'Lego Star Wars: Summer Vacation' Review
A long summertime ago in a galaxy far, far away, ghost stories reign supreme. But, in a weekend that included the releases of Prey on Hulu, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, and The Sandman on Netflix, it seems the latest Lego Star Wars special went a little under the radar.
Lego Star Wars: Summer Vacation is the third of the Lego Star Wars specials released on Disney+, following the Holiday Special and Terrifying Tales, focusing on the characters of the sequel trilogy. Or, at least, Finn, Rey, Poe, and Rose, as they board the luxury Star Cruiser Halcyon. Poe’s the meticulous itinerary planner, while Rey gets some rest, relaxation, and reading on her own. The problem is everyone is doing their own thing while Finn is hoping for a vacation of togetherness, so he goes to the bar, where he meets Obi-Wan! And yes, every implication about this meeting is explored and remarked upon.
RELATED:
Omar Miller (Raphael on Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) once again voices Finn, and his freaking out over why Obi-Wan has appeared to him is hilarious. Even as the Jedi master’s “Hello there” has become an ever-encroaching meme, as emphasized in both his series and the Holiday Special, the long-time voice of the character James Arnold Taylor still nails the delivery all the delightful to hear. The story he tells is of a heist he and new character Colvett Valeria (voiced by Yvette Nicole Brown pull off on Tattooine, occurring sometime in the hideout period after Revenge of the Sith. But yes, like Terrifying Tales, this is an anthology.
In the second leg, Finn ends up accidentally alone on a shuttle pod to Scarif’s surface, landing on the beach, and frustrated with sandcastle building, he comes upon Anakin’s force ghost coming ashore in scuba gear, complete with heavy breathing in scuba gear and the Imperial March. Beautiful, brilliant, most fun Force Ghost Anakin has ever been. Though that might not be saying much. The dude should try podracing again. He’s in complete disbelief that Obi-Wan told him to have fun yet has no comment about how Finn has sand where sand shouldn’t be. Clearly, not every meme made it in.
Anakin’s story tells of how Sidious got a little restless on Empire Day and had to get away from all the galaxy-running. So Vader brings him to Scarif’s beaches, which bores Sidious until he hears music in the distance. There they find a whole Weird Al concert! Okay, it’s technically Vic Vankoh, but Weird Al Yankovic! Finally, after 40 years, the legend has official Star Wars music, which kicks butt. Apparently, he hosts all the beach games too, and his use of participation trophies angers Palpatine so much that it’s chosen as the location of the Death Star to exert his rule over the beach. It’s a whole thing. Palpatine and Vader’s dynamic is always great in these.
When Finn still can’t find his friends, it’s Leia’s turn to appear that vacations are more than having fun, recalling the final Solo family vacation before Ben went off to begin his Jedi training. Han’s graying hair is a great touch. When Mimban is too dull for Ben, his parents try to shake it up by taking him to Endor. Ben is eager to fly the Falcon, and he gets caught up in peer pressure trying to keep up appearances thanks to an assumption of the proprietor’s daughter. It turns out the proprietor attempted to use the Solos in a power move against the Ewoks, which backfired, but it became a joint venture. Focus turns to rescue the kids from Death Star debris.
Once that’s over, we get our only glimpse of Luke in the special, greeting Ben upon his arrival for training. Back with Finn, this trip was the last hurrah as everyone is going their separate ways professionally, moving on in a post-First Order world. Rey searching for temples, Poe training pilots, and Finn seeking out other force-sensitives makes for great new story directions.
The special is great; the writing is so fun and entertaining, even beyond its callbacks. The guest stars are amusing, and it was honestly refreshing to not be Luke-reliant. Seeing the Solos in Ben’s childhood was fun, using animation to its best, no de-aging required. Go watch; it’ll be a fun summer excursion.
READ NEXT:
