[Entertainment] Ahsoka: The Mandalorian spin-off on Disney+ divides critics

The first two episodes of Disney's Mandalorian spin-off Ahsoka have been met with mixed reviews from critics.

Some said the miniseries, set in the Star Wars universe, is targeted at die-hard fans of the franchise.

In a two-star review, The Guardian said: "The foundations are in place, if the show can remember that Star Wars at its best is snappy and fun."

Empire gave it four stars, noting: "Ahsoka continues to do away with Star Wars' light-versus-dark dichotomy."

Ahsoka, which is set after the events of Return of the Jedi, which came out in 1983, sees Ahsoka Tano investigating threats the galaxy after The Empire falls.

Its release to streaming platform Disney+ comes at an important and challenging time, after the company lost more than four million subscribers in the first three months of 2023.

Variety's Aramide Tinubu described the show as a "transcendent experience for lifelong fans" of Star Wars.

"Though the core of Ahsoka isn't very different from what's previously been seen in Star Wars, unique elements make the series stand out," she said.

"Not only is this the first show in which non-humans are centred, but the female-led cast offers a powerful and stunning visual birthed out of a relatively niche segment of the universe."

The Guardian's Jack Seale was less of a fan, asking whether casual viewers will be able to get to grips with the show.

"After an opening double bill introducing us to the new adventures of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), we don't really know," he said.

"Ahsoka has plenty of flickers of what made Andor and the early Mandalorian such a ride, but it suffers from the same syndrome that makes Bad Star Wars bad: it's so in awe of franchise lore it keeps taking our interest for granted," he wrote.

In a four-star review, Empire's Dan Jolin said he enjoyed the opening episodes of the show, writing that Ahsoka does well to "grapple with something a little more complex" than other Star Wars spin-offs.

He added: "Fans of Clone Wars and Rebels will appreciate this live-action continuation of Dave Filoni's saga, while newcomers should dig its promise of a different kind of Force clash."

Ahsoka is the latest product of film and TV company Lucasfilm, which has been behind recent Indiana Jones titles and other Star Wars spin-offs Andor, The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian.

Mike Hale of the The New York Times suggested Ahsoka doesn't hit the same notes as Andor, saying the storylines in Ahsoka "will be important to Star Wars devotees and background noise to the rest of us".

He added: "The overwhelming scale of the franchise, across every type of commercial medium, and the profusion of winding alleys down which its storylines run make it difficult for the casual fan to work up much interest in the world-building ramifications of any given instalment."

There was more enthusiasm from the Telegraph's Ed Power who awarded the series four stars.

"Ahsoka has two qualities lacking from much recent Star Wars output," he said. "A solid story and an imaginative visual twist on George Lucas's universe."

Power praised Rosario Dawson's character, a "Jedi warrior with cold penetrating eyes" and an "action figure reborn" adding that the series is a "space opera full of bite and brawn - one that promises to go some way towards restoring the damage inflicted by The Mandalorian's downward spiral."

Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter is yet to make his mind up on the show, echoing other reviewers when he writes, "so much of Ahsoka is shamelessly tailored to fit the audience's commodified needs".

"Absolutely everything feels like a reference," he noted, "and if you don't get why the camera is lingering on a background character or drawing or piece of technology, a bigger fan surely will."