deepc-188-206204

Rick and Morty is going woke. Oh, well. We got four good seasons from it.

On the whole this was an entertaining experience. It's well acted with interesting (if not sympathetic) characters, has beautiful sets and locations, and a good score. While this is a crime story it is not a "gritty" or film noir styled production. The who-dunnit story is the main thread through-out the series but often that takes a back seat to what I'd classify as family drama. It's almost soap-opera in some scenes. A lot of the show revolves around the evolving relationships between family members and friends as they deal with their actions in the current as well as come to terms their actions in the past. (The show runs in two timelines: the present and the late 90s). There is quite a lot of screen time devoted to family interactions some of which is quite dark. Other themes the show presents are dealing with the transition of youth to middle-age, sexual morality and parenting. If that's not enough there is drug-comedy and a little crime family conflict in there as well. If that seems like a lot, it is but there is around 10 hours of viewing. Some of the situations and characters are quite unbelievable, especially in the drug-comedy sections. All the Romanians in the show are essentially parodies which is at odds with the rest of the characters. There are a few very good performances in this show. Daniel Mays (Marcus) and Nuno Lopes (Boxer) were standouts to me but whole cast was good. The lead Laura Haddock was fine. There is quite a bit of nudity in this show. It didn't seem out of place to me but definitely something to keep in mind if you're looking for something to watch with your parents! (Actually there are a couple of reasons not to watch this with your parents but I won't spoil it further).

This isn't a bad show but it certainly isn't a great one. I'd go as far as to say it's boring. I suspect I'm in the minority but The Mandalorian just doesn't do it for me. The title character is like a robot and not in a good way. I don't blame Pedro Pascal - he is a great actor who I've enjoyed watching in GoT, Narcos and Triple Frontier. He's been given a tough assignment to star in a show where you never see his face (or not in the first four episodes at least) and it's just not working for me. It is possible to have engaging characters like this and we have to look no further than the Star Wars franchise itself with Darth Vader and Boba Fett but they could just as well put up a cardboard cutout of the Mandalorian on the screen for all the charisma he displays. Another problem for me is the writing. It seems a little aimless. I guess the main thread is the parallel between the Mandalorian's childhood and what Yoda-baby is going through but I just can't get invested. The sets and special effects are good. Some of the supporting cast do a decent job. Werner Herzog plays his role well and Carl Weathers is OK. Gina Carano on the other hand ain't the best actor in my book. Storm-troopers still can't shoot to save themselves in this series. It would be nice if they were actually made a threat. One good thing about this series is that if there is a political message in there I can't see it. Thanks to Jon F. for creating a TV show that is just entertainment and not pretentious preaching. I wonder if this is the real reason there are so many positive reviews? I'll probably end up finishing the series but only because I've got this far.