This video is SPOILER-FREE, so you can watch even if you haven't seen the show or aren't caught up! Check out my podcast: cinemaofmeaning.com Support my channel on Patreon: patreon.com/thomasflight
your journalism into cinema is the best, can you write a story on the marginalization of black men today in cinema - for example the long history of wearing a dress? or how every black man ALSO has to be queer or disabled or mutiliated? how the character has to be heavy-handed with intersectionality so that the image of strong black men is deteriorated? ok thanks, long time watcher and lover of all things Flight
Not having seen Andor (but being a Londoner and going to school as a kid near Barbican), those shots immediately triggered a "I think I know where that is" thought. Its a great place to wonder around and if you're ever back you should try to arrange a viewing in one of the apartments in the complex. They are incredible inside as well. One of my bucket list goals is to own an apartment there. Also, what brand are your glasses? I really like the styling and would love to check out whoever makes them 🙌
Thanks for your review and opinions on the show, but I find many characters annoying, although there are a few of them that are really well interpreted. But those that aren't pull me out of the story every time. And the woke factor is also quite heavy. All these old ugly men and the female officer and her angry unsympathetic behavior don't make me enjoy their scenes. Moreover, some of the characters' behaviors seem so forced, not natural. The protagonists, be they the good or the bad guys, should be enjoyable and well interpreted for the viewer to see. But, as stated before, some are annoying and irritating. As a viewer, and fan, I want a villain to to be enjoyable, maybe mysterious, and interesting, I want to understand his motivations, what drives them, him or her in a story. But as a story, Andor is well written and better narrated as so many other Disney Star Wars stories. / greetings from SICILY
the sad thing is, in terms of production costs, doing things with a real set as opposed to CGI everything would probably be cheaper. So the producers who love money more than anything, are spending more money than they have to, to create inferior stories. The Andor formula is also very replicable and unlikely to ever get old, like the myth of the hero's journey. Hopefully we get an andor for other franchises like LotR and Harry Potter. Producers are not the most famous for their flexibility though, or admitting they're wrong, so it'll probably take 10 years before other studios catch on to a winner formula.
The usage and creation of CGIs have been the death of just a lot of Hollywood movies nowadays. They're too lazy to make real sets and hire actual actors or too ambitious with their ideas to the point of replicating it realistically is close to impossible. CGIs should be used sparingly or thoroughly like Avatar. To use cgi regularly and then not is very jarring for viewers making the visuals terrible.
@@spicy5397 Use of real sets has become more expensive as CGI takes hold - There as less companies producing sets to a high enough quality to film / tv as most have had to adapt to CGi. Their costs have gone up to cover for this which si why most studios tend to choose CGI as it can be much cheaper if done correctly
More like a meal cooked by your grandparents/parents. A meal cooked with care and attention. It's a very honest show, truly deserving of the label ''art''
From the acting to the pacing and cinematography, Andor is easily one of the strongest (if not THE strongest) Disney Star Wars entries. I really hope Disney learns the right lessons from it.
Right now Disney is in crisis in all departments of the company, the good news for the audience is that they either learn to tell consistent stories or disappear.
A lot of this reminded me of techniques we saw in Dune, from the sound of the water glass sliding across the table, to fingers running through sand, to the views of the desert through the ornithopter windows-but I love how these techniques in Andor specifically contribute to the theme of the show as you’ve pointed out here. It makes it feel less like a copy/paste and makes it clear that this was a meaningful creative decision.
That’s a really good connection I didn’t even make til seeing this comment. That was some of my favorite aspects of Dune was the focus on the reality of living on Arrakis and the human moments of the Fremen
@@nickywags0712 yeah I highly recommend the documentary on DUNE as the whole sound design is just a masterclass on world building and immersiveness. The department completely knocked it out of the park and the way Denis integrated them in the process of making the film, including the soundtrack was just such a smart move, I'm surprised how few filmmakers even today still make so little use of it.
The reason I adore Andor so much was the depiction of The Empire. I have worked for some big bureaucracies, and the meetings, inside competition, power play, etc. were chilling for me. Unlike movies like Avatar which slaps you in the face with "THIS IS AMERICA MILITARISM AND THAT IS BAD" it felt like Andor just gave you a peak inside the middle management of the empire and let you figure it out for your self. I have rarely enjoyed squirming so much.
Exactly, for this and all of Star Wars not not be seen as an allegory for communal democracy rebelling against a capitalistic fascism is surprising. Like, I'm surprised it took until the end of Mandalorian and Andor for me to connect the dots of the story as allegory, but I also only watched the star wars movies as a kid, not an adult with the relevant context lol.
I spoke to some family members about that yesterday. The meetings were enthralling for me. I've seen some of this at play in a business setting. In Star Wars, it's a little different, because in addition to missed promotions, demotions, and firing, death is a possible outcome. Maybe not so much as in more cartoonish Star Wars films/shows, but still, a very serious situation. For some viewers, apparently, it was boring, and nothing was happening. Crom bless them all. They don't know what a high turnover environment feels like.
I do feel obligated to make the point that the focus of Avatar isn't on the human side (yet), so you can't exactly focus on that part to the same degree that Andor does. That being said, I also absolutely loved the empire in Andor.
Besides the eating and drinking, to me a great scene that emphasized the fact that these are all just normal people was when the two Imperials were asking to get the night off to see the eye of Aldhani. Just like a normal conversation you'd have with your boss at work.
And the best part, it wasn't even a throwaway line, or a worldbuilding line. That scene was still integral to the plot because it shows Lt. Gorn covering his tracks by making it seem like he want more security in the vault, instead of minimizing it so he'd be in the clear afterwards, if he'd survived. It displays competence and cunning of a character, while expanding on the theme of regularity. Goddamn what a show.
@@thumos it's his journey to becoming a true believer in the Rebellion, like he was in Rogue One. At the start of the show he's not interested in joining the Rebellion, but his experiences throughout the show changes him. I think Nemik's manifesto as a plot device shows this pretty effectively.
@@thumos Andor's that guy who murders a crippled man (who just helped him) in his first scene in Rogue One right? yeh i cant say i really identify with him either lol
The tie fighter scenes on aldhani are what really sold me on the show. I already loved it, but seeing those things fly and actually be terrifying an not just fodder was so nice.
it reminds me of that video game that came out a bit ago in the Dragon ball Z universe. The twist being this game is basicly Dead by daylight. You are a normal human level person expreinceing the events of the show as the villens literally eat your freinds alive. Or blow them up with their minds. Or suffer horrid mortal injury and just get back up. Or erase mountions with a punch. The game failed due to other factors but the idea of it was awsome. Experiencing Goku VS Frezzia a thing we have seen for years..from Bulma or yashorbis POV is a whole diffrent feeling when these too guys are actualy destroying the world by screaming loudly. Dragon ball super did something like that for one scene near the start. Where Krillien was spending his days as a viglantie helping the police department. We seen a car chase threw the pov of the random thugs..as the weakest of the z fighters just up and teleports towards the car lifts it up and throws it.
@@ilyali It's absolutely on purpose, Lucas was heavily influenced by WWII, X-Wings and TIEs fight like Spitfires and Messerschmitts, the death star trench run is almost shot for shot "the dam busters", the star destroyers are great lumbering battleships/aircraft carriers, Imperial officers dress like nazi officers
The good thing is how it transitions from crime to a war movie to a heist, then back to crime, a prison break and essentially Les Miserables in space. It's like you're watching three different movies in three different genres, that somehow exist inside the same continuity.
You're right and it's not just our imaginations. They had 3 different directors do 3 different blocks of episodes, each bringing their A-Game to their respective assignments. That's why each "group" of episodes was so distinctive. REALLY well done. I've heard that Season 2 is going to have a different set of 3 directors, so it will definitely be interesting to see how that ends up.
For the first time in any Star Wars lone TIE Fighters were legit terrifying, rather than simply cannon fodder. I especially remember the scene where one TIE runs super low to the river, kicking up a fantail, and then flies right over the crew’s heads letting them know they could have just have been strafed if the pilot wanted to. The noise alone, which has always been iconic, was so well edited and engineered - like at a race track when you’re near a high output engine revving LOL but it’s a TIE Fighter 👍
One of the stark differences I found between Andor and other Star Wars media that really hooked me from the start was the dialogue. Whenever you hear a conversation in Andor it genuinely feels like people talking with one another vs what a lot of the other movies/shows in SW have done. A huge step up coming from Obi Wan...
yes i find alot of lines in the prequels feel fairly cliched and simply announcing their intent. In Andor, you can see and hear the fear tension in their eyes and voice
Exactly. Andor's characters talk like real people. Characters in the other recent shows made the insane decision to mimic George Lucas' godawful dialogue in the prequels.
The other thing I really love about Andor is the tension that is missing from literally every post Disney Star Wars media. The empire is a true threat to the characters, and the characters react as such. Not having the omnipotent view makes the audience take the ride with the characters and also creates tension. Having grand, epic battles is great and all, but if the audience doesn't care about the characters or the story, it's largely just eye candy. The Andor team did an amazing job with this prequel when the audience already knows what happens.
I couldn't disagree more. None of the characters are particularly interesting, especially the main character. The empire is as inept as always, they try to sugarcoat it by throwing in some black stormtroopers, one of which gets promptly dropped by Andor like it's nothing, they pull more or less all security from Bix, which enables Andor to practically twerk his way into her cell with (almost)no opposition. There's so many more issues I have with the show, so I'll just end it with saying that I can't wait 'till Mando comes back. That's by far the BEST Star Wars TV-Show produced so far.
It's quite clear that Andor is a character-driven narrative while the other Star Wars projects are plot-driven. You can see that plots take centre stage in the original trilogy, the three prequels and the three sequels, the characters there are just plot place-holders. While in Andor, Toni Gilroy focuses on the causality of characters. We care so much about the people in this world, even if their screentime is just a few minutes. Even the robot makes us emotional. Andor is simply good writing.
Not only is it a well-written character driven story, but it gives equal weight many main characters. Andor may be a main character, but we follow several others. And there are literally dozens of characters who are fleshed out so well. In 12 episodes or less we understand the entire community of Ferrix, the motivations and backgrounds of the heist crew, the prisoners, everyone on Coruscant. Credit to the writers and actors that they don't need a ton of dialogue or lore-dropping to inform viewers either.
Andor puts the focus on the character development, while painting the plot as it goes along. Despite the viewers knowing where that ultimately ends, we experience it develop through the perspective of the characters, most of which don’t know where it’s leading to.
The writing is so good I even care about Imperial middle managers and flunkies. And the monologues are incredible - like modern Shakespeare set in space.
I used to vacation as a kid in the same areas of Scotland that they filmed these scenes. You'd be out on a hike and suddenly, unannounced you'd see and hear a Royal Air Force Tornado jet fighter screaming through the Glen (valley) at just a couple hundred feet up. (pilot training). If you'd walked high, sometimes you'd even be above the plane. It was hella loud, and not a little bit scary. Seeing these Tie scenes in Andor I couldn't help but feel that capturing that feel was the intention - perhaps by someone in the writing / location team that had also experienced the shock of such violent power in such an otherwise quiet and tranquil place.
@@LittlePixelTM Yeah, I've been on hikes in similar areas in the lake district used for RAF training, and having a jet come screaming through the valley was always very much a shock, both with how loud it is, and how you barely get any warning until they're already right there, given the speeds involved. Rather than a distant plane engine, going 'oh there's a plane', then seeing it, it's more 'what's that noise' then it's right there, chasing it's own sound waves.
Another note on sensory details: I can tell you didn't add it out of sensitivity lol, but the moment when all the racks of metal credits slid in the aircraft and hit the kid was BRUTAL to watch. They really made it feel real there.
Having seen a cart of that gold dump during loading, you know that even a single bar hitting him could have done serious damage. This show does an amazing job of letting you see what the stakes and elements are without making it obvious that it's laying it all out for later
Andor is, by far, my absolute favorite piece of Star Wars media. It makes the universe of Star Wars real and empathetic in a way that none of the big production spectacles ever could. The casting, acting, cinematography, lighting, dialogue, pacing, VFX, editing, music, and so on and on... ALL of it is completely cohesive and lends itself to the most impactful version of the Star Wars world I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I'm definitely going to rewatch it after seeing the season finale tonight.
I think it lacks the economy of storytelling of ESB. It's hard to compare, I know, but ESB is still the benchmark for me. Andor still has some odd choices and over-reliance on our own cultural biases and norms, which ESB doesn't. Andor has baddies wearing jodhpurs like Nazis (but in a horseless culture), people saying "aficionado" (in a culture without Spanish bullfighting), and actors who are Indian wearing clothes that look a bit more Indian than everyone else's clothes... i.e. the showrunners are relying on our brains to make quick connections rather than doing actual worldbuilding. The way Mon Mothma's husband is obviously a bit of an asshole because he affects a vaguely Japanese hairstyle is an interesting one... you might not consciously think of him as a wannabe/tryhard/poseur just because he's white but dresses and does his hair Japanaese... but your brain did. ESB is very good at not relying on cultural tropes and cliches at all. Lando is "dodgy/untrustworthy" from the start because he's super-smooth with Leia, not because he's black or dressed a certain way. Yoda does not have any particular human cultural attribute, he's just designed to look as least like a grand master as possible... he is a green bug-eyed alien, which we normally dismiss, of course... Boba Fett doesn't lean into Nazi imagery like Vader at all, he's just still and faceless (ie only in it for the money). And so on...
@@gospelofrye6881 - I agree with your objective observations, I disagree with your valuations of them. Those mental shortcuts have been part of Star Wars since the OT. The storm trooper/nazi imagery especially. But more importantly, those mental shortcuts are effective in conveying the intended impressions visually, and are a sign of GOOD design. On top of that, even if those mental shortcuts were missing, the writing and acting in Andor is so good, that those shortcuts aren't necessary at all, but they do indeed help to amplify the feelings. While Star Wars does take place in a galaxy far far away, and there is room for arguments that there should be far more alien and out-there world-building, if the world is too alien it becomes difficult to empathize with the characters, and to put ourselves in their shoes, which, in most cases, is the main goal of good story writing. Something else you may have noticed about Andor is its huge lack of non-human aliens in the main cast. This is 100% intentional, and personally, I feel it was the best choice for the story they're trying to tell because if the cast were half composed of non-humans, then our ability to place ourselves in the shoes of the characters and empathize with everyone involved becomes difficult if not impossible. Granted, there should definitely be more alien main characters in Star Wars, however, they would have to be heavily humanized and given a great deal of expressiveness if we want them to have emotional weight as *characters* instead of what all alien creatures always end up being in movies and shows: either talking animals or incomprehensible dangers. Andor made the right choice, IMO.
The visuals in Andor definitely reminded me of Dennis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and Dune. But while those films had big grandiose shots, Andor takes that style and gives it more ground perspective.
It's not as much of a difference between the two. Yes, BR and Dune do have huge grandiose shots, but most of them (not all, but most) are connected to the characters perspective. More so in Dune. There are establishing and overview shots, but we see Atreides ships coming out of the water from Paul's perspective, we see Arrakeen for the first time from the ornithopters, same as we see the worm, same as the two big wide shots of battle for Arrakeen are shown looking "over the shoulder" of Duncan's ornithopter and from the perspective of Paul and Lady Jessica. So I believe Villeneuve understands and uses that perspective method quite well too.
@@LoisoPondohva Absolutely! And I love Villeneuve for it. I also wanted to mention 2014's Godzilla which is another movie I love for its artistic style and very grounded cinematography. They capture the scale of these behemoths by always placing the camera where a human could be. In a skyscraper, on the ground, in a helicopter etc. But this won't be a coincidence, because Godzilla was directed by Gareth Edwards who directed Rogue One which is the inspiration for Andor. Andor is also written by Tony Gilroy who wrote Rogue One as well!! We've come full circle on the cinematic excellence scale.
Scrolled down to the comment section to say this. Found out its has already been said. Respect o7. Ps: Haven't watched Andor yet but looking at the scenes Thomas showed, it was more than enough to give Vileneuve aesthetic.
To add onto this something that I love about this show is the humanization of the actual people in the Empire and it's not done in a "everyone has a good and bad side!", they are still bad guys but we see their human elements, like soldiers sitting down being "lazy" until a superior shows up and they act all proper. To me the superior showing up also represent the audience in the previous films and shows, it's the camera starting to roll so everyone is in position and acting, while in this show we're seeing the behind the scenes footage before the camera starts rolling.
Yeah I loved the bit on Aldhani where the Imperial guys were asking permission to watch the aurora. Just quite a pure thing for some of these horrible bastards to appreciate and want to see.
And it's contrasted by this being the first time we really see the Empire being the shitty fascist regime it actually is. Regular human beings being bigoted, not giving two shits about the sanctity of human life, developing the world's largest surveillance state and cops literally pulling the "hey why don't you calm down" at perfectly calm people trick. ...Specifically to round them up for prison labor. God I love this show.
Right, also the amount of ACTORS and not just those same bunch of faces which you re obliged to link to "mAiN hErO" or "bAd gUy": in Andor everyone seems havign something to say, everyone and every details feel alive. Obi Wan show did the opposite, like "who cares about people, HERE YOUR HERO BE FANATIC ABOUT IT" and stop, no space for giving a Spirit to world building and Story.
The empire is portrayed as normal people doing evil. Full of under-surveillance bureaucrats. Some are really evil, some are just existing in that machine. They try not to be proactive or competent, but only reactive, afraid of punishment. The oppression is inside the imperial machine as well. Actually at all levels from top to botton. Even the "apparent" subservience of Vader in relation to the Emperor is mirrored down in this evil machine.
5:46 this is part of why the shot of the sand spaceport in A New Hope is so compelling. They don't hand you a drone/digital shot of the town and then cut to luke in a bar. They give shots of luke and obiwan in the car, driving past security, getting out of the car, and walking into the bar. It makes the world feel real and genuine.
The term I always use to describe Andor when people ask me what exactly it is about is "a study of fascism, but with blaster rifles, and damn well written" and that usually gets the kind of people I know excited for it
Lmao well said. Too bad none of the students in my school are interested in anything I like. My closest friend used to be in my school but now is living far away but we have contact via discord and we watch Andor together, I got him to watch it cuz he liked Star Wars but never seen any of the shows.
I really liked all the liminal and interstitial spaces in the show, I think Coruscant has never felt more real than in this show and those spaces have been important in that.
Coruscant was the only location that disappointed me because it didn't look like Coruscant. Too much concrete, and the way the light hit it just didn't look like Coruscant lighting. Everything else worked perfectly for me though, and the lower level where Luthen confronts the ISB spy was PERFECT. I guess that if this was what was needed to keep the budget toward other, more important things, then it's worth it, but honestly, I felt Coruscant at times, just didn't look like Coruscant
@@officialmonarchmusic I think that was intentional. This was Coruscant under the Empire, and they wanted to give it more of a Brutalist feel, as opposed to the Art Deco of the Republic era.
@@Descriptor413 The concrete just looks too much like Earth. Again, you can make it work with cold feeling metal. That actually pulls the brutalist effect off better. As I said, the best location on Coruscant was the lower level where Luthen talks to the spy, it really felt like Coruscant
@@chasehedges6775 Yeah production design has always been a strong suit of Star Wars tbh but it just feels like they REALLY paid attention to it in this show. The sound design is also incredible, I have never found a TIE fighter as intimidating as it was in episodes 3 and 4
I can go one further, I not only used to work next to Barbican and had my graduation there, my wife works in Canary Wharf (also in Rogue One) and used to live in the Brunswick Centre (where Syril lives). Watching this was just a series of “I know that place!” moments. And I’ve been mountain biking at one of the other locations (although I didn’t recognise that). Really enjoyed the series, and your video!
@@Balthorium Andor is shot entirely within the UK so Buzludzha Monument doesn't appear. If you're thinking about Ferrix bell tower it's an original set piece designed by the team. A Star Wars film shot at the Buzludzha Monument would be cool though.
@@theamazingwhaleshark4478 I remember where they shot it but the set piece they built looks like it drew inspiration from the Eastern European monument.
What I love immensely about Andor is that the rebels are not just these goody two shoes but they are actually desperate and will do questionable things to start a rebellion.
I love how they get some sort of scifi 70s feeling like in the first STAR WARS movie! It's hard to describe but it feels like 70s technology in modern time ....like in the court scene
not just for the 70's feel, realistically a colony (and the people in them) are far and away from the resources needed for anything fancy, so naturally only the higher offices of the imperials have all the Apple Store aesthetic, and the hard-scrabble colonies make do with older and/or practical equipment and machinerythat's cheaper and easier to fix/maintain.
i think it helps that the Barbican building referenced at the start of the video is a late 1960s building created with ideas of what people expected of the future at the time. it’s a futuristic building…but from 50 years ago :) fits perfectly with the star wars look
Those are people who can't put their phone down for more than 5 minutes and therefore miss the little things that you have to absorb to understand and appreciate most great television. Sure in some parts it's a little slow, you can say the same thing about Better Call Saul, parts of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, you know, the best TV shows ever made.
I have more issue with that it doesnt feel like star wars anymore, one of the reason is exactly what this video describes, the magic of galaxy far far away is disappearing with too much grounded approach and usage of too much stuff and locations from earth :/
@@rawwad i get what you say, but at the same time getting far from the constant magical spectacular mystical nonsense (in terms of plots, landscapes, cinematography, etc) it's for me a welcome mouthful of fresh air. the sheer lack of stupid humouristic characters is so liberating! and (again, for me) the only way to return to a franchise that seems to be more than spent, drowned in it's own silly attempts to please old fans, new fans, adults, toddlers, studio executives, merch factories and comiccon goers at the same time.
Andor is a work of autopoiesis, a deep experiential dive into both the grinding, repressive bureaucracy of fascism and the awakening of the consciousness of resistance and rebellion. It's the most mature Star Wars ever but it's standing on the shoulders of giants and benefits from a lot of "referential density" (knowledge of previous Star Wars works, including 45 years of worldbuilding). By creating a newly complex and embodied understanding of, say, how the Empire functions, Andor is also redefining and expanding our relationship with all other SW films and shows, past and future.
It's underestimated how useful that is, and how few franchises are so ubiquitous that they don't need to explain basic facts. Even people who have never seen Star Wars know there's an empire and a rebellion, space ships, a Death Star, how droids behave. They've seen a clip and heard friends talking abut it. My wife was raised in a cult, sheltered from damn near everything, and even she knew basic facts about Star Wars. They had a lot of room to just tell a story and subvert expectations. While this could have easily worked as a non-Star Wars story, it's better for being one
my favorite part about andor is how grounded it felt, it just really captured the feeling of actually being in star wars, for the first time ever in my opinion, the setting not only looked real, but it also immersed you in it as well.
Yeah, Coruscant in the prequels never felt like much more than a backdrop. It's alive now, as the focus is much more on the people on the planet instead of the scale. In the prequals shots of Coruscant showed a dense, planet-covering city, always showed the size of the skyscrapers and the endless traffic zooming by in tbe background. The shots are so much smaller now, focusing more on the people living there. The daily lives of normal people play a role. And that's with every planet. Why do some planets feel awfully empty yet have Empire presence? The people have been victims of genocide, or depletion of resources forced people to migrate elsewhere, or the Empire forced everyone into centralised hubs. It feels like the world is alive and doesn't solely exist for the main characters to move a plot in.
In the early episodes of Andor I thought it was a bit slow like I perceive a lot of British made productions. I was thinking of not watching any more about episode 3. But I am so happy that I stuck with it. And while the show never had the sort of action to the degree of most other Star Wars productions, I realized that there was indeed a master story teller at work here. The ending of this season left me with as much impact New Hope gave me at the end. But deeper in so many ways. Deeper than most of the other SW movies and series. This was Star Wars for adults. Not for children or teens. This was made for people who have experienced life and not made as a live action cartoon show. I look forward to the next season and I hope the other Star Wars productions move in this sort of direction as well.
I felt the same. The show looked beautiful but the first three episodes didn’t do a great job in explaining to us why we should care about these characters. They came across as slightly annoying, at best, with some of the side characters in particular. But I’m happy I stuck with it because it got so much better, and in the end, we truly cared.
I thought almost the whole thing was quite slow, none of the characters felt more than surface level and frankly were really disappointing to me personally. The sets fell short too, but hey we all have different opinions.
I didn't once think of the show as slow, but then again I often like British shows and feel like many American shows rely too much on action and explicit story beats to move the story forward. Also, my main interests in history are intelligence agencies, and I work for the government. Andor shows so well how corruption can cripple an organisation. Tiresome bureaucracy, officers focusing more on their own careers than the goal of the organisation, it's all very similar to my own experiences and stories from colleagues. Add the slow decent into totalitarianism and rebellion, and you have a show that ticks all topics I find interesting. Andor has implemented those complicated topics very well in my opinion, and it shows the kind of bureaucracy that's necessary to run a totalitarian Empire. And it shows the flaws such a bureaucracy would inevitably have. As a child who loved the battles and fights of the Star Wars movies I probably would have found Andor boring, but as you said: This is Star Wars for adults. Star Wars for people who have worked in a team, who've seen the infighting in an organisation and know that all conflicts are more complex than just good vs. evil.
In terms of all TV series this year, I PERSONALLY feel that Better Call Saul takes the cake but this has also been very very good. definitely at the very top of the list of shows this year.
What feels completely foreign, especially for Star Wars, is actually caring for the characters. Not just superficially, as in rooting for or against someone based on who they side with, but because you care for them on an emotional level since we can empathize or understand the decisions they have to make. It's something that Star Wars hasn't had much success with in the past but with the writing and characters that _Andor_ has given us, there are going to be calls for more mature series like this.
No kidding. In the finale when Grasso attacked the Imperial soldiers with Maalva's brick, I cared so much. I wanted Grasso to be selfish for once and protect himself, but I also couldn't deny the character his choice to resist. Probably my favorite Star Wars media in the last 30 years.
Definitely! One thing I thought was so interesting as well is how the show set us up to care about Dedra Meero - many of us have been in jobs where we're under-appreciated and have shitty colleagues, and trying to climb the work ladder in spite of the challenges. It's such a HUMAN experience to go through... only for the show to brutally remind you that Dedra is a TEEEERRIBLE person by torturing Bix. Dedra has no empathy, and thrives as a result - because the Empire's bureaucracy doesn't reward people for caring.
ive cared emotionally about characters since I was 3 years old. What the fuck are you talking about? Anyone who watches star wars emotionally cares for and roots for luke, han, and leia.
As someone who has no nostalgia over star wars since I only recently watched everything, I have to say Andor is my favourite piece of content within the star wars universe.
My favorites for the movies are episodes 1-6 plus rogue one. (I love rogue one with a passion) favorite show might be andor. I don’t compare the shows with the movies because you can’t get everything you need in one movie without it being really long, (unless it’s really good) and it’s just two different things :)
@@bikesrcool_1958 😁 mentions AOTC because the dialogue quality differences it have compared to Andor, where Nemik Manifesto, Luthen, Maarva and Kino monologue in the same universe with "i dont like sands" "youre in my very soul, tormenting me!"
The elements of what it means to find yourself in the midst of protest and rebellion all feel extremely real. I've found myself caught up in the events of a military coup in Myanmar, and having been involved in the protests and in the periphery of the active rebellion and now being in hiding, the show felt more like a documentary than a chapter of Star Wars. I go could relate to each episode so much that I often find myself sobbing hysterically by the end of an episode because the reflection of my reality within this show is what made my reality actually feel concrete and real. Nothing about this show feels forced it fictional, it all feels very natural and organic. It's perfectly executed. I have to think that there are people on the crew who have lived through uprisings and rebellions because of this, and seeing the diverse cast from all different countries, it seems quite likely.
I really love the sounds of the tie fighters *Screaming* across the sky above the crew. It really makes them a threat instead of just fodder. Also your final point perfectly encapsulates the reason why Andor is so fantastic compared to the rest of recent star wars. It is a well made show and story that *happens* to take place in stars wars, you could transplant the entire story to another universe and it would still hit as hard.
@Viljarms I like Star Wars and I like Andor because of how it's a story that _could_ work in another setting but happens in the Star Wars setting, so... maybe speak only for yourself.
@@Viljarms The entire show is based around Rebels and the Empire. It demonstrates the strength of the Empire, and shows how rebels fought against that strength. I would argue that it is definetly star wars enough, it shows us a different part of the rebbelion, not just the jedi and sith.
One of the things about a show like Obi-Wan Kenobi that stuck out immediately to me, was just how clean everything was, especially the clothing. Just look at the very first episode when the inquisitors arrive. You have all these people, stuck on a hot desert planet, and yet every single one of them is wearing clothing that is clean and new. Nothing is frayed, stained, ripped, threadbare etc, nothing looks worn. Hell, the *sand* in the city is clean, it's far too neat and tidy. Even the tables in the bar are squeaky clean, not even a grain of sand on them. No one is sweaty or dusty, the whole thing LOOKS like people in clean costumes just walked onto a polished set 5 minutes earlier. In Andor, the streets on Ferrix are dirty and cluttered, shit is just lying around everywhere, the clothing looks weathered, the place looks lived in, and the actors and extras look like they live there. It has a verisimilitude that Kenobi lacks, and all of that is before we even get to the location shooting in Andor vs the over-use and poor application of the Volume technology in Kenobi.
and less star wars, it doesnt feel anymore like galaxy far far away, when you see too much real world environments, stupid props like Ak47, real goat 🤦♂ I want to scream in moments like that. The very first thing he pointed out is one of those that totally threw me off, when I see some of those details like railing or real lamps that I saw hundreds of same in real life, they magic is gone. Its not star wars anymore, it feel like dystopian future from earth :/
@@rawwad Your opinion is just wrong, thats it, Andor is a gem and now go watch your stupid "starwars". Andor is more like original trilogy then all the other new garbage for no brains and kids with attention span of a baby.
This has convinced me to watch Andor. When I was watching the trailer months ago, I was hesitant because Star Wars Disney stuff just isn't that good now. But I was impressed by how real the world looks and the cinematography. I'll finally check it out
@@tedcannefax6043 3 episode cycle/pacing actually makes it better for me tbh. It accents the moments of action by providing character contextualization and world building that makes it more valuable.
porc, when you finish watching Andor you might also enjoy this video about Andor's architecture and cinematography. Caution, because there are some minor spoilers in the video: ua-cam.com/video/hU4LfjaqV5M/v-deo.html
One of my favorite things about Andor, The Mandalorian, and even the various Legends books and stories that focus on the "regular people" side of things, is that in doing so they indirectly make the big things seem much much more imposing. Like TIE fighters, things that Han Solo just flicks out of the sky easily are now these incredibly dangerous machines that take massive amounts of effort to overcome, a fact we see first hand when Luthen impresses everyone watching when he uses his wit, skill and technical prowess to escape a squad of them in his ship. And the Jedi become these almost god-like beings who are capable of molding reality in a way that makes the likes of Cassian Andor seem so much more mortal, which I think works to Star Wars' advantage. Like imagine the likes of Darth Maul being in the same room as Cinta for example? Such an image would make you feel exactly the level of terror that a regular person should feel when in the presence of a Sith, those demonic forces of the dark side. It shows just how powerful things are which we now find mundane, like Jedi and TIE fighters.
Andor does a great job at making the Star War universe feel more functional and alive. Everything from the phone booths to the bus-style repulsor craft make it feel more realistic.
There are a handful of works that transcend their medium & exist as part of the greater collective artistic standard. S1 of Andor has become one of those works alongside seasons from The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc... I have been a critic & journalist for years & I can confidently say the level of artistic intent & execution on display in Andor is absolutely phenomenal. As counterintuitive as it may seem, my fear is that because it exists as part of a large IP it will risk being overlooked or underappreciated.
My fear is that is will be hijacked by the woke tyrants and turned into social propaganda once it excellent writers, producers and directors have earned and achieved a large invested audience.
I loved how they were staying with the marching musicians in the finale for a really long time. You're simply bathing in the suspense there; because the pros who made this show knew that they would have you at that point and that they could afford to linger - not only that: that it would make it so much better!
There's the shot of them at the end of the main street -- looking out over the Imperial line -- where there's a pause, silence, and then the music starts up again as the crowd marches forward. It's no longer a funeral dirge they're playing, but a battle hymn. Damn thing gave me chills.
the fact that we got this show from the same company that made obi wan is still unbelievable. The difference in quality is immense, and unfortunately it's very difficult to believe that the Empire in Andor is the same Empire with all the awful, cartoony characters from Obi Wan.
That funeral scene (and the riot following) almost had me in tears because it feels like I have lived side by side with these characters and I can't see them be hurt but I can also see how it's impossible to stay silent and obedient- this show is sooo good.
Not only that, the Finale scene is the first scene that was shot during the production. Tony Gilroy (the creator of Andor) knew that the audience would be hooked by the show and that he was brave enough to put that long scene in the Finale. That scene is a huge payoff for those who watch the entire show.
I think the pieces about theme and destiny are recontextualized in Andor through Syril's story. Syril is the Luke Skywalker of this show; he begins normal and banal - the son of an overbearing mother who has taken a job as a low ranking corporate security officer. The inciting incident of his Hero's Journey is Cassian murdering the two men at the beginning. This sets of a chain of events that puts Syril in a constant stream of impossible and dangerous scenarios. He is forced to sacrifice everything, his career, his future, his relationships in order to do what he believes is the right thing; bringing a terrorist and murderer to justice. He never gives up on his quest to do what he knows is right, and in the final episode even gets to save the girl. This flips our normal understanding of heroism on its head because we the audience know Syril is a bad guy who has chosen the side of tyranny. But this shows how we are all the heroes of our own story, and the monomyth of destiny can apply to to the other side as well.
Exactly. Stating the obvious, it can also be said that Cassian Andor is the Han Solo of this story: small-time criminal who reluctantly joins the rebel cause. And he’s got his signature blaster.
The tragedy is that he genuinely doesn't know about Dedra's interest in torture via mixtape or ability to casually order the murder of a prisoner. He thinks that she and the ISB are defenders of law and order, not the ruthless boot of a fascist regime. I'm thinking that he'll realize that in season 2 and will have to make a choice, and that will make for a good story.
Thank you for articulating and breaking down why Andor is such a good show in a way us laymen can't quite put our finger on. As I was watching, I was reminded of the lived-in, gritty feel of movies like Aliens, Blade Runner and a lot of pre-modern CGI cyberpunk sci-fi of the 80s and 90s.
3:31 I noticed this with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul aswell. This focus on details, things you can hear and see. It's so satisfying to watch/listen to.
it really was a suprise that they made this show with so much love, just by the first trailer you could tell it was definitely a higher quality show compared to other shows
I'd say it's better than a bunch of pre-Disney Star Wars as well. This show manages to deliver on so much of the political intrigue that Lucas stumbled with in the Prequels as well. It's just a wonderfully made series.
this. it executes almost to perfection both the intrigue part but also importantly the ideas that Lucas was trying to get it (arguably going even further)
I wasn’t going to watch andor after being disappointed with half of kenobi and all of boba fett, but I gave it a try because of this video and I’m so glad I did. Andor was fantastic. Every single episode was so well done, and the points you made during this video are spot on. I honestly dont know how they knocked this show out of the park and flubbed on the others. Thanks for giving it praise or else I wouldn’t have watched it
I’m obsessed. This is THE best Star Wars content ever made. The character development, depth of relationship development, acting, sounds, set design, plot, nuance, every detail so beautifully done. Empire strikes back is second but this is by far my favorite. Well done Thomas. I really enjoyed your analysis. Thank you.
I've really enjoyed how banal the show makes pretty much every person working for the empire appear through such subtle brushstrokes. As you said, we see them eating snacks, but also making mistakes, hesitating, slacking off, and being generally just very unlike the unflinching and unyielding force of natural supremacy that the empire wishes to brand itself as. Not only do those details make even very minor characters seem like actual people with whole lives outside the moments we meet them, but it also reminds us that at the end of the day any oppressive power depends entirely on the compliance of people who are probably not half as capable, intelligent, reliable, or even committed as they are expected to be. There's something monstrous in the commonness of evil acts in this show, yet it also makes the empire seem much less menacing and way more beatable. Also, I love it how unsexy every villain in Andor is. This is definitely not the type of series that ends up accidentally glamorizing fascism by making the antagonists seem intimidating and powerful up to the point of flattery and thus making them seem downright aspirational to viewers who are susceptible to fascist imagery. Even at their best, members of the empire in Andor are so banal and pitiful that I can't imagine anyone wanting to be like them in any capacity.
Yeah this is honestly my favourite part of the show, recontextualizing the oppressors as fearful paranoid cowards. That when they flex their power with massacres, arrests, indefinite sentences, etc, it is not brutal or cool, its utterly pathetic. As a small addendum i noticed that with the costume design, they made the imperials just look a lot more goofy. The officers suddenly have ridiculous flared pants. And with the acting, the imperial soldiers marching do so in a way that looks exaugurated and played up to a silly degree.
You know, I kind of disagree with the last point. I find Deidre (the isb woman) to be one of the most compelling villains I've seen in SW media so far. Her very humanity which makes her so imperfect also gives her a far more appealing personality. When you watch her, it doesn't only feel like a general in an opressive regime, she is also an expert at what she does, entirely dedicated to her beliefs and fighting to shine in a male-dominated field. That makes her, to me, a villain I found myself rooting for, despite what she was working towards. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean by "unsexy", sure, she isn't a very beautiful woman, but I think she is attractive in the Dom kind of way, and in the "person who is completely dedicated to her craft" kind of way, which I feel is a far harder kind of sexy to be in a villain, rather than overt sexualization.
I can't explain how much I enjoyed this show, I had no idea it would become my favorite starwars show. Even the mandalorian is going over the top now with to many cameos.
This show was an absolute masterclass. I learned a LOT from what you had to say about the production. It's amazing how much further perspective will take something. I loved how grounded the show felt.
This analysis was spot on. Thanks for explicitly identifying so many of the nuances that make this show effective. It's my favorite Star Wars content since Empire.
The bit about the sensory details was so on point. I was really to put into words why the show feels so real and lived in, and the tactile nature of it all is exactly why. So well put!
This is very similar to what Alfonso Cuarón did with the third Harry Potter. A great use of perspective and also continuity, connecting the characters with the world using long takes and wide lenses.
Also about Ulaf's death. Many deaths we see in Star Wars are by Force powers, lightsabers, explosions, by the Death Star. But Ulaf's death in the prison episode was very real because he died by something common to us such as a stroke.
Also, that scene where Nemik is crushed to death by a huge pile of Imperial credits. It's something you didn't expect from a Star Wars show because usually, characters die by getting shot or exploded. As a typical Star Wars audience, you expect him to die by getting shot in the gunfight because he is just too nervous for the job. Instead, the show presented a plot twist that he survived until the unfortunate happened to him.
Very much agree with your analysis. Another benefit in setting the characters in a real environment is the acoustic signature provided by the natural echoes of such an environment and subliminally experienced by the viewer as a consequence.
I would add that not only does andor focus on showing the locations from a character’s physical perspective, it also gives us their emotional perspective. Their reaction to the sight helps inform our understanding of the location as much as seeing it ourselves
0:54 that shot was filmed in the next town over from me, a seaside town in NW England called Cleveleys. Looks almost the exact same as the actual town, and the VFX mix together perfectly with it. One thing that is especially funny/ interesting to locals is they have made the Vue Cinema (in the background) into a cool citadel type structure, and also the three elderly looking aliens sat on the bench with their walking sticks - Cleveleys to locals of the area is known as a town of old people.
"Andor" felt like the first Star Wars for grown-ups* since Empire Strikes Back, and I loved it. Can't wait for Season 2 and I hope we get more like it. *The Last Jedi tried, I would argue, but didn't pull it off while Andor absolutely did
I’d argue the Force talk did, some of the Resistance stuff works as well. But I get that, Andor was able to execute everything better than TLJ and most other SW projects
This is such a fantastic commentary! I have watched so many movies and series accross the years, but despite the obvious, like the soundtrack or photography, it is not always easy to pinpoint exactly why some works have such an impact when we are just mere viewers. You helped me understand exactly why Andor was so interesting to watch, so thank you for providing such deep insight!
I've been watching your videos for awhile now and have thoroughly enjoyed them without exception. I felt compelled to comment on this video because you skillfully captured what I feel about the Andor series with an almost eery exactness. I have told family and friends that Andor is the best piece of filmmaking in the vast Star Wars body of work in a long time; most certainly in the Disney era. Well written stories about well written characters is at the heart of all great cinema. The characters, be they villain or hero, are multidimensional and forces to be reckoned with. I was as horrified by the suggestion of an introduction of the Senator's teenage daughter to the son of an underworld boss and financier as I was by the barefooted terror of the prison that Cassian was banished to. You brought out into light so much of what I enjoyed in the series and made it a real joy to experience. Your mastery film criticism shines brilliantly and uniquely excellent in this age where we are inundated by a cacophony of videos by anyone armed with a camera and an opinion. Your work here has convinced me to become a patron for the first time.
Your comment about executives is spot on. I was an on-air radio jock for 10 years. Consultants always had to tell us what to play and when it play it. That really limited our ability to address our listeners wants and needs. Cool video my man, you made a lot of great points.
Every time I walk out Canary Wharf Station on the Elizibeth line I am always reminded of this scene outside the Imperial Security Bureau. They mixed the real location perfectly with the CGI portions.
Was hyping this show for a few years but I must admit it still managed to surpass my expectations. As you said in the end - its a suspensful sci-fi spy thriller, that also happens to be a Star Wars show. I think whenever the intention is to "just make a Star Wars project" or a "superhero film" it often falls flat. It is when the story and the genre come first and the context of it being within a specific franchise comes second, that the final product is usually great. It's noticeable in comicbook films like Logan, Joker and The Batman, I think they're genre pieces first, that just happen to be placed in the context of a comics.
This is the best review of Andor I've seen or heard... not rambling on about ratings or its story-line decisions or Disney politics... but explaining to us exactly Why it is So Damn Good. I'm so glad you put this out there for the world to hear. Hopefully this review will be seen by directors of all sorts who aspire to make Star Wars content. Andor is clearly one of The Best series-shows ever developed. I love it so much and am so grateful for its existence so that I can enjoy its story and its style, over and over again. I really hope season 2 retains the exact style of storytelling & directing that we have here. It will be truly Epic!!!
Great video! Perfectly put into words how I feel about this show. But I’m shocked you didn’t mention Mon Mothma once! Her scenes contain some of the most compelling and engaging dialogue I’ve seen on TV in a while. Guess you’ll just have to do another video on Andor when season 1 finishes 😁
Normally, I’m turned off about people talking “about the thing”, but you do it in such an artistic way that makes your work art as much as the ART ITSELF! Beautiful work!
Fascinating that everything is from their POV. want to watch it again just to notice that fully. I also found it interesting how almost every scene and relationship was driven by distrust. at least for the first half of the show.
Beautifully produced video. I appreciate the soft lighting, relaxed, low key presentational style and 21:9 aspect ratio to segue seamlessly into the Andor cut scenes. This is YouTubing at its professional best! 😍👍🏻 Oh and Andor is one of the greatest pieces of acting and cinematography in the entire Star Wars canon IMO.
I am amazed how people find locations for shooting, for my projects this is what I find the most difficult. Incredible work, visualizing the location and planning everything in advance.
This principle of starting with something real and modifying it also goes with the props too. I have a moderately sized antique camera collection and one of the devices was a early model Polaroid camera that would expand so it could be stored flat when not used. I recognized it instantly.
Great stuff! Andor (and Rogue One) are so good. I love how visually grounded and well written they are. Like you say in the video, they're focused more on good story telling rather than opening with a distracting VFX shot that screams "look at me!" Also, I love how they used a Polaroid instant camera at 5:25 - I'm sure most of the younger audience didn't even notice but I thought it was hilarious. 😂
Aside from the amazing acting, refreshing story writing, compelling dialogue, pacing and well choreographed action I was really struck by how incredible the costume and set design was in Andor. Especially on Correscant with Mon and the ISB, really brought me into the world and made it feel so tangible and look so good. I really really enjoyed the show, it was a pleasant surprise.
Whenever something truly good comes along, I often find the description "It's a good (insert genre) that just happens to be (concept)". I did this with early seasons of The Walking Dead. It was a human drama that just happened to have zombies. Andor transcends what Star Wars has always been up to this point. If you find yourself rolling your eyes at a lot of the storytelling in Disney's recent Star Wars products, give Andor a chance. It's special.
It does make me wonder if Star Wars has actually been harmed (or at least held back) by bringing in people who are big Star Wars fans and trying to appeal to that demo (The Last Jedi seems to be one of the few other things that didn't care about that as much, then Rise of Skywalker overcorrected) - using Star Wars as a way to tell a story seems to work out so much better than than trying to tell a Star Wars story.
@@Tuaron Absolutely true. Many big modern franchises are harmed by what I personally call the "checklist effect" where the story was clearly decided by a committee going through a checklist of what they assume sells well to the broadest audience possible. This drains the actual writers of creativity and also results in some of the desired checklist points come off as half-assed or pandering. I totally agree that it would be much, much, much more desirable to just let the writers go ham and write stories they would like to see in the setting to expand the franchise instead of constructing whatever some suits think a Star Wars story needs to contain.
From the beginning I got bladerunner 2049 and dune vibes from the production sets, the cinematography, directing, and then the characters started talking with dialogue that's game of thrones-level. I was whiplashed at how good this show & its visual storytelling was and couldn't even believe it for the first few episodes, continuing on I just knew that they were gonna stick the hell outta the landing for the finale and they did. So can't wait for the 2nd season.
I love this channel, these are my favorite video essays, and this video, in particular, is absolutely wonderful. You articulate every point so well. I was blown away by Andor and how much I loved it.
I agree 100% with these what you stated. You actually mentioned a few things I thought of originally when I was first watching the show; you don't need to be a Jedi to have story in that world. Similarly with majority of people IRL, and I believe that's what made the show so much better, it was simply more relatable. Not to mention all of the sensory information like you talked about (I still cannot get over how amazing and honestly frightful the TIE fighters were). It's just such a more mature show in how it's made. Instead of focusing on the main people, it focuses on everyone else, and arguably the people who are affected by the empire the most. That's what I don't always love about the main movies, they seem disconnected from how terrible the empire really is. The death star blew up so many planets but you never truly felt the effect of it until Rogue One came along, where you had emotional ties to the characters and not just some explosion in space.
Thanks so much for articulating what I was feeling. Everything about this show is so different, thoughtful, and well executed...it's the story I didn't know I've been waiting for since first seeing E4 in 1977.
Great explanation of the use of subjective framing (instead of objective) as well as diegetic sound driving the realness of the environment. As an aspiring sci-fi filmmaker, this video is a gem! Subscribed. You're a great teacher mate.
Same trick works in animations. A closeup of the character showing skin texture but the rest of the scene with a plain level of detail. And the character seems more real, just because of this single glimpse.
All while watching this show, I felt that it wins on it’s own merits without relying on Star Wars. You could replace tie fighters and stormtroopers with something else and I wouldn’t mind. Even Mon Mothma’s character and her scenes work well without relying on the audience’s knowledge of her later role in the rebellion. Luthen is also proof of this, as he’s an engaging character with no prior Star Wars existence.
Absolutely 100% agree. I live near Cleveleys (uk). The beach scenes were shot here, it was a fabulous experience to see the raw action and then the marvellous cinematic end product. What you are stating is the subtle difference between good and exceptional film making. Hats off to the team that created "the best" Star Wars adventure of the whole franchise. Well highlighted !
This is now one of my favorite Andor related commentary videos. Excellent points and examples. You really identified some of what makes it such a quality production.
For over about a decade now I've really struggled with modern film and its use overuse of CG. I'm a HUGE fan of practical effects and there is a lot to be said about real world texture.
@@chasehedges6775 I haven’t even watched ep 11+12 yet but I agree! this is what happens when talented and skilled people are given enough time to understand and work with each other.
You had "I've been there" moment, while I had "I know this piece of equipment" moment. At 03:52 in the background on the right, behind the glass jug there's Moulinex N2 centrifugal juicer from the 1980's we had in our family home. 😄
This video is SPOILER-FREE, so you can watch even if you haven't seen the show or aren't caught up!
Check out my podcast: cinemaofmeaning.com
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your journalism into cinema is the best, can you write a story on the marginalization of black men today in cinema - for example the long history of wearing a dress? or how every black man ALSO has to be queer or disabled or mutiliated? how the character has to be heavy-handed with intersectionality so that the image of strong black men is deteriorated?
ok thanks, long time watcher and lover of all things Flight
Not having seen Andor (but being a Londoner and going to school as a kid near Barbican), those shots immediately triggered a "I think I know where that is" thought. Its a great place to wonder around and if you're ever back you should try to arrange a viewing in one of the apartments in the complex. They are incredible inside as well. One of my bucket list goals is to own an apartment there.
Also, what brand are your glasses? I really like the styling and would love to check out whoever makes them 🙌
Thanks for your review and opinions on the show, but I find many characters annoying, although there are a few of them that are really well interpreted. But those that aren't pull me out of the story every time. And the woke factor is also quite heavy. All these old ugly men and the female officer and her angry unsympathetic behavior don't make me enjoy their scenes. Moreover, some of the characters' behaviors seem so forced, not natural. The protagonists, be they the good or the bad guys, should be enjoyable and well interpreted for the viewer to see. But, as stated before, some are annoying and irritating. As a viewer, and fan, I want a villain to to be enjoyable, maybe mysterious, and interesting, I want to understand his motivations, what drives them, him or her in a story. But as a story, Andor is well written and better narrated as so many other Disney Star Wars stories. / greetings from SICILY
great job
Hey! Mind telling me what music you used from 0:25 to 2:00? Thanks!
Andor was like a home cooked meal after eating nothing but fast food for 2 weeks
the sad thing is, in terms of production costs, doing things with a real set as opposed to CGI everything would probably be cheaper. So the producers who love money more than anything, are spending more money than they have to, to create inferior stories. The Andor formula is also very replicable and unlikely to ever get old, like the myth of the hero's journey.
Hopefully we get an andor for other franchises like LotR and Harry Potter. Producers are not the most famous for their flexibility though, or admitting they're wrong, so it'll probably take 10 years before other studios catch on to a winner formula.
The usage and creation of CGIs have been the death of just a lot of Hollywood movies nowadays. They're too lazy to make real sets and hire actual actors or too ambitious with their ideas to the point of replicating it realistically is close to impossible. CGIs should be used sparingly or thoroughly like Avatar. To use cgi regularly and then not is very jarring for viewers making the visuals terrible.
@@spicy5397 Use of real sets has become more expensive as CGI takes hold - There as less companies producing sets to a high enough quality to film / tv as most have had to adapt to CGi. Their costs have gone up to cover for this which si why most studios tend to choose CGI as it can be much cheaper if done correctly
@@spicy5397 You're talking about other movies having their own "Andor" like world regions have their own "Switzerland" and I love it.
More like a meal cooked by your grandparents/parents. A meal cooked with care and attention. It's a very honest show, truly deserving of the label ''art''
From the acting to the pacing and cinematography, Andor is easily one of the strongest (if not THE strongest) Disney Star Wars entries. I really hope Disney learns the right lessons from it.
Sooo true. It’s such an awesome show that tells a story
Right now Disney is in crisis in all departments of the company, the good news for the audience is that they either learn to tell consistent stories or disappear.
Better than mandalorian
But your comment makes no sense
@@safi6749 It’s on the same level of The Mandalorian, honestly
A lot of this reminded me of techniques we saw in Dune, from the sound of the water glass sliding across the table, to fingers running through sand, to the views of the desert through the ornithopter windows-but I love how these techniques in Andor specifically contribute to the theme of the show as you’ve pointed out here. It makes it feel less like a copy/paste and makes it clear that this was a meaningful creative decision.
I haven't seen Andor, but looking at the scenes presented in this video, the first thing that came to my mind was Dune
@@LuisSierra42 change that
That’s a really good connection I didn’t even make til seeing this comment. That was some of my favorite aspects of Dune was the focus on the reality of living on Arrakis and the human moments of the Fremen
@@nickywags0712 yeah I highly recommend the documentary on DUNE as the whole sound design is just a masterclass on world building and immersiveness. The department completely knocked it out of the park and the way Denis integrated them in the process of making the film, including the soundtrack was just such a smart move, I'm surprised how few filmmakers even today still make so little use of it.
So funny, I just shared this video and mentioned the same similarities between Andor and dune and how I love this new kind of grounded Sci fi
The reason I adore Andor so much was the depiction of The Empire. I have worked for some big bureaucracies, and the meetings, inside competition, power play, etc. were chilling for me. Unlike movies like Avatar which slaps you in the face with "THIS IS AMERICA MILITARISM AND THAT IS BAD" it felt like Andor just gave you a peak inside the middle management of the empire and let you figure it out for your self. I have rarely enjoyed squirming so much.
Avatar is perfect examples of James Cameroon hatred for humanity. Someone need to expose this lizard person
Exactly, for this and all of Star Wars not not be seen as an allegory for communal democracy rebelling against a capitalistic fascism is surprising. Like, I'm surprised it took until the end of Mandalorian and Andor for me to connect the dots of the story as allegory, but I also only watched the star wars movies as a kid, not an adult with the relevant context lol.
I spoke to some family members about that yesterday. The meetings were enthralling for me. I've seen some of this at play in a business setting. In Star Wars, it's a little different, because in addition to missed promotions, demotions, and firing, death is a possible outcome. Maybe not so much as in more cartoonish Star Wars films/shows, but still, a very serious situation. For some viewers, apparently, it was boring, and nothing was happening. Crom bless them all. They don't know what a high turnover environment feels like.
It really makes Star Wars feel like a living breathing galaxy, instead of just setpieces for the main story
I do feel obligated to make the point that the focus of Avatar isn't on the human side (yet), so you can't exactly focus on that part to the same degree that Andor does. That being said, I also absolutely loved the empire in Andor.
Besides the eating and drinking, to me a great scene that emphasized the fact that these are all just normal people was when the two Imperials were asking to get the night off to see the eye of Aldhani. Just like a normal conversation you'd have with your boss at work.
And the best part, it wasn't even a throwaway line, or a worldbuilding line. That scene was still integral to the plot because it shows Lt. Gorn covering his tracks by making it seem like he want more security in the vault, instead of minimizing it so he'd be in the clear afterwards, if he'd survived. It displays competence and cunning of a character, while expanding on the theme of regularity. Goddamn what a show.
My biggest problem with Andor is that I now have to wait probably another 2 years for season 2
They actually just started season 2 production shooting
@@altarproductions2639 True. However, season 2 will still projected to come out in late 2024.
A good type of problem!
At least we'll get Willow to do something with on our now Andor-less Wednesday nights.
2024 :(
Andor has an immersive experience overall. The mood and atmosphere just draws you in.
Same here. From the first frame, you are invested and interested
But the story really doesn't. Does anyone here really identify with Cassian Andor in a deep sense? What's the through line of the story?
Agree
@@thumos it's his journey to becoming a true believer in the Rebellion, like he was in Rogue One. At the start of the show he's not interested in joining the Rebellion, but his experiences throughout the show changes him. I think Nemik's manifesto as a plot device shows this pretty effectively.
@@thumos Andor's that guy who murders a crippled man (who just helped him) in his first scene in Rogue One right? yeh i cant say i really identify with him either lol
The tie fighter scenes on aldhani are what really sold me on the show. I already loved it, but seeing those things fly and actually be terrifying an not just fodder was so nice.
Those things kinda sound like Stuka diving bombers, and I think it was made on purpose.
seconded. did a number on making the Empire feel like a real threat.
Too bad in the end, they still kinda ended as fodder, all crashing.
it reminds me of that video game that came out a bit ago in the Dragon ball Z universe. The twist being this game is basicly Dead by daylight. You are a normal human level person expreinceing the events of the show as the villens literally eat your freinds alive. Or blow them up with their minds. Or suffer horrid mortal injury and just get back up. Or erase mountions with a punch. The game failed due to other factors but the idea of it was awsome.
Experiencing Goku VS Frezzia a thing we have seen for years..from Bulma or yashorbis POV is a whole diffrent feeling when these too guys are actualy destroying the world by screaming loudly. Dragon ball super did something like that for one scene near the start. Where Krillien was spending his days as a viglantie helping the police department. We seen a car chase threw the pov of the random thugs..as the weakest of the z fighters just up and teleports towards the car lifts it up and throws it.
@@ilyali It's absolutely on purpose, Lucas was heavily influenced by WWII, X-Wings and TIEs fight like Spitfires and Messerschmitts, the death star trench run is almost shot for shot "the dam busters", the star destroyers are great lumbering battleships/aircraft carriers, Imperial officers dress like nazi officers
The good thing is how it transitions from crime to a war movie to a heist, then back to crime, a prison break and essentially Les Miserables in space. It's like you're watching three different movies in three different genres, that somehow exist inside the same continuity.
Agreed. In fact, after episode 6 the whole thing feels like two separate seasons and it's amazing.
You're right and it's not just our imaginations. They had 3 different directors do 3 different blocks of episodes, each bringing their A-Game to their respective assignments. That's why each "group" of episodes was so distinctive. REALLY well done. I've heard that Season 2 is going to have a different set of 3 directors, so it will definitely be interesting to see how that ends up.
@@2WhiteAndNerdy They have the same writers returning so I'm hopeful it ends up just as good
@@Force_Of_Habit That's my favourite bit - most shows would just drag out the first 6 episodes and call it a series.
My top 2 was the heist and the prison. God teir SW not even exaggerating
For the first time in any Star Wars lone TIE Fighters were legit terrifying, rather than simply cannon fodder.
I especially remember the scene where one TIE runs super low to the river, kicking up a fantail, and then flies right over the crew’s heads letting them know they could have just have been strafed if the pilot wanted to. The noise alone, which has always been iconic, was so well edited and engineered - like at a race track when you’re near a high output engine revving LOL but it’s a TIE Fighter 👍
im not a star wars fan neither even know star wars lore as much, but Andor does not feels like a star wars movie
not in a bad way
in any star wars? they were not fodder in episode 4
One of the stark differences I found between Andor and other Star Wars media that really hooked me from the start was the dialogue. Whenever you hear a conversation in Andor it genuinely feels like people talking with one another vs what a lot of the other movies/shows in SW have done. A huge step up coming from Obi Wan...
yes i find alot of lines in the prequels feel fairly cliched and simply announcing their intent. In Andor, you can see and hear the fear tension in their eyes and voice
Obi-wan's cinematography, camera angles, post-production, and editing was simply bad, lazy, and amateurish. A real letdown.
@@hippoace George lucas was famous for creating really bad dialogue and unnatural conversations, like the sand incident
Exactly. Andor's characters talk like real people. Characters in the other recent shows made the insane decision to mimic George Lucas' godawful dialogue in the prequels.
@@mohamadmirza6346 don't lie to yourself
The other thing I really love about Andor is the tension that is missing from literally every post Disney Star Wars media. The empire is a true threat to the characters, and the characters react as such. Not having the omnipotent view makes the audience take the ride with the characters and also creates tension.
Having grand, epic battles is great and all, but if the audience doesn't care about the characters or the story, it's largely just eye candy. The Andor team did an amazing job with this prequel when the audience already knows what happens.
So true
I even felt terrible for the guy helping bixx…
He was hung in center of town and he hardly any screen time
@@tedcannefax6043 Dude I almost shed a tear in last week's episode after seeing Bee's (the droid) reaction to Marva's death.
Excellent point!
@@arafat9828 Spoilers!
I couldn't disagree more. None of the characters are particularly interesting, especially the main character. The empire is as inept as always, they try to sugarcoat it by throwing in some black stormtroopers, one of which gets promptly dropped by Andor like it's nothing, they pull more or less all security from Bix, which enables Andor to practically twerk his way into her cell with (almost)no opposition. There's so many more issues I have with the show, so I'll just end it with saying that I can't wait 'till Mando comes back. That's by far the BEST Star Wars TV-Show produced so far.
It's quite clear that Andor is a character-driven narrative while the other Star Wars projects are plot-driven. You can see that plots take centre stage in the original trilogy, the three prequels and the three sequels, the characters there are just plot place-holders. While in Andor, Toni Gilroy focuses on the causality of characters. We care so much about the people in this world, even if their screentime is just a few minutes. Even the robot makes us emotional. Andor is simply good writing.
Not only is it a well-written character driven story, but it gives equal weight many main characters. Andor may be a main character, but we follow several others. And there are literally dozens of characters who are fleshed out so well. In 12 episodes or less we understand the entire community of Ferrix, the motivations and backgrounds of the heist crew, the prisoners, everyone on Coruscant. Credit to the writers and actors that they don't need a ton of dialogue or lore-dropping to inform viewers either.
Andor puts the focus on the character development, while painting the plot as it goes along. Despite the viewers knowing where that ultimately ends, we experience it develop through the perspective of the characters, most of which don’t know where it’s leading to.
"Plot" is a bit of a stretch there.
Luke?
The writing is so good I even care about Imperial middle managers and flunkies. And the monologues are incredible - like modern Shakespeare set in space.
What they did with the Ti fighters in Andor sent chills down my back almost everytime. They were absolutely terrifying
TIE...for Twin Ion Engine
@@andys.9526 oh that makes sense
@@andys.9526 jambo namba five!
I used to vacation as a kid in the same areas of Scotland that they filmed these scenes. You'd be out on a hike and suddenly, unannounced you'd see and hear a Royal Air Force Tornado jet fighter screaming through the Glen (valley) at just a couple hundred feet up. (pilot training). If you'd walked high, sometimes you'd even be above the plane. It was hella loud, and not a little bit scary. Seeing these Tie scenes in Andor I couldn't help but feel that capturing that feel was the intention - perhaps by someone in the writing / location team that had also experienced the shock of such violent power in such an otherwise quiet and tranquil place.
@@LittlePixelTM Yeah, I've been on hikes in similar areas in the lake district used for RAF training, and having a jet come screaming through the valley was always very much a shock, both with how loud it is, and how you barely get any warning until they're already right there, given the speeds involved. Rather than a distant plane engine, going 'oh there's a plane', then seeing it, it's more 'what's that noise' then it's right there, chasing it's own sound waves.
Another note on sensory details: I can tell you didn't add it out of sensitivity lol, but the moment when all the racks of metal credits slid in the aircraft and hit the kid was BRUTAL to watch. They really made it feel real there.
Having seen a cart of that gold dump during loading, you know that even a single bar hitting him could have done serious damage. This show does an amazing job of letting you see what the stakes and elements are without making it obvious that it's laying it all out for later
Andor is, by far, my absolute favorite piece of Star Wars media. It makes the universe of Star Wars real and empathetic in a way that none of the big production spectacles ever could. The casting, acting, cinematography, lighting, dialogue, pacing, VFX, editing, music, and so on and on... ALL of it is completely cohesive and lends itself to the most impactful version of the Star Wars world I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
I'm definitely going to rewatch it after seeing the season finale tonight.
..and even Storm Troopers are scary now.
I think it lacks the economy of storytelling of ESB. It's hard to compare, I know, but ESB is still the benchmark for me. Andor still has some odd choices and over-reliance on our own cultural biases and norms, which ESB doesn't. Andor has baddies wearing jodhpurs like Nazis (but in a horseless culture), people saying "aficionado" (in a culture without Spanish bullfighting), and actors who are Indian wearing clothes that look a bit more Indian than everyone else's clothes... i.e. the showrunners are relying on our brains to make quick connections rather than doing actual worldbuilding. The way Mon Mothma's husband is obviously a bit of an asshole because he affects a vaguely Japanese hairstyle is an interesting one... you might not consciously think of him as a wannabe/tryhard/poseur just because he's white but dresses and does his hair Japanaese... but your brain did.
ESB is very good at not relying on cultural tropes and cliches at all. Lando is "dodgy/untrustworthy" from the start because he's super-smooth with Leia, not because he's black or dressed a certain way. Yoda does not have any particular human cultural attribute, he's just designed to look as least like a grand master as possible... he is a green bug-eyed alien, which we normally dismiss, of course... Boba Fett doesn't lean into Nazi imagery like Vader at all, he's just still and faceless (ie only in it for the money). And so on...
@@lupolinar they were scary in Rogue One.
@@gospelofrye6881 - I agree with your objective observations, I disagree with your valuations of them. Those mental shortcuts have been part of Star Wars since the OT. The storm trooper/nazi imagery especially. But more importantly, those mental shortcuts are effective in conveying the intended impressions visually, and are a sign of GOOD design. On top of that, even if those mental shortcuts were missing, the writing and acting in Andor is so good, that those shortcuts aren't necessary at all, but they do indeed help to amplify the feelings.
While Star Wars does take place in a galaxy far far away, and there is room for arguments that there should be far more alien and out-there world-building, if the world is too alien it becomes difficult to empathize with the characters, and to put ourselves in their shoes, which, in most cases, is the main goal of good story writing. Something else you may have noticed about Andor is its huge lack of non-human aliens in the main cast. This is 100% intentional, and personally, I feel it was the best choice for the story they're trying to tell because if the cast were half composed of non-humans, then our ability to place ourselves in the shoes of the characters and empathize with everyone involved becomes difficult if not impossible.
Granted, there should definitely be more alien main characters in Star Wars, however, they would have to be heavily humanized and given a great deal of expressiveness if we want them to have emotional weight as *characters* instead of what all alien creatures always end up being in movies and shows: either talking animals or incomprehensible dangers.
Andor made the right choice, IMO.
@@lupolinar how?
The visuals in Andor definitely reminded me of Dennis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and Dune. But while those films had big grandiose shots, Andor takes that style and gives it more ground perspective.
It's not as much of a difference between the two.
Yes, BR and Dune do have huge grandiose shots, but most of them (not all, but most) are connected to the characters perspective.
More so in Dune.
There are establishing and overview shots, but we see Atreides ships coming out of the water from Paul's perspective, we see Arrakeen for the first time from the ornithopters, same as we see the worm, same as the two big wide shots of battle for Arrakeen are shown looking "over the shoulder" of Duncan's ornithopter and from the perspective of Paul and Lady Jessica.
So I believe Villeneuve understands and uses that perspective method quite well too.
@@LoisoPondohva Absolutely! And I love Villeneuve for it. I also wanted to mention 2014's Godzilla which is another movie I love for its artistic style and very grounded cinematography. They capture the scale of these behemoths by always placing the camera where a human could be. In a skyscraper, on the ground, in a helicopter etc. But this won't be a coincidence, because Godzilla was directed by Gareth Edwards who directed Rogue One which is the inspiration for Andor. Andor is also written by Tony Gilroy who wrote Rogue One as well!! We've come full circle on the cinematic excellence scale.
Scrolled down to the comment section to say this. Found out its has already been said. Respect o7. Ps: Haven't watched Andor yet but looking at the scenes Thomas showed, it was more than enough to give Vileneuve aesthetic.
Definitely has the vibes, it also has some of the cast - the guy ringing the clock bell and of course Skarsgard were both in Dune.
You motherfuckers with your Villeneuve comparisons are gonna make me sell my soul to the Mouse just to watch this show.
To add onto this something that I love about this show is the humanization of the actual people in the Empire and it's not done in a "everyone has a good and bad side!", they are still bad guys but we see their human elements, like soldiers sitting down being "lazy" until a superior shows up and they act all proper. To me the superior showing up also represent the audience in the previous films and shows, it's the camera starting to roll so everyone is in position and acting, while in this show we're seeing the behind the scenes footage before the camera starts rolling.
Yeah I loved the bit on Aldhani where the Imperial guys were asking permission to watch the aurora. Just quite a pure thing for some of these horrible bastards to appreciate and want to see.
And it's contrasted by this being the first time we really see the Empire being the shitty fascist regime it actually is. Regular human beings being bigoted, not giving two shits about the sanctity of human life, developing the world's largest surveillance state and cops literally pulling the "hey why don't you calm down" at perfectly calm people trick. ...Specifically to round them up for prison labor. God I love this show.
Right, also the amount of ACTORS and not just those same bunch of faces which you re obliged to link to "mAiN hErO" or "bAd gUy": in Andor everyone seems havign something to say, everyone and every details feel alive.
Obi Wan show did the opposite, like "who cares about people, HERE YOUR HERO BE FANATIC ABOUT IT" and stop, no space for giving a Spirit to world building and Story.
The empire is portrayed as normal people doing evil. Full of under-surveillance bureaucrats. Some are really evil, some are just existing in that machine. They try not to be proactive or competent, but only reactive, afraid of punishment. The oppression is inside the imperial machine as well. Actually at all levels from top to botton. Even the "apparent" subservience of Vader in relation to the Emperor is mirrored down in this evil machine.
I loved the interoffice power struggles in the ISB. Just constantly trying to one-up each other like you'd see in a real office.
5:46 this is part of why the shot of the sand spaceport in A New Hope is so compelling. They don't hand you a drone/digital shot of the town and then cut to luke in a bar. They give shots of luke and obiwan in the car, driving past security, getting out of the car, and walking into the bar. It makes the world feel real and genuine.
The term I always use to describe Andor when people ask me what exactly it is about is "a study of fascism, but with blaster rifles, and damn well written" and that usually gets the kind of people I know excited for it
Lmao well said. Too bad none of the students in my school are interested in anything I like. My closest friend used to be in my school but now is living far away but we have contact via discord and we watch Andor together, I got him to watch it cuz he liked Star Wars but never seen any of the shows.
I really liked all the liminal and interstitial spaces in the show, I think Coruscant has never felt more real than in this show and those spaces have been important in that.
Absolutely. Shot as if you'd shot a city that's lived in and known, not as a showcase to the SFX.
Coruscant actually felt like it was the capital of the Empire and the galaxy.
Coruscant was the only location that disappointed me because it didn't look like Coruscant. Too much concrete, and the way the light hit it just didn't look like Coruscant lighting. Everything else worked perfectly for me though, and the lower level where Luthen confronts the ISB spy was PERFECT. I guess that if this was what was needed to keep the budget toward other, more important things, then it's worth it, but honestly, I felt Coruscant at times, just didn't look like Coruscant
@@officialmonarchmusic I think that was intentional. This was Coruscant under the Empire, and they wanted to give it more of a Brutalist feel, as opposed to the Art Deco of the Republic era.
@@Descriptor413 The concrete just looks too much like Earth. Again, you can make it work with cold feeling metal. That actually pulls the brutalist effect off better. As I said, the best location on Coruscant was the lower level where Luthen talks to the spy, it really felt like Coruscant
Andor’s cinematography looks visually striking so is its production design. Thank you so much for sharing this show, should add to my watchlist🙌
The production design and cinematography are 10/10
@@chasehedges6775 Yeah production design has always been a strong suit of Star Wars tbh but it just feels like they REALLY paid attention to it in this show. The sound design is also incredible, I have never found a TIE fighter as intimidating as it was in episodes 3 and 4
Where can I watch Andor? It is not on Netflix
@@krioni86sa It's Disney+
I'm jealous of anyone who hasn't seen Andor because it is such a great series. Please don't ruin it by watching too many videos about the project.
I can go one further, I not only used to work next to Barbican and had my graduation there, my wife works in Canary Wharf (also in Rogue One) and used to live in the Brunswick Centre (where Syril lives). Watching this was just a series of “I know that place!” moments. And I’ve been mountain biking at one of the other locations (although I didn’t recognise that). Really enjoyed the series, and your video!
Look up Buzludzha Monument. It also appears in Andor.
Always cool to see a familiar name in the comments, really enjoy your videos!
@@Balthorium Andor is shot entirely within the UK so Buzludzha Monument doesn't appear. If you're thinking about Ferrix bell tower it's an original set piece designed by the team. A Star Wars film shot at the Buzludzha Monument would be cool though.
@@theamazingwhaleshark4478 I remember where they shot it but the set piece they built looks like it drew inspiration from the Eastern European monument.
What I love immensely about Andor is that the rebels are not just these goody two shoes but they are actually desperate and will do questionable things to start a rebellion.
I love how they get some sort of scifi 70s feeling like in the first STAR WARS movie! It's hard to describe but it feels like 70s technology in modern time ....like in the court scene
not just for the 70's feel, realistically a colony (and the people in them) are far and away from the resources needed for anything fancy, so naturally only the higher offices of the imperials have all the Apple Store aesthetic, and the hard-scrabble colonies make do with older and/or practical equipment and machinerythat's cheaper and easier to fix/maintain.
i think it helps that the Barbican building referenced at the start of the video is a late 1960s building created with ideas of what people expected of the future at the time. it’s a futuristic building…but from 50 years ago :) fits perfectly with the star wars look
Yep
"I'll worry about you all the time." "That's just love." First time I've cried in star wars show
Yes!
"Tell him i love him more than anything he could ever do wrong." Oof.
@@CantankerousDave Tell him he knows everything he needs to know and feels everything he needs to feel...
You are kidding,right?
I cry every time I hear this line
It’s really an incredible show. So it’s always irritating to hear people say it’s “boring” because there isn’t enough action, lightsabers or cameos…
More space wizards, laser swords, and furbies! Too much talking!! /s
🤣
Actually this may help to look more epic the moment lightsabers or cameos appears in the serie.
Those are people who can't put their phone down for more than 5 minutes and therefore miss the little things that you have to absorb to understand and appreciate most great television. Sure in some parts it's a little slow, you can say the same thing about Better Call Saul, parts of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, you know, the best TV shows ever made.
I have more issue with that it doesnt feel like star wars anymore, one of the reason is exactly what this video describes, the magic of galaxy far far away is disappearing with too much grounded approach and usage of too much stuff and locations from earth :/
@@rawwad i get what you say, but at the same time getting far from the constant magical spectacular mystical nonsense (in terms of plots, landscapes, cinematography, etc) it's for me a welcome mouthful of fresh air. the sheer lack of stupid humouristic characters is so liberating!
and (again, for me) the only way to return to a franchise that seems to be more than spent, drowned in it's own silly attempts to please old fans, new fans, adults, toddlers, studio executives, merch factories and comiccon goers at the same time.
Andor is a work of autopoiesis, a deep experiential dive into both the grinding, repressive bureaucracy of fascism and the awakening of the consciousness of resistance and rebellion. It's the most mature Star Wars ever but it's standing on the shoulders of giants and benefits from a lot of "referential density" (knowledge of previous Star Wars works, including 45 years of worldbuilding). By creating a newly complex and embodied understanding of, say, how the Empire functions, Andor is also redefining and expanding our relationship with all other SW films and shows, past and future.
not expanding my relationship with the sequel trash....only expanding my hope they are supplanted by filming of this quality!
It's underestimated how useful that is, and how few franchises are so ubiquitous that they don't need to explain basic facts. Even people who have never seen Star Wars know there's an empire and a rebellion, space ships, a Death Star, how droids behave. They've seen a clip and heard friends talking abut it. My wife was raised in a cult, sheltered from damn near everything, and even she knew basic facts about Star Wars.
They had a lot of room to just tell a story and subvert expectations. While this could have easily worked as a non-Star Wars story, it's better for being one
my favorite part about andor is how grounded it felt, it just really captured the feeling of actually being in star wars, for the first time ever in my opinion, the setting not only looked real, but it also immersed you in it as well.
Yeah, Coruscant in the prequels never felt like much more than a backdrop. It's alive now, as the focus is much more on the people on the planet instead of the scale. In the prequals shots of Coruscant showed a dense, planet-covering city, always showed the size of the skyscrapers and the endless traffic zooming by in tbe background. The shots are so much smaller now, focusing more on the people living there. The daily lives of normal people play a role. And that's with every planet. Why do some planets feel awfully empty yet have Empire presence? The people have been victims of genocide, or depletion of resources forced people to migrate elsewhere, or the Empire forced everyone into centralised hubs. It feels like the world is alive and doesn't solely exist for the main characters to move a plot in.
In the early episodes of Andor I thought it was a bit slow like I perceive a lot of British made productions. I was thinking of not watching any more about episode 3. But I am so happy that I stuck with it. And while the show never had the sort of action to the degree of most other Star Wars productions, I realized that there was indeed a master story teller at work here. The ending of this season left me with as much impact New Hope gave me at the end. But deeper in so many ways. Deeper than most of the other SW movies and series.
This was Star Wars for adults. Not for children or teens. This was made for people who have experienced life and not made as a live action cartoon show. I look forward to the next season and I hope the other Star Wars productions move in this sort of direction as well.
I felt the same. The show looked beautiful but the first three episodes didn’t do a great job in explaining to us why we should care about these characters. They came across as slightly annoying, at best, with some of the side characters in particular. But I’m happy I stuck with it because it got so much better, and in the end, we truly cared.
I thought almost the whole thing was quite slow, none of the characters felt more than surface level and frankly were really disappointing to me personally. The sets fell short too, but hey we all have different opinions.
@BOO1101 What are you even doing here
The slowness is actually something I love about British shows. I think speed is one of Hollywood's main issues nowadays
I didn't once think of the show as slow, but then again I often like British shows and feel like many American shows rely too much on action and explicit story beats to move the story forward. Also, my main interests in history are intelligence agencies, and I work for the government. Andor shows so well how corruption can cripple an organisation. Tiresome bureaucracy, officers focusing more on their own careers than the goal of the organisation, it's all very similar to my own experiences and stories from colleagues. Add the slow decent into totalitarianism and rebellion, and you have a show that ticks all topics I find interesting. Andor has implemented those complicated topics very well in my opinion, and it shows the kind of bureaucracy that's necessary to run a totalitarian Empire. And it shows the flaws such a bureaucracy would inevitably have. As a child who loved the battles and fights of the Star Wars movies I probably would have found Andor boring, but as you said: This is Star Wars for adults. Star Wars for people who have worked in a team, who've seen the infighting in an organisation and know that all conflicts are more complex than just good vs. evil.
Andor is one of the best TV series this year, no doubt.
Yeah, not just best Star Wars, but one of the best shows in general this year.
It might've not gotten a ton of house hold views, but those who did admit that it *is* the best SW show.
its the best
In terms of all TV series this year, I PERSONALLY feel that Better Call Saul takes the cake but this has also been very very good. definitely at the very top of the list of shows this year.
What was the best part? was pretty boring for me, fell asleep a bunch
What feels completely foreign, especially for Star Wars, is actually caring for the characters. Not just superficially, as in rooting for or against someone based on who they side with, but because you care for them on an emotional level since we can empathize or understand the decisions they have to make. It's something that Star Wars hasn't had much success with in the past but with the writing and characters that _Andor_ has given us, there are going to be calls for more mature series like this.
No kidding. In the finale when Grasso attacked the Imperial soldiers with Maalva's brick, I cared so much. I wanted Grasso to be selfish for once and protect himself, but I also couldn't deny the character his choice to resist. Probably my favorite Star Wars media in the last 30 years.
@@peterstedman6140 Brasso*
@@CramcrumBrewbringer haha yes. Brasso
Definitely! One thing I thought was so interesting as well is how the show set us up to care about Dedra Meero - many of us have been in jobs where we're under-appreciated and have shitty colleagues, and trying to climb the work ladder in spite of the challenges. It's such a HUMAN experience to go through... only for the show to brutally remind you that Dedra is a TEEEERRIBLE person by torturing Bix. Dedra has no empathy, and thrives as a result - because the Empire's bureaucracy doesn't reward people for caring.
ive cared emotionally about characters since I was 3 years old. What the fuck are you talking about? Anyone who watches star wars emotionally cares for and roots for luke, han, and leia.
As someone who has no nostalgia over star wars since I only recently watched everything, I have to say Andor is my favourite piece of content within the star wars universe.
try watch Attack of the clones 😁
My favorites for the movies are episodes 1-6 plus rogue one. (I love rogue one with a passion) favorite show might be andor. I don’t compare the shows with the movies because you can’t get everything you need in one movie without it being really long, (unless it’s really good) and it’s just two different things :)
@@bikesrcool_1958 😁 mentions AOTC because the dialogue quality differences it have compared to Andor, where Nemik Manifesto, Luthen, Maarva and Kino monologue in the same universe with "i dont like sands" "youre in my very soul, tormenting me!"
The elements of what it means to find yourself in the midst of protest and rebellion all feel extremely real. I've found myself caught up in the events of a military coup in Myanmar, and having been involved in the protests and in the periphery of the active rebellion and now being in hiding, the show felt more like a documentary than a chapter of Star Wars. I go could relate to each episode so much that I often find myself sobbing hysterically by the end of an episode because the reflection of my reality within this show is what made my reality actually feel concrete and real. Nothing about this show feels forced it fictional, it all feels very natural and organic. It's perfectly executed. I have to think that there are people on the crew who have lived through uprisings and rebellions because of this, and seeing the diverse cast from all different countries, it seems quite likely.
I really love the sounds of the tie fighters *Screaming* across the sky above the crew.
It really makes them a threat instead of just fodder.
Also your final point perfectly encapsulates the reason why Andor is so fantastic compared to the rest of recent star wars. It is a well made show and story that *happens* to take place in stars wars, you could transplant the entire story to another universe and it would still hit as hard.
That makes it a lot less "Star Wars" though, which is not a good thing for people who happens to like Star Wars.
@Viljarms I like Star Wars and I like Andor because of how it's a story that _could_ work in another setting but happens in the Star Wars setting, so... maybe speak only for yourself.
@@Viljarms
The entire show is based around Rebels and the Empire. It demonstrates the strength of the Empire, and shows how rebels fought against that strength.
I would argue that it is definetly star wars enough, it shows us a different part of the rebbelion, not just the jedi and sith.
I thought exactly the same. The real environments made the city feel more alive.
I agree. It feels real enough to be like out World but fictional enough to be in another place, just as Lucas wanted it to be.
The sheer size of the Ferrix main street set is nuts.
One of the things about a show like Obi-Wan Kenobi that stuck out immediately to me, was just how clean everything was, especially the clothing. Just look at the very first episode when the inquisitors arrive. You have all these people, stuck on a hot desert planet, and yet every single one of them is wearing clothing that is clean and new. Nothing is frayed, stained, ripped, threadbare etc, nothing looks worn. Hell, the *sand* in the city is clean, it's far too neat and tidy. Even the tables in the bar are squeaky clean, not even a grain of sand on them. No one is sweaty or dusty, the whole thing LOOKS like people in clean costumes just walked onto a polished set 5 minutes earlier. In Andor, the streets on Ferrix are dirty and cluttered, shit is just lying around everywhere, the clothing looks weathered, the place looks lived in, and the actors and extras look like they live there. It has a verisimilitude that Kenobi lacks, and all of that is before we even get to the location shooting in Andor vs the over-use and poor application of the Volume technology in Kenobi.
and less star wars, it doesnt feel anymore like galaxy far far away, when you see too much real world environments, stupid props like Ak47, real goat 🤦♂ I want to scream in moments like that. The very first thing he pointed out is one of those that totally threw me off, when I see some of those details like railing or real lamps that I saw hundreds of same in real life, they magic is gone. Its not star wars anymore, it feel like dystopian future from earth :/
@@rawwad Your opinion is just wrong, thats it, Andor is a gem and now go watch your stupid "starwars". Andor is more like original trilogy then all the other new garbage for no brains and kids with attention span of a baby.
Andor is amazing. It's dialogue, it's character development, it's filmography, it's absolutely amazing.
Cinematography*
Filmography is a list of films someone has worked on, but I agree 😋
@@itsd0nk haha! Thank you, love me some good sci fi but tbe field i work in is far removed! Seriously though, AMAZING science fiction!
This has convinced me to watch Andor. When I was watching the trailer months ago, I was hesitant because Star Wars Disney stuff just isn't that good now. But I was impressed by how real the world looks and the cinematography. I'll finally check it out
First two episode are slow set up
Third episode delivers then it start another three episode arc and so on
I felt very much the same way. I’ve been really impressed and positively surprice by this show. Hope you will enjoy too
andor is 100% the best show of the year, highly recommend it
@@tedcannefax6043 3 episode cycle/pacing actually makes it better for me tbh. It accents the moments of action by providing character contextualization and world building that makes it more valuable.
porc, when you finish watching Andor you might also enjoy this video about Andor's architecture and cinematography. Caution, because there are some minor spoilers in the video: ua-cam.com/video/hU4LfjaqV5M/v-deo.html
One of my favorite things about Andor, The Mandalorian, and even the various Legends books and stories that focus on the "regular people" side of things, is that in doing so they indirectly make the big things seem much much more imposing. Like TIE fighters, things that Han Solo just flicks out of the sky easily are now these incredibly dangerous machines that take massive amounts of effort to overcome, a fact we see first hand when Luthen impresses everyone watching when he uses his wit, skill and technical prowess to escape a squad of them in his ship. And the Jedi become these almost god-like beings who are capable of molding reality in a way that makes the likes of Cassian Andor seem so much more mortal, which I think works to Star Wars' advantage. Like imagine the likes of Darth Maul being in the same room as Cinta for example? Such an image would make you feel exactly the level of terror that a regular person should feel when in the presence of a Sith, those demonic forces of the dark side. It shows just how powerful things are which we now find mundane, like Jedi and TIE fighters.
Andor does a great job at making the Star War universe feel more functional and alive. Everything from the phone booths to the bus-style repulsor craft make it feel more realistic.
There are a handful of works that transcend their medium & exist as part of the greater collective artistic standard. S1 of Andor has become one of those works alongside seasons from The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc... I have been a critic & journalist for years & I can confidently say the level of artistic intent & execution on display in Andor is absolutely phenomenal. As counterintuitive as it may seem, my fear is that because it exists as part of a large IP it will risk being overlooked or underappreciated.
Netflix Daredevil did the same.
My fear is that is will be hijacked by the woke tyrants and turned into social propaganda once it excellent writers, producers and directors have earned and achieved a large invested audience.
@@seanc1105 There's only 1 more 12 episode season (for better or worse) so hopefully it won't come to that
I loved how they were staying with the marching musicians in the finale for a really long time. You're simply bathing in the suspense there; because the pros who made this show knew that they would have you at that point and that they could afford to linger - not only that: that it would make it so much better!
There's the shot of them at the end of the main street -- looking out over the Imperial line -- where there's a pause, silence, and then the music starts up again as the crowd marches forward. It's no longer a funeral dirge they're playing, but a battle hymn. Damn thing gave me chills.
the fact that we got this show from the same company that made obi wan is still unbelievable. The difference in quality is immense, and unfortunately it's very difficult to believe that the Empire in Andor is the same Empire with all the awful, cartoony characters from Obi Wan.
@@grproteus Different director do change things a lot
That funeral scene (and the riot following) almost had me in tears because it feels like I have lived side by side with these characters and I can't see them be hurt but I can also see how it's impossible to stay silent and obedient- this show is sooo good.
Not only that, the Finale scene is the first scene that was shot during the production. Tony Gilroy (the creator of Andor) knew that the audience would be hooked by the show and that he was brave enough to put that long scene in the Finale. That scene is a huge payoff for those who watch the entire show.
I think the pieces about theme and destiny are recontextualized in Andor through Syril's story. Syril is the Luke Skywalker of this show; he begins normal and banal - the son of an overbearing mother who has taken a job as a low ranking corporate security officer. The inciting incident of his Hero's Journey is Cassian murdering the two men at the beginning. This sets of a chain of events that puts Syril in a constant stream of impossible and dangerous scenarios. He is forced to sacrifice everything, his career, his future, his relationships in order to do what he believes is the right thing; bringing a terrorist and murderer to justice. He never gives up on his quest to do what he knows is right, and in the final episode even gets to save the girl. This flips our normal understanding of heroism on its head because we the audience know Syril is a bad guy who has chosen the side of tyranny. But this shows how we are all the heroes of our own story, and the monomyth of destiny can apply to to the other side as well.
thats a great insight
I noticed this as well - I really hope they take him further next season and I'm really interested in how his relationship with Deidre will develop
Exactly. Stating the obvious, it can also be said that Cassian Andor is the Han Solo of this story: small-time criminal who reluctantly joins the rebel cause. And he’s got his signature blaster.
The tragedy is that he genuinely doesn't know about Dedra's interest in torture via mixtape or ability to casually order the murder of a prisoner. He thinks that she and the ISB are defenders of law and order, not the ruthless boot of a fascist regime. I'm thinking that he'll realize that in season 2 and will have to make a choice, and that will make for a good story.
Well said.
Thank you for articulating and breaking down why Andor is such a good show in a way us laymen can't quite put our finger on. As I was watching, I was reminded of the lived-in, gritty feel of movies like Aliens, Blade Runner and a lot of pre-modern CGI cyberpunk sci-fi of the 80s and 90s.
3:31 I noticed this with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul aswell. This focus on details, things you can hear and see. It's so satisfying to watch/listen to.
it really was a suprise that they made this show with so much love, just by the first trailer you could tell it was definitely a higher quality show compared to other shows
Not to mention the dialogue.
Seriously, every piece of dialogue in this show is as gripping, gritty, and real as the action sequences. 10/10 writing.
I'd say it's better than a bunch of pre-Disney Star Wars as well. This show manages to deliver on so much of the political intrigue that Lucas stumbled with in the Prequels as well. It's just a wonderfully made series.
this. it executes almost to perfection both the intrigue part but also importantly the ideas that Lucas was trying to get it (arguably going even further)
I wasn’t going to watch andor after being disappointed with half of kenobi and all of boba fett, but I gave it a try because of this video and I’m so glad I did. Andor was fantastic. Every single episode was so well done, and the points you made during this video are spot on. I honestly dont know how they knocked this show out of the park and flubbed on the others. Thanks for giving it praise or else I wouldn’t have watched it
I’m obsessed. This is THE best Star Wars content ever made. The character development, depth of relationship development, acting, sounds, set design, plot, nuance, every detail so beautifully done. Empire strikes back is second but this is by far my favorite. Well done Thomas. I really enjoyed your analysis. Thank you.
Wow that finale was everything. 2024 can't come soon enough
It was fantastic
As a Londoner it was an absolute thrill to see the Barbican doubling for my favourite planet in cinema.
I've really enjoyed how banal the show makes pretty much every person working for the empire appear through such subtle brushstrokes. As you said, we see them eating snacks, but also making mistakes, hesitating, slacking off, and being generally just very unlike the unflinching and unyielding force of natural supremacy that the empire wishes to brand itself as. Not only do those details make even very minor characters seem like actual people with whole lives outside the moments we meet them, but it also reminds us that at the end of the day any oppressive power depends entirely on the compliance of people who are probably not half as capable, intelligent, reliable, or even committed as they are expected to be. There's something monstrous in the commonness of evil acts in this show, yet it also makes the empire seem much less menacing and way more beatable.
Also, I love it how unsexy every villain in Andor is. This is definitely not the type of series that ends up accidentally glamorizing fascism by making the antagonists seem intimidating and powerful up to the point of flattery and thus making them seem downright aspirational to viewers who are susceptible to fascist imagery. Even at their best, members of the empire in Andor are so banal and pitiful that I can't imagine anyone wanting to be like them in any capacity.
Yeah this is honestly my favourite part of the show, recontextualizing the oppressors as fearful paranoid cowards. That when they flex their power with massacres, arrests, indefinite sentences, etc, it is not brutal or cool, its utterly pathetic.
As a small addendum i noticed that with the costume design, they made the imperials just look a lot more goofy. The officers suddenly have ridiculous flared pants. And with the acting, the imperial soldiers marching do so in a way that looks exaugurated and played up to a silly degree.
You know, I kind of disagree with the last point. I find Deidre (the isb woman) to be one of the most compelling villains I've seen in SW media so far. Her very humanity which makes her so imperfect also gives her a far more appealing personality. When you watch her, it doesn't only feel like a general in an opressive regime, she is also an expert at what she does, entirely dedicated to her beliefs and fighting to shine in a male-dominated field. That makes her, to me, a villain I found myself rooting for, despite what she was working towards.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean by "unsexy", sure, she isn't a very beautiful woman, but I think she is attractive in the Dom kind of way, and in the "person who is completely dedicated to her craft" kind of way, which I feel is a far harder kind of sexy to be in a villain, rather than overt sexualization.
Unsexy? I dunno, I find Denise Gough pretty sexy.
I can't explain how much I enjoyed this show, I had no idea it would become my favorite starwars show. Even the mandalorian is going over the top now with to many cameos.
This show was an absolute masterclass. I learned a LOT from what you had to say about the production. It's amazing how much further perspective will take something. I loved how grounded the show felt.
This analysis was spot on. Thanks for explicitly identifying so many of the nuances that make this show effective. It's my favorite Star Wars content since Empire.
The bit about the sensory details was so on point. I was really to put into words why the show feels so real and lived in, and the tactile nature of it all is exactly why. So well put!
This is very similar to what Alfonso Cuarón did with the third Harry Potter. A great use of perspective and also continuity, connecting the characters with the world using long takes and wide lenses.
Also about Ulaf's death. Many deaths we see in Star Wars are by Force powers, lightsabers, explosions, by the Death Star. But Ulaf's death in the prison episode was very real because he died by something common to us such as a stroke.
Also, that scene where Nemik is crushed to death by a huge pile of Imperial credits.
It's something you didn't expect from a Star Wars show because usually, characters die by getting shot or exploded. As a typical Star Wars audience, you expect him to die by getting shot in the gunfight because he is just too nervous for the job. Instead, the show presented a plot twist that he survived until the unfortunate happened to him.
Very much agree with your analysis.
Another benefit in setting the characters in a real environment is the acoustic signature provided by the natural echoes of such an environment and subliminally experienced by the viewer as a consequence.
I would add that not only does andor focus on showing the locations from a character’s physical perspective, it also gives us their emotional perspective. Their reaction to the sight helps inform our understanding of the location as much as seeing it ourselves
0:54 that shot was filmed in the next town over from me, a seaside town in NW England called Cleveleys. Looks almost the exact same as the actual town, and the VFX mix together perfectly with it. One thing that is especially funny/ interesting to locals is they have made the Vue Cinema (in the background) into a cool citadel type structure, and also the three elderly looking aliens sat on the bench with their walking sticks - Cleveleys to locals of the area is known as a town of old people.
thanks for sharing!
My only wish is that more people saw this masterpiece.
"Andor" felt like the first Star Wars for grown-ups* since Empire Strikes Back, and I loved it. Can't wait for Season 2 and I hope we get more like it.
*The Last Jedi tried, I would argue, but didn't pull it off while Andor absolutely did
I’d argue the Force talk did, some of the Resistance stuff works as well. But I get that, Andor was able to execute everything better than TLJ and most other SW projects
First since Revenge of the Sith to me. Last Jedi tried but didn't even come close. It failed to grasp even a basic understanding of the universe
Andor has gotten me back into Star Wars. A stunning show.
I smile uncontrollably whenever thomas inevitably brings up sound design in his video
This is such a fantastic commentary! I have watched so many movies and series accross the years, but despite the obvious, like the soundtrack or photography, it is not always easy to pinpoint exactly why some works have such an impact when we are just mere viewers. You helped me understand exactly why Andor was so interesting to watch, so thank you for providing such deep insight!
I've been watching your videos for awhile now and have thoroughly enjoyed them without exception. I felt compelled to comment on this video because you skillfully captured what I feel about the Andor series with an almost eery exactness. I have told family and friends that Andor is the best piece of filmmaking in the vast Star Wars body of work in a long time; most certainly in the Disney era. Well written stories about well written characters is at the heart of all great cinema. The characters, be they villain or hero, are multidimensional and forces to be reckoned with. I was as horrified by the suggestion of an introduction of the Senator's teenage daughter to the son of an underworld boss and financier as I was by the barefooted terror of the prison that Cassian was banished to. You brought out into light so much of what I enjoyed in the series and made it a real joy to experience. Your mastery film criticism shines brilliantly and uniquely excellent in this age where we are inundated by a cacophony of videos by anyone armed with a camera and an opinion. Your work here has convinced me to become a patron for the first time.
Thanks for the kind words and support Craig!
Your comment about executives is spot on. I was an on-air radio jock for 10 years. Consultants always had to tell us what to play and when it play it. That really limited our ability to address our listeners wants and needs. Cool video my man, you made a lot of great points.
Every time I walk out Canary Wharf Station on the Elizibeth line I am always reminded of this scene outside the Imperial Security Bureau. They mixed the real location perfectly with the CGI portions.
Was hyping this show for a few years but I must admit it still managed to surpass my expectations. As you said in the end - its a suspensful sci-fi spy thriller, that also happens to be a Star Wars show. I think whenever the intention is to "just make a Star Wars project" or a "superhero film" it often falls flat. It is when the story and the genre come first and the context of it being within a specific franchise comes second, that the final product is usually great. It's noticeable in comicbook films like Logan, Joker and The Batman, I think they're genre pieces first, that just happen to be placed in the context of a comics.
This is the best review of Andor I've seen or heard... not rambling on about ratings or its story-line decisions or Disney politics... but explaining to us exactly Why it is So Damn Good. I'm so glad you put this out there for the world to hear. Hopefully this review will be seen by directors of all sorts who aspire to make Star Wars content. Andor is clearly one of The Best series-shows ever developed. I love it so much and am so grateful for its existence so that I can enjoy its story and its style, over and over again. I really hope season 2 retains the exact style of storytelling & directing that we have here. It will be truly Epic!!!
Great video! Perfectly put into words how I feel about this show.
But I’m shocked you didn’t mention Mon Mothma once! Her scenes contain some of the most compelling and engaging dialogue I’ve seen on TV in a while. Guess you’ll just have to do another video on Andor when season 1 finishes 😁
... or perhaps you find my politics too strong for your taste... *mic drop*
Normally, I’m turned off about people talking “about the thing”, but you do it in such an artistic way that makes your work art as much as the ART ITSELF! Beautiful work!
brilliant break down, really loved this series. The Tie Fighter in the mountains scene, with the sound perspective....PERFECTION!
Fascinating that everything is from their POV. want to watch it again just to notice that fully.
I also found it interesting how almost every scene and relationship was driven by distrust. at least for the first half of the show.
Beautifully produced video. I appreciate the soft lighting, relaxed, low key presentational style and 21:9 aspect ratio to segue seamlessly into the Andor cut scenes. This is YouTubing at its professional best! 😍👍🏻 Oh and Andor is one of the greatest pieces of acting and cinematography in the entire Star Wars canon IMO.
I am amazed how people find locations for shooting, for my projects this is what I find the most difficult. Incredible work, visualizing the location and planning everything in advance.
This principle of starting with something real and modifying it also goes with the props too. I have a moderately sized antique camera collection and one of the devices was a early model Polaroid camera that would expand so it could be stored flat when not used. I recognized it instantly.
Great stuff! Andor (and Rogue One) are so good. I love how visually grounded and well written they are. Like you say in the video, they're focused more on good story telling rather than opening with a distracting VFX shot that screams "look at me!" Also, I love how they used a Polaroid instant camera at 5:25 - I'm sure most of the younger audience didn't even notice but I thought it was hilarious. 😂
Aside from the amazing acting, refreshing story writing, compelling dialogue, pacing and well choreographed action I was really struck by how incredible the costume and set design was in Andor. Especially on Correscant with Mon and the ISB, really brought me into the world and made it feel so tangible and look so good. I really really enjoyed the show, it was a pleasant surprise.
Whenever something truly good comes along, I often find the description "It's a good (insert genre) that just happens to be (concept)". I did this with early seasons of The Walking Dead. It was a human drama that just happened to have zombies.
Andor transcends what Star Wars has always been up to this point. If you find yourself rolling your eyes at a lot of the storytelling in Disney's recent Star Wars products, give Andor a chance. It's special.
It does make me wonder if Star Wars has actually been harmed (or at least held back) by bringing in people who are big Star Wars fans and trying to appeal to that demo (The Last Jedi seems to be one of the few other things that didn't care about that as much, then Rise of Skywalker overcorrected) - using Star Wars as a way to tell a story seems to work out so much better than than trying to tell a Star Wars story.
@@Tuaron Absolutely true. Many big modern franchises are harmed by what I personally call the "checklist effect" where the story was clearly decided by a committee going through a checklist of what they assume sells well to the broadest audience possible. This drains the actual writers of creativity and also results in some of the desired checklist points come off as half-assed or pandering. I totally agree that it would be much, much, much more desirable to just let the writers go ham and write stories they would like to see in the setting to expand the franchise instead of constructing whatever some suits think a Star Wars story needs to contain.
From the beginning I got bladerunner 2049 and dune vibes from the production sets, the cinematography, directing, and then the characters started talking with dialogue that's game of thrones-level. I was whiplashed at how good this show & its visual storytelling was and couldn't even believe it for the first few episodes, continuing on I just knew that they were gonna stick the hell outta the landing for the finale and they did. So can't wait for the 2nd season.
I love this channel, these are my favorite video essays, and this video, in particular, is absolutely wonderful. You articulate every point so well. I was blown away by Andor and how much I loved it.
I agree 100% with these what you stated. You actually mentioned a few things I thought of originally when I was first watching the show; you don't need to be a Jedi to have story in that world. Similarly with majority of people IRL, and I believe that's what made the show so much better, it was simply more relatable. Not to mention all of the sensory information like you talked about (I still cannot get over how amazing and honestly frightful the TIE fighters were). It's just such a more mature show in how it's made. Instead of focusing on the main people, it focuses on everyone else, and arguably the people who are affected by the empire the most. That's what I don't always love about the main movies, they seem disconnected from how terrible the empire really is. The death star blew up so many planets but you never truly felt the effect of it until Rogue One came along, where you had emotional ties to the characters and not just some explosion in space.
Takes a ton of insight and communication with teams to be able to accomplish something like this. Truly spectacular
Thanks so much for articulating what I was feeling. Everything about this show is so different, thoughtful, and well executed...it's the story I didn't know I've been waiting for since first seeing E4 in 1977.
Great explanation of the use of subjective framing (instead of objective) as well as diegetic sound driving the realness of the environment. As an aspiring sci-fi filmmaker, this video is a gem! Subscribed. You're a great teacher mate.
Props to the UA-cam algorithm. Never heard of either Andor or this channel. Love 'em both now. Great video, thanks!
More videos on Andor please!! I just cant get enough of it!!
Same trick works in animations. A closeup of the character showing skin texture but the rest of the scene with a plain level of detail. And the character seems more real, just because of this single glimpse.
All while watching this show, I felt that it wins on it’s own merits without relying on Star Wars. You could replace tie fighters and stormtroopers with something else and I wouldn’t mind. Even Mon Mothma’s character and her scenes work well without relying on the audience’s knowledge of her later role in the rebellion. Luthen is also proof of this, as he’s an engaging character with no prior Star Wars existence.
It feels like the whole of the star wars universe is the main character in Andor.
Absolutely 100% agree. I live near Cleveleys (uk). The beach scenes were shot here, it was a fabulous experience to see the raw action and then the marvellous cinematic end product. What you are stating is the subtle difference between good and exceptional film making. Hats off to the team that created "the best" Star Wars adventure of the whole franchise. Well highlighted !
This is now one of my favorite Andor related commentary videos. Excellent points and examples. You really identified some of what makes it such a quality production.
For over about a decade now I've really struggled with modern film and its use overuse of CG. I'm a HUGE fan of practical effects and there is a lot to be said about real world texture.
ANDOR VIDEO HELLL YEAHHHH
Best STAR WAR show EVER!
@@chasehedges6775 I haven’t even watched ep 11+12 yet but I agree! this is what happens when talented and skilled people are given enough time to understand and work with each other.
Andor = Peak Star Wars. And I love Star Wars so much ♥
You had "I've been there" moment, while I had "I know this piece of equipment" moment. At 03:52 in the background on the right, behind the glass jug there's Moulinex N2 centrifugal juicer from the 1980's we had in our family home. 😄