When Kuiil asks about what happened against the Rhino, the Mandalorian says he has no idea. I really like the idea that the Force isn’t known everywhere, if that’s what he was referencing. Did he also not realize the baby was helping him?
I love this show ! I had an ear to ear grin watching the first 2 episodes . Just finished episode 2 and the first thing that came to mind was the old Marvel Star Wars comic…issue 32 had an adventure with Jawas very similar to this and some of the hatches on the sandcrawler and the tactics used by the Jawas to repel boarders were very similar as well . I am thinking Filoni and Favreau must have read these issues. Issue 81 of the series also had a sandcrawler chase and featured Boba Fett being found by the Jawas after being regurgitated by the Sarlacc , only to be put back in by issues end .This series feels to me like those classic comics come to life , as did many episodes of the clone wars . I remember an interview series with Filoni from a while back where they had all of the classic marvel star wars comics on a display behind him , so I am thinking he is a fan of them . Also , I did not think that I would like the Yadpole at first , but man , I love the little guy ! This show is badass ! I have spoken .
Oh, good. You just saved me a bunch of writing. 😉
Digging it for those same reasons. You’re right on the money about it having an old comic book - first comic strip feel. It’s right out of the Goodwin/Williamson strips. It’s back to the singular character story and pacing for me. Like I mentioned earlier, stories where all known good in the universe hangs in the balance can be exhausting.
I love that we’re spending time getting to know him, day to day. And I second the thought on liking how he isn’t some super badass. He’s more than capable, but still fallible. Much more fun and interesting to watch. Great stuff so far. This only furthers my lack of interest in the coming film. This is much more my style.
I noticed a slight adjustment to the Star Wars logo at the start of The Mandalorian. Is this new with the premier of The Mandalorian or has it been around for a while?
I’ve watched it twice and will so again for sure. I really liked it. In particular, I like that it’s removed from The Saga. For me, Lucas has contaminated The Saga beyond repair. Hats off to Disney for trying with the sequels, but for me it’s just too much of a mess to fix. The Sequel Trilogy is a course correction to be sure, with some very interesting passages (first 30 minutes of Rey in TFA). However, it doesn’t really move me because it can’t be separated from the mess of The Saga. That’s to set up what I like most about The Mandalorian.
I like that it’s far away from what has come before. It’s familiar, as most anything on Earth is familiar to us regardless of who, when, and where. When real life Earth stories are told, there are a great many things that are similar - e.g. transportation, countries, fashion, environments, conflicts, and history. That doesn’t mean the stories or characters have to be related.
That is something that hasn’t really happened yet in Star Wars. Rogue One and Solo have come close, but even they have either known characters or known Saga events and connections. Lucas had said for decades that he wanted to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, but not connected to The Saga. He never did. Disney has come closer so far, but this is the first true step-away.
Regarding the substance of the show itself; I found it interesting. I’d long thought Fett was his most interesting when he was mysterious. Lucas did away with that almost immediately and along with it my interest in the character, in spite of how cool he looked. This is a fresh start and I’m digging it. We’ll learn more about him as the year goes on and that’s nice too. I’m enjoying the lesser approach. They seem to be putting the world building of this new sector of the universe ahead of spectacle and pacing. I don’t really care for the weight of a story where the fate of all that’s good in the universe is resting on the hero destroying the super weapon\villain\empire. That’s been done already, a few times. I like more intimate and cerebral stories.
The quick pace of the gun fight near the end fit the story, but so did the quieter passages for dialogue when they were most important to the story. Favreau and Co have given the story room to breathe, much the way Lucas and Co gave Star Wars room to breathe in 1977. To me, this felt more akin to the 1977 universe than the more polished views that came after. By that, I mean the presentation of the story, not the in-universe story.
It’s also very much in the style of the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. The Mandalorian’s voice is even similar. I thought that was a nice touch also. I don’t need him sounding like Enfys Nest. That affected voice fit Enfys perfectly (no Solo spoiler, so I won’t elaborate), but it would be too much here. We know little about him, but we know he thinks things through before acting. I thought his killing of IG-11 was a great way to show how he did just that. He may be genuinely compassionate, or he may just be pragmatic; there are some important people very interested in this baby and they’re willing to pay tons of money and avoid proper channels to get it. There must be some reason worth exploring. The way he’s looking at it at the end suggests he may be wondering what’s so important about it.
On the rest of the show; I thought the music was a mix. To me, some of it seemed almost too big for the scene at hand. Some of it was fantastic. I dig the main theme, which fits the lone drifter vibe. Some of the other parts seemed a little too much like a Bill Conti type of score. Perfect for Rocky, not so much for two guys riding across the plains. A minor nitpick, but it stood out to me. I really dig the paintings with the end titles. Very cool.
TL;DR; I liked the story, the characters, the setting (off-Saga), and the presentation. I’m buckled in and along for the ride. It’s the Star Wars venture I’ve been waiting on for many years. Which is to say, something without The Force, Jedi, Sith, or light sabers. Looking forward to Friday.
Working on a lengthy post but left it in the form of a Word doc at the office. Will post tomorrow.
I just say this: I really liked it, even more than I thought I would. Oddly enough, however, not for the reasons I thought I would. I’ll explain.
Late to the party again, but from what I’ve seen in trailers and interviews recently, it looks good. Add in Jason’s review and I have to give it a look. With Baseball being over for the year, this may be where I jump in.
Jessie Combs, who helped with Mythbusters, at 36
Late on the reply, but I didn’t expect a post on a motorcycle rider. Some fellow riders I hang out with run a custom shop here in Austin. In custom circles, they’re a big deal. Here locally, they’re regular folk.
They host a giant event here every year called the HandBuilt Motorcycle Show. Customizers and restorers from all over the country come here for a few days of motorcycle Nirvana.
Jessi was a big deal in the culture and she showed one of her bikes here in 2017. This is a custom she designed and built. If you’re unfamiliar with bikes, it started life as a BMW R nineT. I never met her, but the riders here say nothing but great things about her. It was a big loss to the culture.
I wanted to go flannel/sport coat, but do a Han Shot First hat. Found a few but none that I could get in a hurry. We didn’t decide on a theme until two days ago. I’ll try to find a short grey beard this weekend.
42 years after I first sat in the theater, I’ve finally bought a piece of Star Wars apparel. My company has a Halloween costume contest every year. This year my Dept (Geoscience) is going as Star Wars characters.
I’m going as Lucas. I have the faded baggy jeans, tennis shoes, flannel shirt, sport coat, wire-rim glasses, and this hat. My only struggle at this point is the short grey beard. I’m clean shaven other than a handlebar mustache. Working on it though.
Always exciting to see any film with Chewie. I’ll be there as it opens.
Man, we’re getting close. Nice to see positive thoughts already.
Good idea on the separate topic. There have been TV series I’ve followed and been a bit behind only to accidentally have story points spoiled, some of them major.
I have a few pieces myself. They last a lifetime, so to me they’ve always been well worth the investment. A VERY respected brand.
Imagine my surprise when they announced this series.
Maz was fine in TFA, but to me she felt unnecessarily shoehorned into TLJ. I really can’t see where she’d fit into this larger story. To me, it cheapens the weight of the character from TFA.
Side note: As I’ve said for a few years, when you have a woman this beautiful and talented in the cast - don’t cover her with CGI. Find another role for her and get someone else to read for the drawn character.
I guess he believes his own legend and thinks SW and Raiders are ideas he imagined from nothing. What a guy.
What’s even more laughable to me, as well as embarrassing for Lucas, is that he thought Disney would give him 4 billion and still let him make the decisions.
He was wildly deluded as to his importance.
I think at this point Boba Fest has too much baggage, between EU fan expectations and the canon realities of the character. A new Mando allows a completely blank slate (which is what made Boba interesting in the first place).
I think that’s it exactly. As he’d done with so much of the franchise, Lucas milked the character incessantly with backstory of the backstory of the backstory until all mystery and interest had been removed.
The Mandalorian looks like a much needed and wanted reboot of that High Plains Drifter character. I’m signed up and waiting for the first episode.
I think at this point Boba Fest has too much baggage, between EU fan expectations and the canon realities of the character. A new Mando allows a completely blank slate (which is what made Boba interesting in the first place).
Where can I buy tickets to Boba Fest? Does it have a decent lineup of musical acts? 😛
Actual LOL 😄
All,
I’ve cleansed the last three pages of all the bullshit. In the interest of having the thread read somewhat coherently, some of you may have had your posts deleted. Those were just collateral damage because they had quotes of the derailed discussion. If I did have a problem with them being hateful or wildly off-topic, I’ve already reached out to you to explain. If you haven’t heard from me, you haven’t overstepped.
‘There’s nothing new,’ he said. In each of the films in the original trilogy, it was important to him to present new worlds, new stories, new characters, and new technologies. In this one, he said, ‘There weren’t enough visual or technical leaps forward.’
That’s laughable - and typical Lucas. He shrunk the Galaxy Far Far Away into the Solar System Far Far Away by having everyone end up being related to each other. Not a new story, just more of the same one. New characters? He milked Bobba Fett. New technologies‽ He rolled out a second Death Star!
In the interest of disclosure; I’m not familiar with the prequels beyond seeing Phantom once and screen-grabs of scenes from the other two. I just havent seen much beyond video game quality rehashes and spinning colors. I may be way off on the two prequels I’ve never seen.
While there’s no denying The Force Awakens mirrors the same structure as Star Wars, it at least matches visually and has a bigger Death Star.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-lucas-disney-star-wars-betrayed_n_5d89c779e4b0938b59339022
I’ve long since stopped caring what Lucas lies about these days, so I don’t care if he was unhappy or felt betrayed after Disney bought Star Wars. Lucas has betrayed a great many of us and has done so for decades.
We were so hopeful back then. It looked like all our years of petitioning and keeping a spotlight on the suppression by Lucas was finally about to pay off. Then, the Humdinger Glitch. Here we still are, over a decade later.
Not sure if your serious. However, I am: she’s gorgeous. I know with a background of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade, she’s going to lean towards comedy. That said, I’d love to see her in a serious role. No doubt she has the chops to carry a film.
If you’re looking to deep-dive the music, this guy has a nice podcast series on the music of John Williams, specific to Star Wars.
http://www.rebelforceradio.com/shows/2015/12/30/star-wars-oxygen-vol-25-the-force-awakens-part-1
http://www.rebelforceradio.com/shows/2016/1/14/star-wars-oxygen-vol-26-the-force-awakens-part-2
http://www.rebelforceradio.com/shows/2016/2/2/star-wars-oxygen-vol-28-tfa-part-3
http://www.rebelforceradio.com/shows/2016/2/17/star-wars-oxygen-vol-28-tfa-part-3
I think it’s because the episode numbers becoming a prominent part of the marketing and labeling really only happened for the prequels. Before (and after) that point, the focus was less on the episode number (which we know was mostly a gimmick) and more on the title itself.
That’s the way I prefer it. To me, titles carry more weight than “Episode…”.
Anybody else think this looks like a photo of action figures?
I dunno if it’s the angle, poses, scale of the background…
That’s not meant to be a criticism though. I’m sure it’ll look great on screen.
It was my very first thought. Glad it wasn’t just me.
