"Andor," Year Two

Minor spoilers ahead.  

The second season of "Andor" is a little different from the first structurally.  Again, it's twelve episodes divided up into four groupings of three.  However, where the events of the first season took place over the course of a year, each three-episode chunk of the second season is spaced a year apart.  The first three episodes take place three years before the events of "Rogue One," the next three take place two years before, and so on.

You can distinguish each of these episode batches by the different missions and the characters' circumstances, but they're not as clearly delineated as the first season.  Cassian Andor remains an important focal point in the show, but storylines featuring Luthen, Mon Mothma, Syril Karn, and other characters often feel more important.  This year Luthen's assistant Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) becomes very prominent, especially in the final episodes.  So do informant Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), and resistance members Wilmon Paak (Muhannad Bhaier) and Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu).  Ben Mendelshon's evil Orson Krennic and other characters from "Rogue One" also start showing up, and it may be helpful to start thinking of that movie as the proper finale to the "Andor" series.  

With the Rebellion building up its forces, and the Imperials amassing more and more power, the parallels to real historical conflicts become much more pronounced this season.  Multiple storylines center around the planet Ghorman, a prosperous world that the Empire wants to destroy to further its secret plans.  Ghorman essentially becomes WWII Vichy France, with a secret resistance group that the Imperials are trying to manipulate, ever-escalating restrictions on the populace, and lies and propaganda everywhere. For fans of WWII spy and war stories, it should be familiar territory, but "Star Wars" fans may be taken by surprise.  This year "Andor" fully commits to creating serious, adult-oriented stories set in this universe that really get into the darker, unromantic parts of fighting a war.  Nearly all the main characters have to grapple with the cost of doing the right thing, sacrificing their safety, personal relationships, and eventually all hope of living normal lives.  Some of the material is not only dark, but downright grim.

This also means a string of dialogue-heavy episodes that don't follow the template of your usual action show.  There's a lot of genre-hopping from political thriller to dystopian drama to dinner with Eedy Karn (Kathryn Hunter), the most terrifying mother in the galaxy.  I like that we get to spend time with characters like Syril and Dedra off the clock, and there's an unexpectedly touching episode entirely about Kleya and Luthen's relationship late in the series.  As for Cassian, the closer he gets to "Rogue One," the more he feels like a mythic figure - a Forrest Gump-like character who keeps witnessing all the big inflection points leading up to the war.  However, there's a cost to being that figure, and Cassian and Bix's relationship becomes increasingly bittersweet to follow.  And as harsh as creator Tony Gilroy is to his title character, the contrasting stories of the Imperials are even more gutting.  The Empire is merciless to the rebels, but treats their own just as badly.    

The budget for this season of "Andor" was reduced considerably, but the show still looks fantastic.  Most of the action on Ghorman takes place in one city set, for instance, but they get a lot of mileage out of it.  We hear a few more mentions of the Force this season, but there are still no jedi or lightsabers, and few aliens.  Droids, however, are a definite presence.  The Ghorman episodes feature the KX-unit droids, who are absolutely horrifying to see in action.  However, I think it's to the show's credit that I didn't miss much of the spectacle at all.  This is absolutely prestige television, and despite my own opinions on the intended audience for "Star Wars" media, there's no question that "Andor" is a fantastic new addition to the franchise and opens the door for more in this vein.      

It's very strange that we've got an episode of "Andor" that leads into an episode of "Star Wars Rebels," and bits of obscure lore from a '90s roleplaying game are now canon, but good TV is good TV.  Let's hope Disney is willing to take more risks with "Star Wars" like this is the future.  

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"The Acolyte" Cometh

Whether you like it or dislike it, "The Acolyte" is one of the more interesting shows to come out of Lucasfilm.  This is the "Star Wars" series that takes place hundreds of years before "The Phantom Menace," when the Jedi are thriving as the peacekeepers of the galaxy.  A mysterious assassin is going around killing Jedi, initially identified as a former Padawan, Osha (Amandla Stenberg), who trained under Master Sol (Lee Jung-Jae).  The actual assassin turns out to be Osha's twin sister Mae, who holds a terrible grudge against the Jedi.  She's working for a mystery villain who has trained her for her mission of revenge.  Other members of the cast include Carrie Ann Moss, Charlie Barnett, Daphne Keen, Manny Jacinto, Rebecca Henderson, and Jodie Turner-Smith.

There's a lot of fantastic stuff in "The Acolyte."  The fight scenes are spectacular, especially the lightsaber duels, which have a lot of martial arts influence.  There are several memorable characters, including the best new "Star Wars" villain since Kylo Ren.  The way the story challenges the existing "Star Wars" lore is great, operating in shades of gray and keeping the audience guessing about who the real villains are.  It's not afraid of tragedy or romance or complicated characters.  Also, be warned that the body count is a lot higher than I expected at the outset.  The show is firmly YA, but gets into some dark and thorny material.  I admire all the things that "The Acolyte" is trying to do, which is why it's so frustrating that it's not as well executed as it could be.    

"Star Wars" has always been pretty straightforward in its storytelling, maybe too straightforward at times.  "The Acolyte," however, is endlessly circuitous, often just plain messy, and full of needlessly drawn out revelations.  Some of the initial marketing billed this show as a murder mystery, and it absolutely does not work as a murder mystery.  The pacing is haphazard, and this must have been especially trying to watch as it aired over multiple weeks, because some of the installments are so short.  I like that there's a lot of ambiguity about certain characters' motivations - I think Sol has the most satisfying arc.  However, this can also make it difficult to parse what's going on.  It's much harder than it should be to follow the rationale of some of Osha and Mae's actions.  Amandla Sternberg does her best, but the stilted dialogue doesn't do her any favors.  And of course the final episode ends on a cliffhanger with far too much unexplained. 

However, "The Acolyte" definitely feels like a big step in the right direction.  Though it delves into some of the more obscure "Star Wars" lore, you don't need to have any familiarity with the franchise to jump right in.  Aside from a few odd cameos, there's little nostalgia in play here.  Prior "Star Wars" shows revisited some of the same locations and familiar imagery so many times, the universe was starting to feel very small.  With "The Acolyte," we have a few more planets, a few more ways to use the Force, and some uncomfortable questions being earnestly asked.  I also enjoy the use of the international cast, especially how several of them seem to be purposefully subverting their other famous roles.  I'm tempted to write a spoiler post just to gush over one of the big reveals.    

The show's production values are in line with all the other Disney+ "Star Wars" media of recent years, with more emphasis on the fight sequences.  I especially like some of the character design and costuming work here, which help to set "The Acolyte" apart as taking place in a different era.  There's so much to like about this show, and it's too bad that it doesn't seem like it's going to get the chance to improve.   

  

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Rank 'Em: "Star Wars Visions," Vol 2.

This batch of "Visions" shorts is much stronger than the ones that premiered in 2021.  While the first set was done almost exclusively by Japanese studios, and the stories incorporated common anime and jidaigeki tropes, the participating animation studios this year are from all over the globe, and you'll probably recognize a few of them.

Even though I'm doing this as a "Rank 'Em" post, I want to stress that all the shorts in this collection are interesting and worth a watch.  The best of them rank among the most outstanding pieces of "Star Wars" media produced since the Disney acquisition.    

1. "Screecher's Reach" (Cartoon Saloon) - If you don't know about Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, this is as good an intro as any.  Despite the picture-book character designs and a passel of young protagonists, this short isn't what it seems, and may be the darkest and most sinister story of the whole set.  And while the animation isn't as showy, it manages some of the best visual storytelling.  The ending is a jawdropper in every sense.  

2. "I Am Your Mother" (Aardman) - By far the lightest and most kid-friendly short of the bunch, with a ton of clever sight gags and some appealing new characters.  I love the humor here, the way that the animators reference and spoof familiar "Star Wars" iconography, and find some novel things to do with it.  And there's plenty for Aardman fans too - check out the familiar looking droid at the race, who may have last been seen skiing on the moon.    

3. "The Spy Dancer" (Studio La Cachette) - A fantastic spy story that feels very WWII and very French, much like the studio that produced it.  The animation is old fashioned traditional 2D, but lovely to look at, and the story is a heartbreaker aimed at more mature viewers.  "The Spy Dancer" probably best fills the assignment of creating an engaging narrative that just happens to take place in the "Star Wars" universe, and manages to show us something new.   

4. "Aau's Song" (Triggerfish) - Many of the different animation studios showcase their country's culture.  In the case of South Africa based Triggerfish, the beauty and the vibrancy really come through.  Unlike some of the other stories starring younger kids, this one truly captures a child's-eye view of the universe and feels like it's calibrated for younger kids' sensibilities.  I love how the characters look, with their felt-like textures and bright colors.      

5. "The Pit" (Lucasfilm and D'Art Shtajio) - Has very strong  writing and story, so I'm putting this fairly high up in the rankings, despite the fairly mundane designs and animation.  I like that this is a Jedi-lite story, focusing on the evils of the Empire and the power of collective resistance over the fancy Force battles featured in most of the others.  This is also one of the only shorts featuring a fairly recognizable actor - Daveed Diggs - as the main character.  

6. "Journey to the Dark Head" (Studio Mir) - This short has a disadvantage, because it's the only one that I saw that was obviously dubbed into English.  It's also a very typical piece of anime, from the character designs to the quest-based story.  The execution, however, is among the very best of this group of shorts, with intense action sequences and beautifully fluid animation.  It's also set up like the first episode of an ongoing series.  Can we get a few more please?

7. "Sith" (El Guiri) - Feels very minimalist compared to some of the others, with really only three characters -  two very minor - and a very simple plot.  I like the way the Jedi/Sith dichotomy is explored, and the stylized CGI animation style, but there's just not as much here as there is in the other shorts.  I was surprised that this has a runtime over over ten minutes, because I was convinced that this was one of the shorter installments.   

8. "In the Stars" (Punkrobot) - I love the way this short looks, with its unique alien designs and the use of stop-motion.  The underlying message is also very strong, conveyed through an inspiration resistance story.  The trouble really comes down to the characters.  Both of the lowest ranked entries have leads who are mischievous little girls, and both of them got on my nerves a bit.  I enjoyed the short regardless, just not as much as some of the others.      

9. "The Bandits of Golak" (88 Pictures) - "Star Wars" through a South Asian lens is fascinating to see.  This is only at the bottom of the rankings because something has to be, and "Golak" has the shakiest production values.  The animation, particularly of faces, still needs some work.  However, it's still a perfectly enjoyable short with a unique point of view.  

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All About "Andor"

Minor spoilers ahead.

"Andor" represents a major departure from the "Star Wars" content generated for Disney+ so far.  It's closest in spirit to the "Rogue One" film, which it serves as a prequel to, following the early career of resistance fighter Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).  This is a series aimed at an older audience, and is focused on the nuts and bolts of the Rebellion, just when it was getting started.  To that end, it's a much grimmer, talkier, murkier look at the "Star Wars" universe, full of echoes of real world conflicts.  It's also much larger in scope, with a first season that covers several different arcs - a getaway, a heist, and a prison break most prominently - while exploring the lives of major players on both sides of the conflict.

There are still plenty of action scenes and special effects in the series, but you won't see any lightsabers and Force users, and very few alien species.  Instead we have Rebel operative Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) who uses the front of a Coruscant antiques dealer while setting up dangerous missions secretly funded by Imperial Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly).  We have Andor's home planet of Ferrix, where he lives with his adoptive mother Maarva (Fiona Shaw) and her droid B2EMO (Dave Chapman) under the increasingly hostile governance of the Empire.  Equally fascinating are the villains in the show, including a low level security guard, Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), who becomes obsessed with catching Andor, and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), an ambitious Imperial security official who wants to move up in the Imperial bureaucracy.

While Andor is a charismatic figure, and Diego Luna is wonderful in the part, he's often not the most interesting character in the stories that play out over the course of the show.  Instead, he serves as an excellent everyman figure seeing all these different parts of the galaxy along with the audience.  One week, he and his friend Bix (Adria Arjona) are trying to figure out how to sell stolen equipment and leave the planet.  The next, he's on a heist with Rebel leader Vel Seltha (Faye Marsay) to steal an Imperial payroll.  And after that, he's quickly scooped up into a forced labor camp with Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) for multiple episodes.  Subplots follow Mon, Luthen, Syril, Dedra, and others.  We get a macroscopic view of how the Empire oppresses all these different people and planets, and a big part of Andor's character progression is how he eventually comes to the decision to join the Rebellion.

Like "Rogue One," "Andor" was created and largely written by Tony Gilroy, who is best known for the Jason Bourne movies and "Michael Clayton."  As a result, "Andor" feels less like the action adventure space fantasy that most "Star Wars" media has been and more like a dystopian allegory.  The characters are so much more nuanced and the choices they're faced with are often so much more complex that I can't see anyone under the age of twelve having much patience for this show.  Genevieve O'Reilly is one of the standouts as Mon Mothma, who has to delicately manage her political career and loveless marriage, while hiding the flow of money going to the Rebellion.  The Empire's atrocities are also much more chilling in a mundane and realistic way.   Early on, we learn that Andor was rescued as a child from his original home planet by Maarva, shortly before everyone on it was wiped out by an Imperial mining accident.

"Andor" is easily one of the best pieces of "Star Wars" media produced since the original film trilogy, and I'd like more in this vein.  It's nice to see all the resources that this franchise has at its disposal put in service of a story with more substance to it.  And frankly, it's a relief to find out that "Star Wars" works just fine without the Jedi and all their drama.  However, it would be a mistake for all of "Star Wars" to move in this direction, because the audience for it is necessarily more limited than something like "The Mandalorian."  "Andor" is already planned to stop after its next season, which will end right where "Rogue One" begins. 

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The Oddity of "Obi-Wan Kenobi"

Let me start out by saying that I mostly enjoyed "Obi Wan Kenobi." I wasn't a fan of the "Star Wars" prequels, but I always liked Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it was good to see him back in the beard and robes.  I wasn't expecting much from the show, but it's a perfectly decent little adventure serial, following the template of so many other "legasequels" of the past few years.  Its biggest weakness is that its ambitions are often too big for its budget and scope.  "Kenobi" is a television series acting as a sequel to a film trilogy, and can't hope to match up to the same level of spectacle.

Roughly ten years after "Revenge of the Sith," Obi-Wan is living in hiding on Tatooine while the Empire grows more powerful.  He spends his days keeping an eye on Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely), being raised by his uncle, Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton).  He narrowly avoids discovery by the Empire's squad of Jedi hunters, including the ambitious Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram).  However, Obi-Wan has to come out of hiding when Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) shows up to ask his help - Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) has been kidnapped.  Kumail Nanjiani, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Indira Varma, Benny Safdie, Rupert Friend, and Sung Kang show up in supporting roles, but the most press has been around Hayden Christensen returning to play Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader.  I was far more delighted that we also got James Earl Jones back to voice Vader.

From what I've read, the original premise for the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" film that was in the works a few years ago would have been "Lone Wolf and Cub" on Tatooine with Kenobi and a child Luke Skywalker.  However, after the success of "The Mandalorian," this idea was deemed much too similar to what they were doing on that show.  So, instead Kenobi travels off-world and has adventures with a pint-sized Leia instead, while being chased around by the evil agents of the Empire.  Everything builds up to a big rematch between Kenobi and Vader.  I don't have any complaints with any of these concepts, the actors, or even some of the siller plot twists.  However, the execution of the show consistently fails to impress.  Everything feels rushed.  Everything feels haphazardly put together.   The writing is especially uneven, with so much focus on tiny Leia in some installments that it feels like "Kenobi" might have been combined at some point with the half-developed remnants of a Princess Leia series aimed at small children.      

And it's a shame, because there is a lot in the show that I do enjoy.  New characters played by Kumail Nanjiani and Indira Varma are great.  It's always satisfying to see Darth Vader being supremely evil.  McGregor is clearly enjoying himself, playing an older, worn down version of Kenobi who is very rusty with the Force.  However, there are far too many characters in the mix to give everyone their due.  Inquisitor Reva is one of the major ones, a terribly promising figure who feels like the writers needed a little more time and effort to nail her down as a character.  It's very frustrating, because the cast is so  stuffed with good actors, and many of the creatives involved have done much better work before.  It's not as bad as the "Boba Fett" series, but "Obi-Wan Kenobi" could have been something special.  I don't think that keeping it a film would have necessarily helped, since "Kenobi" has a lot of the same issues as the troubled "Solo" - particularly that it's trying to cram far, far too much into one adventure.   

I found myself comparing "Kenobi" to the Disney+ Marvel shows as much as the other "Star Wars" shows.  All of them seem to have the same sort of pattern of references and callbacks,  guest stars and cameos, showdowns and confrontations, and everything wrapping up just a little too quickly in the end.  "Kenobi" is drawing its references from both the original and prequel "Star Wars" trilogies, and often gets into trouble with the clashing continuities - exactly how many people know who Kenobi is on sight?  And yet, I can't imagine longtime fans won't find it gratifying to hear Kenobi tell Leia about her parents, or to see him square off against Darth Vader one more time.  Go in with lowered expectations, and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is perfectly okay.

Getting caught up in the hype, however, is the path to the Dark Side.

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"Boba Fett" is a Tricky One

 Many spoilers ahead

This is not a traditional review of "The Book of Boba Fett," because I have very little to say about its quality.  It's all the meta stuff going on behind the scenes that's more interesting.  "The Book of Boba Fett" is the latest "Star Wars" universe miniseries about the adventures of Boba Fett, as played by Temuera Morrison, with Ming Na's Fennec Shand as his adjutant.  Both characters were previously seen in episodes of "The Mandalorian," so this can be considered a spinoff show.  And for four episodes, that's exactly what it is.  Fett decides to take over Jabba the Hutt's vacated seat as a "daimyo" of Tatooine's underworld, and we watch his efforts to gather allies and consolidate power, interspersed with flashbacks that get us up to speed on how Boba Fett got to this point after his encounter with the Sarlacc pit in "Return of the Jedi."

And frankly, this is boring.  Morrison is great as Fett, but the show is not about the mysterious bounty hunter from the original trilogy of "Star Wars" films, but instead a much older version of the character who has decided to settle down in the most familiar corner of the "Star Wars" universe and become a benevolent gangster overlord.  Suddenly he's a nice badass who wants to take care of his community instead of the guy known for his disintegrations.  Setting the show on Tatooine also means that we get plenty of cameos from alien species we already know from "Star Wars" and "Return of the Jedi."  Tusken Raiders, Rancors, Gamorreans, and Twi'leks show up.  Nostalgic references are everywhere, and frankly tiresome at this point.  However, whenever the show does introduce new elements like a cyberpunk biker gang, it's not great.  Jon Favreau is credited with writing every episode, and Robert Rodriguez directed more episodes than anyone else, so I'm holding these two responsible.

The only interesting thing about "The Book of Boba Fett" is that it's seven episodes long instead of four, and those last three episodes are essentially an extra half-season of "The Mandalorian."  Boba Fett is barely even in two of them, which are focused on the adventures of Mando and little Grogu figuring out how to move forward after the finale of the last season of "The Mandalorian."  Luke Skywalker shows up again, still sounding weird and stilted, but looking better than his last appearance.  Amy Sedaris, Timothy Olyphant, and Rosario Dawson are all back, and there are obvious tech upgrades everywhere.  And it's clear that even though Boba Fett's name is on the show, these "Star Wars" series are all part of one big narrative now.  There's no way you can watch this miniseries without being caught up on "The Mandalorian," and fans of "The Mandalorian" are going to need to watch "Book of Boba Fett" before moving on to the third season.  Mando and Grogu don't just have cameos here, but actually resolve some big character arcs and change their status quo.

So, going forward, we can't trust that any of these "Star Wars" shows to play by the rules.  To follow the further adventures of Mando and Grogu, we might have to tune into the upcoming Ahsoka Tano series or the Cassian Andor series.  I wouldn't even rule out tie-ins to "Obi Wan Kenobi" at this rate.  This also means that we can expect the same sort of reliance on nostalgia and familiarity for the foreseeable future, no matter which character's name is on a series.  We're about to see a shift from most of the references involving the original "Star Wars" movies to references to the prequel series and the various animated shows.

I'm curious as to whether the decision to add the "Mandalorian" characters was made from the beginning, or after "Boba Fett" was in production and people behind the scenes realized that it wasn't going to be very good.  This has clearly been one of the weakest "Star Wars" outings so far, and one of the most calculated in its dispersal of bits of familiar IP.  Every episode is built around a familiar guest star or piece of classic "Star Wars" iconography.  And it's clearly not a coincidence that the marketing push for "Obi Wan Kenobi" started up right after the last episode was released.      

I hate getting more cynical about these shows, but the shameless, formulaic pandering is starting to wear me down.

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Rank 'Em: "Star Wars: Visions"

This is the third one of these anime shorts anthologies based around a Western property I've seen, after "The Animatrix" and "Batman: Gotham Knight."  I'm a little out of date when it comes to anime creators, but I still recognized several of the participating directors and studios.  I think the best way to talk about this project is to talk about each of the shorts individually.  And the best way to do that is with a "Rank 'Em" post.  So, here we go, from best to worst, by rankings of the "Star Wars: Visions" shorts.

Oh, and I watched the English language versions, because I figured listening to the Japanese voice actors try to wrangle "Star Wars" terminology was going to be awfully distracting.  

1. T0-B1 - This short is drop dead gorgeous.  It's a melding of "Star Wars" and "Astro Boy" tropes, featuring a robot boy who wants to be a Jedi.  The animation is on an entirely different level.  I love the storybook quality of the visuals, and the way that the short incorporates so many little nods to its progenitors.  Out of all the "Visions" shorts, this is the one that I want to see a full series for.    

2. The Duel - One of the clear influences on the original "Star Wars" is the work of Akira Kurosawa, so it's terribly fitting to see this short recreate the look of a Kurosawa samurai epic with "Star Wars" elements incorporated into the works.  The mostly black and white world, with its scratched up frames, and bursts of color provided by lightsabers and droids, is distinctive and eye catching, and executed beautifully.

3. The Ninth Jedi - No surprise that one of the most polished shorts would come from Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G., home of the "Ghost in the Shell" franchise.  This short tells the most complete story, set in a far future corner of the "Star Wars" universe, and does a good job of fleshing out its handful of characters in a short amount of time.  The multiple plot twists and the concept of lightsabers that adapt to their user's needs are a lot of fun.  

4. Akakiri - The shorts in this collection are all kid-friendly, which makes sense given the intended audience.  This is the one that feels the most adult, with its dark ending and creepier concepts.  Eunyoung Choi's  Superflat style suits the Kurosawa pastiche well, and I especially like the villain, Masago, voiced by an excellent Lorraine Toussant.  Along with Henry Golding and Jamie Chung, this one easily has the best vocal performances.

5. Lop and Ocho - I find the story a little half-baked, but there's no denying how fantastic this short looks.  The animation is fluid, detailed, vibrant, and looks amazing on every level.  The characters, however, aren't as fully fleshed out as they need to be to pull off what the story wants to be.  It feels like the first half of one introductory episode mashed to the back half of a concluding one, and we lost the rest of the series.  

6. The Twins - I went into "Visions" looking forward to this short the most, because it's Hiroyuki Imaishi and Studio Trigger.  And while it's wildly over the top, and crazy kinetic, and breathless and does some neat things with "Star Wars" iconography, I also found it a little disappointing.  There's way too much winking at the audience, too many callbacks, and the dialogue is so stylized and hammy, it feels like a parody at times.  

7. The Village Bride - No major complaints with this one, but it's a really generic anime adventure that has little to do with "Star Wars."  This is the longest short, and takes advantage of that by doing a little more world-building and setting up its characters a little better.  However, everything here from the visuals to the action to the story come across as pretty bland and forgettable.         

8. Tatooine Rhapsody - It's different from all the other "Visions" shorts, I'll give it that.  The premise is fine, the music is pretty fun, and the chibi style character designs are great.  However, conceptually it just doesn't come together.  There's not enough to the characters, and something about the humor doesn't translate right.  Some good pieces in the mix, but better luck next time.    

9. The Elder - Well, Studio Trigger clearly put their B team on this entry.  The animation is disappointingly static, the character designs are very derivative, and I can't get over how flat everything looks.  The big fight scene at the end is decent, but really nothing special.  Still, it's always nice to hear from James Hong, who voices the title character.    

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"The Mandalorian," Year Two (With Spoilers)

As it says in the title, spoilers ahead.

I watched "Return of the Jedi" over and over when I was a kid, and I know the last hour of that film pretty much line for line.  So when Luke Skywalker showed up on the season finale of "The Mandalorian," I was as excited as anyone.  When he was finally fully revealed and started talking, the spell was immediately broken, as the show didn't have the budget or resources to deliver more than an obvious CGI deepfake who sounded all wrong.  However, for that first shot of the reveal, they had me.  It was just a few seconds, but they managed to bring "Return of the Jedi" Luke back in all his Jedi glory, and I loved it.  The lead-up was beautiful, with all those little visual and aural hints, and the big hallway action sequence that echoed Darth Vader's cameo at the end of "Rogue One."  I rewatched it multiple times, and then went and binged Youtube reaction videos for good measure.  

Of course, after the nostalgia hit had subsided, I realized that Luke's appearance was a massive deus ex machina and a distraction from everything else going on in "The Mandalorian."  Din and Grogu's goodby scene happened way too fast, considering that their relationship is the one big thing that has kept this show going since the beginning.  All the other characters are still on Moff Gideon's cruiser trying to figure out what to do with the darksaber.  My reaction to Luke was also markedly different from my reactions to the appearances of all the other legacy characters that appeared in the show this season - Bo Katan and Ahsoka Tano from the animated "Star Wars" series, and Boba Fett from the original trilogy.  While it was interesting to meet these characters, I didn't have much personal connection to them.  And frankly, though Rosario Dawson looks great in the costume, Ahsoka came off as overly solemn and stiff when actually interacting with people.  And I have no interest in watching a full series about her, no matter how many Kurosawa visuals Dave Filoni wants to heap on it.  

So, the limits of my own nostalgia have become perfectly clear this year.  Having not watched "Clone Wars" or "Rebels," when their characters showed up in "The Mandalorian," it did nothing for me.  And the more the showrunners lean into the nostalgia, the less effective it often is.  I wish they had spent more of their time on the original characters from "The Mandalorian."  I love Ming-Na as Fennec Shand and Gina Carano as Cara Dune.  Frog Lady was one of the highlights of the year.  Moff Gideon really needed more attention, as he just felt like a weak Vader stand-in.  The only one of these legacy characters I'd like to see more of is Bo Katan, because she's setting up more story for Mando, and she's got complicated allegiances.  I feel like there's more to learn about her.  None of that sort of groundwork was set up with Ahsoka or Boba Fett.

"The Mandalorian" has been mostly satisfying otherwise.  I'm sure the separation between Din and Grogu will be brief, as the creators know what a gold mine the little green guy is.  I liked that both of them got a little character progression - not a lot, but a little is fine when you're talking about an action show full of monsters and fight scenes.  I want to give the show all due credit for all the things it does right, like the beautifully tactile costumes, worldbuilding, and effects.  And the wonderfully diverse cast of characters.  And the way it uses the "Star Wars" visual language so beautifully while dropping in these homages to older media.  There is so much work and so much love that goes into this production, and it's still a marvel that "The Mandalorian" exists at all.  

And its future worries me.  I think this is a rich universe that absolutely can sustain more than one series at the same time.  However, I think Lucasfilm is pushing its luck with the number they currently have in development.  Out of all of these projects, the two I actually intend to watch right now are Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cassian Andor's shows, because of their lead actors.  If I watch "Boba Fett," it'll be for Ming-Na.  But nostalgia is what Disney's banking on, and nostalgia's what I've just about run out of.

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"The Mandalorian," Year Two (No Spoilers)

"The Mandalorian" fully blew up into a national phenomenon this year, with big streaming numbers, tons of merchandise, and every episode awaited with happy anticipation by its fans.  This is the show that's saved "Star Wars," apparently, and I feel like such a grinch even trying to voice my concerns about it.  The second season was a lot of fun, ironing out a lot of the production kinks from the first season and delivering some truly impressive feats of spectacle.  On the other hand, the story is also moving in a direction I'm not too sure about.  This post will be a spoiler-free review, and I want to talk about the last episode with spoilers in the next one.

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child are still traveling the galaxy, looking for other Mandalorians and people who might be able to help them get the little green foundling back where he belongs.  There are a lot of familiar faces and new characters to get acquainted with, though which category individuals fall in depends on how much you know about the rest of the "Star Wars" franchise.  A big development this year is that several characters from the "Clone Wars" and "Rebels" animated series, shepherded for years by Dave Filoni, are starting to cross over into the "Mandalorian."  While I'm not familiar with them, I thought these characters were mostly handled well, and brought some interesting new bits and pieces of "Stars Wars" lore with them.

What I was less happy about was learning that at least two of the major characters who show up this year are getting spun off into their own shows, and that "The Mandalorian" is doubling down in certain story elements that are pretty certain to put him in more contact with the older, more familiar parts of the "Star Wars" universe.  I've been enjoying "The Mandalorian" so much because it's been able to strike out into uncharted territory.  I like the show's steadily growing roster of original characters, like Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers).  There's an unnamed frog lady who features in two early episodes, played by Misty Rosas, who is a delight.  There are more puppets and models and large scale action sequences this year.  It feels like the whole production has gotten a major boost, allowing it to tackle really big, blockbuster film level action sequences.  The premiere features a fight on Tatooine against a Krayt dragon, a massive creature we'd only seen the skeleton of in the original "Star Wars."  The next episode is a survival story featuring hostile ice spiders.  It's fabulous stuff.    

"The Mandalorian" sticks to the format of the old television western, and we have episodes devoted to escort missions, fake lawmen, uneasy alliances, and rescue parties, among other things.  The regularity of having new guest stars every week takes away some of the awkwardness of several of these episodes pretty obviously being backdoor pilots.  There's no dip in quality or string or obvious filler episodes this year, and the momentum of the story is pretty strong.  I think the one major weakness of this season is that the main villain, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who is awfully derivative and gets no actual character aside from being a standard evil imperial.  He does have a pack of new badass Dark Troopers, however, that come with their own dubstep techno theme music.  Composer Ludwig Göransson remains one of the show's MVPs.

Step back from the whiz-bang cool of the action and effects, and the series sometimes falls short when it comes to character and story.  There were enough instances of humor falling flat or exposition being rattled off by a bored-sounding actor from under layers of prosthetics that I took notice.  One of the most touching, emotional moments of the season is dreadfully undercut by the distracting use of effects that aren't quite up to par.  There are plenty of good moments and great creative choices that outweigh the bad, but "The Mandalorian" is far from consistent and could still use some improvements in key areas. 

  

And I'm worried that this won't be a priority.  The show has all the potential in the galaxy to be whatever it wants to be, but with its creators' attentions about to be split, and with so many other interests in play to keep the "Star Wars" franchise going, I worry that "The Mandalorian" has already peaked.  I'm sure the show will go on for many more seasons, and we'll get many more exciting adventures with the Mandalorian and friends, but their universe feels like it's about to get a whole lot smaller.  

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Rank 'Em: The Disney Era "Star Wars" Films

Looking back at "Star Wars" films that Disney pumped out these last few years, I'm amazed at how quickly they've squandered so much of the good will people have for this franchise in such a short period of time. They released five films in five years, ranging from very good to unfortunate, and no more are coming in the foreseeable future. All five have their problems, and all of them could have used more time and thoughtful construction. I'm glad that they were made, but at the same time I'm bitterly disappointed in what could have been.

Below, from best to least, are my rankings of the "Star Wars" films of 2015 to 2019. Spoilers everywhere.

"The Last Jedi" - The movie that threw the fanboys into a tizzy, but was also easily the best conceived of the new trilogy. Not everything about it worked, but I appreciated the fresh POV, the new takes on familiar characters, and the willingness of Rian Johnson to throw established mythology out the window, and subvert formula. It was also the installment with the best visuals, including the planet Crait, the throne room fight, and Holdo's lightspeed maneuver. I enjoyed the cynical version of Luke Skywalker, and thought his final standoff with Kylo Ren was easily the best moment in the entire run of new films.

"The Force Awakens" - I don't like this film as much as most, because it's full of J.J. Abrams' bad habits. The callbacks to the original trilogy really get to be too much, and some of the performances and writing don't feel up to snuff. I like the way the new characters are introduced and the humor all works, but any time Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher were on the screen felt awkward. My biggest complaint is that the film is too self-aware that it's setting up a big, epic story, and isn't very successful at being a stand-alone adventure movie. It was easy to overlook its flaws, though, with so much hype and nostalgia behind it.

"Rogue One" - The first half the of the film is an unqualified mess. There are awkward bits of plotting everywhere you look. Forrest Whitaker' character should have been left on the cutting room floor. The film tries and fails repeatedly to make Jyn Erso sympathetic. The digital doubles just aren't good enough for what the creators want them to do. The back half, however, with the planet Scarif and the big mission to steal the Death Star plans, is fabulous. It's one big, long, multiprong battle sequence that gives everyone something to do and doesn't chicken out with the consequences. And the Vader cameo is just enough to be a real thrill.

"The Rise of Skywalker" - As much as I enjoy a lot of the various different parts and pieces of this film, there's no denying that J.J. Abrams whiffed it. Rey and Kylo are the only two characters to emerge mostly unscathed, while Finn, Poe, Rose, and Leia all suffer at the whims of a rocky, often schizophrenic script. And even when the ideas are good, the execution is often lamentable. I don't object to the film's Big Bad, for instance, but everything about his plans, his goals, and how he got to the point where we see him is so lazily slapdash and incompletely rendered. The only reason I have this ranked higher than "Solo," is because the performances are better and I'm a sucker for tragic romance.

"Solo" - Again, I like a lot of things in this film while being very cool on the film itself. Alden Ehrenreich makes a perfectly fine young Han, Donald Glover is a swell Lando, and the early parts of the film are fast-paced and diverting. The trouble comes when the creators try to stuff way too much into the story. There's the proto-Rebellion, the Crimson Dawn shenanigans, and a wooden Emilia Clarke as Han's terribly underwritten girlfriend Qi'ra. The depiction of the Kessel Run is a massive letdown. The surprise cameo just plain didn't work. I don't know what was really going on behind the scenes, but I think I'd have much preferred the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller version of "Solo" that was never made.

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"The Mandalorian," Year One

Spoilers for the first episode.

When I heard that the first season of "The Mandalorian" was going to be eight episodes long, I expected it to be something big and epic and expensive to reflect the reportedly high budget. I'm very glad that I was wrong. Yes, "The Mandalorian" is full of expensive special effects and the characters are bouncing around the galaxy, and rarely on the same planet from episode to episode, but the scale and stakes of the drama are pretty small and personal - at least compared to all the other "Star Wars" media.

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is a bounty hunter, who never shows his face and whose proper name is barely used. He simply goes by The Mandalorian, or Mando, a member of an order of fearsome armored warriors who have been mostly driven underground. In the first episode he's sent on a mission by a sinister Imperial, the Client (Werner Herzog) to retrieve an asset who turns out to be the Child - now known in the wider culture as Baby Yoda. This sets up a "Lone Wolf and Cub" situation, as the Mandalorian goes on new adventures and jobs every week, with a teeny green magic toddler in tow.

Obviously, all the alien landscapes, CGI creatures, big guest stars, and whizbang action sequences require a lot of money and creative effort to be brought to the small screen. However, when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the storytelling and the characters, "The Mandalorian" is refreshingly simple. It's built on the basic tropes of old westerns, morality is simple and crude, and dialogue is fairly sparse - several characters have oft repeated catchphrases like the Mandalorian's "This is the way." Baby Yoda, performed with a wonderfully expressive puppet, doesn't speak at all. With its larger-than-life characters and and focus on exciting action sequences, it's a perfect show for kids, but charming enough to keep the attention of adults. Hardcore "Star Wars" fans will be happy to spot Ugnaughts and AT-STs, but the show is aimed at a much broader audience, and not interested in dwelling on the minutiae of the existing "Star Wars" mythology.

The show isn't consistently good week to week. There are three self-contained adventures in the middle of the season that are easily the weakest episodes, with very paper-thin characters and scenarios. You could swap them out with any generic '90s action adventure show filler installments without much trouble. However, I find the overall quality of the worldbuilding and the high level of the execution of so many complicated fantasy elements is enough to keep me watching. You can tell the creators, lead by Jon Favreau, approached this like a feature project. Each episode's credits are accompanied by gorgeous production artwork, highlighting the skill and craft put into every visual. The score by Ludwig Göransson doesn't sound like anything else in "Star Wars" canon, but it's somehow exactly what music in a "Star Wars" Western should sound like. And I'm happy to find the universe is grungy and tactile and a little seedy at times, the way I remember the first act of the first "Star Wars" movie being. And Baby Yoda is just irresistible.

As a "Star Wars" spinoff, I'm very satisfied with "The Mandalorian." This is the first piece of media since the Disney acquisition that doesn't feel like it's leaning too heavily on the movies. There are a few Force users, but not a lightsaber in sight. Our Mandalorian has no apparent ties to Boba Fett or Jango Fett, and instead there's a significant amount of time fleshing out the Mandalorian culture and traditions. We know the series takes place in the gap between Episodes VI and VII, but prior events are only barely alluded to. Instead, there's an emphasis on the consequences - scattered Imperials trying to hold on to power, Mando's ally Cara Dune (Gina Carano) moving on after a career as a Rebel shock trooper, and everyone mostly just trying to stay out of everyone else's way as the new status quo sorts itself out.

In short, this is the only "Star Wars" media that has really delivered on the promise of showing us new and different corners of a familiar universe. And I do hope that it continues on the same trajectory moving forward, sticking to the backwaters and keeping it simple.

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"The Rise of Skywalker" (With Spoilers)

This is going to be more of a free-form reaction post than a review. And there are all the spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

Dammit, I'm a Reylo shipper. I didn't think I was after "The Last Jedi," but I certainly am after "The Rise of Skywalker" went full tragic romance on us. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver just killed me, especially in those last few scenes where they barely even have dialogue with each other. It's just looks and body language doing all the work. I thought all the Palpatine machinations were pretty silly, and the whole sequence with Rey being tempted to the Dark Side didn't hold a candle to the original Emperor scenes in "Return of the Jedi," but the Rey and Kylo/Ben stuff all worked. Oh, and I totally called Rey being a Palpatine (because that's how dramatic irony works).

Speaking of "Return of the Jedi," I got amazing chills when Rey found the original throne room. It wasn't the visuals that did it, but that snatch of the old score from when Vader removed his helmet. The xylophone, of all things, set it off. A similar thing happened when Luke's X-wing made its appearance complete with Yoda's theme. It really goes to show that after all this time, John Williams' music is still a huge part of the franchise's effectiveness. I've rolled my eyes when other sequels and remakes have used this trick - "Mary Poppins Returns" for instance - but the new "Star Wars" films feel enough of a piece with the older ones that it works.

Of course, there were other callbacks and references everywhere, but I didn't mind it so much this time out. Maybe it's because I honestly expected much worse, considering some of the more hyperbolic reviews and reactions. Maybe it's because I've just gotten used to this level of self-obsession. Maybe it's because they were generally handled better, and there were a few good surprises. I didn't expect to ever see Harrison Ford as Han Solo again, but was grateful for the appearance. There are rumors circulating that the scene was originally meant for Carrie Fisher - I'm still undecided as to whether she should have been written out of the film entirely to avoid the awkwardness of her haphazardly cut together scenes.

Leia's death was a letdown, but really, no one but Rey and Kylo got very satisfying endings. Poe fared decently, becoming leader of the rebellion and getting some lukewarm character development. His best moments were his flirting with Keri Russell's character, Zorii. I liked Finn better here after his disastrous arc in "Last Jedi," but I don't understand the logic of sidelining Rose Tico and giving him a new love interest, Naomi Ackie's Jannah. And again, he clearly had material trimmed because we never find out what he was almost going to tell Rey. That he's Force sensitive? That he loves her? What?! C-3PO was pretty effective as comic relief this time out, though the attempts to wring some pathos out of his memory wipe were pretty poor. And the Chewie death fake-out was awful. Jury's still out on both of Kylo Ren's resurrections.

When I went back and looked at how the narrative actually played out, I was amazed at how shoddily it was pieced together. The opening crawl references a mysterious voice that is never brought up again. Everything about the Macguffin blade makes no sense. Mention is made a ticking clock we never actually see at any point. Lando's last minute arrival with the cavalry is logistically bananas - and really, Lando had nothing to do in this movie except to provide a cool trailer reveal. There's also no reason for Richard E. Grant's new Imperial, Pryde, when Hux and Phasma are in the wings. Big ideas are just shoehorned into the story seemingly at random. Leia's Jedi training! Palpatine's secret kid! The Knights of Ren! No wonder so many viewers called foul. It's not that the ideas were bad either - just never given the time and space to properly cohere.

Individual moments, however, reveal so much care and talent and the best of intentions. The return to Endor and the remains of the second Death Star are magnificent. I love the look of Zorii and the new droid, D-O. I loved the lightspeed skipping sequence, the new planets, and the Rey/Kylo sequences where they seem to physically inhabit the same space. I will never understand why these massive, complicated movies operate according to schedules and deadlines that always seem to require that they be rushed out the door before they can get all the bugs and kinks properly worked out. "Cats" recently released a patch for some shoddy graphics after the first few days of release, for pete's sake.

As with too many blockbusters these days, there is a much, much better movie that you could make out of the parts of "Rise of the Skywalker." The one that exists is simultaneously a complete mess and a thoroughly entertaining spectacle, and has managed to tick off a lot of people. I can't help loving it for what it is, but I'm also deeply disappointed that it isn't what it could have been.

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"The Rise of Skywalker" (Without Spoilers)

Well, here we are at last. As with all of my "Star Wars" posts, this is going to be divided into two installments, one spoiler free for more general thoughts and some meta, and one for the spoilers that will dig into more analysis next time.

I want to preface this post with two thoughts. First, I consider myself a "Star Wars" fan, though it's a notion I've struggled with since I didn't like the prequels and never bothered with "The Clone Wars" or the other spinoffs. Second, I've been quietly accepting that as I trudge toward my forties, that I'm growing increasingly jaded as a moviegoer, especially when it comes to big franchise films. At this point, I can smell the plot contrivances coming from a mile away.

But good grief, I loved "The Rise of Skywalker." I loved it almost as much as I loved "The Last Jedi."

I understand that the latest trilogy of films has been deeply disappointing for some viewers, that it's been a prime target in the culture wars, and made a lot of mistakes. The film critic part of my brain understands that J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio defaulted to the same tactics used to make "The Force Awakens": lean heavily on the nostalgia, pander to the fans, and just straight up steal chunks of the older movies to refurbish if you run into any trouble. "The Rise of Skywalker" is awash in cameos, call backs, references, and shameless fanservice. It's also full of wildly convoluted plotting, stupidly convenient coincidences, and downright dysfunctional storytelling. It's wildly inconsistent from moment to moment, moves way too fast, and ends up shoving major characters like Finn into the background. As I expected, Abrams backtracked many of Rian Johnson's decisions in "The Last Jedi," and he didn't do it very well. Nor was the handling of Carrie Fisher's departure anything but awkward.

But all that aside, I have to admit that I had a great time watching the movie. Abrams may have put together a messier, sloppier film than either of the two preceding installments, but he managed to deliver where it counted. I was invested in the Rey and Kylo Ren storylines most heavily from the beginning, and wanted to see where their complicated relationship was leading. I wanted to learn more about Poe and Finn and see the new trio really work together after "The Last Jedi," where they were split up. "The Rise of Skywalker" gave me that. It wasn't always in the most elegant or original way, but the thing that J.J. Abrams consistently gets right is that he puts all the necessary emotional beats on the screen where they need to be. So even if the dialogue is awful, or the logic of the Macguffin-chasing is full of holes, the characters' personal journeys are pretty sound, and they feel genuine in the moment.

The actors are so strong across the board, especially Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver. "Star Wars" has always been melodramatic and this movie pushes that all the way to the limit. There are turns and betrayals and momentous reveals everywhere you look. Some of them absolutely do not work, and some of the choices are just plain bad. However, Abrams and company somehow managed to nail the big ones, the ones that really counted, even if they were nonsense in retrospect. The execution was so on point throughout, especially the smaller, interpersonal scenes. Some of my favorite lightsaber sequences are in this movie - the choreography may not be so impressive, but the way Abrams uses them to further character is fantastic. And I hate to admit it, but most of the little moments of humor and many of the nostalgic call backs worked on me, helping to deflect attention from the script's weaknesses.

The reception to "The Rise of Skywalker" has been mixed to say the least, and it's certainly deserved. However, my first instinct is to defend the film from its detractors. It's such a terribly flawed movie, but I see so much in it worth praising too. The movie made me feel like the kid who was a "Star Wars" fan in the '90s again, something I didn't think was possible anymore. It made me want more "Star Wars" movies, even with all the terrible fandom clashes and studio politicking.

And it cemented for me that I still am very much, perhaps unfortunately, still a "Star Wars" fan.
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On the "Star Wars IX" Trailer and Hype

The ninth American Star Wars Celebration event happened over the weekend, a fan convention devoted to all things "Star Wars," which Lucasfilm often uses to promote the franchise.  It usually comes around these days whenever Lucasfilm has new projects to hype, and boy did they have some doozies this year. In addition to the new video game "Jedi: Fallen Order," and the new Disney Plus series, "The Mandalorian," Friday's panel was the first place where you could see the teaser trailer for the latest "Star Wars" film, where the title was finally announced: "Rise of Skywalker."

I find it a little bewildering that we're at the point where simply announcing the title of an upcoming franchise film like "Avengers: Endgame" or "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker" can be a hypable moment, and a dropping a teaser trailer can be an event on the same level as one of those Apple product launches that Steve Jobs was famous for.  Instead of Steve Jobs, however, Disney went and recruited Stephen Colbert to be their panel emcee, who happily worked up the crowd of convention-goers before bringing all the creative talent on stage to promote the new film. The public may have cooled on the "Star Wars" franchise over the last two years, but Disney certainly isn't treating it that way.

I have to marvel at the lengths Disney and Lucasfilm went to for this event, getting a room full of hardcore nerds together to watch the teaser premiere, flying out all the talent for appearances, and even putting Ian McDiarmid onstage afterwards to shout "Roll it again!" and push the reactions even further.  If you didn't have the $50-60 dollars for a convention ticket, you could watch the whole panel being streamed live if you wanted - I found a recording on Youtube over the weekend. It all paid off for Lucasfilm, though. The internet was buzzing madly about "Star Wars" all Friday afternoon, and there was a ton of speculation about what the title could mean and what we could expect from the new film in December.  

As for the trailer itself, well, personally I find it a little worrying.  The marketing is following the lead of "The Force Awakens," emphasizing the return of familiar faces from the first "Star Wars" trilogy again.  This time around Lando Calrissian and Emperor Palpatine are back. The ruins of the second Death Star show up. A new droid pal for BB-8 shows up.  There' s more heavy breathing. More running. More lightsabers. Frankly, the whole thing feels like it's backtracking what "The Last Jedi" did to break away from formula.  Sure, this is just marketing and Disney is just trying to put out images that are going to invite the most speculation, but it doesn't bode well. Personally, I am going to be very disappointed if Abrams walks back the revelation about Rey's parents in "The Last Jedi."

I'm actually more curious about "The Mandalorian," the Disney Plus series which is being handled by Jon Favreau and will star Pedro Pascal as the title character.  I like that it takes place in the gap between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens," and features no familiar characters whatsoever. And speaking of Disney Plus, a similar splashy kickoff event was used to promote the service at Disney's Investor Day event, which happened to take place the day before Celebration.  This was a much more serious affair, however, presented by Disney CEO Bob Iger and attended mainly by Wall Street figures. However, its aim was also to drum up the hype, as Disney Plus will launch in November.

  

We can look forward to future events like this in the next few months - convention season is just around the corner.  Disney will probably use San Diego Comic-Con and its own D23 Expo in August to make some more big announcements. 2020's two new Marvel movies technically haven't been officially announced yet.  There are also two original PIXAR movies on next year's schedule, one of which we know absolutely nothing about. Now that the FOX merger has been completed, Disney can be a lot less hush-hush about its plans.  Or maybe the new status quo is turning any announcement into a big hypable moment.

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About that Han Solo Movie

I tried my best to go into "Solo: A Star Wars Story" not thinking about all of its production troubles or the raging debates going on about its box office performance, the toxic fandom, and the lingering aftershocks of "The Last Jedi." I didn't really succeed, but I don't think it affected my enjoyment of the movie much. "Solo" is exactly what I expected it to be: a slick, noisy action romp leaning heavily on nostalgia for the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

The young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) is introduced as a street kid from a rough planet, who escapes into the Imperial navy, but is forced to leave his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) behind. Trying to go back for her, he eventually deserts and joins up with a group of thieves under Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). He has his first meetings with Chewbacca the Wookie (Joonas Suotamo) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), and gets himself tangled up in the dealings of the Empire, the nascent Rebellion, and a variety of criminal gangs and syndicates.

There are many more characters and quite a lot more plot, which is a big part of the problems I had with "Solo." The movie suffers for trying to do too much. The writers felt the need to jam pretty much every momentous event of Han Solo's past into this movie, and find more ways to connect him to the larger conflicts in the "Star Wars" universe. There's enough material in here for a full trilogy of Han Solo movies, and then it goes ahead and sets up a sequel anyway. As you might expect, not everything gets the attention it deserves. At two and a half hours, "Solo" is about average length for a "Star Wars" movie, but the episodic structure makes it feel much longer. I really enjoyed parts of the film, especially the first hour, but found myself losing patience with it by the end.

I spent a lot of time wondering what the original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, would have done differently. We'll never know, but I think it's pretty clear why they were removed - they were trying to make a freewheeling comedy and "Solo" definitely isn't one. The movie is pretty lighthearted and has funny moments, but the densely plotted story takes some very dramatic turns, and has sober, even tragic moments. Taking place mostly in the Star Wars universe's criminal underworld, nearly every character is some variation of crook or con-man. There are also several deaths, plenty of violence, and a melancholy ending. Bradford Young's gloomy, desaturated visuals give "Solo" a distinctly scroungier feel than the other "Star Wars" movies, which is perfect for a story full of double-crosses and shady dealings. There's a little starry-eyed idealism too, of course. It wouldn't be "Star Wars" without it.

Ron Howard did a perfectly fine clean-up job with the production. "Solo" never feels like a rushed or compromised project, though it has some tonal inconsistencies and odd bits of editing. Alden Ehrenreich also delivers a strong performance as the title character. He doesn't look or sound much like Harrison Ford, but he nails the cocky demeanor. Ditto Glover's charming Lando, who is the highlight of the film. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of Woody Harrelson's Beckett, who is supposed to be Han's mentor figure, or Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra. The actors aren't the problem here - it's the film's unwillingness to develop the characters beyond very familiar cliches. Qi'ra in particular seems like she'd be a much more sympathetic figure if the writers would just give us a little bit more of her perspective.

Still, if you want a diverting summer flick, "Solo" should fit the bill just fine. It boasts plenty of good action scenes and space opera eye candy. It's also certainly worth a look for "Star Wars" fans, with its loving throwbacks and references to the earliest parts of the franchise. I'm also heartened that "Solo" toys with some darker directions, even if the material ultimately stays very safe and predictable. So while I didn't come out impressed, I wasn't disappointed either. And I'm a little sad this may be the last time we see Ehrenreich and Glover as Han and Lando.


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Star Wars Spinoffs

"Solo" has come and gone. "Kenobi" and "Boba Fett" are likely, "Lando" is possible, and there's still hope for "Jabba the Hutt." The "Star Wars" spinoff films are currently on hold, but the speculation isn't. Below, are a few suggestions for other corners of the "Star Wars" universe that I'd like to see onscreen.

Young Leia - Leia is now officially a Disney Princess, and deserves her own movie. Remember that she was a resistance fighter who was handy with a blaster, and had to take charge of her own rescue in the original "Star Wars." That clearly points to a childhood that was more exciting than just being a posh royal. Alderaan seemed like a pretty peaceful place, but there's always room for some court intrigue. Also, Leia's early days would be a good chance to take a peek into the inception of the Rebellion, and maybe provide origin stories for other characters like Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and General Dodonna.

Young Mace Windu - There wasn't much that I liked about the prequels, but I was always curious about the history of Mace Windu. I like the idea of him or Qui-Gon Jinn in their early days having samurai-esque adventures way out in some less civilized star system. "Star Wars" was heavily influenced by Kurosawa's jidaigeki films, especially "Hidden Fortress," and I've always wanted to see the series embrace these roots a little more. A "Star Wars" version of "Seven Samurai" or "Yojimbo" feels like it would be appropriate. Then again, it's already heavily rumored that this might be direction that DIsney is going with the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie.

The Droids - So, I know there was already a "Star Wars" project that centered around the droid characters back in the 1980s, the obscure Saturday morning cartoon "Droids." Frankly, I think the idea still has some possibilities and that Disney could do much better. Let's use BB-8 as the main character this time, and give him (her? It?) their own adventure. It could be a prequel, detailing how it met Poe Dameron, or a tangential adventure taking place after "The Last Jedi." I also like the idea of a new "Droid" feature being done in CGI animation, in the vein of "WALL-E." We could also use more "Star Wars" media aimed at the younger fans.

The Bothans - When "Rogue One" first came out, I know I wasn't the only one who wondered where the Bothans were, many of whom famously died in order to bring the plans for the Death Star to the Rebels. Of course, I was misremembering, and those were plans for the second Death Star from "Return of the Jedi," not the first. I still want to know about those Bothans, especially since it's been revealed that they're these big, werewolf-like critters, they're spies, and they just sound badass all around. There's the danger of this story being a retread of "Rogue One," but surely there's room in the "Star Wars" universe for more than one heist picture.

Mara Jade - Some of the best imagery from the "Star Wars" franchise comes from the Empire, and I'd love to see a movie fully set in that world. However, the character I think it would be best to explore that through is the one member of the "Star Wars" Extended Universe I'd like to see brought back - Mara Jade, the Emperor's special agent. She's one of the most interesting female characters who ever appeared in anything related to "Star Wars," and frankly the new films could use more like her. The way the movies have played out make it unlikely to keep her original backstory intact, but with a little adjusting, she'd be a great antihero.

Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes - Finally, if Disney wants to go lighter and funnier, why not get the band back together? Specifically, the Cantina Band, made up of seven Bith from the planet Clak'dor VII. The aliens of the "Star Wars" universe haven't been used much in the new movies, but they're a major element that distinguishes the franchise from all the others competing for our attention. So get those musicians an unscrupulous manager, some groupies, and run-ins with shady characters on their road to fame and fortune. Let them get mixed up in bad business trying to raise the money to get their instruments out of hock. Or have 'em play Jabba's wedding.

The possibilities are endless.
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"The Last Jedi" (With Spoilers)

There's a scene early in the film that I feel is a good test of how a viewer is likely to react to "The Last Jedi." Princess Leia's has just been ejected from her ship into space, and is floating in the debris field, appearing to be dead. Then suddenly she revives and appears to fly with the use of the Force until she's safe onboard the vessel once more. It's a somewhat ridiculous visual out of context. However, the sight of Carrie Fisher seemingly coming back to life, backed by John Williams' immortal theme for Leia, left me teary eyed.

And so did the throne room fight scene. And the return of the puppet Yoda. And Luke Skywalker fighting Kylo Ren. And the glorious binary sunset leading into Luke fading away into nothingness. I know that the film was overlong, had a lot of weaker material, and really didn't do right by some of its characters, but the parts that were wonderful were so wonderful that I'm willing to forgive it more than I probably should. Frankly, this was the "Star Wars" film that I needed in order to stay invested in this universe. It answered all the questions I had, gave me nostalgic callbacks that were actually meaningful, and realized some pretty damn ambitious filmmaking. We got new Force powers! A kamikaze hyperspace jump attack! And Rey and Kylo Ren fought those sinister looking elite guards in the red armor, who always looked way too cool to just be background extras!

Clearly there were things that didn't work, or weren't developed enough to pass muster. Just about everything in Canto Bight fell into that category, which was a shame because what little we saw of the planet made me want to see more. Rose and Finn's romance was very awkwardly put together, but I still like both characters and appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do. Much more problematic was the material with Poe Dameron and Vice-Admiral Holdo, one of those dreaded extended conflicts that could have been sorted out if people were communicating properly. I don't think it would have taken much to improve that storyline either. As memorable as her exit was, this still felt like a waste of Laura Dern in what could have potentially been a very strong role. I suspect that the writers simply weren't as invested in these characters and their stories as they were with others.

These are many of the same issues that cropped up in the other post-Disney "Star Wars" movies, particularly "Rogue One" in its deeply flawed first and second acts. There's been a lot of chatter online about how the film was actively trying to subvert the fanbase's expectations related to a lot of the little mysteries that were set up in "The Force Awakens," like Rey's parentage. I think the issue was really that there were a lot of clever ideas that weren't handled well, not everything fit right, and the film gave some answers that people didn't like. It also had no end of tonal clashes and pacing problems. At 150 minutes, this was the longest "Star Wars" film and it certainly felt that way. Even with the bigger climactic moments sprinkled throughout, "The Last Jedi" is often a slog, and exhausting to watch.

However, it still got enough right that I'm plenty invested in where the story is going next. I expect that JJ Abrams coming back will mean a much more restrained final film, but also one that will have a lot more room to expand into new territory since "The Last Jedi" provided such a strong, definitive conclusion to Luke Skywalker's story. I'm looking forward to Rian Johnson making more "Star Wars" films, and maybe some of the problems he had here might be alleviated by being able to tackle a whole trilogy from the beginning. Another writer or two in the mix would also help. Johnson's got solid filmmaking fundamentals, but could use a little more finesse with the dialogue.

I'd expected to be much cooler on the movie after all the sturm and drang about it being such a disappointment to a certain segment of the fanbase. Instead, I'm absolutely delighted. Sure, the movie has flaws, and big ones. However, it was also made with love and care and more guts than I would have thought possible. And if it's got so many people this upset, it probably did something right.

"Star Wars" is dead. Long live "Star Wars."

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"The Last Jedi" (Without Spoilers)

I loved "The Last Jedi." I don't know what all the controversy has been about, or all this business concerning subverted expectations and the disappointed fanbase, but I'll tell you that as a fan of "Star Wars" since I was eleven years old, I loved "The Last Jedi" unreservedly. And I haven't felt that way about anything "Star Wars" since the originals.

My biggest issue with "The Force Awakens" was that it felt like a Greatest Hits compilation of the first"Star Wars" trilogy crammed into a single movie, and didn't give enough of the spotlight over to the new characters. "The Last Jedi," though it pays obvious homage to the older films, and has particularly strong echoes of "The Empire Strikes Back," avoids this. Yes, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) living like a hermit on the craggy islands of the planet Ahch-To and training Rey (Daisy Ridley) is reminiscent of Yoda in the swamps of Dagobah, but the dynamics are different. A battle on the crystalline planet Crait resembles the one on Hoth, except that the mechanics and strategy are different.

More importantly, there is a significant sense of advancement in the story. Big things happen, and quickly. We aren't just visiting with old friends, but watching Rey, Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) off having their own meaningful adventures. And returning characters like Luke Skywalker and General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) are now in very different phases of their lives, and their stories are still steadily moving forward as well. Luke, for instance, naturally shows up in the aged master role, but he's very different from the Luke who appeared in the original trilogy, having become bitter and disenchanted with the notion of resurrecting the Jedi. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) continues to progress further down the path to the Dark Side while showing occasional flashes of doubt.

"The Last Jedi" is often an uneven outing because all these different characters aren't as equally compelling to watch. Finn and his new bestie Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) gallivanting around an intergalactic casino, and Poe recklessly plotting a mutiny against the infuriating Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), feel silly next to the juicy melodrama of Rey trying to convince Luke to join the Resistance, or Rey's Force visions of Kylo Ren. There's so much crammed into the movie, though, that even if you don't particularly enjoy one segment, the next one is likely to knock your socks off. Unfortunately this makes the film feel mightily overstuffed. By the time we got to the big finale at Crait, after what I thought was the big finale in space, and the big finale with Snoke, I was incredulous that we somehow still had another full act to get through. But it's one hell of an act.

Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver are still the strongest performers in the cast, and "The Last Jedi" gives them several scenes together, all very enjoyable. However, the performance that's really going to stay with me is Mark Hamill's as Luke Skywalker. Unlike the return of Han Solo in "The Force Awakens," Luke feels like someone who went and had a lifetime of adventures since we last saw him, someone familiar but who we don't really know anymore. Getting to know him again is a fantastic experience. There's also a substantial improvement in the portrayal of Princess Leia, who is given a more solid leadership role. The actors saddled with the weaker material, namely John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, still manage to nail their better moments when they can.

The production design is endlessly inventive, full of gorgeous new alien worlds, fantastic imagery, and flawless CGI. There are sequences on Ahch-To and Crait, and at least one shot in the big space battle, that I expect will be considered as iconic as anything from the original trilogy. John Williams' score does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting, but then it's been such a long time since any movie has allowed for that, it was a thrill. I'll be humming "Rey's Theme" for days.

As for the director, Rian Johnson, the last time I reviewed one of his movies, I declared that he was very close to making a great movie. I can't say that "The Last Jedi" is that movie, but it's one that feels more like a "Star Wars" movie than anything else I've seen in two decades.

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