On September 21, another series from the universe of the legendary “Star Wars” started on Disney+, which tells about the future member of the Rebel Alliance, Cassian Andorr. At the same time, viewers were able to watch the first three episodes, and the next nine were released one per week. In this review, we tell you why “Andor” is a good, but not the most spectacular series from a line of projects about events in a distant galaxy.

“Andor” / Andor

Genre fantasy, action, adventure, thriller

Directors Toby Haynes, Benjamin Caron, Suzanne White

In roles Diego Moon, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Archona, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker

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Premiere Disney+

Graduation year 2022

Site IMDb

It was five years before the battle of Yavin. That unfortunate evening was rainy. The neon signs, glowing softly in the puddles, evoked the cyberpunk atmosphere of the cult Blade Runner. In the center of the frame is a man in a hoodie. He enters an underground brothel, where a beauty with a fantastic hairstyle is already ready to offer something interesting.

But the man did not come here for entertainment, but to find his sister. In this character, the viewer immediately recognizes a familiar face, because it is Cassian Andor. He would later play an important role in the Rebel Alliance’s battle against the Empire. But for now, he’s only looking for parts of damaged Imperial ships to sell on the black market.

Cassian has nothing to do with the rebellion, and the Alliance itself is still in its infancy. Andor falls into the Empire’s field of vision due to an incident near a brothel. There, two guards who work for a large corporation will try to rob him. But the hero will put up a worthy fight, which is why the company’s security service will first launch a hunt for him, and then more serious enemies.

“Andor” is a spin-off and at the same time a prequel to the highly successful blockbuster “Rogue One”, which thundered on the big screens at the end of 2016. This project clearly stands out from other Star Wars projects for many reasons.

First of all, it is definitely not a sweeping space opera or even a dynamic space western, which was the film about Han Solo. Here, the story is more down-to-earth because it lacks followers of the light or dark side of the Force, lightsaber battles, Skywalkers and other classic elements of the brand. This is a breath of fresh air, but by no means lowers the stakes.

Secondly, in terms of genre, “Andor” can be characterized, apart from the fantastic component, as a political thriller with elements of a spy thriller. Therefore, the story becomes more realistic and even close to us, and this is already something new for ZV. It is not surprising, if you look at who worked on the creation of the series. The showrunner and main screenwriter was Tony Gilroy, who was previously responsible for the script for the Jason Bourne films.

Finally, thirdly, Andor completely feels like one of the most grown-up stories in the entire franchise. From the very beginning, the authors show a brothel, and not the usual hangout with a bunch of whimsical and strange visitors. Because the main actors are people. And as much as it is typical for them to make mistakes, betray or suffer, the heroes here also have typical human traits.

In addition, here you will definitely not find a comedic character designed to lighten the atmosphere and amuse the viewer. There’s probably no better time than Andy Serkis to include a little Gollum during an inspirational speech. But this is not the case when you want to laugh.

And now, attention: as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sex appeared in Star Wars. Let the love scene itself, as it was in “Eternal” by Chloe Zhao, in this case, there is no, but now we at least know that ZV with sex is not the same as in the USSR. Somewhere behind the scenes, but it is there.

On the other hand, “Andor” is created in such an unattractive way that viewers may want to quit watching it. The story swings unforgivably slowly. Surviving the first two episodes is not easy at all. In the third, there will be a slight revival associated with the appearance of the character of Stellan Skarsgård, but later the story will return to a leisurely rhythm.

In general, the lion’s share of the timing is built on solid dialogues. Sometimes they are very long and filmed with a static camera. Episodes last an average of 40-45 minutes, so it takes a good amount of stamina to get through them. For Star Wars, this is obviously nonsense, and such a pace can greatly spoil the overall impression. However, in the second half of the season, there are more interesting events, sometimes it will be impossible to take your eyes off the screen.

At the same time, the creators do not try to play on the nostalgia of fans, as “Obi-Wan Kenobi” did, although there are several old acquaintances here. Also, the authors do not demonstrate spectacles of the level of “The Mandalorian”. There are not so many fight scenes for 12 episodes.

“Andor” is primarily about political intrigues, the beginning of a rebellion against the dictatorship (Russians, here are the instructions), as well as about one’s own ambitions. In this context, one of the brightest characters is the imperial officer Daedra Miro. She resembles a strict math teacher who won’t rest until the equation is solved.

In general, this work is really significantly different from its predecessors. So, for some, such a sharp change in the tone of the story will seem successful, for others, it will be harmful. But be that as it may, the second and final season has already been announced. He will tell about the next few years of the hero’s life, preceding the events of “Rogue One”. It can be assumed that the most interesting story of Cassian Andorra is yet to come.

Pros:
unlike the typical Star Wars, adult story, genre change, interesting characters, several exciting storylines (eg in prison), location shooting, powerful final episode

Cons:
extremely inflated procrastination, primarily dialogues, uninteresting storylines (for example, the political affairs of Senator Mon Mothma), a persistent feeling that all the most interesting things were left for the next season

Conclusion:
“Andor” honestly tries to expand the horizons of the universe of “Star Wars” and represents to the viewer a serious, gloomy and more down-to-earth story. But he does not spare the viewer’s time at all and is in no hurry, which can be very annoying