Directed by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian and Grogu continues the journey of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu as they are enlisted by the New Republic to rescue Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White) in exchange for vital information from the Hutt Clan on a New Republic target. They soon discover things are not as they seem and their fierce bond is put to the ultimate test.
Star Wars has been absent from the big screen for seven years, yet it has been thriving on television with numerous shows focused on various characters and eras of the expanded universe. The most prominent among them was The Mandalorian, which was the first live-action series that kicked off multiple live-action shows thanks to its major success. Given the popularity and great reception of the series, it makes sense why there would be a high budget standalone film made from it, similar to what many anime shows have done both in the past and present. I was honestly extremely excited for this film, no matter how much certain reviewers or the toxic fandom would try to do to dampen my excitement, and I was very fortunate enough to be able to attend a packed early screening for it. As someone who has loved all seasons of the series and has been eagerly awaiting for Star Wars to return to big screen, I was immensely satisfied with this film.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is a fun, epic, thrilling, and heartwarming cinematic adventure that captures the spirit and joy of both the show on a larger scale and the original Star Wars trilogy. It may be a much lower-stakes story compared to any installment in the Skywalker Saga but I am completely content with what I got with this film, as it offered the same amount of satisfaction most of the Saga films have given to me in the past when watching them in theaters growing up.
Many characters and creatures, both new and old, come to play in this film, and they are all brought to life through committed performances by the cast as well as phenomenal effects, both practical and CGI. The titular Mandalorian and Grogu are the primary focus of the film and are just as beloved as they were in the series, and performed just as greatly.
Pedro Pascal once again dons the role of Din Djarin and brings in another fantastic performance as everyone’s favorite badass and loving father. Din works as a freelance agent for the New Republic, going back to his bounty hunter roots, but hasn’t lost his heart that he gained in the series, showing how much of a changed man he has become ever since Grogu entered his life. On top of that, Din trusts Grogu enough to bring him on his dangerous missions and actually help him on them rather than standing by for safety. He is still very protective of Grogu but he clearly knows he won’t be around to protect him forever, given Grogu’s long lifespan, and so does his best to protect him for life beyond him.
The way that Pedro Pascal has been able to give Din beautiful amounts of humanity, even when you don’t see his face, never ceases to amaze me, but he is not the only one to be credited in this film for the performance of the character. Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder have both been long-time stunt doubles for Pedro as Din, having done a lot of the amazing action scenes and physical acting in the show. They return to do the same for this film, but are actually granted top billing in the credits next to Pedro Pascal. I’ve never seen stunt performers get this much respect in the credits for a blockbuster film since The Fall Guy so it was honestly awesome to see them get the credit they deserve, especially when they are just as responsible as Pedro for making Din the amazing character he is.
Grogu gets massive time to shine as we see him evolve hugely in this film when he steps up to prove himself as both a Mandalorian and a good son to his father, Din. Yes, he does deliver a lot of humor and cute as hell antics as one would expect, but he does show that he has become braver, smarter, and much more compassionate since we last saw him. This evolution is all shown to us through fantastic visual storytelling, phenomenal animatronics, and puppetry that has us emotionally connected to his character as well as makes him feel so much more alive than he has been in the past. The choice to remain fully practical with Grogu for almost the entirety of the film was a genius idea over having him CGI for most of the film as it allows audiences to connect more with something that is actually there over something that isn’t there.
In an interesting twist, Grogu isn’t the only “kid” that ends up standing out in this film as we get reintroduced to Rotta the Hutt, the son of deceased crime lord Jabba the Hutt, played by Jeremy Allen White. Rotta was first introduced in the infamously terrible Clone Wars animated film from 2008 where he was regarded as one of the worst characters ever made for Star Wars. He was hated just as much as Jar Jar Binks so seeing him being brought back in modern Star Wars was a bold decision to make. Despite the odds though, Rotta gets upgraded from being one of the worst characters to one of the most surprisingly compelling supporting characters, all thanks to better writing and an unrecognizable yet amazing performance by Jeremy Allen White, who provides both the voice and presumably the motion capture.
Unlike previous Hutts, Rotta is a physical threat who participates in gladiator-style fights while also proving to be not as evil as the rest of his family, despite constantly living in the shadow of his infamous father. Behind his hulking mass is a free spirit that wants to break away from his family legacy to become his own person, and I found myself really loving him throughout the whole film because of that. White gives the character so much heart and depth that you wouldn’t expect a Hutt to have but he does such a great job making you feel for this character after such an awful introduction 18 years ago. I’d be more than happy to see him return for future projects as there are a lot of unique opportunities to explore with him.
Imperial Remnants are involved in this film but they are not the main villains that Din and Grogu face off against in this film. Instead, we have the return of Jabba the Hutt’s twin cousins, who first appeared briefly in The Book of Boba Fett but are now the main villains in this film. These two may not be on the same level as Moff Gideon from the show but they definitely bring their own brand of menace that makes them worthy foes for our duo to go up against. What they may lack in complexity they make up for hugely in maliciousness, sadistic nature, and cunning, much like Jabba in Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, I missed who voiced them in the credits and have been unable to find online who played as both of them in film, but whoever they are they did a great job playing both of them.
Backing up their villainous escapades is a private droid army, as well as the Kyuzo bounty hunter Embo, who makes his official debut in live action. Long-time Star Wars fans will recognize Embo as the mostly silent but deadly bounty hunter that had appeared numerous times in the Clone Wars, but if you are someone who is completely unfamiliar with him this film does a brilliant job reintroducing him as a truly formidable foe that even Din struggles to fight against.
The film also features a great supporting cast of characters, including the return of Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios from Star Wars Rebels, reprised by Steve Blum. Zeb joins Din and Grogu for part of their adventure, and he is such a fun addition that gets his time to shine in action scenes where he continues to be an ultimate badass after all these years, despite sounding more mature and seasoned compared to his time in Rebels. He looks amazing in live action thanks to great effects, and sounds amazing thanks to Steve Blum’s performance.
We also get the addition of a new face named Colonel Ward, leader of the New Republic’s Adelphi Rangers, who is played by none other than the legend herself, Sigourney Weaver. Now she may not be in the film as much as I would have wanted her to be but she certainly cements herself as a firm leader that doesn’t take shit from anyone but clearly cares about everyone in her team, including Din, despite him being a freelance agent.
There are some other great performances featured in this film from some surprising voices, including an extremely rare voice performance by Martin Scorsese as a hilarious Ardennian shopkeeper named Hugo. As for any cameo appearances, there aren’t any major characters featured in this film except for a few familiar faces you may have seen in the seasons of the show.
The film’s narrative might not entirely push Din and Grogu’s journey to new heights, but it definitely reinforces their incredible bond together in a standalone heartwarming story about a father and son who fiercely love each other, that is the core of a big adventure involving galaxy-wide bounty hunting and complex families. It very much embraces the brilliant old school western style and tone of the show that is amplified for the big screen, but it does lean into a more action-driven narrative instead of a character-driven narrative like the show did in its three seasons. There are certainly character-driven sequences present in the story, especially involving Grogu and his evolution told through visual storytelling, but I would have preferred more of it for the entirety of the film, even when the action narrative is very satisfying.
With that said, this film doesn’t hold back on delivering emotional punches that land extremely well and show that we can still be emotionally invested in these characters, no matter what kind of story they are in. The stakes may not be as big or galaxy-threatening compared to the Skywalker Saga or the ongoing threat of Thrawn in the Ahsoka series, but not every story in Star Wars needs to be that, as proven not only by The Mandalorian series itself but other Star Wars projects in recent years that have been just as epic, thrilling, and compelling even with their smaller and more personal stakes.
For far too long people have been conditioned to think that every Star Wars project needs to be an event with game-changing significance, similar to how some people treat MCU films after Avengers Endgame, but the truth is not every project needs to be that. Star Wars has grown significantly to encompass more stories of various styles, tones, and stakes that have allowed more variety, new creative possibilities from other artists, and welcomed new generations into the universe. If Star Wars was restricted to being just event after event that need to have massive galactic consequences and be firmly connected to the Skywalker Saga at all times, then the whole franchise would have been dead a long time ago.
A lot of people were fearing that this film was going to be a TV budget level film in terms of visuals and effects, but I can definitely tell you that is definitely not the case at all. This was a film that was made for theaters, feeling grand in scale and delivering epic action, stellar cinematography, and excellent sound design worthy of the big screen. We get awesome hand-to-hand and gunfighting combat mixed in with thrilling chase sequences and classic spacecraft dogfighting that always escalates as the film progresses and never fails to be entertaining due to how well-crafted it looks. The film has its own unique visual style, looking just as beautiful as the other Star Wars films, yet maintains its own western sci-fi vibe that the show initially created but is upgraded with the higher budget and being filmed for IMAX.
The sound design is also excellent with the IMAX audio quality upgrade and its fun inclusion of classic Star Wars audio ripped straight from the original trilogy. There is a large use of phenomenal practical effects and incredible puppetry for creatures, as well as practical sets used for almost everything in this film, making it feel larger than life and making the worlds feel much more real compared to how it was in the show, with its high reliance on the volume tech. CGI is used for certain objects, characters, creatures, worlds, and certain action sequences, but it all honestly looked amazing to me, especially when watching it in IMAX. I don’t really understand some of the criticisms I’ve heard about for the CGI in this film except for maybe one or two action sequences that looked a bit off but then again some of the people making these criticisms are the same ones who would defend a lot of the awful effects of the first two films in the prequel trilogy that are an eye sore to look at to this day.
The most surprising effect I did witness in this film was in one thrilling action scene that featured actual stop motion animation for two huge droids. Pure stop motion animation in a 2026 live action blockbuster film is an extremely rare art to witness, and I absolutely loved seeing it in modern day, even with its nostalgic jitteriness that harkens back to the usage of stop motion in the original trilogy. Not everyone may notice or appreciate it but I certainly do and I applaud Jon Favreau for including it.
Enhancing the film further is an outstanding and majestic score by returning composer Ludwig Göransson. Fresh off his third Oscar, Ludwig blends orchestral John Williams-like music with fantastic 80s style synth for his score that is unique yet completely fitting for a Star Wars film. It elevates all the thrills and emotions of this film in epic fashion as well as further cements Ludwig Göransson as one of the best composers to ever join Star Wars, rivaling the work of John Williams in many ways.
The Mandalorian and Grogu satisfied all my personal needs by offering a rip-roaring adventure that filled my heart with immense joy and gave me a wonderful theater experience that I felt had been missing from theaters for far too long. While Star Wars has certainly been thriving on TV, it always feels best to witness it on the big screen as it truly has much more to offer on a personal level. Nothing that certain critics or individuals from the toxic side of the fanbase say can ever make me hate this film in any way even when it isn’t completely perfect in all areas. Star Wars is back in theaters with a grand adventure that all can and should be allowed to enjoy without someone trying to ruin it for you. I’m going to give The Mandalorian and Grogu an A = 97.
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