Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu review by Bobby Blakey
When Disney+ launched in 2019 one of the first series to premiere was The Mandalorian, the first live-action TV series from the Star Wars universe. The series was created by Jon Favreau and launched a new era in the galaxy far, far away. Clone Wars producer and Rebels creator Dave Filoni worked alongside Favreau to help usher in this new direction for the franchise that has now finished out three seasons. Instead of continuing with a fourth season, they opted to bring the story to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu starring Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Steve Blum, Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu follows once lone bounty hunter, Mandalorian Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu, now doing exclusive work for the New Republic, who embarks on an exciting new adventure to rescue an unexpected character for an untrusting ally.
I love all things Star Wars, yes, including every series and film, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have issues with some elements. One of those things is the fan favorite Grogu himself who I was burned out on after season two fo the series. I do not hate the character but felt it wrapped up the story great and was ready to see Mando get out there and have some new adventures. Obviously, that didn’t happen and they made them an unlikely duo that has made their way to the big screen.
That being said, I was still excited to see new Star Wars on the big screen and expected it to essentially just be a big screen episode of the series since it was originally supposed to be doing another season. That is exactly what this film is, and I am all here for it as it delivers everything I wanted and some things I didn’t know I wanted and few things I didn’t. It leans into the fun of this adventure and
not looking to break new ground, expand the galaxy or tie it to something else and instead just have some Star Wars fun.
They set the film up as a good standalone film that you can go in without watching the series but obviously won’t understand some things or how we got here. It’s not rocket science so easy to figure it all out, but you should watch the shows just to get the full fun of it all. It has a pretty thin story that offers up just enough to give the journey purpose and that was just fine. I wasn’t looking for some deep Star Wars story and was just fine with its direction. It is a mission for Mando and Grogu and that is all I wanted from the show and now here in the film. I don’t need a big bad universe ending situation.
The action is plenty and all well done with Mando kicking ass like he does keeping him fully cemented as the badass he is and should be. The addition of another bounty hunter whom they revealed in the trailer making his live action debut from the Clone Wars was a great addition even though he is essentially a henchman. It gave someone equal to Mando for him to face off against and they made sure to capitalize on it. There are some CGI characters that don’t work great, but it is still enjoyable to see them doing their thing on screen and keep my inner Star Wars fan smiling.
There was way more humor here than I expected, but most of it worked. My usual annoyance of Grogu was waived since I had accepted where we are here and actually enjoyed him more often than not. Sure, there is the puppet element to him, but it is still impressive the amount of character and personality they give him without ever speaking a word. I know others might be annoyed by the Anzellan’s but they crack me up. The use of them and their small ships were hilarious and a smart use of these new entries to the Star Wars universe. The fun action homage to the holochess of A New Hope and the addition to a character that I only know from the action figure and a background character in Return of the Jedi were some clever easter eggs for the hardcore fans.
It is always strange seeing any sort of Star Wars project with normal opening credits as opposed to the classic opening crawl, but I am kind of used to it now. This one doesn’t have a crawl but does give you a set-up and then it leans into the TV series aspect with its opening credits. Big props to giving both Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder starring credits that they fully deserve. Pascal is fine, but these guys are Mando and wouldn’t be who he is without them.
In the end I had a blast with the film and while it probably would have worked just as well as the fourth season of the show, I was glad to see it on the big screen. I know there will be plenty of people bashing it because it won’t be the Star Wars they want, but it fed me what I was hungry for. If you are a fan of the show then you will likely have a blast as well, but if you hate the series then you will no doubt feel the same about this film.
Decide for yourself and return to the galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters now.