The Mandalorian

The season 3 finale that’s how do you a finale, Giancarlo Esposito was fantastic not only with his actor but with his evil smile on his face. Seeing his face drop when a certain someone turns up and goes into badass mode, it was great seeing them again. Also the post credit felt like a continuation of certain Star Wars movie. Christmas 2021 couldn’t come soon enough. With the show getting two spin off’s to me this feels like classic Star Wars then the modern day Star Wars movies so a big thumbs up for me.

A superb season finale to a great show, if disney have any sense at all they will get Jon Faverau to write the next set of movies, he really has bought new life to the saga. He clearly understands the Star Wars universe and what the fans want. I won't say too much about the episode so its not ruined for those who have not seen it yet.

But its just great...

can finally enter this thread (just finished it) and echo everyone's sentiments. awesome!

Mandalorian is everything disney decided not to do with their tosh episode 8 &9.

(21-12-2020 12:45 )ShandyHand Wrote:  Mandalorian is everything disney decided not to do with their tosh episode 8 &9.

And 7... A New, New Hope...

My theory is that Return of the Jedi is the film that ultimately did the most damage to the franchise.

Star Wars was epic and original, but completed by Lucas with every expectation that it would flop and he’d never get a chance to make another. With Empire, the story advanced, the world expanded, and Lucas proved he wasn’t a fluke.

Then he gets a blank cheque and that’s when the trouble starts. Because rather than expanding the universe even more, he essentially tries to “correct” the things that he couldn’t do before for lack of money, time and technology.

Things that were wholly original in A New Hope became tropes that were deemed ‘essential’ to every other Star Wars movie.

Desert/Forest/City planet: check
Cantina scene with wacky menagerie of aliens: check
Space battle against planet-destroying weapon: check
Revelation of hidden family connection: check
Lightsaber duel of good and evil: check

The writers are boxed into a very small corner. It’s kinda like the Bond franchise before it was rebooted with Daniel Craig. The writer could come up with something completely original, as long as it contained: two gadgets, three babes, one car chase, a tuxedo, a martini, a cartoonish henchman, and an over-the-top super-villain. It’s no wonder Bond became a parody of itself.

All of that to say that the genius of The Mandalorian (and also Rogue One) is its ability to stay true to the substance and aesthetic of the original trilogy, without being slavishly devoted to it.

Now that the “skywalker saga” is finished, let’s hope they bring the same originality to the feature films.

(21-12-2020 13:11 )Spike1876 Wrote:  

(21-12-2020 12:45 )ShandyHand Wrote:  Mandalorian is everything disney decided not to do with their tosh episode 8 &9.

And 7... A New, New Hope...

I actually put "their sequels" at first but I didn't think 7 was irredeemable actually (just too much 'set up') plus I wanted to make sure readers knew I was excluding the excellent Rogue One from my broad strokes (I know it's technically not a sequel).

8 & 9 look for all the world like they were made up as they went along.

P.S. Solo is pretty pish too.

No doubt about it The Mandalorian is a fantastically made piece of television that I have thoroughly enjoyed, there hasn't really been a bad episode every one has been entertaining.

Growing up I was more Trek than Wars & I think how old you are when you watch something massively influences your perception of it. I remember George Lucas once saying everyone who saw the original trilogy as a child prefers it but everyone who saw the prequel trilogy as a child prefers that. I was about 10ish when The Phantom Menace came out & I didnt watch the originals until i was in my late teens early 20s & whilst I don't think the prequels are better films I do not think there is as big as a gap between them as is the conventional wisdom amongst Star Wars fans. Also Revenge of the Sith is the best movie of The Skywalker 9.

Why do I think The Mandalorian is so popular with the fanbase ? Because it was made by two people who were 11 (Favreau) & 3 (Filoni) when a New Hope was released & what we have got in this series is just pure fan fiction. Boba Fett a fan favourite character brought back to life & given some high octane bad ass moments, Ahsoka Tano a fan favourite brought back & given high octane bad ass moments, another fan favourite brought back for the finale with a high octane bad ass moment. Not to discredit or downplay what the TV show is, it's a well written, well designed, has good actors & an amazing score what they have done is take the original formula of a Spaghetti Western in Space & doubled down hard.

So what I will say about The Mandalorian & I wouldn't call it a criticism more of an observation because again it is a brilliant show, is that it lacks originality. That is again why it is probably so popular because fans tend to be religiously loyal to a franchise & hate change. If I was to declare which of the sequel trilogies was the best it would be The Last Jedi, why ? because it takes risks. Presenting Luke as this broken figure disconnected from the force, the fact that it kills off Snoke. Things that the fans hated but I appreciate because it tries to break away from the franchise formula. Last Jedi received overwhelming critical response & positive feedback from Lucas himself certainly compared to its immediate predecessor. Of course a lot of the film feels like a remake of Empire in fact the Disney sequels kind of feel more like cover songs of the original trilogy, The Force Awakens is basically a New Hope.

Going forward there have been a lot of new Star Wars shows announced on Disney+ after the success of The Mandalorian, the influence of Filoni & the hiring of Taika Waititi for the next film there is reason to be hopeful for the future of the franchise, especially as they look to move away from The Skywalker Saga.

What I hope is that in the wake of the success of The Mandalorian they don't look to replicate it exactly in everything they do, that they do try to create something more original now and again. Otherwise what we will end up with is a series of well made, very nice but altogether sterile & safe set of TV shows. Kind of like a Barratts Housing development.

Excellent post.

I have the exact same opinion of the Last Jedi. Far from perfect, but I appreciated that Rian Johnson at least tried to bust Star Wars out of the storytelling straightjacket it was in.

I’m also concerned that the ‘universe’ won’t have the same breadth as, say, Star Trek or Marvel unless they start to move away from fan service and introduce some new ideas.

Overall an A- for the full post. Please correct this obvious error for the full marks:

(23-12-2020 00:30 )southsidestu Wrote:  Also Revenge of the Sith is the best movie of The Skywalker 9.

I think it is pronounced ‘Empire Strikes Back’.

(21-12-2020 13:11 )Spike1876 Wrote:  

(21-12-2020 12:45 )ShandyHand Wrote:  Mandalorian is everything disney decided not to do with their tosh episode 8 &9.

And 7... A New, New Hope...

Star Wars Episode VII. No Fucking Hope