also greatly benefit many other moments and elements such as the vast darkness of space. Overall, these are wonderful Ultra High Definition video presentations that look quite gorgeous at all times and should have fans and newcomers alike thrilled.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack on all six episodes of the series. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentations. These multichannel soundtracks are an aggressive treat themselves and deliver clean, sharp and wildly aggressive audio presentations for every episode. They repeatedly take full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a whirlwind of activity zipping throughout the various speakers including music, blaster bolts, lightsabers crackling, plus spacecraft, crowd chatter and a whole lot more, all while making certain that all dialogue and other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously with other audio effects remains clean, sharp and fully audible every step of the way. Overall, these are magnificent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtracks that dazzle and impress throughout and should have fans ecstatic.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series’ features a few nice extras that fans of the series should enjoy. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary by Director Deborah Chow’ on the sixth and final episode, in addition to a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘Duels of Fate: Obi-Wan vs. Vader’ (running approximately 11 minutes in length), ‘The Dark Times: Villains’ (running approximately 12 minutes) and ‘Designing the Galaxy’ (approximately 11 minutes).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Disney+/Lucasfilm and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Disney+, Lucasfilm and any other respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook & Blu-ray Steelbook April 30, 2024 from Lucasfilm

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series’ 4K UHD on Amazon HERE!

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