star wars | the m0vie blog

New Escapist Column! On What Links “Andor” and “The Mandolorian”…

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist yesterday evening. With the new season premiere of The Mandolorian, it seemed like a good opportunity to look at the thematic ties that bind the series to Andor.

Much of the discussion around Andor has focused on how the show is fundamentally different from so much modern Star Wars. However, it’s also worth acknowledging the overlap that exists between Andor and The Mandolorian. Both shows are built around similar thematic ideas, the exploration of what it means to resist the emergence of fascism. In particular, both shows explore the idea that the biggest challenge facing those who would challenge fascism is factionalism and internal division.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: alliances, andor, escapist, factionalism, fascism, in the frame, mandolorian, politics, star wars, the escapist, themes | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The Mondaylorians – “The Mandolorian: Chapter 17: Abe Lincoln’s Secret Skeleton”

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Darren

This week, I had the pleasure of stopping by the podcast The Mondaylorians, hosted by Niall Glynn. I was thrilled to get to talk about the third season premiere of The Mandalorian, The Apostate.

It’s a lovely chat, full of tangents and asides, covering everything from the place of The Mandalorian in the Star Wars canon to the question of whether Jon Favreau is the nicest auteur working in Hollywood. We do also talk about the third season premiere of the show, and the various competing forces that seem to pulling it in various directions, and the question of how the show grapples with the pull of nostalgia and even if it has something to say about the current political moment. Also, we talk about the ethics of using dead bodies in statues.

You can listen below, click the screenshot, listen directly at this link or even listen to back-episodes of The Mondaylorians here.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: chat, jon favreau, podcast, star wars, the mandolorian, the mondaylorians | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Third Season of “The Mandalorian”…

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the premiere of the third season of The Mandalorian this week, it seemed as good a time as any to consider the long-delayed return of Disney+’s flagship streaming show.

After nearly three years off the screen, The Mandalorian returns with three very different objectives: to reassure viewers that it is still the same show, to fill in viewers on how much has changed since The Book of Boba Fett and to set up a new status quo and a new over-arching plot. It’s a fairly ambitious piece of television, just in terms of logistics, both rebooting the show and also attempting to maintain a strong sense of internal continuity. It doesn’t entirely work, but it also works better than it should.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: disney, jon favreau, star wars, streaming, structure, the mandolorian, writing | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “The Bad Batch” as a Show About Veterans of a Forever War…

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist last week. With the release of the second season of The Bad Batch, it seemed like a good opportunity to talk about one of the more interesting facets of the series.

The Star Wars franchise has always been intensely political. George Lucas tied the original films to the Vietnam War, and the prequels to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. The Bad Batch feels like a culmination of this trend, a follow-up to the prequel trilogy, released in the wake of the American withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, that is very much engaged with the question of what happens to an army of soldiers at the end of an ostensible “forever war.” It’s a meaty theme for an animated series, and The Bad Batch is at its most interesting tapping into it.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: afghanistan war, forever war, george lucas, iraq war, metaphor, politics, star wars, the bad batch, veterans, vietnam, Vietnam War | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How the Bad Batch Adds Nuance to the “Star Wars” Hero Mythology…

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Darren

The Star Wars franchise has become synonymous with the idea of bloodlines, particularly the Skywalkers and the Palpatines. This can lead to a sense that the heroes of this massive saga have to be “insiders”, that they have to belong to a particular grouping, the membership of which is determined at birth. Part of what is interesting about The Bad Batch is that the show is an explicit rejection of that. It focuses on a group of people who are genetically identical to the armies of the First Galactic Empire, but who still find the strength of character to stand against it. Heroism is a choice, not a pre-determined genetic destiny.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: bloodlines, choice, destiny, identity, politics, star wars, the bad batch, the escapist, the solitary clone | Leave a comment »

320. The Star Wars Shows: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor (#—)

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guest Andy Melhuish, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, a special New Year’s Treat. A discussion of the Star Wars television shows: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor.

Continue reading →

Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: andor, andy melhuish, Boba Fett, fan service, franchises, ip, jon favreau, obi-wan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, stakes, star wars, the book of boba fett, the mandalorian, Tony Gilroy | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How the Bad Batch Are the Worst Part of “The Bad Batch”…

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist last week. With the release of the second season of The Bad Batch, it seemed like a good opportunity to review the series.

The Bad Batch is an interesting series. It is essentially a spin-off from The Clone Wars, but one that rejects the anthology nature of that show for a fixed central cast and a linear series of episodic adventures. This is somewhat frustrating, as it strips the most compelling part of The Clone Wars in favour of a generic riff on The A-Team or Kung Fu. Still, when the show gets out of its own way, The Bad Batch is a surprisingly compelling and thoughtful addition to the Star Wars universe, a meditation on what happens to soldiers at the end of a Forever War.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: clone wars, disney, escapist, star wars, streaming, Television, the bad batch, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “The Last Jedi” as a Movie About Optimism in a Cynical Time…

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist over the weekend. Given that Star Wars: The Last Jedi just turned five years old, it seemed like a good opportunity to reflect on one of the most ambitious franchise films of the twenty-first century.

In the years since its release, a certain narrative has settled around The Last Jedi, arguing that the film is a subversion or deconstruction of the larger franchise. However, this seems unfair. At its core, The Last Jedi is a fundamentally optimistic movie, a celebration of the importance of standing against tyranny and a rejection of moral relativism in the face of oppression. It is an unabashedly earnest and sincere movie that believes that some things are worth fighting for, even when the situation seems grim and odds are stacked in opposition. It is an unapologetic love letter to the romance of Star Wars.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2017, america, baby boomers, belief, faith, fate, galaxy, generation, hope, optimism, Rian Johnson, romance, star wars, star wars: the last jedi, the last jedi, trump | Leave a comment »

316. Solo: A Star Wars Story (#—)

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Luke Dunne, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re continuing a seasonal tradition of talking about Star Wars movies: Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Growing up on the rough streets of Corellia, young and reckless orphan Han learned the hard way that he has to fend for himself. Escaping to a life in the Imperial Navy, Han stumbles into a daring heist. Joining a team of galactic outlaws, the young man finally finds his place in the universe. Crossing paths with new friends and old lovers, the dashing young rogue finds himself on course to become the man that he must be.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: brand, christopher miller, Content, disney, franchise phil lord, kathleen kennedy, Lucasfilm, luke dunne, management, reshoots, ron howard, solo, star wars, The 250 | 1 Comment »

New Podcast! The Spookies Podcast – “Fanboy Industrial Complex II: With Darren Mooney”

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Darren

I was thrilled to be invited to join the wonderful Michael and Stephanie Little for an episode of their new podcast, The Spookies Podcast.

It was a fun conversation, if a little bit chaotic. We got to talk about everything from Aquaman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: Way of Water, through to the state of the Star Wars brand, and even to the differences between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

You can listen directly to the episode below or by clicking here.