Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Gritty, full of action, a bit of humor and a colossal amount of cuteness, “The Mandalorian” series stays true to the original “Star Wars” trilogy films and expands on the galaxy far, far away. The series is a heartfelt homecoming for fans, young and old, of the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
Familiar and new characters from the Star Wars universe populate the world of “The Mandalorian”. The exciting battles and thrilling action rival any in a “Star Wars” movie. You feel involved with and care about the intriguing and, in the case of the Mandalorian, complex characters. There is a moral center to the Mandalorian, and the Force is ever present. “The Mandalorian” is Star Wars at its best.
The creator of the runaway hit, and the director of two “Iron Man” movies, Jon Favreau is also the show’s writer. Disney Plus’ marquee show was an instant success, ranking second in the rundown of top streaming shows after its premier. Within two weeks, “The Mandalorian” blasted “Stranger Things” ending its 22-week streak as the number one streaming show and making “The Mandalorian” the number one streaming show in the U.S. and in all four Disney Plus’ international markets.
The protagonist, Mandalorian, is a combination of Clint Eastwood’s the Man with No Name character and Indiana Jones. The bounty hunter, a fearsome killer, is not invulnerable. He finds himself on the receiving end of a beat down several times and even defeated by Jawas. In the fourth episode, Mando teams up with Kara Dune (Gina Carano), a former rebel soldier, to save a small peasant village from alien raiders. Shades of “The Magnificent Seven” are present. Mando even gets a beat down from Dune when they first meet.
With four episodes streamed, the show’s fresh angle, new stories, compelling characters and its western movie tone are expanding the established “Star Wars” universe while staying true to its roots. "The Mandalorian" has the original “Star Wars” lived in look, situational humor and cool costumes and spaceships, and following in the steps of its ancestor it has lots of action. Within the first five minutes of the first episode, two space thugs attack Mando in a bar, and a deadly fight ensues. (Fights in bars seem to frequently break out in the “Star Wars” universe.) The foolish ruffians are soon defeated. The brawl ends with one of the thugs cut in half. There is no close up of the severed body thankfully.
The action is never ending. Mando fights ice creatures, an enormous beast that looks like a furry rhinoceros and 20 bounty hunters simultaneously. This guy can not catch a break.
In the first episode, Mando takes a gig for a bounty from Creef Karga (Carl Weathers), the head of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild: a union for bounty hunters. The client (Werner Herzog) is a mysterious man who is somehow associated with the now overthrown Galactic Empire. The client prefers the “Asset,”as he calls it, be brought back alive, but dead is ok, too. After a huge gun fight, Mando captures the asset only to find it is a child. Not just any child, but one of the same species as Master Jedi Yoda.
Baby Yoda, as fans are now calling him, is adorable. The child’s big doe eyes, oversized long ears, which bend and twist with the child’s emotions, little baby mouth and the cute little baby hairs on his head so surprises Mando, that he never considers killing the 50-year-old baby. Yoda was 900 years old when he died. Mando’s heart of gold has been revealed, and this is just episode one, the next three episodes are just as exciting and intriguing with the mysterious Baby Yoda now in tow.
Star Wars is back. Not since “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has there been a Star Wars film or series that has captured the feel, look, excitement and drama of the original trilogy movies. With more episodes on the way, if “The Mandalorian” is a taste of what is to come, fans will become fat feasting on Star Wars.
This story was originally posted Dec. 4, 2019, on The Valley Star News website.