The Mandalorian reviews: Is the latest Star Wars story epic or not much of anything? – Gold Derby

Disney+ officially landed on November 12, and with it its latest exercise in brand-extension. The Mandalorian is a new live-action series set in the Star Wars universe. But is it a worthy expansion of the Star Wars universe? Critics didnt get a chance to evaluate the show ahead of time, but theyve been checking it out since it premiere, and the reviews are in.

As of this writing The Mandalorian has a MetaCritic score of 68 based on 21 reviews counted thus far: 16 positive, 5 mixed, none outright negative. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, which classifies reviews as simply positive or negative as opposed to MCs sliding scale of 0-100, the series is rated 87% fresh based on 62 reviews counted: 54 fresh and 8 rotten. Theres no RT critics consensus as yet, which is understandable since critics only have the first episode to go on. The rest of the series will be rolled out periodically one episode at a time over the coming weeks.

Created by Jon Favreau, famous for launching Disneys Marvel brand as the director of Iron Man (2008), the show is being compared to Spaghetti Westerns with their epic sweep ans casual nihilism. The charm of the show is setting the action outside the usual Rebel Alliance vs. Empire conflict weve seen so many times before, which makes it more intriguing and sustainable as a continuing series.

And while the shows title bounty hunter is played by Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos), Werner Herzog is receiving praise. Known for directing films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Grizzly Man (2005) and Encounters at the End of the World (2008), Herzog gets the finest scene of the pilot and embodies slimy galactic profiteering.

But critics also note that without a backstory yet for its title character, the show rings a bit hollow. It isnt bad. It also isnt good. Its not much of anything. But perhaps The Mandalorian will win more people over with the rest of its eight-episode season, whose diectors include Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, Confirmation), Bryce Dallas Howard (Call Me Crazy) and even Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit). Check out some of the reviews below, and join the discussion on this and more with your fellow TV fans here in our forums.

Katie Rife (The A.V. Club): The epic sweep and casual nihilism of Spaghetti Westerns are evident from the opening scenes of Chapter One: both the windswept ice plains and the indifferent reactions of the cantina patrons to the Mandalorian chopping a dude in half are straight out of one of an Italian B-Western So while The Mandalorians debut is pretty thin, its also got a lot of wide open spaces to expand into.

Melanie McFarland (Salon): Mainly, the charm of The Mandalorian is in its relative removal from Resistance-centered adventures bound to frequent reminders of Jedi and light saber battles. Placing the action in the outer reaches of civilization lends more of a spaghetti-Western-meets-ronin-samurai vibe to the narrative, and this feels like a more intriguing and sustainable fuel for the longterm.

Emily Todd VanDerWerff (Vox): The Mandalorian, Disney+s big-ticket original series, set in the Star Wars universe, isnt bad. It also isnt good. Its not much of anything, truth be told. Its a brand extension, a flag planted in a new corner of a Star Wars universe that feels a lot like old corners of the Star Wars universe.

Sonia Saraiya (Vanity Fair): Without a backstory or facial expressions, how do you build an audience rapport with a character? In the pilot, The Mandalorian has one idea: General space-Western badassery But sans history, motivation, or facial expressions it rings a bit hollow, lacking the achingly human element of the Star Wars universe. The finest scene is Herzogs, who embodies slimy galactic profiteering with an arrogant, nasally performance that I couldnt get enough of.

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The Mandalorian reviews: Is the latest Star Wars story epic or not much of anything? - Gold Derby