It’s been seven years since Star Wars last graced the silver screen with the divisive conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker, and this time Lucasfilm is playing things a lot safer: Take a generally well-loved Disney+ series (The Mandalorian) with an insanely merchandisable star (Grogu), expand the runtime, up the production value and bring the franchise back to theaters where it belongs. This all seems like it has all the makings of a bona fide crowd-pleaser, right?
Well, pretty much – but it depends on the crowd.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is a ton of fun, harkening back to the 1930s serials upon which the original Star Wars trilogy was based. New planets are explored, beasts are battled and explosions go “boom.” The abundance of creatures and the general vibe of this movie remind me of the opening act of Return of the Jedi in many ways, so if you love Han Solo’s rescue from Jabba’s Palace as much as I do, you’ll feel right at home here. Heck, the entire movie is rescue missions!
In the film, titular Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, seen unhelmeted for a single scene) and his cooing infant foundling Grogu (a.k.a. “Baby Yoda”) are tasked by the fledgling New Republic – namely Commander Ward (Sigourney Weaver) – with tracking down Imperial warlords. Their new assignment requires the duo to help the Hutts track down Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), who is serving as a gladiator in a fighting arena. Of course, neither the situation nor Rotta are what they seem.
The duo encounters murderous droids, other bounty hunters and all manner of slimy creatures on this dangerous mission but naturally, they aren’t alone. Their allies include Star Wars: Rebels fan favorite Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios (Steve Blum) and a gaggle of impossibly toyetic Anzellans, who you will remember from The Rise of Skywalker and the third season of The Mandalorian, who provide many of the film’s most charming moments. I love those little guys now more than ever, and I won’t ever shut up about them. Sorry, not sorry.
Rotta himself also becomes a friend to our heroes, and I was surprised how much of the film centers on him. He’s a kinder, gentler Hutt despite his muscular and imposing physique, and his interactions with Grogu are, dare I say, absurdly adorable. An Emmy Award-winning actor voicing a space slug makes a lot more sense now.
Speaking of casting, Martin Scorcese as an alien sandwich shop owner was a real treat. Yes, that’s a thing in this movie.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is essentially three or four episodes of the streaming series strung together, with all the pacing issues you might suspect from that approach. If that’s what you’re expecting going in, you won’t be disappointed in the slightest. Director Jon Favreau gives the film some big-screen bombast that more than justifies seeing it in IMAX, but one would be remiss to classify this as a Star Wars film like The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One or Revenge of the Sith. This is a Mandalorian film, first and foremost. It would perhaps be more appropriate to compare it to the 2008 animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical release, which was a dismal extended pilot for the thankfully-much-better series that, funny enough, also featured Rotta the Hutt. Don’t worry, this film clears that one by a parsec.
It doesn’t make sweeping changes to the lore, nor does it stack up to more substantial Star Wars films, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with The Mandalorian and Grogu and will be seeing it a second time as soon as possible. It’s an action-packed, truncated fourth season of the series, and I don’t think it ever aspires to be anything more than that. Curb your expectations accordingly, eat your popcorn out of a giant plastic AT-AT bucket and enjoy the ride. This is the way.
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