No. A masterpiece would not have any fluff. There are all number of scenes/characters that could be cut from Andor without any real impact. Entire scenes and characters could be dropped without impacting the narrative. (The entire forest planet sequence imho.)
Andor is a product of the "for your consideration" form of review made popular by the Academy (oscars). Each scene is excellent. Each scene is a cinematic tour de force. But they are all independent scenes. Rearrange the order, shuffle the scene deck, and little changes as the scenes are not dependent on each other. The overall narrative is thin. That may make for good/popular television but it is not deserving of "masterpiece".
I also think "masterpiece" is a heavy term to throw around but the emotional impact of the this series and the complexity of its narrative as it catalogs a hero's journey from reluctant participant to true believer with an epic story arc can be held up next to most film and historical epics like Laurence of Arabia, Ben Hur, The Matrix, the Original Star Wars trilogy, Dune, Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, The Handmaid's Tale (series), The Odyssey (epic poem). His personal journey which leads to his persecution and enslavement, his role in leading a slave uprising, rescuing his friends from the aftermath of a rebel uprising, building the foundations of a rebel army, risking his life countless times and ultimately sacrificing himself to prevent his enemy from having an insurmountable edge.
The series makes the very popular "Avengers" film series look like trite dogshit and does the same for most of the "Star Wars" sequels and prequels so I don't fault people for using the term "masterpiece".
My point was to make that distinction between an masterpiece and an epic while still showing that Andor holds up against some of the most celebrated epics ever created. Comparing it to My Cousin Vinny is ridiculous. You should be comparing it to other works in the same form, other epic hero's journeys.
Was your gripe about superfluous scenes, where you mentioned the forest planet, a reference to the first few episodes of season 2? That forest plant is Yavin IV, the plant where the rebels eventually build their first base, and those rebels are some of the first recruits to the rebel army. I believe those scenes were intended to show how the rebellion lacked leadership and how Andor and others had to step up to provide that leadership.
> I would say that there is not a single scene that can be removed from these movies without negatively impacting the story/theme/narrative.
Appropriating Saint Exupéryian (et al.) notions regarding the unattainable (perfection) to judge an artwork is a sucker's bet to me.
And in the cited works I rate as cinematic masterpieces scene editing (e. g. removal) is most certainly possible without having a negative impact on your criteria, but that is a completely moot point anyways.
With regards to Andor's forest arc: It is, amongst other things that are most certainly more appreciated by a specific set of people, a very interesting mediation on time and the notion "where there's competence, there's always also incompetence", often manifesting in very comical and surreal ways.
No. A masterpiece would not have any fluff. There are all number of scenes/characters that could be cut from Andor without any real impact. Entire scenes and characters could be dropped without impacting the narrative. (The entire forest planet sequence imho.)
Andor is a product of the "for your consideration" form of review made popular by the Academy (oscars). Each scene is excellent. Each scene is a cinematic tour de force. But they are all independent scenes. Rearrange the order, shuffle the scene deck, and little changes as the scenes are not dependent on each other. The overall narrative is thin. That may make for good/popular television but it is not deserving of "masterpiece".