Andor

"I burn my decency for someone else’s future." Adult, gritty, cold and procedural, deliberately quite "anti-Star Wars" in every respect; often to its own detriment. Andor is its own in both a good and a bad sense, and with an uncompromising vision that is not like what we are used to seeing under this brand (whether in movies, TV shows, comics or games). Untamed and peculiar to the point where it will soon become a lasting cult classic, and like any cult classic, it won't be for everyone. But while no one will ever miss Fett or Obi-Wan, there will always be a demand for adult Star Wars after Andor ends. Of course, there's no point in beating around the bush; for all its undeniable qualities, it mostly shuffles its feet by poisoning the viewer with the opening quartet of episodes. They are boring, grey, with wannabe adult themes and uninteresting characters. But it builds up tremendously, to the point where specifically the sixth to tenth episode segment is the best thing ever produced under the Star Wars banner, it just has nothing to do with it; a positive for me, a negative for others, and rightfully so, since if you want serious adult sci-fi, you're not looking for Star Wars. It rides a wave where the ends justify the means for both sides, it's all about individuals who are damn good at their jobs, where there is no room for emotions and chatter. The political backstage backstabbing under the guise of pretense works, as does the stumbling apparatus of the Empire, its internal struggles and the tension arising purely from dialogue or the unspoken between the lines. It simmers under the surface, I never thought I'd see something so Le Carré (not to mention the obvious inspiration of Melville's Army of Shadows) in a sci-fi guise, let alone in a Star Wars guise. Gilroy has a vision and everything conforms to it (stylization, music, direction, set design), sometimes it's to the detriment, sometimes to the benefit, with the latter outweighing the former. Andor won’t leave you cold and without an opinion, which doesn’t mean it won’t (will) entertain you. If you are able to survive the failed first third and fancy some “proper adult Star Wars”, the chances that you’ll find your next favourite thing are more than slim. | S1: 4/5 | (09/12/2022)

A brilliant, adult series from the Star Wars universe. Admittedly, I was hoping for a bit more from the finale, but it still did something very important that the second season will develop and then connect to Rogue One. Andor is quiet, dark, dirty and cold, brilliantly written and acted. It does a lot of things differently, and it's the best thing the creators could have come up with. Of all the actors, I was probably most pleased with Andy Serkis, not for finally getting a role that makes sense after Snoke in the galaxy far, far away, but for how he handled that role. There are a number of moving, powerful scenes in Andor, but if Serkis's performance doesn't move you just a little bit, I don't know. (23/11/2022)

Star Wars smart and adult; dirty and gritty, full of fear and oppression from tyrants. After the excellent Rogue One, Tony Gilroy outlines the two previous chapters that led to the creation of the rebelion, a grim time when the Empire is at its peak, pushing people in such a way that they've had enough. Andor is not your typical hero, especially by Disney standards today. He kills on sight and often sends his friends to the guillotine by his inaction, but thanks to his mother, he has something like a moral compass. Diego Luna grows through the role and adds a much more substantial dimension to his character. Stelan Skarsgärd, playing a puppet master and essentially the Emperor's counterpart, steals most of the show for himself (both politically and downright rebellious), as does Andy Serkis as the shift boss. His mini-story alone, with its cruel and unexpectedly realistic ending, shows how much better Andor is than anything Star Wars has offered so far. The end credit scene beautifully foreshadows what is to come, even though, thanks to the film, we know very well how things will end. Brilliant. "I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, has set me on a path from which there's no escape. I yearned to be a savior for injustice without contemplating the cost, and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burned my decency for someone else's future! I burned my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see.” (23/11/2022)