The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 13, 2023

W.C. Fields imparted the timeless wisdom "never work with animals or children", but he didn't live long enough to see things like a CGI baby yoda creature, or else he would have no doubt expanded his list. "Real" Yoda is one of the more patently lovable creatures in the entire Star Wars universe (and/or far, far away galaxy, as the case may be), but that Yoda was an adult, however diminutive he might have been. The Mandalorian's first season involves a bounty hunter known only as that title for the bulk of the season, who is initially tasked with finding and retrieving a "baby yoda" for a sketchy seeming character (played with sinister gusto by the inimitable Werner Herzog). Much like the title character himself, this "baby yoda" is not identified by name for a while, but is ultimately revealed to be Grogu, and, to utilize a sentence structure favored by Yoda himself, adorable he is. This little "tyke" offers an unusual emotional anchor to a series that often is understandably filled with big, booming action set pieces, but the relationship between Grogu and the Mandalorian is both figuratively and literally at the heart of this enterprise.

There are already potential hints and even at least mentions in various outings that might suffice as some kind of "crossover" event involving the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, something that's perhaps inevitable given their interlinked corporate relationships which of course includes Disney, a company which, as I joked in a recent review about their perceived "woke" sensibilities, likes to recycle. But much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe in and of itself (without any "outside" referents), the Star Wars "galaxy" is becoming increasingly crowded and potentially hard to follow, at least in terms of being able to place every character and plot strand in some kind of order. The Mandalorian purportedly takes place in the wake of the events of Return of the Jedi, but the good news is, you really don't even have to have that contextual anchor to at least generally understand the plot mechanics, which, in that good old fashioned Star Wars way, boils down to Good vs. Evil. Now in that regard this first season seemed to me to have one glaring plot hole and logical hiccup in terms of the Mandalorians themselves, but we'll deal with that in a moment.

Speaking of "external referents", The Mandalorian will or course be a treasure trove to devoted fans of the early Star Wars outings in particular. The basic plotline here is actually rather simple, with the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) tasked by bounty hunter guild guru Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) with a potentially extremely lucrative gig to track down someone (or something), though even Karga doesn't have a ton of details. That brings the Mandalorian into contact with the obviously nefarious Client (Werner Herzog), who, just to make his villainy clear, utilizes Imperial stormtroopers as his private "SS". The upshot of all this intrigue finally leads the Mandalorian to the baby Yoda character, while also introducing an aide of sorts to the Mandalorian, Kuiil (voiced by Nick Nolte).

The rest of the first season revolves around the Mandalorian first reclaiming the little tyke from the Client, after first dropping him off and collecting his outsized reward monies, and then trying to get the little creature to safety. That brings the pair into contact with a number of other characters, notably Cara Dune (Gina Carano), an erstwhile rebel alliance fighter who has sequestered herself away on a "rural" planet where the Mandalorian and his charge also end up. That planet is also home to a widowed mother named Omera (Julia Jones), just to give the Mandalorian his pick of potential romantic interests.

There are any number of fun "callbacks" to the original Star Wars trilogy, including a variety of supporting characters (or at least "species"), and even lines of dialogue, as when Greef Karga tells the Mandalorian, "I'm your only hope". Vis a vis Karga and the Mandalorians, it's here where the first season may have made a minor stumble, since an early episode clearly shows other Mandalorians showing up to help the title character escape a firefight when he's surrounded by stormtroopers and is trying to protect the baby Yoda, but then later a whole subplot hinges of the fact that the Mandalorian has supposedly betrayed his cohort and is therefore being sought as a bounty himself. It's a minor quibble in an otherwise often incredibly exciting and beautifully produced series that manages to expand the Star Wars universe (and/or galaxy) rather artfully.

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While this is a stunning presentation virtually every step of the way, I'll simply cut to the chase and say anyone with a 4K UHD setup should probably opt for that version, since it offers all of the excellence of this 1080 version "and then some", so to speak, plus the 4K UHD release sports Dolby Atmos audio. With that out of the way, for those without a 4K UHD setup, you'll still be enjoying what I consider to be reference quality 1080 material. Detail levels are typically incredibly precise, spanning the gamut of everything from textures and patterns on practical sets and costumes to some of the really artfully handled CGI. Fine detail is typically exceptional even in some fairly wide framings, and close-ups can really provide some commendably precise renderings, whether "real" (as in actual humans) or CGI (as in the baby Yoda character). The palette is really nicely suffused throughout, and while occasional grading gambits are utilized, things look appealingly natural. Even low light scenes can offer good suffusion and sometimes remarkable detail. Black levels are deep and abiding, offering sumptuous backgrounds for the space skirmish sequences and other flying scenes.

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio on these 1080 discs, and this is another place where I freely suggest those with a 4K UHD setup to opt for Disney's release in that format since it sports Dolby Atmos audio. That said, the surround activity on this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is incredibly immersive and commendably consistent. The many flying scenes offer not just fun effects from the spaceships discretely channeled, but a lot of really fun and enveloping panning effects as crafts flit to and fro. Of course a number of firefights and explosions break out at various times, and there's sufficient LFE to rattle a floorboard or two. Virtually all of the outdoor material bristles with a glut of background ambient environmental effects. Dialogue and score are both rendered without any issues whatsoever. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Remnants of the Empire (HD; 5:46) offers a brief look at the context of the story in terms of the "demise" of the Empire.


• Forging the Covert: Part One (HD; 10:35) features Jon Favreau discussing his original "pitch" for the series, along with his fascination with Mandalorians.

Note: Both of the above supplements are found on Disc Two of this two disc set.

Additionally, Disney is packaging these releases in SteelBooks. Season One offers a cover largely in gold tones featuring the Mandalorian and Child on the front panel and Kuiil on the back panel. The interior image is a silhouette of the Mandalorian with the "baby buggy". The SteelBook also houses concept art cards.

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season is a veritable cornucopia of "original Star Wars trilogy" referents, but what's so interesting about the series is how it offers something new as well. The relationship between the Mandalorian and the tyke known chiefly as the Child gives this effort an unabashedly sweet underpinning, but that doesn't mean this series shirks at all in the action department. Both practical production design and CGI are off the charts, and performances are winning throughout. Technical merits are first rate, though as mentioned above my advice is to opt for Disney's 4K UHD release of the series if you have the appropriate setup. The two supplements are very enjoyable. Highly recommended.