The Mandalorian (Star Wars)

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My brother was enthusiastically telling me this show was actually very good, so I decided to give it a shot. I'll never trust his taste in anything ever again. I couldn't finish 15 minutes of the first episode, it was non-stop cringe. The acting had a goofy tone that made it impossible for me to achieve any immersion. All of the costumes looked brand new, so any sense of poverty on backwater worlds was tacky. Even the dirt looked clean. This did not feel like Star Wars at all, more like some childish nerd fantasy in a Star Wars rip-off alternate universe. The plot was pure nerd fantasy, and I'll give an example of what I mean. The first episode starts with the Mandalorian walking into a bar. People pick a fight with him for no apparent reason and he defeats them effortlessly in Mary-Sue fashion with martial arts that are so slow and obviously choreographed they make Seraph's sucker punch in The Matrix Reloaded look like it wasn't telegraphed at all.

It was worse than I was expecting, and my expectations were so low I was dreading it as it were. I didn't think it was possible to be worse than I was expecting, but they nailed it. If only it had that so-bad-it's-good appeal, I could enjoy it for that. But it was just boring and lame in every way shape and form imaginable.

Let's see all the red flags:
1. One dimensional Mary-Sue characters
2. Costumes and props way too clean
3. Implausible plot and Deus-Ex Machinas
4. Cliche boring dialogue
5. Wooden and goofy acting
6. Realism sacrificed for dramatic effect

That's what I noticed within the first fifteen minutes, and you couldn't make me watch more if you put a gun to my head or payed me all the money in the universe. I'm kidding about not being able to watch more, but if you payed me well I'd do an in-depth critical review. Still, I'd rather turn down a million dollars and do something more meaningful with my time, like watch paint dry. I don't think it's possible to bash this show enough. This was worse than Twilight. I got through an hour of Twilight because it had some so-bad-it's-good appeal.



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Binge-watched the entire thing in one sitting.

Spoilers... I guess.

Starts really strong with a right-in-your-face ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST Harmonica entrance rip-off (although a much less sophisticated version of it) and throws you right into the world of Star Wars. The first two episodes are a helluva ride, but then the series makes a halt and drops in quality to regain it in the sixth episode in which crimson-lit white corridors see lots of healthy tension interrupted by Disney-friendly yet exciting outbursts of violence. The de facto two-episode finale is quite a spectacle, too, as long as you can suspend your disbelief and just get along with the ride. By far the weakest yet stil solid episode would be number four, a simple mix of SHANE and SEVEN SAMURAI. I never knew that I always wanted to see a fantasy version of LONE WOLF AND AND A CUB with a Capitalist Cheburashka / Green Gizmo. Seriously, all they had to do was repeat the Baby Groot cutesy cute from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, although my nitpick would be that Baby Yoda was not cute enough. Also, IG-11 doing his HARD BOILED Chow Yun-fat thing is perhaps the most badass scene I've seen this year (which is a very convenient thing to say as it's still January, and I can easily go back on this). All in all, pretty good entertainment even though the story felt like a side-quest line in SKYRIM. Never expected anything else. I will be watching Season 2. Lots of haters, but they hated the new Star Wars, too, so I don't care.

Oh, and let's finish this with a pun. You know, they're very progressive nowadays. This show also has a strong female character.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
Enjoyed it but I'm not seeing any creativity from Lucasfilm which is their core problem. The whole thing relies on characters major and minor from 40 years ago. Boba Fett 2.0, Yoda, Tatooine, IG 88, Empire.

Strong cast right through though, took me a while to place Nick Nolte and GOAT movie villain Clacy Brown, love Gina Carano, don't subscribe to some of the strong women complaints this time around.

Maybe the strong cast and Star Wars feel made it feel better than it was. Looking forward to the next one.

Made me wish they'd pick up what I remember being excellent book series in Rogue Squadron / Wraith Squadron.
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Sheesh! That looks pretty good! Been thinking about rewatching the first season. Prolly gonna right before this gets going again.
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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...



Decent first episode. Looks like more money was splurged than the first season, which had that campy 80's look(which I loved). This one looked like a movie.


Main plot wasn't greatly advanced, but overall a decent start.


WARNING: spoilers below

The episode was basically Tremors for TV.



Episode four continues the good work of three, and more importantly the main plot moves forward.


Two side observations.
1) Stormtroopers in this series are absolutely useless. Almost like target practice for our heroes.


2) I don't agree with the internet. Gina Carano looked weirdly hotter to me with that extra bit.

PS: Looks like I am the only one here watching season two.



Nah, I'm watching it, just not sure I have a lot to say. It's not the kind of show I analyze in detail or theorycraft about, because it's not really about mysteries or plot. There's some of that, but it's toned down, and refreshingly so. It reminds me of Justified, in that there's a nice overarching story but each episode is fairly self-contained and enjoyable in its own right, which is how TV is supposed to be. It's not supposed to just be a giant movie arbitrarily chopped into pieces, and I really like it when a show is restrained and competent, like The Mandalorian is. I don't think there's been a single bad episode yet, as a result.



GOD THIS SHOW IS THE BOMB! I love it.


Grogo, I like it. If Chris B. hadn't already been Yoda here at MoFo I'd change TONGO to GROGO and use that cute little Gremlin ripoff as my Av.


What surprises me is how the storyline hasn't faltered or "sold out" like the original franchise did. I can remember when it first happened, tremors of a sell-out were being felt by the audience in Ep. VI Return of the Jedi when all those different droids and races were in endless supply. Parents just knowing they'd have to buy every damn ones action figure for their kids. Then the hammer fell, the Ewoks. I can still remember half of the audience going "Awwwwww!" and the other half outright groaning in disgust by the marketing shamelessness.


Jones Favreau is a genius. He took a forgettable Marvel superhero in Iron Man had made him as popular as Spidey & Wolvie (assist by RDJ), and now has saved the Star Wars franchise. Good job to Disney and I give my money to D+ happily.



I'm glad Disney is pretty much ignoring all these cancellation attempts of people on the show. This is turning into the best content they've done in years at Star Wars central. Maybe there's some hope that the next trilogy can follow The Mandolorians path and become watchable more than once.



He's back.


Who?!


I will not spoil! Alls Ill say is one of the coolest Star Wars characters of all time, and he just got cooler.





God what happened to the dialogue writing in the latest episode. All throughout this series they have used silence or smart dialogues to convey things. And suddenly in the last episode they decided to spell out everything to the audience in case we don't understand the basic things. 'Let me land on the side I can't land on the top', 'I will protect you while you finish your yoga'.
I know it's irrelevant thing but it just felt so out of place and definitely ruined my viewing experience.


Otherwise the episode was good.



We've gone on holiday by mistake
Halfway through s2, decent enough, reminds me of the Witcher. This weeks big baddie to hunt is............

One complaint is that I'd have to watch a ****ty SW cartoon to find out who some of the characters are.

So it seems they may eventually attempt to bring some of the main OT characters back through the Mandalorian, then perhaps onto their own series. When I say "it seems", that's nothing more than a prediction.

I don't see why not though, especially with the relative success of the Mandalorian. Cinema seems to be moving to streaming and who doesn't want to get the taste of hobo green milk Luke Skywalker out of their mouth.