Diego Luna returns to the Star Wars universe with "Andor" 1:04
(CNN) --
A prequel to a prequel.
"Andor" brings a gritty tone and image to the "Star Wars" universe, almost with the faded landscape of "Blade Runner" in George Lucas's distant galaxy.
However, whatever promise that implies, it is mostly lost in flaccid storytelling, essentially stretching out what would have been a 10-minute movie prologue for the first three episodes.
Disney+ has wisely decided to release the 12-episode prequel to "Rogue One," starring Diego Luna as spy Cassian Andor, with those three episodes providing a somewhat better idea of the series' framework than the laborious first installment.
However, it takes until the fourth episode for the plot of this origin story to come into focus, and by then, "Andor" has already become a snore.
What new Star Wars movies and series are coming out in 2022 and 2023?
Created by veteran screenwriter Tony Gilroy, who received screenplay credit for "Rogue One" and played a role in its reshoots, "Andor" proudly displays the fact that it's not another "Star Wars" series destined to surprise. to fans with cameos (although there will be a few of those) or selling stuffed animals.
Gilroy seems more interested in telling a short spy story with an adventure component: he thinks "The Guns of Navarone," only with spaceships, droids, and the occasional alien.
However, following a road less traveled is no excuse to move to the rhythm of a wounded Bantha, bogged down by memories of the protagonist's childhood.
These early episodes also don't do enough to distinguish the changing cast of supporting characters, a group that elicits little more than indifference.
Andor's ultimate fate is already known, so the point of the show is to develop how he made the leap from hating the Empire and its arrogance, to participating in the fight against it.
advertising
Stellan Skarsgård plays a central role in that regard, at least initially, and Genevieve O'Reilly appears as Mon Mothma, reprising the role she played in "Rogue One," though don't expect to see her right away.
As for the Empire, the organization is less about the Sith in this incarnation than it is about front-line soldiers, a group characterized by bureaucratic infighting and more than a little middle-management incompetence.
While that conveys an inherent message about totalitarian states, as well as the good ones, few of the bad ones make much of an impression.
The vastness of the "Star Wars" galaxy and the various time periods it occupies create a canvas that can accommodate all kinds of stories, perhaps more easily than its Disney brethren at Marvel given the interconnected nature of its universe.
Clearly, this isn't "The Mandalorian" or "Obi-Wan Kenobi," with all those moments designed to make fans tear up, and in theory, that's fine.
The problem is that there's initially little to foster much enthusiasm for "Andor," which mostly feels like an intriguing test of how and where Lucasfilm can push those parameters and change the mold, in this case, by producing what amounts to a "Star Wars" series that is "anti-Star Wars".
Unlike the heart-pounding action of "Rogue One," the series doesn't offer the level of excitement needed to sustain such a lengthy detour, while methodically establishing the story.
In a charitable way, the experiment represents an act of creative independence that deserves praise just for trying.
Less charitably, "Andor" feels like a series afflicted by a touch of its own imperial hubris.
"Andor" premieres with its first three episodes on September 21 on Disney+.
Diego LunaDisneyStar Wars: Rogue One
