Seven years after the divisive conclusion to the Star Wars sequel series, The Mandalorian and Grogu has brought the galaxy far, far away back to the big screen. The Mandalorian executive producer Jon Favreau returns to direct the big screen continuation of his Disney+ series, which was responsible for kicking off an entire era of post-Return of the Jedi storytelling known as the “Mandoverse,” including The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew TV series. Fortunately, for fans who have enjoyed that storyline up to this point, The Mandalorian and Grogu is just as fun with bigger action and plenty of adorable “Baby Yoda” moments; however, moviegoers expecting the blockbuster spectacle of a main-line Star Wars entry will find Favreau’s big screen entry is more Solo than Rogue One.
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The Mandalorian and Grogu picks up shortly after the end of season 3 and sees the titular characters working as bounty hunters for the New Republic – which has tasked the pair with capturing (or killing) high-level Imperials who, following the collapse of the Empire, have thus far escaped justice. Grogu and Din Djarin (played – at least some of the time – by Pedro Pascal) report to New Republic Commander Ward (Sigourney Weaver) and are accompanied by Star Wars: Rebels‘ fan-favorite Lasat, Zeb (voiced by Steven Blum) – embarking on a world-hopping mission to rescue Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta (Jeremy Allen White), and end the reign of a mysterious Imperial warlord.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| If you’re looking for more Mando and Grogu, the movie delivers | The supporting characters are undercooked |
| Great action sequences | The story is a little simple |
| Lots of fun, and a good entry point for more casual fans | Pacing before the third act ruins the action’s flow |
Don’t Expect a Lot From The Mandalorian and Grogu’s Story
Despite serving as a fun sandbox for action set pieces and a few memorable character introductions, The Mandalorian and Grogu’s story isn’t all that compelling or particularly well-executed. The narrative through-line keeps things moving and attempts to build on the show’s father-and-son themes, but doesn’t really introduce anything new to their dynamic. It might be patronizing to say the movie is just a 2-hour episode of the Disney+ series, but Favreau makes it hard to avoid the comparison – especially when The Mandalorian and Grogu slams on the brakes right before Act 3 to turn the tables on its main characters. This late-Act 2 sequence would have been a really fun 25-minute episode of TV, but doesn’t fit the pace of this blockbuster movie – especially when it already doesn’t make enough time for its supporting cast and leaves every character not named the Mandalorian or Grogu undercooked.
The New Mandalorian & Grogu Cast is Undercooked
Rotta is the biggest victim of Favreau’s uneven pacing and character screen time. Rotta returns after being introduced in Executive Producer Dave Feloni’s Clone Wars series – in which the Hutt appeared as a baby. It’s clear Favreau wanted Rotta to be an empathetic and layered addition to the franchise, which is why he cast Emmy-winner Jeremy Allen White to voice the character; however, despite the Shameless and Bear alum’s attempt to bring gravity to Rotta, Jabba’s son is mostly reduced to a living maguffin, one that talks a lot about being his own man and stepping out of his father’s shadow. The sentiment is intended to reflect Din and Grogu’s evolving father-son relationship, but falls pretty flat because there isn’t, nor has there ever been, any real tension between the title characters: there is no power struggle or imbalance in their relationship, they’re entirely devoted to each other.
Other returning or first-time in live-action characters each play their parts but, with the exception of Zeb, are mostly one-note archetypes and winking cameos or call-backs. It’s fun to see Sigourney Weaver in a Star Wars film flying an X-Wing – but it’s only fun because it’s Sigourney Weaver, not because Ward is a memorable or unique addition. Kyuzo bounty hunter, Embo (another returning Clone Wars series character), serves as the movie’s ominous antagonist – and, to his credit, is charged with two of The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s best fights; yet, audiences will learn next-to-nothing about him. He’s just a dark version of what Din could have become if he hadn’t met Grogu – with very few lines – just a skilled and resourceful contract killer out for his next payday.
What The Mandalorian and Grogu Gets Right
That all said, the film gets two things very right, which ultimately make The Mandalorian and Grogu a highly entertaining film (even if it falls short of becoming a must-see Star Wars blockbuster). First, the movie is packed with slight twists on prior Star Wars action formulas – even if none of them are able to top prior entries in the series. The opening set piece sees Din at the top of his Imperial-hunting game, basically Star Wars‘ version of John Wick, while a mid-movie aerial battle calls back the excitement of OG trilogy aerial dogfights, and the final Din versus Embo encounter delivers a flashy bounty hunter-on-bounty hunter brawl (despite being set alongside another showdown that is, on the other hand, downright weird).
Second, The Mandalorian and Grogu recaptures what made the source show so endearing: the stoic but heroic demeanor of Pascal’s Din Djarin paired with mischievous but adorable Grogu antics. Pascal’s line-readings and once-again brief moment out of his helmet will keep audiences connected to Mando and the charmingly stilted puppeteering of Grogu, while more noticeable in the transition from home theaters to IMAX, is still endearing (and preferable to CGI Yoda). Ultimately, what worked before works again, and the pair’s shared chemistry is still a winning combination – even if this chapter doesn’t significantly evolve or challenge their relationship.
Star Wars fans – both die-hard and casual – who previously enjoyed The Mandalorian Disney+ series will enjoy Favreau’s big-screen continuation. It expands on a successful formula, albeit without doing anything new with it, providing a bigger and longer entry in a story that is already well-liked. The Mandalorian and Grogu might play it surprisingly safe (especially for a movie that co-stars a giant warrior slug with abs voiced by a three-time Golden Globe-winning actor), but what it gets right is sure to keep viewers entertained and eager to see more of “Mando” and “Baby Yoda.”
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