Somehow, J.J. Abrams returned: ‘The Acolyte’ is resurrecting the sequel trilogy’s worst sin

Though taking place in a completely different era and featuring a new cast of characters, The Acolyte is falling for the same mistake that plagued the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and turned it into one of the most underwhelming outings in the history of George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away.

You can’t expect much from Hollywood these days by way of storytelling. The general idea is to produce enough content to keep users subscribed. Just make the premise interesting enough, use long-winded marketing terms during the promo campaign, and ensure you’ve moved on to the next project by the time the project debuts. And if, on the off chance, it is well-received, well, then you’ve got a free ticket to sequeldom, haven’t you?

I’m sorry if that sounds entirely too cynical to you. It’s not hard to figure out the pattern after a while. And no, that line of thought doesn’t make me predisposed to hate every new project that comes our way. I may make a living out of analyzing every single aspect of these new shows and movies to death, but I’m first and foremost a geek who is in love with Star Wars.

In fact, you don’t need to do much besides depict some characters in Jedi robes waving their lightsabers around to get me interested and thoroughly engrossed. Almost twenty years on, I still hold my breath in glee whenever I see the brilliant shape of a lightsaber hilt dangling from the hips of a Force-user. So, you can imagine what the idea of a new series taking place during the High Republic and featuring the Jedi at the height of their power going up against a sinister new Dark Side force will do to me.

Even if I don’t realize I’m going to be yet again disappointed by the creative powers that be.

Yes, it seems that all the excitement and hype instilled in me over more than two decades of being a Star Wars fan wasn’t enough of an opioid to get me through two episodes of the borefest that was The Acolyte.

From the first couple of minutes of watching the show, one thing becomes absolutely clear: Despite its high budget, The Acolyte isn’t here to dazzle you with any feat of technical achievement.  The camerawork is, at best, tolerable, and the editing is jarring and unpredictable. But hey, this is neither prime time nor the latest big screens outing from this or that acclaimed Oscar-winning director.

So, what do we have to go on other than medium-related tricks? A great script? Hardly the case. A novel idea? Not really, at least not to hardcore Star Wars fans. Engaging dialogue? Please.

In every respect, The Acolyte is playing it safe and not doing anything to reinvent the formula. Say what you will about Andor and its slow pace; at least Tony Gilroy was willing to try something different.

But perhaps The Acolyte’s worst sin, in narrative terms, is convenience. Convenience is the pit of despair that traps most films and television shows these days. Convenience is laziness manifest, at least so far as the business of actually writing down the story is concerned. Convenience is establishing laws in one frame, and then completely ignoring them in the next. Convenience is things happening just because the writer needs them to happen to move the plot forward — whether it be escaping from a High Republic prisoner transport ship, or breaking into a highly secure Jedi Temple. Or, you know, characters taking forever to reach a room just around the corner, giving the villain ample time to do what they came there to do and escape.

This reminds me of the cringe attacks I suffered watching The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Somehow Palpatine returned? Well, of course, he did. Ben and Rey form a “dyad” in the Force? And that’s exactly what Palpatine requires to go unlimited power in that moment? You can suddenly heal wounds inflicted with a lightsaber through the Force? And even bring people back from the dead? Guys, who is going to tell Qui-Gon?

I’ll be honest with you; I’m going to keep tuning in for The Acolyte. My watching the show is as inevitable as it continuing to disappoint us in the weeks to come. Just as I know that with each subsequent Star Wars outing under Disney, my faith in any redemption for this industry giant will grow less and less. At some point, I might even begin to wonder if even folks like Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau can save this sinking ship any longer.

But for the time being, I’ll keep to hope and try to remember Master Yoda’s timeless advice: “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”