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REVIEW: ‘The Mandalorian’

   DailyWire.com
Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano arrive at the premiere of Lucasfilm's first-ever, live-action series, "The Mandalorian," at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on November 13, 2019. "The Mandalorian" streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Jesse Grant/Getty Images

A part of me is convinced that the current success of Disney’s The Mandalorian plays on the profound frustration we all felt when Boba Fett died far too easily in Return of The Jedi. I mean here was arguably the greatest bounty hunter in the known universe tossed overboard in the heat of battle by a bit of gimmickry, then summarily eaten by a sarlacc with little to no resistance aside from some brief indigestion on the sand monster’s part.

Created and written by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian is an exceedingly simple show. It’s really just about a bounty hunter with a growing conscience that goes rogue to protect an innocent creature. The plot unfolds as a grand chase ensues similar to, say, John Wick after he righteously betrays his assassin’s guild.

Simplicity is a fundamental part of The Mandalorian’s charm, however, and why I immediately felt like I was transported back to my childhood watching some odd combination of Buck Rogers meets The Fall Guy. While there’s no underlying depth, there is also, thankfully, no cut-and-paste progressive messages either a la Captain Marvel or The Last Jedi (well, so far, anyway).  Certainly, we could all do with a lot less didactic drivel these days.

Pedro Pascal, best known for his roles in Narcos and Game of Thrones, effortlessly plays the title character in The Mandalorian. On some level, it’s almost too effortless. The deadpan delivery and nonchalance can grow a bit wooden and tiresome. It’s as though the stoic resolve of the Mandalorian inadvertently shifts toward some form of clinical depression at times.

Still, Pascal is a fine actor and I hope the character is afforded more complexity and development as the series continues. So far, he’s just a typical reluctant hero who, in the parlance of D&D, is struggling to change his alignment from neutral to some version of neutral good. We don’t need Hamlet to emerge from behind all that Beskar armor but some depth and nuance would be nice.

Odd cameos abound in The Mandalorian as well. First, we get Carl Weathers. Then, strangely enough, the German director Werner Herzog makes an appearance as some Imperial broker. Former MMA fighter, Gina Carano, shows up in the fourth episode in what is, so far, the worst outing of the series. However, we should note that Bryce Dallas Howard directed that particular episode. Perhaps no further explanation is needed.

We also get a cherubic incarnation of a Yoda in need of the Mandalorian’s protection. I’d offer the actual name of his species but, so far, it remains a mystery (not to assume Yoda’s gender, tsk tsk). More importantly, it’s hopelessly cute in a fatiguing kind of way. If you thought Gizmo was adorable, wait till you see baby Yoda. I can only imagine the retail stampede a baby Yoda doll would have caused had the show debuted some 25 years ago.

Is The Mandalorian a must-see show? Probably not. You might enjoy it for its simplicity and archetypical tropes though. I would certainly take The Mandalorian over just about all the films in the Star Wars universe that have followed the original trilogy. For now, at least, the show simply scratches a certain nostalgic itch.

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