Welcome back to The Real World According To Sam! Today is Force Friday and we're picking up where we left off last week. Today, we are going to talk about the fifth episode of the Disney + original series, The Mandalorian.
Chapter 5: The Gunslinger
Directed by: Dave Filoni
Written by: Dave Filoni
Synopsis:
On a familiar desert planet, the Mandalorian helps a rookie bounty hunter who is in over his head.
Review:
Chapter 5 is directed and written by Dave Filoni. We talked a lot about him in the review of the very first episode, so let's just jump into talking about the episode already.
This episode starts off instantly with action. The Mandalorian is in his ship, the Razor Crest, with the Child, and they're being attacked. In another starship is an unnamed bounty hunter who is after the Child. With lots of pew pew and slick flying maneuvers, the Razor Crest takes damage and the Mandalorian pulls out victorious after a quick, but awesome exchange of words. That's the opening, and it is fantastic. While every other episode before has had plenty of action, this one starts it off the quickest. You thought the bar fight in Chapter 1 was cool? Wait until you see this...and if you HAVE seen it already and are just here to get more of your Baby Yoda fix, then you KNOW what I'm talking about and I'll bet you love it too.
The main point of this episode is for the Mandalorian to pick up parts to fix his ship and get back to avoiding people who want to take the Child. He lands at Mos Eisley (yes, THAT Mos Eisley, where the cantina is) and ends up taking a bounty job to make some quick credits. It's just another day as a bounty hunter running away from people who want to kill you and take your adopted alien baby.
Character wise, this episode proves the Mandalorian is still just as fun a character as ever. He still hates droids, he still is awesome with combat, but now we also know he can fly pretty well too. The Child is extra extra adorable and by now is one of the main reasons we all keep watching this show...on top of the other 50 good reasons this show provides. We meet a mechanic, a rookie bounty hunter, and a wanted assassin, while also getting to come across some familiar desert dwellers.
Toro Calican is the name of the rookie bounty hunter. He has a tracking fob and a job from the Guild to hunt down the assassin. Toro gains the help of the Mandalorian to complete the job, which would be impossible for him to do alone. So we get a buddy western kind of episode full of bounty hunter action. Also, the assassin, Fennec Shand is played by Ming-Na Wen. If you aren't familiar with her, she was Melinda May in ABCs Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the voice of Mulan in Disney's 1998 animated feature Mulan. I'm a fan of her in both and I think she did a great job here. I've read before (somewhere) that she also does her own stunts, and if this is true, then I have to say I would like to see her in some more Star Wars and Marvel properties if possible. Jake Cannavale played Toro Calican and I thought he did a good job at being just the right amount of overly ambitious and ignorant, as rookies of any occupation can often be. I'm not familiar with anything else he's done, and he hasn't really had any big credits outside of this, but it'd be neat to see him get to do something bigger, potentially as a result of this. Pedro Pascale is still stealing the show as the Mandalorian--when the Child isn't on the screen, of course.
Chapter 5 has some great visuals if you don't mind seeing a lot of Tatooine sand dunes. At Mos Eisley, there is a pretty intense shot of a bunch of Storm Trooper helmets, which I think was done really well. The speeder drives through the desert are pretty awesome, particularly paired with the soundtrack. They're brief, but I liked them a lot. The final combat sequence is very shadowy and contrasts a lot with the rest of the episode, going more towards the vibe from when the Mandalorian broke into the compound back on Nevarro to get the Child back.
My main disappointment with this episode is that there is way less of the Child. While it makes sense, I do wish we could have had a couple more brief scenes with it. It is one of my favorite things about this show, but the episode is still a fantastic one. There you go, I actually have something to very lightly complain about. We do get a brief potential mystery at the end, which is nice, and the action makes up for a lot of the Child's absence. Even with that little gripe, I still give this episode a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯✯. Why? Because it is still a really good time, with great shots, awesome action, and a compelling story.
This concludes another Force Friday review. I'll see you next week to talk about the next episode of The Mandalorian.
Comments
Post a Comment