Mandalorian, The: The Complete Third Season (Steelbook) (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Bill Hunt
• Review Date: Dec 02, 2024
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Various, created by Jon Favreau, based on Star Wars created by George Lucas

Release Date(s)

2023 (December 3, 2024)

Studio(s)

Lucasfilm/Disney+ (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

• Film/Program Grade: C+
• Video Grade: A+
• Audio Grade: A
• Extras Grade: C

Review

[Editor’s Note: Blu-ray versions are not yet available in the States, but the UK Ultra HD package is a 4K + Blu-ray Combo and the BDs are all region.]

Reunited after the events of The Book of Boba Fett, Mando (Pedro Pascal) and his foundling, Grogu, manage to defend the Mandalorians’ new covert from an attack by a hostile local creature. While there, Mando reveals to the Armorer that he’s found a clue that suggests their original homeworld of Mandalore—which was nuked by the Empire in 5 ABY—might not be completely uninhabitable. And if Mando can bathe in the waters beneath its beskar mines, he can purify himself and rejoin the tribe. So Mando seeks the help of Bo-Katan Kryze (Katie Sackhoff), who basically tells him to buzz off. It seems she no longer has a following after Mando took possession of the Darksaber in her stead.

Mando does indeed prove that the waters of Mandalore still exist, but not before making an obligatory visit back to Tatooine for a bit of Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) comedy schtick, and fighting off the Space Pirates of the Caribbean (“Avast, matey!”) not once but twice. Ultimately, Mando is able to redeem himself, with the reluctant assistance of Bo-Katan. Their next order of business is for the Mandalorians to retake their homeworld. But first, they’ll have to convince all the squabbling tribes and sects to join forces, and that’s no easy task. They’ll also have to survive a visit to an insufferable pleasure planet, not to mention cutesy droids and creatures, and all the “member berries” they can stomach.

Aaaaaannnd… just like that, The Mandalorian jumps the shark. I’ll be honest with you: Watching this season was depressing. There are a few good action set pieces, including the whole return to Mandalore, and the StageCraft-based direction and cinematography are mostly solid. But while there’s occasional jeopardy, there’s very little actual suspense. The writing is paint-by-numbers, with dialogue that sounds flat and stilted. It wouldn’t be a Disney+ Star Wars show unless Jawas and Mouse Droids showed up to chatter and boop, not to mention Pit Droids and whatever species Babu Frik and Salacious Crumb are. This season does at least get points for giving Ahmed Best the chance to shine in a Jedi Temple flashback. But then we have to suffer through an episode where Jack Black, Lizzo, and Christopher Lloyd basically play Star Wars versions of themselves, at which point any immersion you might still have in the storytelling goes POOF! like Ben Kenobi’s corporeal form in Episode IV.

What all of this tells me as a viewer is that—apart from Tony Gilroy’s Andor team—the current keepers of the Star Wars franchise just aren’t taking this endeavour terribly seriously anymore. Or maybe there are simply too many hands on the steering wheel at this point, and they’re all collectively suffering from analysis paralysis as to which direction to drive. Either way, something has clearly gone wrong within the hallowed halls of Lucasfilm. And that’s a real shame, because their technical team—the many artisans, craftspeople, puppeteers, and set-builders who actually bring this universe to life—are doing some of the best work of their careers. But it’s all in service of storytelling that feels utterly bland, half-baked, and homogenized, the Star Wars-themed streaming equivalent of Pepsi or Frito-Lay products. I mean, I half expect Taylor Swift, Jim Gaffigan, and Lady Gaga to show up next at this point. (Goddamn it, please no.)

In any case, this season of The Mandalorian was captured digitally in the ARRIRAW codec (at 4.5K) using Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF cameras, with Panavision Ultra Vista and Caldwell Chameleon lenses, and it was produced as usual with heavy use of the StageCraft virtual volume. Finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, it’s presented on physical 4K Ultra HD with HDR10 on a 100 GB disc, and this time (surprise!) there’s Dolby Vision as well. As was the case with Season One (reviewed here) and Season Two (reviewed here), the image quality is fantastic and a massive improvement over the Disney+ stream. With video data rates consistently in the 60-70 Mbps range, the result is greater clarity and fine detail, a notably richer color palette, and a far more dimensional image. There’s none of the banding and artifacting sometimes visible in the Disney+ stream. Notably, the HDR experience on disc is superb, with deeply detailed shadows and more naturally bright and eye-reactive highlights. The limitations of shooting on the StageCraft volume are occasionally unavoidable, but this is a gorgeous 4K image overall.

Primary audio on these discs is offered in English Dolby Atmos. And unlike the compromised sound experience on the Disney+ stream, the uncompressed Atmos mix really shines. All the dynamics are present, with pleasing LFE and immersive use of the height and surround channels. The soundstage is nicely wide, with subtle atmospherics all around the listener. Dialogue is clean and readily discernible, movement is smooth, and the score—this season by Joseph Shirley (Creed III, The Book of Boba Fett)—is offered in pleasing fidelity. It should be noted that the episodes are also a little longer this season, with action that’s a little more aggressive, so the surround experience has a bit more bluster this time around. Additional sound options include English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, as well as French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Subtitles include English for the Hearing Impaired, French, and Spanish.

Disney’s 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release of The Mandalorian: The Complete Third Season features all eight episodes spread across two UHD discs. But there are no Blu-ray versions included, nor are they available separately—Blu-ray versions have yet to be announced for this wave of Disney+ TV titles. This could have something to do with the fact that disc replication capacity is currently strained, so the studio wants to focus on having enough 4K product to meet demand, but it’s hard to say. (Hopefully, the Blu-rays will be announced and released early next year.) [Editor’s Note: As stated above, the UK Ultra HD package is a 4K + Blu-ray Combo and the BDs are all region.] As before, there are also no Digital codes included. (Presumably, this is to protect the value of the show on Disney+.) The specific episodes and bonus features that are included are as follows:

DISC ONE (EPISODES 1-4)

• Chapter 17: The Apostate (UHD – 35:18)
• Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore (UHD – 42:27)
• Chapter 19: The Convert (UHD – 56:14)
• Chapter 20: The Foundling (UHD – 30:40)
  • Forging the Covert: Part Three (HD – 12:01)
  • Honoring the Magistrate: A Tribute to Carl Weathers (HD – 3:54)
  • Galactic Legacy: The Creatures and Droids of The Mandalorian (HD – 11:48)

DISC TWO (EPISODES 4-8)

• Chapter 21: The Pirate (UHD – 41:05)
• Chapter 22: Guns for Hire (UHD – 44:16)
• Chapter 23: The Spies (UHD – 50:42)
• Chapter 24: The Return (UHD – 38:58)

The good news is that the special feature content here is solid, if not nearly as comprehensive as you might wish. You get an excellent look at this season’s production design and its Ray Harryhausen-inspired creatures. There’s also a lovely look behind-the-scenes at the work of the Legacy Effects team that brings all of those creatures and droids to life. And you get a short but lovely tribute to the late Carl Weathers. Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Doug Chiang, and others make appearances. Unfortunately missing is the Disney+ hour-long Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian – Making of Season 3 special. Once again, the discs’ menus feature a slideshow of high quality 4K production artwork set to music. And you get another set of concept art cards in the Steelbook packaging, which features custom artwork by graphic designer Attila Szarka.

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it’s disheartening to see this franchise being so mechanically plundered for nostalgia. But it’s starting to feel like the passion is truly gone. It’s as if anyone with an interesting creative voice and fresh ideas—who might actually be able to expand this mythology and make it thrilling again—has just gotten completely buried in Disney’s corporate restrictions and mandates. And most of the intriguing shows and films that do actually get announced—Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, for example—end up vaporware. All I know for sure is that I’m losing interest. Yes, there’s a Mandalorian and Grogu movie coming, but my expectations for it couldn’t be lower at this point. From an A/V standpoint at least, the 4K UHD experience of The Mandalorian on disc remains worth a look. As for the show itself… this is not the way.

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)