Trakt for iOS
Works on iPhone and iPad.
VIP3Not a big fan.
On a positive note, there are some well-choreographed fight scenes. They are probably the most entertaining bits of the show, the best of them are well thought out and impressive, but many of these fights are pretty barren in the emotion department.
Moreover, the set designs and the VFX are, for the most part, excellent, and the polish and detail make many aspects of this sci-fi world feel tangible. The atmosphere it provides is authentic to the Star Wars universe in an endearing way, but I found much of the rest of the show underwhelming.
On a more nit-picky note the costumes are a distracting mixed bag, while Mando’s design is excellent, many others are jarring. Designs like Ahsoka Tano's are a constant distraction. But where the show feels truly barren is in its story. None of its characters have detailed arcs and you could easily reorder the chronology of many of the show’s episodes and it would not change a thing. This inconsequential nature is particularly annoying because of how long and forgettable many of these episodes are, hardly any emotional scenes/character work, mostly just drawn out one off plots that have been done numerous times in other fantasy shows/stories.
But particularly, I want to talk about why the end of Season 2 doesn’t offer much of value for me. I think Mando lacks a coherent arc. In theory, Mando's journey should've significantly altered his character. We know he suffers a massive change to his status quo; he betrays the guild code and endures the consequences. But his character remains underdeveloped; he has solid motivations. He wants to spare Grogu from the war-torn childhood he survived, but I feel this serviceable at best backstory is all we ever learn about him. The only thing closely resembling an arc is Mando's willingness to remove his helmet throughout the series, where he finally takes it off in front of people in the Season 2 finale, but that's incredibly bare-bones. And when Mando gives up Grogu to Luke Skywalker, the show plays overbearing, somber music, but I feel nothing; I failed to have much investment in these characters so I just found it annoyingly manipulative.
Also, I think “Grogu” is not an interesting side character, this is likely because he is a baby, but we know nothing about him. We know he's force sensitive and of the same species as Yoda (I guess), but as far as I know, the only thing else going on with his character is one of conjecture or hidden deep in Star Wars lore.
But Grogu isn’t the only one, most of the others are dull. Bunch of one-off-side characters throughout the show, who, unless they come from the pre-established Star Wars universe, are usually uninteresting. And when the show does bring in characters from other Star Wars properties, they play it incredibly safe.
The old characters they bring back (Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, etc.) have been developed by other Star Wars media, but lack interesting utilization, there are just no interesting character-specific moments. There are subtle fan service moments, such as the Darksaber and Boba Fett's confrontation with Mando regarding his armor, but that's all I noticed, so the show failed to give me anything emotionally engaging with these characters.
Shows like Star Wars Rebels may be a mixed bag, but they offer far more interesting utilizations of previously developed characters, providing moments such as the duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, ending with the death of Darth Maul. Nothing in The Mandalorian resembles this, most of the inclusions of these characters feel contrived and pointless.
Overall, I mostly just found the show a dull waste of time.
If I wrote this review at the end of season 1 it was 20 out of 10 stars, it was that good. It's one of those shows that is so good that you don't even realize you just watched it for an hour.
Season 2 slowed down but two things really got under my skin. One was unmasking Mando, that shouldn't have happened but Pedro Pascal couldn't stand that nobody knew he was Mando and demanded he be unmasked and that broke the story totally and the way it was written in was ridiculous. The second was firing Gina Carano because she had differing political view than Disney - she was such a great part of the show. Anymore, give Disney a great and beloved series and they just screw it up.
So instead of counting the days until season 3 starts, like I did for season 2, it's now just another show that airs when it airs. And, like how the Star Trek Discovery got too agenda driven for its own good, any new spin-off, for me, will be met with far greater skepticism about how good it will be versus how political and agenda driven it tries to be.
To quote Gladiator: "Are you not entertained?!?!". Whelp, I was, now I'm not.
Disney didnt bother giving his any rational thinking other than “how can we possibly engage every possible demographic out there with the cheapest means possible” so I see no reason why I should grace it with a review by reviewing the notes I took while watching. So here are the raw notes and comments copied and pasted, sorry for the horrible editing but that would force me into having to use more time on this, time Id rather use to shoot myself in the face with a shotgun:
[spoiler]Shoots door button to close the door cause certainly that wouldnt break it and make it not function.... not even gonna ask how they got out again with a seemingly broken door button
monster breaking ice and swallowing a little speeder but the ship somehow landed just fine
beskar steel just a new and retarded disney invention ofc, surprised they didnt call it “valerian steel” lol
shot in widescreen to subliminally give anyone with less than 10 brain cells available calling themselves an old star wars fan “dat old star wars movies feelin”
“understatement of the millenium”more disney wannabe-funny bs just like in the shitty new movies...
ridiculous cgi lightning when the monster is prodded
that the mandalorians never take off their helmets is also pure bs just now invented by disney so they can set apart new age kidtard fans from old boomers, like the earlier “beskar steel” insert
cheap carbon freezing effects/cgi, but good that they included it for some more old fans service
empire credits apparently isnt good enough but “calamari flan” or whatever the f he said is apparently quote “fine” even though its half of what he wanted... a true mandalorian wouldve taken all of both credit types
“do you want the chit or not” either a retarded way of saying chip, once again so the new age kidtards can get more immersed based on cheap means, or a disney cop out to get to say “shit” even though its kinda for kids, sounds retarded anyway
(java's pet) alien looking at another one of the same species being fried for some reason looks like a cheapass doll and has cheapass dolly movement... oh wait thats ofc so that the disney execs can “activate” old star wars fans subliminally just like the retarded decision to shoot in widescreen
female mandalorian but as a smith ofc just in case we arent feeling her “toughness”... cause the “woke” demographic needs some coverage too
mini-mandalorian in flashbacks ofc seriously looks like little Jango Fett from episode II, cause more subliminal bs
heavy brute monster (blurrg) somehow sneaks up on him from the front while hes using monocular even though hes a “pro mandalorian”... guess theyre super light, oh wait no theyre heavy af, guess it must be some elf magic going on then lol. Also tranq darts give off electric shock for some reason, ofc with the same cheap cgi. monocular only have the color blue for some reason...
our pro anti-hero will apparently need to ride a blurrg cause “the way is impossible to pass without a blurrg... guess they forgot that its star wars and they have tons of “cool” technological equipment not to mention he has a f ship.... but lets go with the having to learn to ride a blurrg thingy cause why the f not right? Alot more entertaining, doesnt matter if its 100% retarded logically speaking
“this is a female, the males are all eaten during mating”, yupp we heard right, a bigass creature somehow survived evolution even though it seems to “do evolution completely backwards”... classic retard-universe-expansion a la disney, too bad they didnt shit out some retarded explanation as to what these bigass creatures subsist on on this lifeless rock planet. Why am I even surprised its retarded execs/writers with jack shit knowledge about ecology and biology (or anything else for that sake) that came up with it... probably the same retards that gave all the same retarded explanations on the different lifeforms in the game that recently came out, jedi order somethingsomething (also horrible too ofc)
I wonder how this ugnaught is able to see anything with those super concave goggles...
lets just forget that the terrain was “impossible to pass without a blurrg” when we are showing them traveling, by not showing any impassable terrain at all, lets just show them jumping over some gaps that the mandalorian easily couldve done himself
oh a bounty droid, which our mandalorian hates for some reason even though it seems to be doing wonders when it comes to disposing thugs, I smell a hk-47 ripoff... que the witty remarks and cold robot attitude probably poorly executed just like everything else (EDIT: I was wrong about this)
blasters dont have the associated “pew pew” sound cause that wasnt cool and tough enough so they had to put on some bass for that extra “umpf” feelin even though they now almost dont sound anything like a blaster have done for all the years star wars have existed
“up top” and the doid shoots straight up to presents us with a falling thug, I wonder where this thug was standing in the first place if the droid shot straight up, guess he was hovering in the air...
less than 10 seconds later the droid initiates self destruct because “it appears we are trapped”... guess he cant just try shooting his way out and if that fails he initiates the self destruct because disney needs some more pointless drama... but because the mandalorian tells him not to then ofc he just throws his “manufacturers protocol” right out the window, more disney logic
lasers hitting stone walls leaves no temperature change marks or singing... guess that wouldve been too much for the amateurs over at the cgi department to accomplish
mandalorian stands on the heavy blaster for 10 seconds shooting everyone around him even though he was taking cover until just then because everyone knows that if someone stands on a heavy gun no one else can suddenly neither shoot at him let alone hit him...
“that blaster hit looks nasty you ok?” yet not a single mark on the droid, IG11 as hes called, but the mandalorian still looks closer at that missing mark to really show us that its nasty even though its non existent
10$ says “the life form present” is a woman, oh wait its ofc the only possible thing that could engage us viewers even more than romantic tension: a cute little “yoda” ofcofc, cause disney's already invested millions into just the marketing (instead of the actual show) so it would be embarrassing if as much as just one critique out there said something bad ,or worse, gave this absolute shitshow anything less than 10/10. so naturally everyone needs to have their fan service organ stroked hard af... OMGOMG I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, KAWAIIII... geez what a true absolute f shitshow of a fan service mashup, can someone shoot me in the face, I beg you! Byebye star wars :( EDIT: this is where I wrote [/.spoiler] but apparently trakt cant be bothered to follow proper coding (I never wrote it after the first section indicating everything is a spoiler alert... GJ TRAKT!
The ‘Star Wars’ franchise has changed drastically over the years. From the originals to prequels to sequels to anthologies, for the first time ever, there is a live-action ‘Star Wars’ series. ‘The Mandalorian’ premiered the same day that its streaming service Disney+ launched and instantly became one of the service’s most-watched content and is now the top streaming series of the decade. Taking place some time after the defeat of the Empire in ‘Return of the Jedi’, ‘The Mandalorian’ follows a bounty hunter traveling through the galaxy completing missions that include taking care of a child from an unknown species. I will admit that before rewatching the ‘Star Wars’ films in preparation for the series, I thought this would center around former bounty hunter Boba Fett, who was eaten by a Sarlacc pit in ‘Return of the Jedi’. The franchise does have a tendency to bring back dead characters (i.e. Darth Maul), but I wouldn’t have been surprised either way. Known that we would be introduced to a new bounty hunter, it left me wondering if it could be as good without former bounty hunters Jango and his son Boba Fett not being a part of it. But going into this series, I found it really interesting how easy it was to get invested into the main characters. ‘The Mandalorian’ is surprisingly a really good series that proves Disney is capable of making good ‘Star Wars’ content.
Instead of talking about cast performances, I’m just gonna talk about the main characters and how they were utilized. There’s no question that Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian is incredible. He’s quick on his feet, a great fighter, and uses his smarts to defeat his enemies and complete his missions, all while taking care of an infant child that he saves during a mission. He’s very reluctant to take care of the child due to the fact that he is not a father, does dangerous work, and doesn’t know the species of the kid. And I honestly think that makes him a stronger character. The fact that he keeps on a helmet the whole time makes it really interesting due to the fact that you can still be invested in him without seeing his face. When it comes to the child, there’s no question that ‘Baby Yoda’ is the standout of the series thus far. Besides being adorable, it’s interesting knowing that the original Yoda wasn’t the only one left of his species and makes you wonder if there’s somehow a relation to the characters. The utilization of Baby Yoda is great, seeing how he is able to use the Force and uses Force healing, something that is seen in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’. He’s ultimately a very entertaining presence onscreen throughout the entire season, and I can’t wait to see how he is used in the next season. Gina Carano is amazing as Cara Dune, a former shock trooper who finds herself teaming up with The Mandalorian on several occasions and is even able to go toe-to-toe with him. She even starts to care for him and worries about how he puts himself or others in danger and isn’t afraid to come up with her own plan to save everyone. Again, it’s always nice to see women kicking butt onscreen, and Cara Dune is one of the most entertaining female action characters of the year. Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga is an interesting character due to the fact that he is affiliated with the Bounty Hunters Guild but spends a good portion of the season at war with The Mandalorian because he is supposed to deliver the child to the Client. He’s not necessarily an interesting character, but he has a likable dynamic with Mando, as he calls him. Nick Nolte is great as Kuiil, acting as a mentor to The Mandalorian and guiding him towards the right path and protecting others by not always resorting to violence. Taika Waititi’s IG-11 is pretty unique given the fact that the droid’s programming changes throughout the season. I think he’s probably one of the more likable droids in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise due to the utilization of the character, and he can actually talk.
As much as I think ‘The Mandalorian’ is a really good show, it’s not without its faults. Some people may think differently, but I think the series feels pretty slow at times. This could be due to the fact that major action sequences only happen every few episodes, and sometimes there aren’t many character interactions, but the first season definitely feels like filler most of the time. It doesn’t distract from the fact that the action is amazing, considering it’s more hand-to-hand combat than typical ‘Star Wars’ battles. And I don’t always notice this with television shows, but the score is really good as well. This is due to the fact that Ludwig Goransson composed the series, who recently won an Oscar for ‘Black Panther’, which also had a great score. It definitely fits the western aspects of the series, as there are several desert-like settings, and there’s a lot of moving around due to the characters traveling around the galaxy to different planets.
Overall, ‘The Mandalorian’ is sure to please most ‘Star Wars’ fans, especially those who have been craving great content if they don’t like the current Disney films. If you’re disappointed by the current films, I think you’ll be pleased with this series due to the fact that it feels like the old ‘Star Wars’ except for lightsabers. The action scenes are still incredibly entertaining, the characters are great, and it’s overall a fun time. It’s definitely not a perfect first season, but there are plenty of surprises, cameos, and guest appearances that are sure to make people happy, and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Season 2 next fall.
8.5/10
(For the first six episodes)
Love the world building, love part of the action, love the implications regarding a galaxy trying to reconstruct itself after the fall of an Empire and the sequels of the war that let to it. Sadly, this is just nothing. We only get glances of our protagonist (with the third and fourth episode trying to build something out of his dependence in the protection of Baby Yoda and connecting with the lower class of the galaxy, making these people for a moment important, like if this is the template for the show), but not to a point where he works as anything but an archetype with any kind of humanity or development. Everything moves like a videogame. Not to say that the model of them can serve to experiment with the narrative in new ways (movies has done it really great recently, despite the general public hating most of the best examples), but here it only shows its weaknesses. The structure is going from place to place, resolving a problem, escaping and that’s it. There’s no imagination in that process. We meet characters that barely matter in the bigger plot and they are gone afterwards. There’s really nothing going on. Just a mistery box (why) and information of this universe that can be as easily research as a Wikipedia page.
And Baby Yoda, I love him.
This is as good as a Favreau project can get, and that means is “fine”. And if that’s enough for you to get into this show, I’m happy for you. I only wait for more ambitious projects in this universe and that means anything that can let to Rian Johnson trilogy. Also, anyone who criticize this show for plot holes is dumb. Seriously, they can criticize it for its lack of ambitions and jarring thematic elements, but they decide to go for the same ramblings of some idiot that didn’t get his favorite trivia done well.
One of the few good things to have come out of Disney's acquisition of Star Wars, The Mandalorian is a fantastic addition to this beloved franchise's ever-growing canon. Equal parts Spaghetti Western and sci-fi spectacle, Jon Favreau's eight-part series manages to do what the sequel trilogy could not, providing the audience with an interesting look into the impact the fall of the Empire had on a galaxy far, far away while still feeling authentic in its vision of that same universe. The depiction of Stormtroopers as mercenaries-for-hire, the Force as a mostly unheard-of myth, and the vast contrast in priorities between the likes of the Rebels and individuals such as the Mandalorian all come across as extensions of already existing lore, perfectly demonstrating the fact that just because the Empire fell, that doesn't mean life became any easier for those already struggling to get by in the first place. Pedro Pascal's performance as Din Djarin only reinforces this, offering us a stoic yet surprisingly compassionate protagonist who has seen the horrors of war first-hand and knows the value of empathy with others as a result of his experiences. He's a genuinely complex character, one whose strict moral compass informs every decision he makes, and to see a piece of Star Wars media that cares so much about its characters in 2020 is a refreshing and welcome sight indeed. I'm so, so glad I decided to watch this series, and I only hope the second season is as good as the first.
Also, did I mention that the Child is a literal treasure who always manages to bring a smile to my face? Because he is.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2019-12-27T19:50:20Z
The Mandalorian started out OK, but ended up as some half-baked, lazily written show that exist merely to lure parents to justify a Disney+ subscription. Kids get the usual Disney contents, moms get Baby Yoda, dads get Star Wars nerdy reference. The show almost feels like being made by a bunch of fanfiction writers with familiarity of the setting but zero sense of screen writing.
Nothing wrong with liking it, it's just the show appears to be all style and no substance.
Storyline shows no complexity at all. In fact, most of them are fillers. You can skip 4 of 8 episodes and you'll still understand the story just fine. Characters are completely uninteresting. None of them are developed. None of them had nuances: protagonists are morally good heroes; antagonists are one dimensional evils. The show relies only on a cute muppet and flashy action, but has zero substance. Had a potential great world-building with some details, but they chose to abandon it for rule of cool (and cute).
The "it's Star Wars, so it'll be simple" excuse commonly said by the series' defenders doesn't hold up if you actually consider other Star Wars titles such as Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Commando, Jedi Academy, Thrawn trilogy, the original and Tartakovsky's Clone Wars, and so on. Those titles are known for having remarkable storytelling; something that The Mandalorian doesn't have for its poverty of creative vision.