The Mandalorian Season 3 (2023) Review

With Disney having a mixed reputation for how it has handled Star Wars, The Mandalorian has been universally loved and the third season of the show finished this week and it is about time I reviewed it. The premise of the show sees after the events of The Book Of Boba Fett Din Djarin & Grogu reunited and heading to Mandalore in order for the titular character to be redeemed in the eyes of his clan. 

Main Character

Pedro Pascal is back to voice Din Djarin and does a fantastic job in the role. His character has development this season and Pascal has become iconic in his voice acting role. There are some issues with how his character is presented but I don't think it has anything to do with Pascal and his great job. Credit has to go to Lateef Crowder & Barry Lowin who physically play The Mandalorian the majority of the time and do a seamless job in the role. 

Supporting Characters

Katee Sackhoff reprises her role as Bo-Katan and is fantastic in this season. The show puts way more spotlight on her and Sackhoff nails it, she is the real heart of the this season of the show and she is great at it. The dynamic between her and Din Djarin is really well realised and she also has a great dynamic with other characters on the show. Grogu is back reunited by Din Djarin and though there isn't as much time focused on him, he is till adorable and the more we learn about his character, the more interesting that the character becomes. Carl Weathers is back a Greef Karga and it has been really nice seeing his development over the 3 seasons, he is given more to do here and he is a constantly entertaining part of the show. Emily Swallow reprises her role as The Armourer and she is possibly the most interesting character on the entire show, the mystery behind her provides the intrigue needed to make this character worth the extra screen time she gets here. Giancarlo Esposito is back as Moff Gideon and though he isn't in the season much, his character is really well handled and Esposito is an amazing character that can just bring an aura to this performance. 

Story 

The overall story of The Mandalorians trying to find a home is interesting. We are introduced to different leaders in Mandalorian culture and seeing how these factions are usually enemies being forced to try and work together to save their planet. But there are some big issues with the story here, the main one being that the focus is taken off of Din Djarin & Grogu meaning we have other characters taking the lead which doesn't work as well. It feels like the story is trying to already fill in loads of gaps between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy that it is moving away from where I think the focus should be. 

Script

The script is okay, these characters are mostly ones we have spent time with and have grown to care about. The script keeps with this and they are given some chance to shine. But there is a reason that there are no new interesting characters and there was so much filler that by the time we got to the end it felt a bit rushed. 

Style 

The show looks amazing, it is a legit movie budget style here. The action scenes are also really well handled with all the action scenes being a pure joy to watch, seeing multiple different Star Wars locations is really fun. But the pacing of this season is all off, there is too much focus on other characters that the show that it doesn't quite work or make you care about the main story. Some of the tone also feels a bit out of place, one episode in particular. 

Overall

Overall, The Mandalorian Season 3 is a good series of TV. It is easily the weakest of this show but there is still good things here, this whole universe needs to get a bit more focused and return to the higher levels of previous seasons. 

Rating - 7/10

Ahsoka Season 1 (2023) Review

It is Star Wars Celebration Europe in London over the next four days and I am so excited that I am going to be there on both Sunday and Monday. But first in the Lucasfilm panel today they revealed the first trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka and it has made its way online and I just watched it and here are my first impressions. 

Is there a connection to Jedi: Fallen Order?

This might be me seeing things but at the beginning of the trailer we see Ahsoka entering a building. But that building has a logo on it that looks incredibly similar to the logo that is used by Cal Kestis in the video game Jedi: Fallen Order to replenish his health and upgrade his abilities. With the upcoming sequel Jedi: Survivor coming out, could we see a live action Cal Kestis? I personally don't think so as it would spoil where the game franchise is heading but thought it was a nice easter egg. 

We see Sabine Wren 

There is so many nods and characters connected to Star Wars Rebels here that this is basically a Star Wars: Rebels sequel. The first character we meet is Sabine Wren played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo and at the end of Rebels Sabine & Ahsoka agreed to try and track down Ezra Bridger. Obviously, between the finale of Rebels and this series something happened which saw them go their different ways. With Sabine being a Mandalorian, I am wondering if she will play a part in that show in the last 2 episodes before her introduction here or whether this will be her debut in live action. 

We then get Hera Syndulla and Chopper

The Star Wars Rebels cameos don't stop there. As right after we are introduced to live action Hera Syndulla who is going to be played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her trusty droid Chopper. They look like they are flying The Phantom as well which was a ship used on the show. At the end of Star Wars: Rebels Hera was a General in the Rebel Alliance and had also had a force sensitive child Jacen. So it will be speculated whether he makes an appearance in the show. 

The show returns to Lothal

In Star Wars Rebels, the major planet was called Lothal. It was the home of the main protagonist Ezra Bridger controlled by The Empire. The end of Rebels saw it under Rebel control and thriving. I wonder that with the heavy links to Rebels here that the final battle could be set on this planet. Similar to how The Mandalorian has used Nevarro over the three seasons. 

Mon Mothma is back. 

One of the best parts of Andor was the performance of Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma and she is shown in this trailer. Canon has confirmed that Mothma is the new leader of the New Republic at this point and The Mandalorian has shown how they have kind of messed up the transition after The Empire. Hopefully, with seeing her character we get a greater understanding as to why there are clear issues. She also has connection to the crew from Rebels as they worked together to help form The Rebel Alliance. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn arrives and is rebuilding The Empire.

For years and years, Star Wars fans have been eagerly anticipating the live action debut of Grand Admiral Thrawn and we are finally getting it here. His character was awesome in Rebels and at the end we saw him disappear with Ezra Bridger. He obviously returns here, we haven't got a casting for him yet and the trailer makes it hard to tell but Lars Mikkelson who voiced him on the show has been the main rumour. It was also cool to hear Ahsoka call him the heir of the Empire which was the name of the books that he made his debut, it makes you think whether Thrawn is behind Moff Gideon's plot in The Mandalorian and whether he could become a bigger villain for this whole universe. 

There are new Sith working for Thrawn. 

We see two new Sith, one male and one female. The male one is played by Ray Stevenson who is a great choice. They are clearly ex-Jedi doing the bidding of our main villain and it will be interesting to work out where they actually came from and how they exactly link to Thrawn. 

The main objective is to find Ezra Bridger

There is a scene in the trailer which sees Sabine looking at a hologram of Ezra and alongside Ahsoka's monologue of there not being many Jedi left makes it clear that finding Ezra is the endgame of the show. Thrawn was the last character to see him so I think that is one of the major reasons that Sabine & Ahsoka want to find him. 

Overall

Overall, after the slight disappointment that has been The Mandalorian Season 3, I am so excited for Ahsoka. As a fan of Star Wars: Rebels and Thrawn I am buzzing and this trailer made me hyped to see how Ahsoka is handled and how it affects the overall Star Wars universe. 

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Review 

DC are in a really interesting position currently. They are stuck between the remnants of the DCEU and the reboot universe being set up by James Gunn. One of the last films of the DCEU is Shazam! Fury of the Gods and I watched it yesterday with this being my review. The premise of the film sees after the events of the first film Shazam! is looking to try and keep his family together while taking on the new threat of the daughters of Atlas. 

Main Character

Zachary Levi reprises his role as the titular character and he does an okay job. He is clearly having a great time in the role and you can't help but enjoy watching him in the role. The main issue though is that he comes across as a bit too annoying for me. His character development is minimal and I just felt like the focus on his humorous side was just a bit too heavy here and that is a shame because if it was a little more balanced this would be deemed as a stronger character. 

Supporting Characters

Helen Mirren plays one of the daughters of Atlas and though this isn't one of her best performances or characters, I liked how she was giving it her all and wanting to make this an enjoyable watch. Mirren does her best to add some star power to this film and an enjoyable character. Djimon Hounsou returns as The Wizard, which is not a spoiler as he is in the trailer. But he is given way more to do in this film and he is certainly an enjoyable aspect of the film that was a pleasant surprise. But the rest of the cast fair worse. Jack Dylan Grazer reprises his role as young Freddie Freeman, he is the young actor who gets the most screen time here and gone is the charming kid from the first film and here is this loud and annoying kid that possibly ruins the entire thing. He gets way too much to do an absolutely nothing works. Lucy Liu & Rachel Zegler play the other daughters of Atlas and they are just really dull, Zegler is a really generic character that offers little and Liu offers incredibly little as well. The child cast is basically cast aside and that is a shame because the aged up versions aren't very good either and I didn't care about any of them at all. 

Story 

I liked how the story of this film really takes place because of events from the previous film and the link is well handled. There were elements of the story that had weight and heart to them but it just isn't emphasised a lot. This film tries to drip in lots of story beats but misses the mark with the majority of them. The motivations of the villains isn't particularly interesting and the whole family dynamic lacks the heart of the previous film. 

Script

This film has some decent drama in it despite the issues I have mentioned earlier in the review. It also has a few funny moments but for a film that relies on comedy it isn't that funny. Unfortunately, it is a weaker script then the previous film and just about gets away with being considered average. 

Style 

The film looks good, the CGI, action scenes and costume design is well done and feels worthy of a big blockbuster superhero film. Though the film isn't particularly well paced, it felt quite long to me despite clocking in at around 2 hours. I also feel the first act took too long to actually get going and thus made it difficult to completely get into the film. 

Overall

Overall, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is an average sequel that is way worse then the original film. It doesn't fit the mould of DC films and I think it is one that can be easily skipped and it won't matter in the long run. 

Rating - 5/10

Secret Invasion Season 1 (2023) Trailer Review

Over the last few years, Marvel Studios has released plenty of the Disney+ shows to a mixed level and the next show is Secret Invasion. The trailer for the show was just released and there was plenty to examine and look at so here is my biggest talking points from the trailer. 

Nick Fury is back on Earth

After the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home it was revealed that Nick Fury was actually stationed in space and had been replaced by Talos. It made fans question just how long Fury has been away from Earth and what he has been up to. The trailer shows that he is back on Earth and clearly it is an important mission that could actually have big implications for the future of The MCU. 

The Skrull are public with their attacks

The first shocking moment of the trailer sees Kingsley Ben-Adir's character who has been confirmed to be a Skrull, set off an explosion in the middle of Moscow. I suspect this will be an attempt to blame this attack on The US and potentially start a war between nations. 

Martin Freeman is back as Everett Ross

We had previous confirmations by footage that certain characters would be returning but I think this is the first time we have seen Everett Ross played by Martin Freeman confirmed for the show. It is interesting as in his appearances so far he has had no connection to Nick Fury. I thought his appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever felt a bit out of place and unnecessary so I hope he actually gets some time to shine here. 

Have the Skrull been working on Earth for a long time? 

There is a shot in the trailer that shows Emilia Clarke's character come across a room of a lot of bodies. These seem to be bodies that the Skrull have overtook and use to their advantage. It makes you wonder how long they have been operating in The MCU as their first appearance was a long time ago in the timeline. 

Is Olivia Coleman's character a Skrull?  

This question could be valid for plenty of the characters showcased in this trailer as due to the shapeshifting ability of the Skrulls any character could be a Skrull. But one that comes across as really shady is Olivia Colemans character. She clearly has a history with Fury, but something just feels wrong about her and her allegiances. 

The lack of Avengers is addressed

Over the years one of the biggest criticism of The MCU is the fact that they have world ending events in solo movies and shows when they have this group of heroes together. This trailer asks the question of where is The Avengers? Fury does make it clear that he wants to do this on his own but I think this was put in here to make it clear that The Avengers are still not really together after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

Is Kingsley Ben-Adir playing Super Skrull? 

One shot from towards the end of the trailer shows Kingsley's Ben Adir using powers that I think looked slightly similar to Reed Richards powers. In the comics, Super Skrull was a character that had all the powers of the Fantastic 4. It would be strange considering we have never seen 3 members of that group for this character to be introduced here, but I think it does look like Super Skrull being here is a possibility. 

Is this the last time we see Nick Fury? 

The Trailer ends quite ominously with Fury saying it is one last fight. I think there is a chance that he is killed off here. Fury was one of the first big characters in the MCU but it does feel to me that potentially this would be an appropriate time to end his story in an effective way. 

Overall

Overall, this trailer was really exciting. I love the tone of it, it seems to be taking itself seriously and leaning more into the spy and political vibes that could provide a unique addition to The MCU.