Pro-Tip: Don't.
I was in the home of a friend of mine and his son was watching the Mandalorian. It suffers from a lot of the problems of Star Wars in general (and I will unashamedly include the sacred trilogy in that mix).
On its surface the show is as visually impressive as it is liminal in its entertainment value; however, these functions are only on the surface. Watching the show with a critical eye, it becomes very clear that the writing is poor with the plot progression being haphazard and inconsistent. Problems arise and fall away as quickly as the writers need them to and lampshading is common throughout the series. One will note that many of the sci-fi gadgets and technologies are very ill-defined and often demonstrate functionality that would be detrimental to the drama of different episodes if only Mando (or rather the writers) could remember them.
These are ills common to all Star Wars and I have personally found that many fans are so caught up in the illusion presented by the the space-fantasy that they make more out of the media than is actually present. For your own entertainment you'll pick-up a few memes like "this is the way" but this is a poor reward for a vegetative indulgence somewhere in the order of eight to thirteen hours for a Disney videodrama.
>writing is poor with the plot progression being haphazard and inconsistent
Thanks for the well-written critique. It is sad, but I have come to expect the above to be true. I even tell my kids on a regular basis, "it's just a movie, don't expect too much".
I would think that Mandalorian has the budget, so there would be more effort put into the series, but I guess I was hoping for too much.
You could give the collective GDP of these United States to a modern, multinational media corporation and the resultant product would be bereft of any artistic or dramatic value. The terrible part is that I am a fan of cinema and hold many films in high regard; it is such a shame to me that most of these films are called "boring" or "too long" to be enjoyed by the Marvel-munching Disney Dims.
If you want to watch a real film (not just a movie), take a look at The Wages of Fear(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wages_of_Fear). The film catalogs the drama of four men on the terrifying quest of hauling two truckloads of nitroglycerin across the bumpy, unpaved South American countryside to put out an oil-well fire. Despite a good chunk of the film taking place inside the cabin of a truck focusing on the dialogue between two pairs of men, it has more on-the-edge-of-your-seat tension than any multi-million dollar Hollywood superhero "action" film.
Another exemplary piece of cinematography is The Spirit of St. Louis(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_St._Louis_(film)). The main sequence of this film is about Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic and the drama of flying alone above the profound depths of the Atlantic and the uncertainty of ever again seeing land across leagues of endless sea.
It's okay to watch films--some are even art--but for the love of God and all that is good, don't waste your limited time on this green earth watching garbage.
(post is archived)