The Mandalorian (TV series)

[shootemindehead]

He doesn't look, act or talk like Harrison Ford though. That's the problem. He isn't Ford, so therefore he cannot possibly be convincing as Han Solo. He's Hank Solo. Some guy that vaguely reminds you of somebody better. It ends up being completely pointless and it's just a cheap nostalgia suck. As for the film itself, it was a poor idea from beginning to end, and completely indicative of Disney's "what now?" approach to the thing they just forked out billions for. They hadn't a clue what to do with it and the awful sequels and 'Solo' is a prime example of that. No plan, but to riff on what had come before. Frankly, I'm delighted it tanked and it's a pity it didn't do worse, because it seems that some folk didn't get the message at the House of Mouse. Too many people give 'Solo' a pass, because it didn't completely suck balls like 'The Last Jedi'. But it isn't a good movie. It's not a terrible one either. It's just the epitome of middle-the-roads meh blandess, made all the worse by having it be about Han Solo, where everything we know of him happens on screen in the space of 2 hours. It was an appalling idea, creatively bankrupt, and should have been nipped in the bud. If it was a better written film and, more importantly, had nothing to do with Solo, it probably would have been much, much, better. But Disney seem terrified to go it their own way. Even 'The Mandalorian' was essentially Boba Fett. Then having Fett show up in the show just diminished the main character. Astonishing how these ideas get greenlit. Disney really do need to "let the past die" and stop trying to hook everything on a few people, who they cannot hope to replicate successfully. It's a big galaxy and most fans just want to explore it more. New characters and new stories in a familiar setting. It couldn't be simpler.

[Moon Knight]

I’m just waiting for a story set during the Knights of the Old Republic era. So much creative freedom can be had there that doesn’t involve using older established characters.

[MinionZombie]

I liked The Last Jedi... Although Finn's storyline was literally pointless. Everything else I really quite enjoyed. That movie gets too much flack, I feel. Some, sure, but the amount it usually gets? Unfair.

[EvilNed]

I liked The Last Jedi... Although Finn's storyline was literally pointless. Everything else I really quite enjoyed. That movie gets too much flack, I feel. Some, sure, but the amount it usually gets? Unfair. Finn's storyline was a sizeable chunk of the movie. And as you say - it was literally pointless. While I enjoyed some parts of the film, I think the script is the weakest part. It felt like watching someone shoot a first draft. I'm more annoyed by it because I know millions of dollars were spent on it - and the script is what costs the least to fix.

[Tricky]

I was gifted a Disney+ subscription for Christmas so finally watched The Mandalorian, it's definitely the best thing to come out of Star Wars since Rogue One and am looking forward to the next series at the end of the year.

[Neil]

[MinionZombie]

[Neil]

Fingers crossed!

[MinionZombie]

Better uncross those fingers ... *sigh* ... six episodes deep into season three now and what the fuck is the story of this season? We're all over the place ... it's just stuff happening sometimes with some really stupid shit inserted in here and there (e.g. the episode of Mandalorians vs Giant Space Bird - especially it's moronic ending moment; the far too cartoony 'space pirates' - I mean, seriously, striped shirts and a fucking giant wheel to steer the ship? Come on, now...), very poorly structured storytelling (e.g. people travelling vast distances through space to get an answer on something in-person that they could have got over the space-phone in seconds, all the while there's an emergency unfolding!!! - or the third episode segway with someone I barely remember and someone I don't remember at all as the focus, only for them to vanish from the story immediately after) ... and some fucking awful stunt casting: namely Lizzo and, somewhat shockingly, Jack Black. The former can't act at all and sticks out like a sore thumb every second she's on screen, and the latter is a gigantic distraction every split-second he's on screen (the same episode also featured Christopher Lloyd, who fit in much better, but is stuck with some rather shonky material). There's good ideas in amongst the dreck and random side quests (that make the rare weaker moments of the first two seasons look like Oscar-darling material), but there's so much that's done wrong here. What on earth has happened with Favreau and Filoni?!

[Neil]

Oh dear Go and watch Picard S3 instead

[shootemindehead]

Jesus this thing dropped off the edge of a cliff. Wow.

[Neil]

[shootemindehead]

That guy's normally a whinging maggot, but he's bang on in terms of the inefficiency with which this show operates at. S01 and S02 had this problem too, but S03 takes it to a farcical level. The main issue, however, is that S02 was the perfect end to the show (dodgy CGI notwithstanding). Baby Yoda was handed off to bad CGI Luke and the pair of them head away to Luke's new school. Done. If the series were to continue, what it should have done was make it a bounty of the week show, with no over all arch. Just have the Mando as a gun for hire, chasing down various bounties and ignore trying to shoehorn a greater tertiary plot into the mix. Because the show tends to ignore things like that anyway, so what's the bloody point. Plus bring back baby Yoda is just an albatross around the Mando's neck and one which he has to constantly hand off to someone else so he can, ya know, go to bleedin work.

[MinionZombie]

He's being a bit harsh on seasons one and two, even though there was some padding in there - but also, at that point, it didn't matter anywhere near as much as it has done in season three, which he goes after quite fairly here. There was indeed a lot of filler and nonsense that offered nothing of any meaning or value to the story, plot points would come and go at random, 'important things' would be abandoned for episodes at a time or even entirely, and there was so much time spent on shit that didn't really matter much (e.g. the IG-11 subplot - which also squandered the season one finale sacrifice). Season three has some parts that work, or ideas that could have worked if done properly in a well written and structured season (but are instead ruined) ... but the peak of shitness with season three has to be episode six. Fucking oof.

[shootemindehead]

He's being a bit harsh on seasons one and two, even though there was some padding in there - but also, at that point, it didn't matter anywhere near as much as it has done in season three, which he goes after quite fairly here. There was indeed a lot of filler and nonsense that offered nothing of any meaning or value to the story, plot points would come and go at random, 'important things' would be abandoned for episodes at a time or even entirely, and there was so much time spent on shit that didn't really matter much (e.g. the IG-11 subplot - which also squandered the season one finale sacrifice). Season three has some parts that work, or ideas that could have worked if done properly in a well written and structured season (but are instead ruined) ... but the peak of shitness with season three has to be episode six. Fucking oof. Who the hell was that fat bird in E06, cos I know cups of tea that could act better.