Star Wars as it should be!

A fabulous cast, a beloved story and beautiful cinematography, what is not to like? Well … nothing, this is an excellent start to a long awaited show.

The casting is top drawer, Ewan McGregor has always made an excellent Kenobi, but this has strength in depth with the likes of Rupert Friend, Indira Varma and Jimmy Smits and it shows in the smooth, believable interactions and gorgeous dialogue. The one awkward character is the psychotic sociopath, Reva (Moses Ingram), who is badly written as a one-note ‘badder than bad’ villain - only missing cape, moustache and rail tracks to make sure we know.

Epic vistas, complete with trademark Star Wars reality, grunge and lived-in feel hit the senses, though this is spoiled a little by the soundtrack. It is great, but intrusively harsh and loud, which may work in movies, but not so much in TV.

The story is interesting and echoes the very first movie in several ways, with Kenobi on a John the Baptist path to destiny rather than Luke who is still a child.

Highly recommended viewing.