Geekatane Review - The Mandalorian - the Starwars Western

The Mandalorian, also known as Star Wars: The Mandalorian, is not something I was really excited for when it was first announced. I feel it will just be another long drawn story of either Boba Fett or Jango as a way to Disney to bleed the franchise further.

In fact it wasn't until episode 5 that I decided to start watching it and see what all the hype was about. I've decided to let the series run its course on Disney+ before going into the review to give it a proper review of sort. Also there will be minor spoilers in this one.

The Mandalorian is the story of a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter taking place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and roughly 25 years before the events of The Force Awakens and follows the exploits of a Mandalorian bounty hunter beyond the reaches of the New Republic/ His last bounty turn sour and now is on the run as the bounty he protects the Bounty he once hunted. Betrayal and shady deals abound as he jumps from one dangerous situation to the next.

The famed Jon Favreau is the series creator, head writer, and showrunner , as well as executive producer, alongside Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson. The show stars Pedro Pascal in the title role as the Mandalorian.

Despite the story jumping between either episodic stories to overarching tales the Mandalorian takes everything that made Starwars fun and exciting. From the alien locales to the dirty run down corners of the Starwars underworld. Sure a lot of these stories takes inspiration from existing tales and spaghetti western movies given a Starwars flair. There's a heist episode, a mexican standoff scene and even an episode that is pretty much taken from Seven Samurai with the Mando meeting some local farmers.

The characters are developed enough specially the Mandalorian with his back story and why he has this intense distrust towards droids and the likes. The side characters does fall on certain character archetypes but is executed in a fun and fresh way that makes them fun to watch. Very rare does a character with a helmet expressed so much emotion and character. The series is pretty much a character driven tale than it is for special effects.

I like how the world of the Mandalorian is pretty much lived in. Just looking at the Mandalorian armor you can tell he has been through places and done some stuff. And this falls down to the locales and the other characters. There's a ton of easter eggs as well for those really familiar with Starwars from a certain desert cantina to a certain blue drink. This is a love letter to Starwars fans and the more you are familiar with the franchise the more the series the more nostalgic it feels.

The series isn't perfect as some dialogues and characters in certain episode felt off. The ugly head of exposition rears its head from time to time on how the Mandalorian attains a certain power up to use it in the same episode minutes later. Also some of the villains are downright stupid at times. But these flaws are few and far in between and you won't notice them often. Still the show is an example of how great Disney can make Starwars when they really focus and has a guideline on what they want to show.

As a whole the Mandalorian is an exciting take on Starwars with all the elements that makes Starwars fun and exciting. From its practical visuals, intriguing characters and fascinating worlds. Its less on the cgi battles and more on story and character driven stories. if you are a fan of Starwars then you will definitely must watch this series. If you are not a fan of Starwars then this is a good series to jump into the fandom. A must watch for everyone be if you are a hardcore Starwars fan or not.