'The Mandalorian And Grogu' Spoiler-Free Review
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
While we as fans have gotten to experience anniversary re-releases and limited-time screenings of television episodes, Star Wars is officially back on the big screen after what feels like an eternity. Since the release of The Rise of Skywalkerin 2019, we’ve had seven live-action series, three mainline cartoons, three seasons of an anime anthology series, and a menagerie of video games and novels. We as fans have no shortage of projects, but the lengthy hiatus from the film side of things has made some of us feel that something was missing. But after years of false starts, creative differences, two labor strikes, a global pandemic, and a Disney+ content mandate from disgraced Disney CEO Bob Chapek, it took a lone wolf and his cub to bring the franchise back to theaters.
Since 2019, The Mandalorian has remained a pop culture phenomenon. There was a time where it wasn’t a hot take to say that The Mandalorian was the most universally beloved Star Wars project since 1983, maybe even 1980. It became Disney+’s flagship series, was the subject of widespread critical acclaim, and received multiple Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series for its first two seasons. However, following the airing of its third season, fans, audiences, and critics seem to have collectively wiped their memories, with people on social media now pretending the series was never acclaimed, popular, or good. Quickly following the premiere of the series, creator Jon Favreau said it was possible to see Din Djarin and Grogu on the big screen. In 2024, The Mandalorian and Grogu was officially announced to mixed reactions. On one hand, some fans (like myself) were just happy to have a movie actually make it to the finish line, while other fans bemoaned the fact that a Mandalorian movie would be made before the projects they personally wanted. As The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters, there seems to be a pre-determined backlash surrounding it. Rather than waiting for the movie to actually come out, many film influencers, writers, essayists, and social media users have expressed their desire for the movie to fail. It’s been very disheartening (and somewhat comedic) to see people who defended Rian Johnson from toxic fandom 9 years ago are now doing the same to Jon Favreau, only with a faux-progressive coat of paint. Regardless, The Mandalorian and Grogu is here, and it’s a lot of fun!
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The film wastes no time setting up what is admittedly a bare-bones plot. The New Republic needs help finding Imperial remnants, and they call Din Djarin and Grogu to help them. Needing information on the location of a mysterious Imperial warlord, Mando finds himself at the doorstep of Hutt gangsters, who require his help to retrieve Rotta the Hutt from captivity. The Mandalorian and Grogu reverts to the show’s “adventure-of-the-week” format of season 1, as opposed to the more plot-driven narratives of seasons 2 and 3. Your enjoyment of this format will heavily depend on what you value most about The Mandalorian. If you preferred the more standalone and breezy episodes of the first season, this movie is 100% for you. The more simplistic screenplay works to the films’s advantage, but can sometimes also be a hindrance. On the positive side, the film’s “take no prisoners” approach throws audiences right into the action and never lets up. On the more negative side, the film is so welcoming to newcomers that more die-hard Mando fans (such as myself) will be disappointed in the lack of appearances or even mentions of characters, locations, and events from the show.
The Mandalorian and Grogu has more in common with Solo than the Skywalker Saga films. The film has no mind-blowing ramifications of the future of this era, but rather, it’s an adventure about space outlaws doing cool stuff. I.E., don’t expect any mentions of Grand Admiral Thrawn and what he’s up to. Jon Favreau’s attempts of avoiding the common (and incredibly overblown) accusations of “homework” mostly work. If you were worried that the appearance of Rebels fan favorite Zeb Orellios would be alienating to newcomers, Favreau (as well as co-writers Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor) treat him more as Mando’s new bro than a character with an extensive history on a show most casual movie goers haven’t heard of, let alone seen. The same is done with the appearance of deep-cut bounty hunter Embo, a character only die-hard fans of The Clone Wars would know. Do you need to know who he is? Not at all. He’s here, he’s evil, he’s a jerk, and he kills people. What more do you need?
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Jon Favreau’s direction is immensely impressive here. His first film since 2019’s The Lion King, Favreau steps back into his director shoes as if he never left. Even with the show’s 24 episode run, Favreau only helmed one; the standout season 2 episode Chapter 9: The Marshal, which earned him an Emmy nomination. Much like that episode, Favreau gets to show off his action chops and his incredible sense of scale. Favreau and cinematographer David Klein make the movie feel incredibly massive and otherworldly. Sequences that take place on the planet Nal Hutta give us plenty of remarkable action scenes involving some of the best looking monsters the franchise has ever had. The film’s increased scale and budget give us a lot of puppet work, with Grogu being more expressive and active than he’s ever been before. An action sequence that involves Mando taking out a legion of snowtroopers left me so breathless that I was shocked it was only the film’s opening sequence. Favreau channels his inner-Spielberg ala Zathura, the energy of Iron Man, and the childlike wonder of The Jungle Book and I couldn’t be more thankful for it.
The film’s small but still impressive ensemble cast also does great work here. Pedro Pascal continues to impress as Mando, even getting one standout scene without the helmet. Props and flowers must be given to Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, whose physical performances as Mando are just as essential to the character as Pascal’s vocal performance. Jeremy Allen White also delivers a surprisingly tender performance as Rotta the Hutt, providing dimension and heart to a character we’ve only seen as a baby in The Clone Wars. Steve Blum is a delight as Zeb as is Sigourney Weaver as newcomer Colonel Ward, which makes their limited screentime a bit of a hard pill to swallow. To my surprise, Grogu was given a lot to do. It seems Favreau took criticism over Grogu’s lack of importance in The Mandalorian’s third season to heart and gave him some of the best scenes in the movie. As opposed to being a cheap way to get the audience to say “Aw!”, Grogu gets to have an entire adventure of his own. While the screenplay may not have much meaty substance, the film’s themes of self-reliance, fatherhood, and making your way in the world without protection are best represented by scenes featuring Grogu.
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The Mandalorian and Grogu at its core is a heartfelt action adventure yarn that takes more cues from the more action-packed episodes of the original TV series than the 9 Skywalker Saga films. It won’t change your life or shake up the status quo of the franchise, but it packs a lot of fun, heart, excitement, and entertainment in a brisk 2 and a half hour runtime. Favreau’s direction, the performances of Pascal, White, Blum, and Weaver, the action sequences, visual effects, and the pulse-pounding score by Ludwig Göransson all help it be an insanely fun time at the movies.
Some fans will take issue with the movie being described as fun, but isn’t that what we want Star Wars to be? In the aftermath of Andor, some fans seem to make it their mission to condemn any piece of Star Wars media that aims to be fun. Sometimes it’s ok to enjoy cool dudes in cool armor doing cool things with their cool baby. Once you allow yourself to be taken by the dazzling visuals, thrilling action, remarkable music, lovable characters, and a sense of wonder only this franchise can provide, you too will be immensely grateful to be back in that galaxy far far away.
Alright, Shawn Levy, your turn!
Rating: 8/10
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters everywhere! Rated PG-13
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