Andor (Disney Plus)

[curiousbynature12]

Andor is a political thriller TV series based in the Star Wars universe, but is far more mature with an incredible cast and writing that manages to top itself with each new episode.

Unlike any SW show/movie I have ever seen - it may be some of the best TV out there right now imo.

Has anyone else been watching this series? The finale for Season 1 should air next week as of this post.

 

[+ keroscenefire]

Andor is very, very good. You really feel how it would be to live under an oppressive government like the Empire.

And such a great cast. I've always had a crush on Diego Luna and he has a great shirtless shower scene about halfway through. But I also love how you really see the conflicts in his thinking reflected in his eyes. 

And also Andy Serkis, Genevieve O'Reilly, Stellan Skarsgaard....so many great performances.

Definitely looking forward to the finale.

[+ DynamicUno]

I've been watching Andor and have been thoroughly impressed how well Tony Gilroy has built up this story.  Stellan Skarsgård was fantastically cast as the spymaster role, but almost all of the casting had been superb.  The 2-3 episode arcs allowed the writers to develop the characters and build up to the action scenes. 

The best thing for me has been the almost complete lack of fanservice.  No gratuitous cameos, lightsabers, Jedi, comic relief characters.  It gives everything a grounded human feeling.

The sets and locations are also nearly perfect with 70s aesthetics tying back to the original Star Wars.  Londoners might recognize Brutalist complexes like Barbican and Brunswick Centre creating the cramped undercity of Coruscant.  A tiny apartment room was modeled from the Nakagin capsule apartment tower in Tokyo. The set for the prison/labor camp was lifted from 70s scifi visions of a sterile future life (like Lukas' THX 1138), but still felt grounded in a practical reality.  

There's so much more in the filmography, writing and music that shows yof Gilroy's talents.  I've researched episodes just to see how different scenes were shot and framed.

 

 

[curiousbynature12]

8 hours ago, DynamicUno said:

The sets and locations are also nearly perfect with 70s aesthetics tying back to the original Star Wars.  Londoners might recognize Brutalist complexes like Barbican and Brunswick Centre creating the cramped undercity of Coruscant.  A tiny apartment room was modeled from the Nakagin capsule apartment tower in Tokyo. The set for the prison/labor camp was lifted from 70s scifi visions of a sterile future life (like Lukas' THX 1138), but still felt grounded in a practical reality.  

There's so much more in the filmography, writing and music that shows yof Gilroy's talents.  I've researched episodes just to see how different scenes were shot and framed.

 

 

Loved the set pieces and locations they used this season! I was so suprised when that grimy beach resort on Niamos was actually filmed in Clevelys Beach near Blackpool, England. It seemed to stay true to the real poverty, crime, and deprivation of the local area with heavy Imperial presence in the show.

I will say that I loved the dynamic with Saw Gerrera and Luthen and how Luthen seems to have helped developed Saw's ruthless pragmatism and paranoia that you later see in the Rogue One movie. The space fight scene was also great too!

[+ DynamicUno]

The season finale epside dropped last night, and it definately paid off.  The final confrontation felt like something pulled from history books like the Irish occupation or the labor strikes in the early 20th century.  It's sad that it will be almost 2 years before the second, final, season is ready.