The Mandalorian and Grogu Review

The Star Wars universe makes its big cinematic return after a seven-year absence. This new adventure sees The Mandalorian make his cinematic debut after leading three seasons of TV.

Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) has been working as a bounty hunter for the New Republic. He hunts down Imperial war criminals and brings them to justice. His new assignment is to find the elusive Commander Coin, with the only lead to find him being the notorious crime lords, the Hutt Twins. The Hutt Twins promise to give Din the information if he rescues their nephew, Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), who has been kidnapped.

Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars has led to mixed results. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a huge hit and received positive reviews, but it was pretty much a remake of A New Hope. The Last Jedi was one of the most divisive blockbusters ever, to put it mildly, and led to the rise of some of the most annoying people on the internet. The last Star Wars film released in cinemas was The Rise of Skywalker, which was hastily made to reserve the more controversial aspects of The Last Jedi.

Disney’s original plan was to release one Star Wars film a year. Those plans ended because Solo: A Star Wars Story had a troubled production and a box office disappointment. Since The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm has focused on making shows for Disney+ and the results there have been mixed. The Mandalorian and Andor were hits, but The Acolyte was a flop. The Mandalorian and Grogu has been marketed heavily, but it only has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the film’s box office tracking is worse than Solo. The Scottish Alcoholic and the ex-meth dealer will gloat if the film flops.

Even though The Mandalorian and Grogu was following on from the TV series, it was made as a new start. It was a straightforward adventure that any newcomer could follow. It managed this even when referencing wider Star Wars lore because it was told from Din and Grogu’s perspective.

The Mandalorian and Grogu felt episodic in structure, which wasn’t surprising considering the TV origins. It wouldn’t be surprising if the film was meant to be the fourth season of The Mandalorian, but during pre-production, it was converted into a film. The first half of the film felt more like a video game due to all the planet-hopping and Din being given new missions so he could complete previous missions. This story structure, combined with the focus on the galaxy’s underworld feel more like Star Wars: Outlaws. Din even used Grogu to help him gain entry into a building, just like how Kay Vess would have used Nix.

The television origins were also felt in some of the action scenes. Multiple scenes were restrictive, like a gladiatorial battle between Din and Rotta, and fights took place in corridors and small rooms. This led to some of the action scenes being overly edited and chaotic. There were some well-executed action scenes, especially during the prologue and the final act, where Din showed how much of a badass he could be. He was able to use a variety of weapons and did it with great effect. However, for a character that was one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, he did get knocked out a lot.

The Mandalorian and Grogu can be compared to Solo. Both films were focused on the underworld, leading to the stakes being lower than in other Star Wars films. Din and his allies were fighting criminals, not space fascists with superweapons. This made The Mandalorian and Grogu feel inconsequential compared to the main series. To negate this, The Mandalorian and Grogu was lighter in tone due to the humour, and it was made with a family audience in mind.

The film did have higher emotional stakes due to the surrogate father-son relationship. Despite Din speaking in a monotone, he cared deeply for the little green creature and did everything he could to protect his ‘son’. Like a parent, Din did have to reprimand the child when needed. Grogu was as lovable as ever; he threw himself into the action more, and he was a good judge of character. The most emotive moment in the film was when Grogu had to take care of Din. It was done through visual storytelling since Grogu couldn’t speak. His actions had to do the talking.

The Mandalorian and Grogu was a minor entry in the Star Wars canon because of its story. It was still an enjoyable film since it was an old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure for all ages.