The Mandalorian and Grogu
Review: The first Star Wars film since ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ this film had a lot of legacy to uphold. And I’m not sure if it did that. While I really enjoyed my viewing experience, I was really hoping for something more. I’ll get really into what let me down in my ‘Low,’ so let’s talk a little about this movie. From the minds of Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni is a film that serves as a follow up to the hit Star Wars show, ‘The Mandalorian.’ Starring Perdro Pascal as The Mandalorian and Grogu as Grogu, we get to see the titular duo on one of their signature adventures, with other elements from the beloved galaxy far, far away making their way into the story. The film also features Jonny Coyne & Sigourney Weaver as human characters and the voices of Jeremy Allen White, Steve Blum, Shirley Henderson, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and (somewhat randomly) Martin Scorsese as a variety of aliens. The film has some solid action scenes, minus the fight in the gladiator pit which gave me a little bit of a headache because I couldn’t tell any of the monsters apart. It really thrived when it let Mando beat up big group’s of people. I won’t be throwing a spoiler warning on this one because I feel like there’s not really anything to spoil because nothing really happens. But I’ll still keep things a little vague. There’s a portion of the movie where Grogu is isolated and I thought that portion was very fun. Maybe I’m simple, but Grogu does really entertain me. Love that little dude.
High: I was going to put the puppetry as the high, because I think it’s obvious when they are using puppets opposed to CGI and it looks drastically better. The puppetry of Grogu and the Anzellans (the Babu Friks) was fun. Its so apparent they do all these antics with the little guys to appeal to audiences, but it works on me so I really can’t criticize it. But the actual high has got to be Ludwig Göransson’s score. His score from the show was also brilliant, and this combined the space western vibes of that with beautiful pieces for the various settings we find ourselves in. Another high was crediting the suit & stunt doubles of Mando, Brendan Wayne & Lateef Crowder so high in the credits. There’s been a lot of talk about how little Pascal is actually in the suit, so it’s nice to see these two get their due. Regardless of how much he’s in the tin can, Pascal’s voicework for Mando is stellar.
Low: I hinted at this in my review portion, but this film was really just like 2-3 episodes of the show mushed together. And I personally love the show, so I enjoyed the content onscreen. But the issue is that it just didn’t feel like a movie. The story feels so isolated, like an entry of an episodic series. I think it maybe should’ve felt like a little more of an event film, with real stakes, maybe some crossover (if they hadn’t already pulled Luke & Ahsoka into the series), and honestly should’ve ended with a Mando death and showing us the future for Grogu. I really think they should’ve just developed this story into Season 4 of the show and then put out a more event based film. Like no offense to Embo, Rotta the Hutt, or Zeb Orellios, but we should’ve gotten a real ‘oh hey there’s that guy’ moment for general audiences. The super invested Star Wars nerds will catch some things, but there should’ve been more. I really don’t think every Star Wars thing needs to be a part of the Skywalker story, but I almost feel like the Season 2 finale with Luke would’ve fit better on the big screen. Unfortunately for both Star Wars & Marvel, the dependency and mass releases of shows on Disney+ has hurt both franchises. And I say that as someone whose favorite piece of Star Wars media is Mando Seasons 1 & 2. It seems like there will be another movie down the road that’s going to bring in Mando, all the stuff that went down in Ahsoka, and some other loose ends, but right now that feels way too far away to give me any hope. I feel like that’s what this movie should’ve been.
Rating: 7/10
