Star Wars: Andor

[Timbuktu]

10 minutes ago, Harsin said:

I thought Rogue One is a turgid mess for the first two thirds then turns into a different, much better film, in the last third all of a sudden.

I guess that is the point when Tony Gilroy was brought on to save the movie.

[jonamok]

13 hours ago, Hanzo the Razor said:

 

That's Han isn't it?

Could be. Was just assuming it was Luke given the context.

[Unofficial Who]

Rogue One works a lot better after watching Andor in that Andor shores up and fixes what was confusing in Rogue One. (I've just rewatched Rogue One.)

 

Why is Saw so ultra paranoid? It now makes sense. Why is Cassian so ruthless in shooting first? It's now expected.

 

The big issue with Rogue One is now the score which feels overly bombastic and out of place. My partner turned to me part way through and said "I really wish they'd rescore this now."

 

It's a weird rewatch. It's the best of the modern Star Wars films, it's not as good as Andor but it's a much better watch after watching Andor.

[Waggo]

12 hours ago, Festoon said:

 Oh and Forest Whittaker overacts to a point of utter ripeness. 

 

11 hours ago, Phantoon said:

You say that like it's not the best thing

 

 

[probotector]

11 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

 

Along with Obi Wan I think they've retconned Darth Vader pretty well now. He's like a crocodile, deadly within a few metres but runs out of energy really quickly. In that suit he's just an injured man in incredible pain. It reminds me a lot of trying to run suffering chronic asthma, sure you might be golden for 100 metres but if you try to hold that pace any longer you're just fucked.

I think that’s always been Vaders thing. In the OG Trilogy he did very little but be menacing. 

[Vulgar Monkey]

As an aside, Saws gear is also a bit easier to understand now we've seen it built up over time. With his initial appearance in R1 I struggled a bit to spot where the respirator stuff ended and the armour began - he almost looked a bit vader-y iirc, no doubt intended.

 

Did they ever specify what fucked him up, or are we just to assume he's been living in moldy old caves too long?

[Unofficial Who]

3 minutes ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

As an aside, Saws gear is also a bit easier to understand now we've seen it built up over time. With his initial appearance in R1 I struggled a bit to spot where the respirator stuff ended and the armour began - he almost looked a bit vader-y iirc, no doubt intended.

 

Did they ever specify what fucked him up, or are we just to assume he's been living in moldy old caves too long?

 

Pre Andor I would have thought it was to compare him to Darth Vader. There used to be this weird thing in Star Wars where there was an implication that artificial parts was visual short hand for "turning to the dark side" something that flirts a little too closely with superstition about karma.

 

Post Andor? I suspect he's probably survived multiple assassination attempts, not all of them by the empire. He's kit bashed together the best spare parts and pain relief he could under the circumstances.

 

That's my read anyway.

[Phantoon]

1 hour ago, Unofficial Who said:

 

Pre Andor I would have thought it was to compare him to Darth Vader. There used to be this weird thing in Star Wars where there was an implication that artificial parts was visual short hand for "turning to the dark side" something that flirts a little too closely with superstition about karma.

 

Post Andor? I suspect he's probably survived multiple assassination attempts, not all of them by the empire. He's kit bashed together the best spare parts and pain relief he could under the circumstances.

 

That's my read anyway.

I suspect that there's also the point being made that he's gone so far that he's not that different from the thing he's fighting. The Rebellion want nothing to do with him any more

[SpagMasterSwift]

Living in damp caves innit!

 

I’d love a young Jyn Erso series set in this style, give me the Saw years.

[Sexton Hardcastle]

Saw has a lot of backstory in Clone Wars & Rebels. He’s always been a bit headstrong, but I think the additional parts maybe come after they tried to torture him & just kept fucking him up when he wouldn’t break. 

[monkeydog]

5 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

The big issue with Rogue One is now the score which feels overly bombastic and out of place. My partner turned to me part way through and said "I really wish they'd rescore this now."

 

I was all excited for a Michael Giacchino doing a Star Wars score then the main theme felt like some cheap 80's Star Wars knock off.  There are bits that are good though. 

[Phantoon]

He didn't get much time to do it, he was brought in after the previous composer dropped out / was replaced. I think he did a good job with that considered. 

[Waggo]

3 hours ago, Phantoon said:

I suspect that there's also the point being made that he's gone so far that he's not that different from the thing he's fighting. The Rebellion want nothing to do with him any more

 

Even in Rogue One though there are suggestions which are greatly elaborated on in Andor, that the Rebel Alliance is not a single uniform entity.  For example Mon Mothma instructs Cassian to capture Jyn's dad alive so he can be questioned before the senate, while his commander orders him to forget about that and to assasinate him instead.

[probotector]

Rogue one is amazing.

 

Glad to see it finally get the love it deserves.

Ill watch it tonight me thinks  

[cassidy]

1 hour ago, monkeydog said:

 

I was all excited for a Michael Giacchino doing a Star Wars score then the main theme felt like some cheap 80's Star Wars knock off.  There are bits that are good though. 

Giacchino's Trek Prodigy theme is a delight btw. 

[skondo]

Finally watched the last episode and while I’ve really enjoyed the series, I found the ending strangely underwhelming. I’ll give it another go, but I’m quite disappointed right now.

[Don Rosco]

I thought the ending was brilliant. It’s a show with an ensemble cast, and Ferrix was up there as a very important character. They created one of the most real places Star Wars has ever seen, and it got the ending it deserved.

 

[Padster]

Regarding the post-credits scene... 

 

Spoiler

No wonder the bloody thing blew up when it was literally held together with widgets built by unskilled prisoners at breakneck speed. 

 

[Popo]

I’m slightly in awe of quite how good that finale was. The tension was built over a good twenty minutes before it all finally kicked off - every big character came together in a way that promised explosiveness and chaos, and crikey, did it deliver or what? You could almost taste the febrile atmosphere in the air. 
 

What really made it work was that I felt like I knew and cared about all of them. 
 

Im so, so happy there’s going to be a second season, but if there wasn’t, this would have been just perfect. 

[NecroMorrius]

 

This show is a masterpiece. 

[Girth Certificate]

Space Miners vs Space Tories yaaaaas. Forming your dead into bricks and using them to cave in police heads is absolutely a tradition that should be adopted in this country.

[Alan Stock]

Oh yeah, whoever made that prediction earlier in the thread was spot on:

Spoiler

The brick literally being used to smash in imperial faces! You called it!

 

[NecroMorrius]

Tony Gilroy being interviewed:

"It's not political"

 

Spoiler

 

[pastry]

Certainly makes you realise how lucky Leia was with her interrogation - the Empire must've gone soft!

Andor is the best bit of Star Wars, no doubt for me – and while yes it adds a lot to the universe it really stands at odds with the space adventures to follow. 

I hope they remake all of it! Reboot from Ep1, please!

[probotector]

On 27/11/2022 at 14:57, Padster said:

Regarding the post-credits scene... 

 

  Hide contents

No wonder the bloody thing blew up when it was literally held together with widgets built by unskilled prisoners at breakneck speed. 

 

Yeah but each unit would have clearly been producing one small part very fast and continuously.

 

Andor is maybe the best Starwars product ever. Very adult and high quality instead of the usual childish shit that hints at greater things 

[Pob]

I really like this guy's video essays. He just did one on Andor:

 

 

[Popo]

16 hours ago, pastry said:

it adds a lot to the universe

You’ve just put your finger on why this is a successful slice of Star Wars. Unlike the rest of them, it doesn’t riff endlessly on the visual style and tropes of the original trilogy without adding fresh of its own. Andor is basically all fresh ideas and takes. 

[Mogster]

17 hours ago, pastry said:

I hope they remake all of it! Reboot from Ep1, please!

A full on remake in this style would certainly be cool, if a bit BSG, but probably not really necessary.

 

What this will do though is open the door for more Star Wars in this style, and possibly other styles too now its proven that Star Wars works just fine in other genres.

[ZOK]

You’ll all remember me posting on several occasions that if they remade The Thin Red Line shot for shot with the American soldiers replaced by Storm Troopers and the Japanese soldiers replaced by Rebels it would be the best Star Wars ever made.

 

It’s quite clear that Tony Gilroy read those posts and spent many years trying to work out how to make it happen, then gave it all up as a complete waste of time and wrote this instead.

[monkeydog]

Phew! Even with added lasers and spaceships The Thin Red Line would still be the most boring 3 hrs committed to celluloid.  Terrence Mallick, what an absolute hack.