6 ms·

I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan, fell in love as a young kid. I remember being in 8th grade and being so excited for the prequels, and then walking out of the thea

by fettel 1y ago

I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan, fell in love as a young kid. I remember being in 8th grade and being so excited for the prequels, and then walking out of the theater after Ep. 1 and feeling like something was just... wrong. I knew that it was junk, and not the Star Wars I fell in love with. And from there it was pretty much further and further downhill, with occasional glimpses of hope that were quickly dashed. I tried to watch a couple more entries after the prequels, but I finally gave up and wrote it off. I've missed almost the entire last 10 years of content. A buddy at work finally convinced me to watch Andor, and I'm so grateful he did. It is superb. I read a reddit comment that said, "This is the show that made me feel ok to be a Star Wars fan again," and I can't agree more. In a lot of ways it still feels different from Star Wars. It's hard to explain because it's in the same universe, and has similar themes (which is why it doesn't feel totally out of place), but the tone is different. It's not about Jedi knights on a mission from destiny. It's about ordinary people making decisions, and choosing hope, in the face of the oppressive might of the Empire. But god is it good. Excellent writing, great acting, suspense, intrigue, nuance, and powerful emotional scenes (that are earned by proper story buildup). So all of that is to say, it might not be exactly what you expect, and it won't simply be "Star Wars, again," but yes you should absolutely watch it. It's a fine work of art.

lawgimenez 1y ago
As someone who’s starting reading non-jedi Star Wars books, I realized that Jedis are just a splash in the ocean. There’s Thrawn universe, Battlefront, Rebel era, X-wings, Bad Batch, too many to mention.
MangoToupe 1y ago
I actually greatly prefer the prequels to the original trilogy. I suspect it has to do with the fact that I was a child when episode 1 came out and I was still a child when the prequels concluded. A big part of the problem is that these movies were written, basically, for 12-year old boys. You're not going to be able to get that spark back as an adult, and it's not easy to make a movie that appeals so strongly to both demographics. And much like wu-tang, star wars (and other fun stories) is for the children. Andor is at least more adult-oriented, I think. So, do I like the new movies? No, I literally slept through the last two they were so boring, and I found the lack of coherent plot baffling. And yes, it does make me a little sad. But seeing little girls dressed up like Rey, I'm reminded that there are better things for me to care about.
- ghaff 1y ago
  I think it's probably even truer of TV series than films that you can't really go home again. But then I'm probably forgetting various Disney and other films that I probably loved as a kid that I'd find it torture to sit through today.
  - MangoToupe 1y ago
    Some stuff this is true with, but other stuff can age better. I loved MASH as a kid (huge props to the writers for pulling that off), but it's side-splitting as an adult.
    - ghaff 1y ago
      Certainly one of the great series. I think a lot of 60s sitcoms probably age less well.
      - jimbokun 1y ago
        Just FYI, MASH was 70s into early 80s, not 60s.
        ghaff 1y ago
        Very aware of that. And probably 70s hold up better than 60s but with a little bit of research could probably come up with cringeworthy 70s and 80s examples to (of which MASH is certainly not one).
  - rockemsockem 1y ago
    IDK, I feel like good kids movies tend to stay good into adulthood. Presumably you wouldn't feel like it's torture to sit through something like the Lion King (the original of course) as an adult? Like I'm not saying they're amazing movies, but I feel like good kids movies aren't painful for adults to watch. You can still have good writing, it just has to be something a kid can follow.
mopenstein 1y ago
This can't be true. I'm reading all these positive accolades for Andor in this thread and there's no way I'm watching it. Star Wars after Jedi is garbage. Lucas got me with those awful prequels and Disney got me with the first 2 new movies. I will never watch another Star Wars anything outside of the original 3 movies. Either you never really abandon your Star Wars fandom or you're lying. There can be no other choice. One cannot be shat upon by corporate hucksters that much and still think, "okay. I'll give 'em one more chance to shit in my eyes and ears" Is just not possible.
- dbalatero 1y ago
  Lol ok calm down. I agree with your quality assessment broadly, but I just finished Andor and it's excellent.
jefurii 1y ago
I had the same reaction to you seeing Ep. 1 for the first time, but I've come to respect the prequels. Not for their acting certainly, but for the way Lucas' scifi retelling of Roman history is so relevant to our current moment. Clone Wars and Rebels both start out pretty childish I think by the end they're nearly as gritty and serious as Andor. Update: Clone Wars especially benefits from finding a good best-of episode guide to help move the story along.

by fettel 1y ago

lawgimenez 1y ago

As someone who’s starting reading non-jedi Star Wars books, I realized that Jedis are just a splash in the ocean. There’s Thrawn universe, Battlefront, Rebel era, X-wings, Bad Batch, too many to mention.

MangoToupe 1y ago

I actually greatly prefer the prequels to the original trilogy. I suspect it has to do with the fact that I was a child when episode 1 came out and I was still a child when the prequels concluded. A big part of the problem is that these movies were written, basically, for 12-year old boys. You're not going to be able to get that spark back as an adult, and it's not easy to make a movie that appeals so strongly to both demographics. And much like wu-tang, star wars (and other fun stories) is for the children. Andor is at least more adult-oriented, I think. So, do I like the new movies? No, I literally slept through the last two they were so boring, and I found the lack of coherent plot baffling. And yes, it does make me a little sad. But seeing little girls dressed up like Rey, I'm reminded that there are better things for me to care about.

ghaff 1y ago
I think it's probably even truer of TV series than films that you can't really go home again. But then I'm probably forgetting various Disney and other films that I probably loved as a kid that I'd find it torture to sit through today.
- MangoToupe 1y ago
  Some stuff this is true with, but other stuff can age better. I loved MASH as a kid (huge props to the writers for pulling that off), but it's side-splitting as an adult.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    Certainly one of the great series. I think a lot of 60s sitcoms probably age less well.
    - jimbokun 1y ago
      Just FYI, MASH was 70s into early 80s, not 60s.
      - ghaff 1y ago
        Very aware of that. And probably 70s hold up better than 60s but with a little bit of research could probably come up with cringeworthy 70s and 80s examples to (of which MASH is certainly not one).
- rockemsockem 1y ago
  IDK, I feel like good kids movies tend to stay good into adulthood. Presumably you wouldn't feel like it's torture to sit through something like the Lion King (the original of course) as an adult? Like I'm not saying they're amazing movies, but I feel like good kids movies aren't painful for adults to watch. You can still have good writing, it just has to be something a kid can follow.

mopenstein 1y ago

This can't be true. I'm reading all these positive accolades for Andor in this thread and there's no way I'm watching it. Star Wars after Jedi is garbage. Lucas got me with those awful prequels and Disney got me with the first 2 new movies. I will never watch another Star Wars anything outside of the original 3 movies. Either you never really abandon your Star Wars fandom or you're lying. There can be no other choice. One cannot be shat upon by corporate hucksters that much and still think, "okay. I'll give 'em one more chance to shit in my eyes and ears" Is just not possible.

dbalatero 1y ago
Lol ok calm down. I agree with your quality assessment broadly, but I just finished Andor and it's excellent.

jefurii 1y ago

I had the same reaction to you seeing Ep. 1 for the first time, but I've come to respect the prequels. Not for their acting certainly, but for the way Lucas' scifi retelling of Roman history is so relevant to our current moment. Clone Wars and Rebels both start out pretty childish I think by the end they're nearly as gritty and serious as Andor. Update: Clone Wars especially benefits from finding a good best-of episode guide to help move the story along.