STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU is directed by Jon Favreau. It stars Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jonny Coyne, Martin Scorsese, and Sigourney Weaver.
Several years have passed since the Rebel Alliance defeated the Galactic Empire in the Battle of Endor. Darth Vader and his master, Emperor Palpatine, are dead. But an Imperial remnant continues to try and recapture control over the galaxy. Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his young ward, the mysterious Force user Grogu, find themselves on a mission for the New Republic to rescue Rotta the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt’s sole surviving heir, on behalf of other Hutts in exchange for information regarding a fugitive Imperial warlord. But things aren’t as they seem, and the Mandalorian finds himself facing a difficult decision with new information he receives regarding his latest mission, sure to have consequences.
It’s been a long and strange trip for the STAR WARS franchise! When the first movie premiered way back in 1977, it’s unlikely anyone knew how big it would become, including series creator George Lucas. Lucas’ classic trilogy is hailed as sacred in many circles, even if his follow-up prequels got a more mixed reception. In more recent years, Lucas sold his company and media franchises to Disney, who despite a few missteps, have done a better job handling this franchise than this critic and Star Wars fan would’ve expected. THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU is the first feature film in the long-running space opera series since 2019’s THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, with Disney having made most of the recent STAR WARS media for their streaming service, Disney+.
THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU continues the story started in THE MANDALORIAN Disney+ series, showing the continued adventures of the titular pair. There was no critic screening for this one on Vegas, so I’m a bit late on the bandwagon and have already seen the internet flooded with mixed reviews; I don’t think I’ve seen this much of a split on STAR WARS media since THE LAST JEDI hit theaters way back in 2017! So, how does the latest big screen adventure in the Galaxy Far Far Away actually measure up? The movie is no masterpiece; it ranks near the middle of the series when it comes to STAR WARS feature films, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a blast for most of the two hours of its running time.
The titular pair in THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU remain immensely entertaining characters. Westerns were an enormous influence on George Lucas when he first created STAR WARS, and even though his direct involvement with the franchise has ended, it’s still well reflected in the “bounty hunter” plots this character has been involved with. Grogu remains one of STAR WARS most popular new characters, scoring high on both the interesting and adorable charts, and I have no doubt he’ll be drawing plenty of moviegoers to the box office. There’s a nice who’s who of actors in the film, including Sigourney Weaver as a high-ranking New Republic official and even Martin Scorsese, the famed film director, voicing a food stand vendor alien! But much of this feels like glorified cameo work at best. The movie belongs to its title pair.
The best part of THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU is how it continues to grow the STAR WARS universe and remind fans of why they fell in love with this franchise so long ago. Jon Favreau, who directed the film, is clearly a giddy STAR WARS fan who’s been handed the keys to the kingdom, and he lets his vision fly on the big screen in the best way possible. Putting the series in the hands of someone like him who clearly is as big a fan as we are but respects George Lucas’ original vision for it all speaks volumes. From Hutt crime lords to miniature aliens who sound like they’ve been taking speech lessons from the Minions, the movie looks and sounds incredible. The people at Disney definitely didn’t skimp on the budget here, throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.
In some ways, THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU feels like it could be the potential revival of the A STAR WARS STORY anthology films that we got two of a few years back; ROGUE ONE and SOLO. This isn’t a bad thing; the STAR WARS galaxy is huge, and we don’t need every single movie to revolve around the Skywalker family. With an awesome opening action sequence followed by opening credits (a first for this franchise) the first 15-20 minutes or so are almost reminiscent of the JAMES BOND franchise. Hopefully Disney continues down to this path, giving us more of the “side stories” from the Galaxy Far Far Away; the fact that a ROGUE SQUADRON movie is on the way (with the cinematographer of TOP GUN MAVERICK no less!) keeps me hopeful.
Unfortunately, the movie isn’t perfect, and many of the criticisms veiled at it are valid. One of the most common complaints is that the movie feels like an extended episode of the Disney+ series that inspired it. This could easily have been split up and made into the fourth season of the show; I won’t deny that. Likewise, the pacing is inconsistent, with some scenes feeling horribly rushed and others, particularly in the third and final act, being dragged out needlessly. While the scenery and action are impressive, much of it does feel one-dimensional next to the title pair. It’s difficult to say if we’ll see any of these characters or plot points revisited in future STAR WARS media, but this longtime fan of the franchise does still think the good outweighs the bad.
THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU is far from perfect. Many complaints people have made about it are completely accurate. And yet, I found myself getting caught up in this old-fashioned space adventure with my eyes glued to the screen for most of its duration. It looks and sounds incredible, and fortunately, manages to overcome most of its shortcomings. It comes moderately recommended.