Critics welcome The Mandalorian into the Star Wars universe

The very first live-action Star Wars television show — The Mandalorian — finally made its debut today on Disney’s shiny new streaming platform. The show is set right after the fall of the galactic empire in Return of the Jedi and follows a bounty hunter (Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal) as he plies his trade on the outskirts of the galaxy.

Now that the first episode is out, reviews are pouring in. It’s still early — Disney didn’t send out advance screeners — but the show is sitting at 90% at Rotten Tomatoes. Let’s see what the critics have to say.

Chaim Gartenberg of The Verge says the premiere episode “does a lot of heavy lifting to acclimate viewers to a part of the Star Wars universe that feels both familiar and new.”

"The Mandalorian may not be the next Game of Thrones, and Disney+ may not succeed as a service. But what’s here so far is a good Star Wars TV show, one that takes the existing lore and setting and expands it in a new and exciting way. For now, that’s more than enough of a reason to watch."

Paul Tassi of Forbes was also a fan. “It’s great. It really is,” he said. He also talked about a certain plot twist towards the end of the episode. “This was a very, very cool turn, and I understand why Disney wanted to keep it under wraps. This has massive implications for the entire Star Wars universe and when paired with a show that’s as good as The Mandalorian looks to be, that’s very exciting news indeed. More to come.”

Maybe that’s why Disney didn’t give out screeners.

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN.

As much as Tassi enjoyed The Mandalorian, his colleague at Forbes, Scott Mendelson, didn’t care for it at all. “The production value is there, but the first episode of the Disney+ show feels awkwardly staged, and it’s thus far coasting on the Star Wars brand name,” he said.

"The biggest problem, at least in this episode, is how oddly stagey it looks and feels. I can’t put my finger on it, but it feels less like a cinematic TV show (or even a conventional TV show) and more like a dress rehearsal of a very expensive play. I can’t speak to the frame rate or the presentation (yes, I turn off those settings on my televisions), but the entire show has a level of artifice that is distracts from the onscreen pleasures. Yes, there are interesting Star Wars nuggets, some fun creatures and a few promising story threads. But, thus far, it is a conventional and awkwardly staged space western that is coasting on the Star Wars brand name. The force is not yet strong with The Mandalorian."

Brian Lowry of CNN was more complimentary. “The show’s brisk, handsomely produced 39-minute premiere is a great deal of fun, giving fans reason to have a good feeling about this.”

Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier gave a spoiler-filled review you can check out here, but the takeaway is that he loved it. “This was George Lucas’ dream. A Star Wars TV show that could stand up to the quality of his movies. But, in the past, it simply couldn’t be done. It was too expensive an idea. Now though, with the release of Disney+, not only can it be done, it has been done and Star Wars as we know it will never be the same.”

Bryan Young at Slashfilm liked the “classic spaghetti western” feel of the show and applauded its accessibility:

"The first episode of The Mandalorian provides Star Wars fans with everything they’d want in a tease for a new series. It starts stronger than any of the animated series have so far and offers more intriguing questions than answers. It has the legacy of classic film that gives Star Wars its identity and offers a rich playground to expand the mythos. Casual and super fans alike will find plenty to love about this new scripted drama and it already feels like a welcome addition in the Star Wars universe."

There are loads of other reviews out there, many of them filled to the brim with spoilers, so beware. By and large, it looks like critics agree that creator/showrunner Jon Favreau and producer/writer Dave Filoni have successfully woven The Mandalorian into the history and lore of the wider series. Let’s hope the rest of The Mandalorian hit the mark like the premiere.

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The next episode will be available this Friday, then each new episode will be released every Friday for the rest of the eight-episode first season.

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