When it was first announced many months ago, “The Mandalorian” intrigued and excited many Star Wars fans with it being one of the very first live-action Star Wars shows and the main selling point for Disney’s streaming service Disney+.
The Star Wars universe takes a sort of western-style that seemingly fits the tone of what Jon Favaru and Dave Filoni were going for when taking one a huge property like this.
Now months later, the first episode being released, does the show live up to all the hype and anticipation that many were hoping for. The answer is yes, it very much lives up to what many were expecting.
The Mandalorian is a western-style take of the Star Wars universe following the character of the Mandalorian, a bounty hunter who always gets the job done one way or another, and travels the galaxy searching for bounty’s to hunt.
The story is interesting so far with this being a Star Wars story that doesn’t include any of the main cast or recurring characters feels fresh and new take on the Star Wars universe and a plot that got many viewers hooked from beginning to end, hoping to see how it’ll play out in the next episode.
The first episode, as well as the entire series, takes place years after the events of “Return of the Jedi,” where the Galactic Empire has fallen and the galaxy is left lawless. Here we see the Mandalorian, as he is on a mission to hunt down multiple bounties and bringing them back to the guild leader Greef Carga, Carl Weather.
The first episode gives us a clear indication of how The Mandalorian is as a character, making him intimidating and mostly silent which makes it feel like a person whos watching the show is The Mandalorian.
The music was beyond atmospheric and really pulls you into the show with either the calm tribal style songs to action-packed music that feels like a Star Wars battle. Ludwig Göransson, who has previously worked on the first two “Creed” films, “Venom” and “Black Panther,” has made the show’s music feel like Star Wars while also giving it his own take, which did not disappoint.
While there were not a lot of dialogue in the episode, the actors did a fantastic job getting into character with the highlight actors in the film being Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian and Waititi as IG-11. Pascal did a great job as the Mandalorian, playing a silent protagonist that’s a mix of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne.
Being silent, he leaves an intimidating sense of air around him while still feeling like a character that many can imagine of being.
Taika’s character, even though it was short-lived, was both amazing and funny to see. With him playing a droid, he acts and takes things too seriously and always trying to self destruct himself in order to complete its mission which frustrated the Mandalorian and got a laugh out of audiences.
The cinematography, CGI and costume design were incredible, with how every scene was shot from how good looking the CGI was and by how much makeup, puppetry and special effects that were used in the environment and background characters feels like it was made during the first version of “New Hope.”
It feels great to be seeing more actors playing actual characters in costumes rather than having most characters computer-generated, while also giving us CGI for new and big creatures that we haven’t seen before.
Overall, “The Mandalorian’s” first episode was an incredible first start to an anticipated series that would definitely continue to get better and better as the weeks go by.
Jon Favaru and Dave Filoni have made an incredible Star Wars experience that many individuals and fans of the franchise would love. This show alone is worth a Disney+ subscription.
