Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu - Movie Review

The Movie: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

The Director: Jon Favreau

The Cast: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Sigourney Weaver

The Story: I'm still not entirely sure. Lots of things happen, little of it makes any sense.

The Rating: 4 / 10

The Review:

Star Wars on the big screen will always be an event that should be treated as something special and exciting. My all-time favorite movie, and one of my earliest movie going memories, is the original which came out all the way back in 1977 (Yes, I was alive back then). And now, here we are in a seemingly new era of Star Wars movies led by the normally reliable and trustworthy creative team of Dave Filoni as writer and executive producer and Jon Favreau as writer, director, and producer.

My first question about this movie is how, with those two guys firmly in place, did this turn out to be such a gigantic pile of bantha poop. Yes, it's that bad. There, I said it. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt but the more I think about it, the less I'm willing to accept what I saw as anything worthy of the Star Wars brand at least from a theatrical release standpoint. Even if you want to compare it to the Mandalorian Disney Plus series, it barely holds up against any of the three seasons. Even the special effects are sub-par with some scenes looking like they are straight out of a video game and others looking like there just wasn't enough time to finish them properly.

The story telling is pretty basic at best, scattered and non-sensical at worst and none of it really means anything within what is referred to as the "Mandoverse" or even within the overall Star Wars canon. There's not a true villain so there isn't any sense that the characters are in danger at any point of the story. The whole thing seriously felt like a video game playthrough set on the easiest level. The one thing I will give this movie credit for is some of the fight scenes are pretty legit but yeah, that's about it.

I know everyone loves Grogu (Baby Yoda) and he's super cute but, for me, the novelty was overused and I felt like having to rely on that aspect seriously handcuffed what could have made for a better and more legitimate Star Wars experience. The way the creative team leans so far into the cuteness and silliness just didn't work for me and not just with Grogu but also several other characters and situations.

With that in mind, I do realize I'm speaking for what I want to see in a Star Wars movie and probably not what Disney is shooting for as an intended audience. I mean, Rogue One is like peak Star Wars for me and I'm sure a fair amount of people will enjoy this simple and fun little romp through the galaxy, but it really could have been so much more.

Speaking of things that could have been so much more, Sigourney Weaver feels drastically underutilized as an actress and larger than life personality. Her character is basically one of those people in video games you interact with every once in a while that advance you to the next mission. Same thing with Zeb, a popular character from the Rebels animated series, who we see briefly a few times but he never really does anything of any significance.

Are there reasons to go see this movie in the theater? Yes, it's a Star Wars movie and that right there should be enough. There are moments but that's all they are and that's not nearly enough compared to the rest of the movie which is just a jumbled mess that barely makes any sense at all. If you just want to turn your brain off and enjoy space aliens and laser beams, then you'll probably be okay. Keep your expectations low and drown your eventual sorrows in the largest Star Wars themed concession items you can find.

When it comes to which format to see the movie in, I'm not really going to be particular. The screening I was at was in the IMAX format although it was also in a mall type theater, so I don't know how much of an impact it had on the viewing experience. Just pick whatever is most convenient or your favorite format and get it over with. I really tried to stay positive going in, but once I realized what was unfolding in front of me, all I could think of was "I've got a bad feeling about this." And the rest is Star Wars history.