This weekend sees the release of the newest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu! We’ve got our spoiler free review here!
Remember when you were a kid, and you saw a Star Wars movie for the first time. There were big explosions. There were cool action sequences. There were characters and creatures you couldn’t have dreamt up in your wildest dreams. There was a layer to it all that felt real, and dirty. Not polished and fancy outer space stuff. By some miracle director Jon Favreau (Iron Man), along with his co-writers Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Noah Kloor (The Book of Boba Fett) have done just that.
The film is a continuation of the story told in the Disney+ TV series, The Mandalorian. However, the film needs absolutely no introduction to be able to understand it. Much like the original first season of the TV show. This is something you can turn on, and simply enjoy for what it is. It follows a bounty hunter named Din Djarin (aka The Mandalorian/Mando)played by Pedro Pascal, and his apprentice/adoptive son Grogu (aka Baby Yoda), as they hunt someone down for the New Republic in a post Return of the Jedi Star Wars Universe. That’s literally all you need to know. The Mandalorian takes a job to hunt someone down, and it becomes messy.
It’s a very simple entry point to this corner of the Star Wars universe. It’s also a simple entry point to Star Wars period. This is the kind of movie you can show to your kids and say, “want to see more stuff like this?” And then unpack it all. But at the same time it’s also very rewarding for long term fans of the franchise. There’s callbacks, characters, Easter eggs, and references to EVERYTHING Star Wars. But none of it is something that takes you out of the story. It’s all just part of acknowledging that this is a big universe. And if you don’t know what these things mean, you’d never know it’s something people are going to geek out about later. The film balances the thing that has made the TV show, The Mandalorian, so great. It’s Star Wars that rewards the viewer if you’ve seen more, but you also ABSOLUTELY can go into it all completely blind.
Favreau has also done a great job of weaving practical effects and characters alongside CGI elements. The titular Grogu, is a puppet most of the time he’s on screen. There are characters who are completely CGI, and there’s real humans. At any given time all three kinds of character can be interacting seamlessly in one scene. And the design of all the characters, both returning and new, are phenomenal. There’s a snake-like beast seen in the trailers, which legitimately looks like it popped out of the concept art which was shown during the credits of each episode of the show. There’s some cool details and Easter eggs within some of the creatures as well. Which we may get to at another time. But let’s just say some of the creatures who fight have been seen fighting before, in the very first Star Wars movie.
The film features some incredible action sequences. Honestly, there’s more action set pieces than I expected. Yet at the same time I’m not surprised, because that’s always how this corner of the franchise has worked. The Mandalorian has always been an action show. It’s told some cool stories, but it’s been about the cool stuff you can do in this sandbox. Favreau really takes advantage of it with this film. There isn’t a lightsaber in a single second of screen time, but many of the fights are just as amazing as some of the best lightsaber battles.
In many ways the film is like a long episode of the television show. But not at all in any of the ways that would make that a bad thing. It’s just BIGGER. Not the stakes necessarily. But what Favreau and crew are able to put on screen, is so much more than you can fit into one television episode. In every way shape and form, it elevates this kind of story. It shows that you can do a Star Wars film, that’s just fun and EXTREMELY entertaining. One that plays out like an old pulp action/adventure film. Or like a western where one cowboy is searching for someone, and getting shot to hell along the way.
The film is everything Star Wars can be, everything it should be, and everything it hopefully will be moving forward. There’s times you’ll laugh. Some times you might shed a few tears. There’s a heart to the film that is centered in familial ties. There’s amazing creatures. There’s new and weird worlds. There’s also some incredibly cool elements of the universe from different eras that I never expected to see together in a live action film.
I’ll admit, I know I’m not saying or revealing much. But there’s also not much to reveal. It’s just a fun action adventure film. It’s the type of escape we could all use right now. And it’s something I truly believe everyone in the family could enjoy for one reason or another. This is a great Star Wars film, it’s a great Mandalorian film, it’s a great Summer Blockbuster. But above all else, it’s a damn good time at the movies.
Rating: 5/5
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters. You can check out the trailer below. And be sure to keep following us for more Star Wars and MAndalorian coverage!
(Written by Alex Lancaster. Alex is a single dad living in Central Indiana, who has been obsessed with film and TV since he was 3 years old. You can follow him on Threads for more of his thoughts, and if you’d like to help support him right now you can click here.)
Poor Man’s Spoiler 