‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Is The Quirkiest ‘Star Wars’ Yet. (Review)
The first ‘Star Wars’ film in over 7 years is here. Read our review of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ to find out if it was worth the wait.
Back in 2019, the Skywalker Saga came to a close with The Rise of Skywalker and disappointed fans on every side of the aisle. In the seven years since, Lucasfilm has announced many new films, or rather their concepts of a plan. None of which came to fruition thus far. So comes forth The Mandalorian and Grogu, a film born out of the mandate from the Disney overlords to get something Star Wars in theaters. The question here is, did director Jon Favreau deliver something worthwhile for the big screen? Find out in our review of The Mandalorian and Grogu.
The short answer is: sort of?
The film doesn’t entirely beat the “extended episode” allegations thrown at it on social media for the past 6 months or so. But luckily, the movie plays more like the better episodes of the first and second season of The Mandalorian rather than the lackluster third. Visually things are brought a half notch up from the series, with more expansive feeling sets unrestricted by The Volume. Though, Favreau somehow manages to make an X-wing fight that looks worse than any other out to screen (both big and small) so far.
It did make me happy to see the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and Grogu on the big screen and their chemistry works as good as it ever has, even though their characters are mostly stagnant. Grogu does get a small arc here that shows off his capabilities and independence which was fun, but I can’t help but wish we got to hear his first words, which this movie feels like the perfect place to debut such a development. The kid has got to start talking soon.
The real standout character out of this whole film and the one that goes through the biggest arc (somehow) is the son of Jabba, Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White). His character is genuinely endearing and I would not mind seeing him pop up again somewhere down the line. Sigourney Weaver is utterly wasted as Ward, who is just there for some exposition and to blow some stuff up in the third act. Maybe we will see her again, but I’m not broken up if the character never returns.
The plot of the film is fairly simple and is mostly just a vehicle to give us some fun set pieces and action sequences, which were all done well and is quite frankly the main attraction for this movie. If you want to see Mando and Grogu fight weird aliens, imperials, and stop-motion robots — this is for you. Lots of the practical effects here are very awesome, with large sequences dedicated to just a bunch of puppets messing about. It’s hard not to be charmed by the allure of Grogu and the Anzellans.
Ludwig Göransson’s score, as always, is incredible. Nothing beats hearing that main Mando theme over shots of a sunrise on a beach in the opening credits. The tracks for the planet Shakari and Rotta’s intro are also playlist worthy.
Overall, The Mandalorian and Grogu isn’t a great return to the cinemas for Star Wars, but it’s also just a fine summer blockbuster and not worth all the controversy and franchise dooming being thrown around online. Star Wars movies have been worse than this before.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Martin Scorsese, Steve Blum, and Sigourney Weaver. The film was written by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor. Now playing in theaters.
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