Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 1, 2017

It's truly amazing what's come out of Star Wars. There's little room for argument against the notion that it's the biggest entertainment franchise in history, that original 1977 film having spawned seven more released films, several more in the making and in the planning stages, a few animated shows, a number of universe-expanding novels, even some video games that explore the stories more in-depth. What began as the story of a young farm boy discovering his destiny and defeating an evil empire has become a full-fledged universe of heroes, villains, and countless beings in between. Star Wars Rebels is one of the many spinoffs, an animated adventure now in its third season that has slowly but surely been bridging the gap from the end of the prequel trilogy to the beginning of the original trilogy. Season three sees it grow ever-closer to and draw inspiration from many of the memorable story arcs and characters from the more familiar cinematic Star Wars universe. Newcomers should be sure to check out seasons one and two before digging into season three.

Official synopsis: The story of the 'Ghost' crew is far from over. While Sabine confronts new challenges on her home world of Mandalore, Ezra's growing power as both Jedi and a rebel leader helps the rebellion acquire new resources and recruits for the fight ahead. However, the Imperial effort to eliminate the rebellion is now being led by the coldly analytical Grand Admiral Thrawn, whose strategic, tactical, and cultural insights make him a threat unlike any they have faced before.

Rebels has always integrated Star Wars myth into its stories rather than simply plow ahead in its own little corner of the previously unexplored universe, but in season three, it feels like it's finally starting to sprawl, to really get into those areas, big and small alike, that the films and the surrounding mythology have only briefly mentioned or explored or that play a key role but that haven't been so well fleshed out until now. The resurrected Maul seeks revenge on Obi-Wan, who is living in isolation on Tatooine and guarding a young boy from afar. The Empire is expanding. Saw Gerrera is fomenting the rebellion. Mon Mothma is carefully considering her options and organizing a resistance, transitioning away from the senate and towards rebellion leadership. The show incorporates universe material beyond the feature films, too. Key to season three is Grand Admiral Thrawn, an Imperial bigwig first introduced by Author Timothy Zahn back in the early 1990s. Rebels builds, explores, expands. It's become a treat for fans and, as it's been assembled, the show has become the perfect platform to build up the greater Star Wars universe around it while still focusing on its own characters, who certainly earn their own screen time for personal growth as individuals and heroes alike. The show has quietly but effectively and assuredly become a keystone to the universe; all of the big movers and shakers and major events are finding room in the show, passing through at least or being heavily influenced by other events as they unfold in Rebels' stories. And that it's all so finely integrated is as much of an accomplishment as just finding room for it all. Rebels doesn't brush up against Star Wars history. It makes Star Wars history, and fans won't see many of their favorite moments and characters the same way again after experiencing their stories from a new perspective here.

This season's appeal is certainly building on widely-known lore, but much of the fun comes from introducing or expanding on some lesser-known stories and exploring new innovations alike. Fans will find more in-depth study of how the Empire works, training its elite pilots, for example, which also happens to be from where the fan-favorite Wedge Antilles and the lesser-known Hobbie come. The Empire's heavy-handed oppression becomes more obvious, playing hand-in-hand with the rise of the rebellion and the eventual key rebel meeting on Dantooine. Mandalorians -- the race from which Boba Fett hailed and that is also the race to which Sabine belongs -- play a key role with new content in season three, including the "Darksaber" arc. Perhaps the best meeting of established lore and new content for the show comes in the season's best episode, "Twin Suns," when Maul, thought dead at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of Episode I, finally tracks down his nemesis on Tatooine where he has been patiently watching over Luke Skywalker for some years. The episode is rich in dramatic textures and soaks in surrounding lore. And its final shot is special, the best moment in the entire series so far.

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three features a 1080p transfer that's largely in-line with its predecessors. Detailing pleases. Good, stable clarity allows the image to capture a number of well-worn elements throughout the Star Wars universe that give even the relatively simple animation a sense of tangible, tactile authenticity, whether flight uniforms, cockpits, weapons, armor, ship exteriors, structures, terrain, or most anything else that might catch one's eye. Character complexity in close-up pleases as well; the image brings out much off the structural nuance and surface details that define the many different beings scattered throughout the season. Colors please. The palette is certainly not inspiring and might even push a hair drab at times, but accuracy appears on despite the lack of total, blinding vibrancy. Lightsabers, variously colored skin, astral anomalies, rank insignias, uniforms...name it, and saturation and stability hold. Blacks are impressively firm as well. The image does struggle with some jagged lines and minor aliasing, though rarely do they even rise to the level of "minor annoyance."

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three again, like its predecessors, features a capable but in no way wonderful Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Its defining characteristic is its inability to offer the sort of power at reference volume one might expect. Delivery is timid in most cases, While spacing is adequate in terms of music, effects, and ambience alike, and while it's not a struggle to hear, it clearly lacks a more hearty, impactful sort of stage presence one would rather enjoy in a Star Wars universe. Still, for a lossy track, general elemental clarity satisfies, whether score or a number of familiar Star Wars sound effects, like various types of laser blasts and engine hums and whirrs. There's a fair sense of immersion as applicable. Dialogue is generally well prioritized and consistently positioned in the front-center location.

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three contains extras on all three discs.

Disc One:

• Rebels Recon: Inside... (1080p): In-depth analyses of each episode, which include detailed cast and crew interviews, a few comic short bits, technical details, and more. Andi Gutierrez hosts. Episodes included are "Steps Into Shadow" (8:08), "The Holocrons of Fate" (7:39), "The Antilles Extraction" (6:24), "Hera's Heroes" (7:34), "The Last Battle" (7:24), "Imperial Supercommandos" (7:25), and "Iron Squadron" (6:49).

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentaries: Executive Producer Dave Filoni for "Trials of the Darksaber" and Executive Producer Dave Filoni, CG Supervisor/Lighting & EFX Joel Aron, Animation Supervisor Keith Kellogg, Art Director Kilian Plunkett & Supervising Director Justin Ridge for "Legacy of Mandalore."
• Rebels Recon: Inside... (1080p): Episodes include "The Wynkahthu Job" (6:10), "An Inside Man" (6:56), "Visions and Voices" (6:17), "Ghosts of Geonosis" (7:43), "Warhead" (6:32), "Trials of the Darksaber" (6:40), and "Legacy of Mandalore" (6:02).

Disc Three:

• A Rebel Alliance (1080p, 6:10): Developing the timeline between episodes III and IV, exploring the Mon Mothma character, and the intersections with Rogue One.
• Return to Mandalore (1080p, 6:59): A closer look at the Mandalorian race and history and how they fit into Rebels and define Sabine's character.
• Thrawn: A Legend Reborn (1080p, 6:59): An examination of the character's history in the Timothy Zahn novels and the character's design and integration into Rebels. It also briefly looks at Rukh.
• Apprentices to Outcasts: Kenobi and Maul (1080p, 8:47): A discussion centered on Maul's search for revenge on Kenobi following their battle in Episode I. Also: voicing Ben Kenobi and Maul, crafting their clash, and the thematic ramifications of their fight through the Star Wars universe.
• The Original Rebel: Saw Gerrera Returns - Extended (1080p, 3:19): A piece that briefly looks at the character's place in the Star Wars universe, Forest Whitaker's voice work, the character's arc, and more.
• Audio Commentaries: Executive Producer Dave Filoni, CG Supervisor/Lighting & EFX Joel Aron, Animation Supervisor Keith Kellogg, Art Director Kilian Plunkett & Supervising Director Justin Ridge for "Through Imperial Eyes." Executive Producer Dave Filoni, CG Supervisor/Lighting & EFX Joel Aron, Animation Supervisor Keith Kellogg, Art Director Kilian Plunkett, Supervising Director Justin Ridge & Co-Executive Producer Henry Gilroy for "Double Agent Droid." Executive Producer Dave Filoni for "Twin Suns."
• Rebels Recon: Inside... (1080p): Episodes include "Through Imperial Eyes" (7:49), "Secret Cargo" (6:03), "Double Agent Droid" (6:36), "Twin Suns" (12:16), and "Zero Hour" (12:02).

Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rebels can be seen as the aggregation and, in many cases, the culmination of so much from the expanded Star Wars universe. It's centered on characters of its own creation but the show has expanded to the point that almost all of the legend and lore, characters, actions, and consequences from the feature films and the carefully constructed universe around them has been folded in effortlessly but with great care and attention to detail. This is easily the best Rebels season yet, its connective tissue super-strong and promising more greatness for season four, both within the show's main character confines and conflicts but also as it expands even further into the established universe. Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three features solid video and decent lossy audio. A wonderful collection of extra content is included. Highly recommended.