The Mandalorian Chapter 5: A Reputation to Keep
Coming back to Luke’s hometown is like coming home at last. The Mandalorian as a whole lives on nostalgia; while other parts of the Star Wars canon are advancing the story of the Force and the universe it balances, this…
The Mandalorian Chapter 4: No Escape from Sanctuary
If the second episode of The Mandalorian felt like A New Hope, this Star Wars take on Seven Samurai felt like an homage to Return of the Jedi. From the lush setting to the saturated color palette and music that…
The Mandalorian Chapter 3: Family Battle
Okay, so everybody’s calling him “Mando” now. No, no, I’m not bitter, Greef Carga. I just want the record to show that I called him that way back in Chapter 1. And honestly, if this is the sort of story…
The Mandalorian Chapter 2: Supernatural Infant
The second episode of The Mandalorian did not disappoint, but again it required a second viewing to really give the show its due. I was a bit overwhelmed in this episode at how much like A New Hope it felt;…
The Mandalorian Chapter 1: Rebuilding a People
It took until my second viewing of The Mandalorian’s “Chapter One” for me to take a good critical look at the show. My internal eleven-year-old, long since resigned to never again having an experience like Shadows of the Empire, finally…
Reel World: Rewind #038 – The Dark Crystal
On this episode of Reel World: Rewind… Journey into “The Age of Wonder” with co-host Josh Crabb and returning co-host Blaine Grimes as they discuss Jim Henson’s 1982 visionary classic, The Dark Crystal. Using the bookends of the forthcoming Netflix series…
#172 – Solo and the Vocal Minority
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: We talk about the new Star Wars story, Solo. There has been a lot of talk since opening weekend about how this movie has failed, but we really want to know…
Solo and The Scoundrel’s Journey
Joseph Campbell said of the hero, “When we quit thinking primarily about and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation…”. In the original Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas embodied this transformation in both the character arc of his main…
Star Wars (1977) & Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the first in a new monthly series at Reel World Theology where contributors bring two films–often from different cinematic eras–into conversation with one another in order to investigate the elements (themes, technique, script, character, etc.) of…