Disney plus launched a couple days ago and many were excited to see how this live action show only available on the streaming service would turn out. Here are my thoughts on the introduction to an architype and culture within the Star Wars mythos that’s barely touched in the cinematic live action films. If you have not watched the first episode please bookmark this blog and come back after viewing it. You have been warned (SPOILER ALERT)
This show started off well in my humble opinion. It boasts a pretty impressive cast, the look and feel to it stuck to the motif I believe George Lucas was going for with the original film released in 1977 which was a hybrid of spaghetti western, scifi/fantasy with influences from classic Japanese samurai films. This feels like a nod to the spaghetti westerns trope as we see the protagonist walk in from the cold into a cantina. Swap out the dilating iris doorway for a swinging double door to a saloon and the comparison should be clear. This was a great opening and the cast is nothing to sneeze at featuring Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Giancarlo Esposito, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Ming-Na Wen, Bill Burr and many more.
From the looks of it we are going on a journey with this Mandalorian who is piecing together his Beskar’gam {traditional Mandalorian armor made from a special and rare alloy Beskar} and getting a larger look into the world of bounty hunting after the fall of the empire. There is nice world building here. We see a competent but not omnipotent bounty hunter trying make his way in what looks like a newly unregulated world. If you have read Tales of the Bounty Hunters a book in the now defunct expanded universe then you will be familiar with IG-88 a droid bounty hunter in this first episode we are introduced to IG-11 voiced by Taika Watiti. The ugnaught Kull is voiced by Nick Nolte who decides to help the Mandalorian on his mission. There’s another trope found in spaghetti westerns here that some think was a waste of time and others wanted more of. I was a fan of this part. I liked the story, the pacing and the action when we got to it.
Carl Weathers plays Greef Carga, the head of a bounty hunting guild who doles out bounties. There seems to be a discrepancy with how bounties are paid since he tries to pay with Imperial credits but this is after the fall of the empire. There will be many things to explore with this series between the hero’s journey and seeing how the imperials cope with defeat. I am hoping we get more Mandalorians and at least part of my wish came true with the smith that forges the protagonists pauldron.
We did not get to see Moff Gideon yet played by Giancarlo Esposito, but from his casting and an imperial we do see played by Werner Herzog it’s obvious there are remnants of the empire still lingering. From the storm troopers we see and Herzogs’ character they seem disheveled or maybe in hiding. I am not sure but I am here for it.
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