Rating: ***
Review Date: 5/22/26
Director: Jon Favreau
Written By: Dave Filoni
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Martin Scorsese,
Sigourney Weaver, cameo by Dave Filoni
"The old protect the young. Then the young protect the old. This is the way."
Working for The New Republic after the fall of The Galactic Empire, bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) is busy tracking down former Imperial war criminals who are still intent on making trouble. His latest job involves working with the Hutts to rescue their kidnapped nephew, Rotta (Jeremy Allen White), in exchange for information, which is the exact same plot as the dreadful "Clone Wars" movie (2008). Except that Rotta is now grown up and being kept as a pit fighter for a nasty crime lord named Janu Coyne. Not surprisingly, things get messy and Mando ends up breaking his contract when he realizes what's going on behind the scenes. So the hunter becomes the hunted as Mando and Grogu fight to stay alive, and maybe get some payback at the same time.
Remember when "Star Wars" movies used to be an event? People would line up for opening day screenings that were sold out months in advance. Enthusiastic fans would dress up and cheer, like it was a big nerd convention. Even my mom snuck out of work early to see "Return Of The Jedi" (1983) on opening day (I'm still bitter that I didn't get to go). But those days are gone. I saw "The Mandalorian And Grogu" on opening day and there were less than 20 people in the theater when the movie started. Part of it is the cultural shift away from the theater experience, but it's also a sign that people have lost interest in the franchise. And this movie doesn't do anything to reignite that spark.
To be fair, it's a solidly entertaining, well-made, and absolutely GORGEOUS film. But it doesn't feel like a "Star Wars" movie. Instead, it feels like a Marvel movie, which isn't surprising since Jon Favreau directed it. Without any opening fanfare and title crawl, it just throws you right into the action without a clue as to what's going on and why you should care. More than anything, it resembles an extended episode of the "Clone Wars" series, and Dave Filoni's DNA is all over the script. Unfortunately, I find his writing overly cliché, banal, and childish, so that's probably my biggest complaint with the film. However, coming in a close second is the music, which is awful, tonally inappropriate, and fails to set a mood or complement the action. It's the most un-"Star Wars" aspect of the whole production and constantly pulls you out of the experience. The music was also overwhelmingly loud, to the point of being painful, which is saying a lot since I'm half-deaf to begin with.
On the plus side, the film is overflowing with fan service pulled from the entire series, so it's a thrill to see so many in-world references and callbacks. However, it's done in such a heavy handed and calculated way, that it feels insincere and comes across as more of a checklist than genuine reverence. It also reeks of desperation to continually please the audience and perhaps distract from the actual story. The action choreography and cinematography are excellent and the fight scenes are exciting to watch, but they feel hollow and soulless. I also found the action scenes to be rushed and too short, and they were over before I had a chance to get invested in them. Lots of foreplay and no pay-off, which left me frustrated and longing while stumbling into the next scene. The pacing also slows to a crawl towards the end, which really tried my patience.
Pedro Pascal is wonderful as Mando, and if you're a fan of Grogu, he is sure to delight. They have always had a "Lone Wolf And Cub" thing going on, and this film especially reminded me of "Baby Cart At The River Styx" (1972) where the desperate and helpless Daigoro is trying to save his father's life. Rotta is an interesting spin on the Hutt clan (despite the unpleasant memories of him in the "Clone Wars" movie), who rejects his father's legacy and the criminal lifestyle. However, it's annoying that he speaks English (or Basic, if you prefer) the entire time, rather than subtitled Huttese. This goes for the other Hutts as well, which is another indication of the "kid friendly" aspect of the film. While I have nothing against Sigourney Weaver, she's poorly cast as Colonel Ward simply because she's too recognizable. She admits to wanting to be in the film so that she could act with Grogu.
As you would expect, the visual effects are superb, and the various planets and environments are breathtaking to behold. While the CGI Hutts lack physical presence and aren't totally convincing, they still look pretty darn good. Grogu continues to be mostly a puppet, which is charming in its own way, but the Anzellan mechanics also look like puppets and their movements are jarring. Another awkward scene is a showdown with two large droids, which has the tell-tale signs of stop-motion animation. This wouldn't surprise me, since Phil Tippett is listed in the credits, and it's another callback to the original series. However, in a film that is so heavily reliant on CGI, the jerky movements of the droids comes across as a visual distraction, and it doesn't mesh with the look and feel of the rest of the film. And speaking of droids, the film manages to pull off an amazing trick by actually redeeming the loathsome battle droids from "The Phantom Menace" (1999), which I didn't think was possible.
Obviously, I'm very torn on the film and my emotions were constantly being pulled between elation, frustration, and disappointment. Technically, it's a solid and serviceable film, but it plays it too safe and clearly doesn't want to take any risks. It's comfort food, which is fair and expected, given how the last three films were received. I used to think of the "Star Wars" movies as just collections of brilliantly realized set pieces, but it's more than that. There's something intangible that brings everything together and lifts the material higher. The Force, perhaps? "The Mandalorian And Grogu" is also a collection of brilliantly realized set pieces, but the connective tissue and magic are missing. Or maybe I'm just old and grumpy, and can no longer feel the magic.