By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review is spoiler-free.
I didn’t think Star Wars: Visions could get any better, but Volume 2 showed up to the Cantina and said hold my Blue Milk! To put it simply, Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is a visual and emotional masterpiece anthology series!
Once again, a host of the world’s finest animation studios are set free to play in the Star Wars toybox and create a host of unique, imaginative and awe-inspiring Star Wars stories, with breath-taking visuals and powerful storytelling. Allowing the individual studios to create their unique tales and showcase their interpretations of what Star Wars looks and feels like, without major Disney constraints, allows for some of the most interesting and outstanding Star Wars media that we’ve ever experienced. I, personally, loved Volume 1, but Volume 2 takes things one step further, as I feel the episodes individually and as a collective are a nudge stronger, overall.
While I was very excited for a lot of the studios involved in Volume 2, as a Brit my heart and focus were on the Aardman story “I Am Your Mother” (Episode 4). Aardman is such a British institution, and the episode really delivers that unique charm and fun that, I believe, only Aardman can achieve. So many of the episodes were intense and highly dramatic, whereas “I Am Your Mother” really leant into the fun and humour that made it a real stand-out episode. Its placement in the anthology was perfect, as the previous three episodes were highly charged and emotional. So, this allowed the audience to take a breather and enjoy some wholesome and highly amusing comedy. It also had some of the most humorous Star Wars Easter Eggs.
As you’d expect, the visual styles between all the studios and their respective episodes are very unique and offer a full range of animation styles. The visuals all flow into their storytelling and are used in ways to enhance various elements of the episode. As good as the visuals are, the music is just as strong and important, with some of the best music I have ever experienced in the Star Wars universe.
While I loved the amazing visuals and the stunning music, for me the glue that held all of the episodes together was the incredible storytelling. From the emotionally charged and dramatic to the reflective and comedic, the story themes may differ in genre, but at their heart are the themes of family, renewal, and hope. These things are at the very core of what Star Wars is, which is why no matter how much artistic licence the studios take, every episode feels like it belongs in its own place in the Star Wars galaxy.
Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is a phenomenal anthology series full of imaginative and staggering visuals, encased within incredibly emotive and heart-warming stories. This is Star Wars at its finest!
X-Geeks 