What2Watch: Andor – Stuff South Africa

It may be difficult to believe that the best thing to come out of Star Wars, since, well, Star Wars, is a no-nonsense political drama thriller that’s light on the laser swords and moving of objects with the mind, paying attention to the deeper lore at work, dialogue, and most importantly, the characters. That’s Andor for you. Think Better Call Saul, but in space. It really is that good.

It may not come as a shock that Andor is as excellent as it is to anybody who has seen 2016’s Rogue One – a gritty prequel to the original Star Wars centred on rag-tag rebel alliance team who risked their lives to retrieve the blueprints of the Death Star, thus setting George Lucas’ fantastical space opera into motion.

Andor picks up a good couple of years before that ever happens, following one Cassian Andor before he inevitably takes up arms against the Empire™. Watchers are treated to a visual feast that’ll see Cassian go from a lowly, lovable criminal to the hardened rebel we know later, and ultimately save the galactic empire.

A lack of lightsabers and the Force is anything but a problem for Andor. Where other Star Wars properties constantly dream up scenarios to whip out the laser swords that’ll leave a pile of nameless bodies in their wake, Andor tries to put the weapons away. It doesn’t work out, but the ensuing action sequences (of which there are plenty) are some of the best we’ve seen. No lightsaber required.

The very first episode is evidence of that. The accidental death of two Imperial officers isn’t just shrugged off as ‘shit happens’ before moving onto the next grand set piece. It weighs on our hero and subsequently the entire show as a result. It’s this that gets the plot of Andor racing and allows the series to reach the highs it eventually does later down the line. It’s a refreshing change to the now-stale Star Wars formula.

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The secret to Andor’s overwhelming success is the handing of its reins to the exceptional Tony Gilroy, who previously helmed Rogue One and was the obvious choice for a pre-prequel set in a galaxy far, far away. Outstanding performances from Diego Luna (Cassian), Stellan Skarsgård (Luthen), and Andy Serkis (Kino Loy) are the reason to plough through Andor’s twelve gripping part heist, part prison drama episodes.

That’s not the sort of starpower Disney typically attaches to the Star Wars franchise, but we couldn’t imagine it working out any differently. Arguably, the best addition to the crew is that of Andy Serkis, whose three-episode tenure is one of the shortest among the main cast. That doesn’t stop Serkis delivering a performance of a lifetime in one of the rare occasions he isn’t covered head-to-toe in motion capture tech.

One of Andor’s better traits is its ability to tell multiple, meaningful stories throughout the brief twelve-episode runtime without each overstaying its welcome. Episodes jump from place to place, time to time, always introducing new things to see, experience, and characters to become overly attached to, even if they aren’t sticking around for the whole thing.

You’ll be glad to know that the visuals are treated with as much, if not more, care and attention than the already fantastic script and cast. Tony Gilroy’s cinematic vision, brought to life by Frank Lamm and his team, is equal parts staggering and haunting. Andor sells the overwhelming scale of the Empire, and doesn’t shy away from using real sets as often as possible. The camera work goes a long way here to set the vibe Andor was going for.

If you’ve avoided Andor and its many spoilers in the three years since its release, you’re in for a real treat. Where other Star Wars fanatics were forced to put up with a three-year wait between seasons, newcomers can easily jump from season 1 right into the first three episodes of season 2. You’ll have to make do with Disney’s rather odd episode release schedule, but it’s worth the wait.

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