The Mandalorian-Star Wars Live Action Series*

Wild... Werner Herzog, IG-88, Pedro Fett (in a cave of forgotten dreams?)... "Vhat wass it zat Timossy Treadvell saw in zis bounty hunter zat cost hiss life?"

 

Awesome first episode!! IG-11 shooting up the place like Christian Bale in Equilibrium was impressive! Hilarious that Taika Waititi lended his voice to the droid too. Bring on the next episode on Friday/Saturday!!

 

We watched the first episode last night. My husband in particular was really looking forward to it. He's a big Boba Fett fan and enjoys the 'seedier' side of Star Wars. We both thought it was mediocre. I give it a C. I liked the music quite a bit and the look and feel of it was nice, but I didn't connect with any characters. Pretty much the only thing I got off the title character was the fact that he didn't like working with droids. I couldn't tell you anything else about his personality. I also thought several sections of the episode were boring--especially the 'learning to ride in the cattle yard' part.

Spoiler

My husband really liked the droid and let out a 'No!' when he got shot in the head. We're hoping he's not dead forever and can be reset, because the show really lit up when he entered the picture.

We'll keep watching, but I found the first episode quite ho hum.

 

Just barely good enough to keep watching.....for now. Needs to get better....fast! Star Wars product is an anomaly in that when its good, it sparkles. But when its bad, the stench throws off visible heat waves!!

 

I have watched the first 2 episodes and I am okay with the story line so far. I do wish they would tell us what planets the Mandalorian is on though. Like the premise and I also like the main character. I found the "Bounty Drode" humorous and deadly. Where should this series go? Do you like it? I think it is a small character study in the Big Star Wars Universe and I think that's why I like it. Your thoughts?

 

I think it is a small character study in the Big Star Wars Universe

That's why I liked it too, the franchise really needs to approach things from a different angle to stay interesting if they're going to continually pump out content. I liked it the same as 'Rogue One' & let's face it, it's being made to satisfy the older fan. It has more of the original trilogy feel yet grittier, loaded with stuff that the fans felt was cool. Star Wars has finally figured itself out. 'Mandalorian' hasn't captured my imagination or anything, it's very calculated & knows it's audience, but it's still worth checking out.

 

I like it a lot. Better than the last two SW films. Has an old trilogy feel.

But, I also thought Solo was great.

 

I liked the first episode. Thought episode 2 was 30 minutes of boring filler and now I'm not so sure about this program. Lack of IG-11 in ep 2 probably helped fuel my boredom.

 

I'm enjoying it. It has a lived in look missing from the prequels. The fights are well done.

Spoiler

Baby Yoda

is cute without being annoying. I want the plush toy.

 

So far, I find it aggressively mediocre. The definition of "it's okay" with a shoulder shrug. I like the idea of it a lot, but nothing about the scripts has interested or excited me at all. If the goal is to be a small character study, they need to study their main character. So far, I have no sense at all of the Mandalorian himself. We are already at a disadvantage, not knowing his name or being able to see his face. I have no sense of his personality, interests, morals or anything. He's just a blank slate who is completing actions and tasks, almost like a video game lead.

On the positive side, it is well shot and I like the music. I am holding out hope that it deepens and gets more interesting as we go along. It needs better scripts, in my opinion. I am primarily interested in character when it comes to storytelling. I can't get by just on cool atmosphere.

For the record, I'm a big Star Wars fan. When it comes to Disney Star Wars, my opinions in general are thus: I love Rogue One and The Force Awakens. I thought Solo was bland, with some good parts. I think The Last Jedi is extremely uneven and messy, but I love everything in the film related to Kylo Ren, Rey and Luke.

 

Saw the first episode, and found it so bad it was painful to watch....it's obviously made for kids

 

Not so fast my friend. If a parent or guardian is/are letting kids watch this unsupervised, then I would call their parenting or guardianship into question.

This is made for adults. (With maybe the exception of the final scene of Episode 1.)

That being said. The first two episodes look like a spaghetti western set in the Star Wars universe. The name of the Mandalorian, Mando, and one of the names given to Clint Eastwood in the Man With No Name Trilogy, “Manco,” is definitely not coincidental.

After watching the first two episodes I can see elements/plots directly taken from or slightly altered from A Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, and to a lesser extent, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.

So far, I am pleased and like the episodes. However, if the story arc focuses on the “asset” at the end of Ep. 1, I reserve the right to change my opinion.

Apologies for the double quote, but the Episode is designed to get adults shell out the monthly fee for the service. This is further exemplified due to the fact that the Mandalorian is a weekly, serialized show.

Given the buzz that the first episode generated with the “asset” (aptly named) it will draw in people who a) can relate to characters from their childhood b) people who normally would pay it no mind, but think it is too cute. I have family members who fall into this category c) fear of missing out on something that is trending. This is obviously not a comprehensive list, but the marketing department at Diznee is not stupid. At a cost of $15M per episode, they are leaving little to chance.

And Diznee is like the vile weed, once it permeates your household, especially with kids, good luck getting rid of it.

 

It does feel like Star Wars but there is a very good reason for that:

Spoiler

Jawas? Are they everywhere or was it Tatooine again? Baby Yoda? That's original... It could be great but at some point they should try to create their own thing and stop relying on old characters. One of the main influences for Ep 2 is "Lone Wolf, and Cub", an amazing Japanese films series.

 

The Mandalorian

How can the asset be Yoda, then?

 

Spoiler

Yoda’s species doesn’t have a name, so people are just calling him Baby Yoda. It’s not Yoda himself.

 

Watched the first two last night and I really enjoyed it. I like the fact that the dialogue is pulled back and pacing relies more on visuals and atmosphere.

It has a Rogue One (a favorite of mine) meets A New Hope feel to it. I’m also happy about all the little Easter eggs from the classic trilogy that pop up. I wished for a series like this when I was a kid and now I’m getting is as a greying adult. Better late than never.

 

We enjoyed the show. I good balance between story and effects.

 

If The Mandalorian is "made for adults", then so is every Star Wars film to date. There is nothing in the show (so far at least, I've only seen the first episode) that is any more adult than in any of the Star Wars films. Kenobi slicing an alien's arm off and it lying bloody on the floor, and Luke's aunt and uncle being burnt to a skeletal crisp, all in the first half hour of the original film - these are worse than anything in the Mandalorian.

I actually expected The Mandalorian to be more adult (a la Netflix' take on Marvel shows) but I was mistaken, and in retrospect I don't know why I thought it would be. Disney+ is a kid-friendly service. I watched the first episode of The Mandalorian with my kids (7 and 11) and there was nothing in it remotely adult, other than certain aspects that are meant to nostalgically appeal to people who were Star Wars fans as kids decades ago.

 

This we can agree on, as several shows on the National Geographic Channel are not on Diznee+.

I would call the Mandalorian at minimum PG leaning towards PG-13 in certain scenes. However, if the “asset” is going to be the focal point of season, then I’ll say PG, with a heavy lean towards G.

 

Seems like an incredible waste of a prime asset, to have such a mercurial actor like Pedro Pascal (GOT, Narcos) and cover him up so completely that he's unrecognizable, it actually surprised me when I saw his name in the credits! It's a common failing; the full face mask, it's incredibly limiting video-wise. There's a reason why Iron Man, Spiderman, Panther, even Darth Vader, are constantly parading around without their headgear on!

 

Because audiences are unimaginative and need to have handsome and/or beautiful faces paraded in front of them to be able to keep up?

 

Way too slow for my tastes. Aside from that, it felt like they couldn't decide between "kid show" or "adult show", so they kept switching back and forth between the two sensibilities.

Also, I am not a huge fan of having the "good guys" commit murder. I understand that it can sometimes help to illustrate the conflicted nature of an "anti-hero" (see: "Han shoots first"), but I feel like such killings should be A) rare, and B) justified. But killing people whose only crime is that they scavenged parts from your abandoned ship and who otherwise had never so much as threatened to kill you?? NOT COOL.

 

I liked it.

 

It felt a lot like parts 1 and 2 were originally one long episode and got the big chop to fit into the Tuesday launch/Friday premiere model. I'll be very curious to see if episode 3 is a full hour; I can't imagine going to all this effort to chop it into sitcom-length bits.

Thoroughly invested, though.

 

Good Guy?

He a bounty hunter working in the seedy underworld.

He's the protagonist, but he's definitely not a hero.