The Mandalorian

Good day my readers and welcome back. So with the pandemic I have been asked to do a few outbreak/plague/zombie movie reviews and...no. I will maybe partake in a little of that click bait later but as of now, I would rather talk about a decent series instead. With Disney behaving like Skynet consolidating multiple companies under the Conglomerate of the Mouse, it leaves us wondering how will the Disney Star Wars hold up. Well I enjoyed Rogue One, The latter sequels have a varied effect (we won't be going into that right this minute) and the Solo prequel was...a film. So instead of that, the flavor of the last 5 months has to be the lone hunter roaming the planetary systems...catching bounties. This is The Mandalorian.

Better than Boba, baby!

As it was written following closer to the Expanded Universe (Star Wars Novels) we have a tale of a capable hunter (Pedro Pascal of Good vs Evil, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Without a Trace, The Good Wife, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, Red Widow and The Mentalist) from the Mandalorian tribes as the planetary system of Mandalore was long since attacked and unified under the Empire during a military campaign simply known as The Purge. Yeah I may have read a few Star War books. Our hunter is hot on pursuit claiming bounties left and right as a true Mandalorian does, the art of the hunt is very much part of his culture, as is wearing and brandishing weapons a part of his religion. They reveal themselves to no one as the helmet and armor is their identity. They can chose to reveal their name but it is rare the trust outside of the clan is warranted.

It's a living...

Head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild,Greef Karga (Carl Weathers of Rocky, Force 10 from Navarone, Rocky II, Death Hunt, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Street Justice and In the Heat of the Night) is doling out bounty contracts left and right but pickings are slim. Not everyone in the galaxy like paying Guild costs but a private customer wants a job done and done right. The contract has been open to anyone thinking they can do the job so Mando has quite a bit of competition to deal with. Meeting with the Ugnaught tinkerer/farmer/ Blurrg rancher Kuiil (Nick Nolte of Rich Man, Poor Man, 48 Hrs.,Under Fire, Farewell to the King, Another 48 Hrs., The Prince of Tides, Blue Chips, Mulholland Falls, Nightwatch, Affliction, Hulk and The Beautiful Country) , Kuiil begins to warn Mando how many strangers are on this rock of a moon he has claimed for his own. Including one of those damn IG (Assassination Droid or Combat Model) that operate on pure logic and no emotional or behavioral protocols. Nevertheless IG-11(voiced by writer/director/actor Taika Waititi of Thor Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit and What We Do in the Shadows) find the asset to find out it is an infant. A species of slow gestation period and this puts Mando on the spot.

The commission puts our gunslinger in a moral quagmire. On one hand, he is honor bound to fulfill his contract. With the other is the contract is an abduction and handing it over to the Remnants of the Empire as his client. So what is a well-armed, well-trained fella to do?

The prophecy spoke of this one. He who will save the franchise.

Mando feels a certain responsibility for this young charge and cannot believe how much the little one's bounty has gone up. With "fellow" hunters, cut throats, raiders and the like are gunning for this child, Mando has to keep a clear head, watch his alliances and hope his skills last.

On the run, he encounters a former Heavy gunner Cara Dune (Gina Carano of Blood and Bone, Haywire, Fast & Furious 6, Almost Human, In the Blood, Heist, Extraction, Deadpool, Kickboxer: Vengeance and Scorched Earth) a woman wearing her heart on her sleeve and haunted by her demons and loss of friends in the war. Survivor's guilt for a warrior without a war.

What this show is ultimately is Space Spaghetti Western. A lone gunslinger with his own code and honor. Ruffians, back shooters and cowboy trash hate him because he is one of the best at what he does. Clients are thrilled how effective and thorough he is for each job and his liaison for the Guild loves how much money this man rakes in for him.

Thinking of his own childhood and how everything went pear shaped for Mando, he worries for the child and genuinely has feelings for him.

For those paying attention, our conflicted gunfighter has a rapport with the master armorer (Emily Swallow of Southland, The Good Wife, Monday Mornings, The Mentalist, Adoptable, Timeless and Castlevania) while she makes him the finest armor of Beskar Steel (strongest steel of Mandalore), she asks him of his hunts and if they have been successful. There is a distance between them but you almost feel as though she still considers him a young charge and not the seasoned hunter he is.

For the more keen eyed Stars Wars buff, you damn right we got Easter eggs. I will give only one spoiler though. Salicious Crumb (Jabba the Hutt's little puppet friend that attacked C-3PO in Return of the Jedi), one of his species is roasting on a spit. Damn near choked on my drink.

With director/producer Jon Favreau (Swingers, Made, The Big Empty, Dinner for Five, Iron Man Iron Man 2, Cowboys &Aliens) along side writer Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian, Star Wars Resistance and Star Wars: The Clone Wars) basically reworking episodes of Westerns worthy of Gunsmoke and the Virginian, the lawlessness of the galaxy is shown, mercy is in rare amounts and people tend to not stick their neck out, even for a worthy cause. But like the morals of the first three films, there will always be dreamers, warriors and adventurers in the strangest of settings, looking for a cause or an out of their own lives and fight for what's right.

Plenty of references to the original trilogy so nothing gone wrong there and saddle up cowboys, Season 2 has to be a go. They would be damn fools to let this potential goldmine sail away. Between Cosplayers already building this armor, Halloween costumes at the ready, action figures of the series and yes more than a fair share of Baby Yoda prototypes in the mix, this should do well for itself and gives us old fart Star Wars fans hope that good writing will prevail.

E-Webs are damn fun.