[Content warning for physical violence/torture]
A tech entrepreneur is fueled by an obsession driving a secret posse of programmers to change our understanding of reality and free will itself.
Devs frames itself as a technological dystopia waiting to happen, as delving into the potential of quantum computing. Really it's a human drama: the characters are driven by loss and love.
The aesthetic is drawn from tech startups: all open office spaces and minimalist designs and young clever people and old men placing themselves in charge. Devs is dark and atmospheric and occasionally brutal, worth watching for Nick Offerman's performance as troubled boss Forest.
This is a review of The Mandalorian from the perspective of someone who doesn't really care about Star Wars.
I've seen all of the Star Wars films just to see what the fuss is about, but the overarching good-guys-vs-bad-guys-to-save-the-galaxy plot just doesn't intrigue me, and so I often never think about the movies again after I watch them.
There are bits of Star Wars that I do like though - the world-building and interesting side characters. The Mandalorian is all about that. Even from the first episode we are introduced to as many endearing creatures and characters as I can remember from the entire Star Wars series. The funky-looking blurrgs and the affable guide who loves them. The efficient bounty droid with his hilarious self-destructing tendency. And the titular Mandalorian is a quietly compassionate warrior who is refreshingly uncheesy for a main character in the Star Wars universe.
The Mandalorian takes all the bits of Star Wars that I do like and amplifies it to the max. It is essentially a travel show at the galactic level unlimited by the geography of our real world.
I have spoken.
