Andor: Disney+ Review

For many years now, the Star Wars universe has looked to within for its tales.

Despite talk of galaxies and of far flung planets, the franchise has settled on the same planets, the same moons and the same legends to fulfill the fervent fan desire.

Not so with Andor.

For the first time in the Star Wars franchise series, this feels like a drama that's pushed out to the outer limits of what the galaxy offers, and while Cassian Andor's fate is sealed thanks to the end of Star Wars: Rogue One, there's a friction here that's hard to shake.

Diego Luna is Andor, who begins the series by looking for his missing sister, but who, after a "regrettable misadventure", finds himself on the run and hunted by the fledgling Empire. However, when Andor meets a contact for a simple sale, he finds he has a greater part to play in the galaxy...

Of the first four episodes offered for critics, Andor proves to be a tricky beast to initially pull viewers in, especially those unfamiliar with the man or his destiny. The first two, in particular, are extremely slow in pace, high in the briefest of set ups and rely on a sluggishness and a perverse desire to sit through.

Thankfully, episodes three and four reward the investment, turning the show into a suddenly compelling series that greatly benefits from the lack of Sith, light sabres and Jedi. This show, scripted by Tony Gilroy, shows how people become involved in the fight with and against the Empire - and is all the better for it. 

Luna makes a wiry, haunted presence on screen, a reticent rogue whose tics are nerve-wracking and whose actions are very much in the realm of an anti-hero. While flashbacks flesh some parts out, Luna makes a good fist of playing the uncertainty, but not in the way Nathan Fillion did in Firefly - there's no jokey edge here, this is a lead who knows the path he's taking and doesn't always like it.

Equally, the initial villains of the piece are fascinatingly complex - a wannabe villain who begins to question his part in the revolution as the Empire rises to power and has to deal with terrorist attacks upon themselves. There's never been a more pertinent and contemporary edge to the villains, and in Andor, it plays out well and with moral complexity.

Sure, there are a few nods to the wider Star Wars universe here and while the slow pace and scant story early on makes the show feel detached and almost ambiguous, its desire to revel in this is ultimately what makes the story so gritty and enticing.