Continuing on my string of reviewing some things other than just books for once. I’ve been enjoying branching out a bit; I hope you’ve enjoyed checking them out! First, I reviewed some movies, like Primitive War, Predator: Badlands, and 2025’s Frankenstein, and even a dissection of War of the Rohirrim; then some interesting games, like Still Wakes the Deep; then even some series I’ve finished recently, like Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy, Netflix’s Kingdom, and, of course, be sure to check out my new review of The Mandoverse!
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. I went to see this on Friday, 5/29, fresh off finishing a rewatch of the Mandoverse on Wednesday night, and let me tell you, I was PUMPED for this. I know I just rewatched everything, but this was still long-awaited.
And here is a warning: there are 100% spoilers below this.
Synopsis
Once a lone bounty hunter, Mandalorian Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu embark on an exciting new Star Wars adventure.
OR
The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.
Review
8/10
The movie has an incredible opening sequence that goes so damn hard. Mando doing the absolute most; his intensity feels even more peak than in any of the show. Honestly, it felt well choreographed, like some kind of space John Wick fight scene. What a way to start the experience after so long away.
I’ve seen some complaints about how the movie is just three or four episodes stitched together, and therefore isn’t perfect or necessary. On the one hand, I disagree, as I feel like this is way more put together and complete due to it having all the odds and ends, and a season’s overarching plot pulling strings taken out. I think it nails its pacing; the action feels real and intense, and with his new employment with the New Republic, it overall feels like more than just pieces of a season. On the other hand, where this will fit in ‘canonically’ or ‘chronologically’ in the Star Wars annals of time, that may be another story. Originally, I thought the announcement of the movie was their way of stating that all of these characters, and all of these spinoffs, were building to something spectacular that fans would get on the big screen, but that is not this. So, the complaint in a way has merit to me, as it remains to be seen if this is a stepping stone to more, or just a throwaway adventure. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing.
Personally, I thought the idea of something like an “Avengers” level meetup was inevitable. Especially with Grand Admiral Thrawn being in the villainous mix of the Ashoka show. But with a season 2 of that show on the way, one promising higher stakes, it clearly wasn’t time yet. So would critics have preferred this movie simply not exist? As a fan (of many things), I have always been of the opinion that more is more. And yes, of course, we hope, and we pray that the quality is there to back it up, but dudes, we still got a new Star Wars theatrical release! And I think the goods back it up.
Now, I did see a Favreau interview where he says he was approached about doing a movie instead, so he tore apart pieces of a season 4 to create this. Stripping apart the cameos and previously threaded storylines that would have newbies confused. I am certainly paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of “removing the characters,” which made me think appearances from Greef Karga (RIP Carl Weathers), Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Bo-Katan, and even more were certainly planned for a season 4, but they just wanted a cleaner slate to appeal to a wider range of folks. And let me tell you, that’s all pretty standard stuff. Marvel has been a blueprint for others in how movies that appear as virtual sequels to Disney+ material do not have the go-go juice to sustain their budgets, so this one offers a cleaner film that can appeal to both new and old fans. That doesn’t bug me really.
I think a negative spin on his statement is people taking it as making it “less Star Wars,” and that just definitely ain’t it. The movie features Zeb, who is a main character from Rebels, appeared in season 3, and is apparently set to be in Ashoka next. They comment that Nal Hutta is protected by the Droid Gotra, a group of repurposed and free-thinking droids that first appeared in novels and comics. And speaking of Hutts, this movie co-stars Rotta, the son of Jabba who first appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated movie). Then there’s the bounty hunter, Embo, from the freaking Clone Wars (and his Anooba), just really driving it home how much they can pull. Oh, and we get New Republic pilots Teva and Trapper Wolf (Dave Filoni himself) from the show. So no, they are not afraid of making in-world references; I think they just wanted to tell a more linear and clear story that could appeal to fans of the show and new viewers as well. I think it succeeds.
Grogu manages to be both incredibly cute and wholesome while starting to show traits of maturing. He is more skilled, brave, and capable of learning things, even though by appearance he is still very much ‘baby Yoda.’ And there is absolutely a reason for the “and Grogu” in the title here, and it is not just because he’s in it. Mando is teaching him, as the creed dictates, as in season 3 he took him as both his apprentice and adopted son. So this movie allows him to be more hands-on. There’s trust between them, and he handles parts of their jobs and even gets to operate as a hero. It’s a big shift for them. And I would consider that another connector to the show itself, as Rotta refers to Grogu as Mando’s son, and he is even called Grogu’s dad, too. Although I did find it a big miss that this doesn’t feature some kind of “get away from my son” comment anywhere.
I have been seeing some reviews and stuff online that people are angry that they cast Jeremy Allen White as Rotta. Stating his performance is bad, that he clearly isn’t a voice actor, and that he ruins it. And like … what? I can’t say I have that much experience with him, as I have not watched Shameless or The Bear, but I think he does fine. I think he doesn’t even sound like himself, which is a huge part of voice acting, no? I think the most jarring thing about his performance is that I am forever weirded out by Hutts speaking English (basic). But for the people that do have a problem with him, I think that might be it; it’s just a bit uncanny. But also, have they not seen or heard Ziro from The Clone Wars, because he was annoying as hell.
So where does this one fall short? Off an initial watch, I really have few complaints. There are a couple of things that they rewrite, or undo from the show, that I found odd. For one, Mando is miraculously gifted a new Razor Crest … the same vintage ship that they just so happened to blow up in the show. And this makes no mention of his Naboo N-1 at all, so it’s just gone in favor of a rare ship that he shouldn’t have just been given? Small fries really, but I feel like the main reasoning was, “well, how could Rotta fit into an N-1?” And that feels like the same sentiment went into the little ship the Anzelians tried to bring Mando to as the film’s joke. Then there’s the Hutts taking Mando’s helmet. He claims he’s not shamed if everyone that saw it dies, which in truth, actually makes sense, but this wasn’t mentioned in the show. “Have you ever removed your helmet?” is met with immediate shaming and not “… and did they live?” So it again feels like, hey, we have Pedro Pascal attached to this; there is no way we aren’t showing that face … which I 100% get. His extended helmet-less scene is an awfully cool one too, at least. Then, my final gripe is that since force-healing has entered the chat, they’ve relied on it too many times. It’s a rare ability, no? Rare? Leave it alone for a bit, please.
This film is smartly budgeted, landing at around a total (allegedly) of $165 million, making it the cheapest production since Disney took over. I think this is important, especially in the age of Marvel and DC flops on quarter-of-a-billion+ budgets. Slow down, take your time. Quality and money are not always synonymous. This isn’t a mainstay film; there are no Skywalkers. It makes sense to be less expensive, and I hope it does well because the more it does, the more the message is clear: people want Star Wars films. Do not believe the anti-hype. The showings are booked, the fans are pleased, the crowds are loud. This is still a cultural event; the internet is just pigeonholed into believing negativity is the only thing that gets clicks. My theater was packed with the young and old, and everyone was having a good time. There were kids and teens making noise when things happened. This is the target audience, and it is delivered.
This is the way.
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