Diego Luna stars in Andor, a spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe of such quality it would work in any location. Photo / Supplied
Diego Luna stars in Andor, a spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe of such quality it would work in any location. Photo / Supplied
OPINION:
The Death Star was seen hovering over Thames last Tuesday about 8am. A shocking event that prompted a report in the Bay of Plenty Times.
An unusual sunlight event excited people on the Hauraki Plains near Thames, many wondering what had caused an unusual halo effect around the sun.An HC Post reporter snapped pictures of the phenomenon, which eyewitnesses have described as looking like the Death Star from the movie Star Wars.
An interesting meteorological event excellently covered by Jim Birchall, but what came next chilled me to the bone.
Sadly for fans of the science fiction franchise, however, the explanation for the halo is fully grounded in known scientific fact.
I find it terrifying the suggestion that Star Wars enthusiasts at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula on Tuesday morning were “sad” that it wasn’t a real Death Star. Anyone familiar with the fate of Princess Leia Organa’s home planet Alderaan will tell you how bad it gets when the Death Star appears in your skyline. I, for one, am relieved it was just the “refraction of light through ice crystals”, as meteorologist Peter Little explained it. This could be due to a peak in my fear of the Empire thanks to the excellent Disney+ Star Wars series Andor. Palpatine’s governing body hasn’t felt this menacing since The Empire Strikes Back.
Andor is a prequel to the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One (2016). It follows thief-turned-Rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years leading up to the events of that movie. Star Wars outings of late have been light; this one is heavy.
The last trilogy made little sense, with its protagonist who did nothing to deserve her powers, a dead villain who reappeared with no explanation and the existence of a space station I saw blow up at the end of Return of the Jedi. The Book of Boba Fett fleshed out the coolest character in Star Wars and managed to diminish him in the process, while the Obi-Wan Kenobi series muddied the waters of A New Hope by turning the once dignified and wise titular Jedi into a bumbling fool.
Andor has turned it all around. A spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe of such quality it would work in any location — be it Nazi-occupied France or Thames. Unlike most of the last 30 years of Star Wars, it doesn’t lean on references from the original trilogy to gain fans’ favour.
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in the Star Wars series Andor, streaming on Disney+. Photo / AP
Andor is a fully realised story that just happens to take place a long time ago in a galaxy far away. Like all engaging thrillers, the bad guys are as complex as the good. You sympathise with the Imperial bureaucrats going about their mundane jobs, performing their little bits of bland evil, that collectively lead to the oppression that motivates a violent insurgency.
As my favourite character, the tough, conniving Luthen Rael, played by the brilliant Swedish Actor Stellan Skarsgard, puts it: “The Empire has been choking us so slowly we are starting not to notice. The time has come to force their hand.”
The rebels, generally portrayed as squeaky clean, have a violent, scary edge here. At one point, Cassian Andor states: “Spies ... Saboteurs ... Assassins. We’ve all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion.”
When told by senator Mon Mothman, played by Genevieve O’ Reilly, that people will suffer from the rebel actions, Luthen answers: “That’s the plan.”
The sympathy generated for the Empire calls to mind a rant from Kevin Smith’s 1994 film Clerks. Discussing the second Death Star’s destruction, Randell says: “You’re a roofer, and some juicy government contract comes your way; you got the wife and kids, and the two-storey in suburbia — this is a government contract, which means all sorts of benefits. All of a sudden, these left-wing militants blast you with lasers and wipe out everyone within a three-mile radius. You didn’t ask for that. You have no personal politics. You’re just trying to scrape out a living.”
Andor starts slow, because it takes its time to build character and tension. It makes you care. It makes you worry. You see both sides. Stick with it, you will be rewarded. This is the best Star Wars in a long time. Relatively unsoiled by today’s entertainment-suppressing politics.
Episode 9 is out this Wednesday. I suggest you catch up. The deeper you get into Andor, the happier you’ll be that wasn’t a Death Star over Thames last Tuesday.
