As I’d mentioned to some coworkers , I went into this with no hopes or expectations. I’ve been let down SO many times over the decades, I just figured I’d like it or I’d bail. No hard feelings because I’ve long since stopped being emotionally invested in Star Wars as a franchise. (1983 for any newbies)

I’d recently bailed on the Acolyte after about 10 or 15 minutes into the first episode. It was an uninteresting rehash of all things twirly and Sith. I changed the channel, moved on, never gave it another thought. I was prepared to do the same with Skeleton Crew, again, with no hard feelings or second thoughts.

I was pleasantly surprised with Skeleton Crew. I think we all sort of knew what we were getting and this is exactly as advertised. It’s a 1980s style story about a group of kids on an adventure. This thing has Spielberg’s finger prints all over it. That’s not a bad thing. That formula has worked the past 40+ years for a reason.

To be sure, it’s cheese and it’s predictable - because we grew up watching this same dynamic. I guess I enjoyed it for the same reason I like watching ET, Sandlot, Troop Zero, or Stand By Me. It’s a light distraction. We’ve seen this group many times before; Tech-nerdy girl, slightly awkward chubby kid who goes along because they’re his friends, the dreamer kid who accidentally gets the adventure started, and the cool girl.

To my eyes, visually it looks better than The Mandalorian, Andor, or what little I saw of Acolyte. It looks a little bit less TV. Maybe it’s the story setting, maybe it’s the physical sets, or maybe it’s my imagination.

I’m going along for the ride.

edit;
I also enjoyed the beat-for-beat homage to Star Wars for the first 5 minutes. I thought it was done with respect for the source material. In the hands of someone like Abrams or even Favreau, it would have been a ham-fisted mess.