******HUTT-SIZED SPOILERS!******
Debuting just before the COVID pandemic on the then-new Disney+ streaming service, Star Wars’ “The Mandalorian” took place shortly after the fall of the Empire, and chronicled the adventures of independent Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), as he made his way through the galaxy in his Razor Crest starship taking various assignments (ethical or not) for cash. Then one day, he’s tasked with bringing in an adorable, Force-sensitive toddler (“warm or cold”) from the same mysterious species as the diminutive Jedi master Yoda. Going rogue, Mando takes the surprisingly powerful infant under his care. Mando and ‘Baby Yoda’ became an immediate pop-culture sensation during the COVID years, with Mando’s signature line “This is the way” becoming a new “May the Force be with you,” generating memes and t-shirts. This was the Boba Fett series longtime Star Wars fans had wanted to see, not the actual one that came later.
Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” makes the transition to the big screen with “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”
“The Mandalorian” ended after three seasons, with patience-taxing hiatuses in-between, as Mando and “Grogu” (the true name of the former Jedi-candidate toddler) went on various adventures together, with Mando becoming a single parent to the enigmatic, nonverbal, 50-year old alien child. Though the show began strongly, its second and third seasons showed its limits, as series co-creator, producer and occasional director Jon Favreau and company took Mando and Grogu deep into the power struggles of the planet Mandalore in season three, tying into other Star Wars TV series (animated and live-action), including “The Clone Wars,” “Star Wars Rebels,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” and “Ahsoka.” This once-simple story of a bounty hunter father and his adopted child quickly became very crowded.
Shortly after its three season run, Favreau, along with current Lucasfilm coproducer & Chief Creative Officer and Star Wars über-fan Dave Filoni, announced “The Mandalorian” would make the jump to the big screen in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Cowritten by director Favreau (“Iron Man”), along with Filoni and Noah Kloor, the movie opens this week, roughly 49 years after Star Wars forever changed movies and the pop culture landscape back in 1977.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu”
On a mission to hunt down members of a resurgent Imperial movement to overthrow the New Republic, Mando, aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), with the help of his tiny Force-sensitive ward Grogu, commandeers a small Imperial scout walker, which he turns on several of the larger ones.
Destroying several large AT-AT walkers with grenades and air support of a New Republic squadron, Mando kills a prominent leader (Hemky Madera) of the Imperial resurgence who was supposed to be capture alive, in hopes of finding other hidden Imperial cells.
Note: I enjoyed the opening scene on the ice planet with the Scout and AT-AT walkers, and it works as a callback to the AT-AT attack in “The Empire Strikes Back” and the train robbery sequence in the generally underrated “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
After a successful mission, Djarin is tasked by New Republic Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) to find an unidentified Imperial warlord known only as ‘Coin.’ Ward tells Mando that they’ve been provided intel on Coin’s whereabouts by the Hutt Twins, and they have a favor to ask in return for that information. Ward isn’t fond of Grogu’s habit of stealing food with the Force…
Note: I’ve been a fan of Sigourney Weaver since “ALIEN,” and I love her other sci-fi work (“Galaxy Quest,” “Paul”). I’ve also enjoyed many of her non-sci-fi films too (“The Ice Storm,” “Gorillas in the Mist”), but I’m sorry to say her performance here feels phoned in. The Colonel Ward character has none of the fire the actress brings to other roles, even Dr. Grace Augustine, from James Cameron’s first “Avatar” movie.
Mando is sent by Ward to bargain with the Hutt Twins for intel on Coin. As a prepayment, Ward provides Mando and Grogu with a new factory-fresh Razor Crest starship. With that, Mando is off to the Twins’ home planet of Nal Hutta.
Note: While I was glad to see Mando getting a roomier spaceship for his child (that Naboo N-1 starfighter felt more like a middle-aged dad buying a red sports car), it’s a shame it couldn’t have been an all new starship to give this movie a slightly different visual identity from its Disney+ predecessor.
The Hutt Twins, presumed inheritors of their late crime-lord brother Jabba, agree to give intel on Coin, but only in exchange for rescuing their nephew and Jabba’s only son, Rotta, from a crime syndicate run by a gangster named Janu.
Note: The hardest part to swallow in this movie was that the New Republic would seriously believe it could make a good faith agreement with family members of the same criminal empire that enslaved Princess Leia and nearly executed Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (“Return of the Jedi”).
On the planet Shakari, legendary director Martin Scorsese (“Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull”) voices the Ardennian owner of a Shakari greasy spoon, who points Mando to the whereabouts of Janu and Rotta.
Note: Big fan of Martin Scorsese movies (“Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,” “The Last Temptation of Christ”), and I immediately recognized his voice, even before I realized it was him. It’s also ironic that he’s cameoing in a big-budget franchise movie after swearing such films were not “real movies,” as well as his earlier disparaging remarks about the immaturity of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg films (from the 1998 book “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls” by Peter Biskind). Maybe one of his grandkids talked him into it?
After finding Rotta, Mando locates the club owned by Rotto’s manager, Janu. Denied access to Janu, Manu beats up all of Janu’s henchmen in order to see him–he even breaks a horn off gatekeeper henchman Hogsbreth. Mando then makes an offer to Janu to buy out Rotta’s contract, but Janu refuses, saying he intends for Rotta to die in the arena.
Note: The planet “Shakiri” sounds a bit like the name of the mythical ‘God planet’ of “Sha-Ka-Ree” from “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” though I’m sure it’s meant to evoke the mean streets of Chicago, as seen in 1930s and 1940s gangster films, which the scene of Mando confronting Janu’s gangsters pays direct homage.
Mando returns to Rotta (Jeremy Allen White) with the news, but Rotta refuses to believe it, and calls for security. Mando is then captured by Janu’s forces, and is forced by Janu to fight Rotta in the arena, without his Mandalorian weapons. Using resourcefulness and skill, Mando eventually defeats Rotta, but surrenders instead of killing him.
Note: Rotta’s story of the tough, naive young man trying to make a name for himself through fighting evokes countless boxing movies, from both versions of “The Champ” (1931/1979) to the “Rocky” and “Creed” films. That Rotta struggles to break free from his infamous father’s bad reputation is one of the elements of this movie I found interesting, though it’s weird to hear a Hutt speaking in plain, flat American English (via voice actor Jeremy Allen White), with none of the heavy bass or reverb typically heard in the voices of all other Hutts in Star Wars movies/TV shows to date.
With the crowd outraged, Janu (Jonny Coyne) then floods the arena with monster combatants, which prompts Mando and Rotta to join forces in order to defeat them. Realizing Mando was telling the truth, the betrayed Rotta damages the forcefield security systems of the arena, setting the remaining monsters free. As the monsters overrun the crowd, Janu and his henchman Hogsbreth (Matthew Willig) flee…
Note: Meanwhile, here in the United States, the president wants to have UFC cage fights on the White House lawn, because hey, what could possibly go wrong…?
In the seedy streets of Shakari, Mando and Grogu pursue and capture Rotta with the help of Zeb Orellios (Steve Blum). Rotta says his aunt and uncle only want him so that they can kill their brother Jabba’s last living heir and take over the Hutt crime empire. Rotta also tells Mando that Janu and Coin are the same person. Mando trusts him, and with the aid of Grogu, Zeb and Rotta, they capture Janu on a hideaway planet and take him into New Republic custody.
Note: Nice to see Zeb Orellios from “Star Wars Rebels” (my favorite animated Star Wars series), and still voiced by actor Steve Blum as well. The design of blue-skinned tough guy alien Zeb Oriellos was inspired by some of the late production artist Ralph McQuarrie’s earliest designs for Chewbacca back when the original “Star Wars” was in preproduction.
Mando, Zeb and Rotta bring Janu back to the New Republic base, where they take him for questioning. Col. Ward tells Mando the Twins will seek vengeance against him for his double-cross. Despite the fallout, Ward also commends Mando for finding Janu/Coin without the Twins’ help.
Their mission over, Mando returns to Nevarro with Grogu, where he enlists a group of tiny Anzellan mechanics to modify the Razor Crest to his liking. He also helps Rotta go into hiding with the aid of a trusted gunrunner.
Note: The tiny, mechanically-inclined Anzellans, first seen in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” also played a significant role in “The Mandalorian” TV series. Their appearance in this movie is arguably their best use to date.
That night, Mando is attacked and captured by the formidable bounty hunter Embo (Dave Filoni), who delivers him to the Twins on Nal Hutta to collect his reward.
Note: Embo is a character who dates back to “The Clone Wars” animated series (2008 to 2020), and is voiced by Star Wars producer and current Lucasfilm coproducer/Creative Control Officer Dave Filoni, who also appears onscreen in both the Mandalorian TV series and this movie (sans CGI) as X-wing pilot “Trapper Wolf” (that hyper-macho name is goofy as hell; maybe “Slade Steele” was already taken?).
Witnessing Mando’s kidnapping but unable to help, the Anzellans take Grogu in pursuit aboard their small spaceship to follow Embo to Nal Hutta…
Note: At 50 years old and still nonverbal, I wonder when or if we’ll ever see Grogu say his first words. That would’ve been a nice cap to end this movie. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Yoda says he’s been training Jedi knights “for 800 years,” and later established his age at the time of his death as 900 years old in “Return of the Jedi.” Assuming Force-sensitive Grogu develops similarly, the next 50 years of his life might very well see him skyrocket from nonverbal infant to mastering the Force.
Forced to kneel before the Hutt Twins, Mando is robbed of his honor by having his helmet forcibly removed–exposing his face to his enemies (a Mandalorian taboo). The Twins also have their nephew Rotta in custody, having intercepted the gunrunner. Rotta is linked to electrodes, where he will endure centuries of torture from his aunt and uncle.
Note: The cinematography by “The Mandalorian” TV veteran David Klein has the same dark, brown-gray murkiness I see in just about all movies and TV shows these days, and frankly, I’m sick of it. Would it kill someone to turn up the lights a bit, or maybe add a few bursts of color here and there…? I’m old, and my eyes aren’t 20/20 anymore, so yeah, please stop making audiences go blind, thank you very much.
To punish Mando for breaking his word, he’s tossed into a deep well, where he kills several predatory aquatic creatures, before being forced to fight a massive Dragonsnake. Mando manages to escape with the help of Grogu and the Anzellans, but is bitten by the Dragonsnake–whose bite carries a fatal poison if untreated.
Note: The many cage matches between Mando and armies of vicious creatures, gangsters, and the giant Dragonsnake grow tiresome after awhile. Action for action’s sake is boring, frankly. There has to be a high probability of failure (or mortality) for movie/TV combat to be meaningful. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Luke loses a hand to Vader before choosing self-sacrifice over joining him. That’s something this movie’s countless fight scenes lack; genuine stakes.
As they escape from the Hutts into the surrounding bayou wilderness, Mando realizes he can’t leave with the Anzellans, since he won’t fit aboard their small spaceship. Mando chooses to stay, to cover Grogu and the Anzellans’ escape. Thinking he’s been left behind, Mando learns that his ‘son’ Grogu also chose to stay behind with his ‘father.’
Note: I appreciated that the Anzellans and Grogu did their best to rescue Mando without taking the scale differential into account. This miscalculation is redeemed later on when the Anzellans return with a squadron of New Republic fighters.
Grogu eventually saves Mando’s life using a conveniently-made Dragonsnake antidote he receives from a kindly fisherman (Stephen McKinley Henderson).
Note: Veteran actor Stephen McKinley Henderson also had roles in such prominent films as “Lincoln,” “Fences,” and “Dune,” Parts 1 & 2.
After recovering from the poison, Mando chooses to go after the Twins, since they won’t stop their pursuit. Mando finds the gun runner’s spaceship and weapons, and they use it to ram into the Twins’ palace. A battle royale ensues, as they destroy multiple combat droids before being intercepted by Embo. As Mando duels Embo, Grogu frees Rotta from his torture devices. The freed Rotta then battles his evil relatives, before all three fall into the well with the Dragonsnake. Grogu then levitates Rotta from the pit using the Force, while Embo escapes–leaving the Twins to be eaten alive by their own Dragonsnake. The Anzellans return, bringing Col. Ward and a New Republic-squadron with them. Working together, they take out the Hutts’ weapon platforms and destroy their palace.
Note: Once again, the action climax was full of things happening, but very little consequence. Yes, the bad Hutts are killed (or are they?), and their headquarters are blown to hell, but at the end of the story, Mando and Grogu are back aboard a new Razor Crest, and everything is returned to the status quo of the TV series. At the end of “The Mandalorian” season two (Chapter 16: “The Rescue”), we see a CGI-faced Luke Skywalker (voice of Mark Hamill) arriving to take Grogu to his new Jedi Academy. That final scene as an unmasked Mando says goodbye to little Grogu was just devastating. We get no such moments like that in this movie. It’s just an endless parade of captures, cage match duels and escapes. So what did this movie mean?
Colonel Ward and Blue Squadron return to base, after they destroy the Twins’ fortress on Nal Hutta.
Note: Seeing Sigourney Weaver in an X-wing fighter cockpit gave me mixed feelings; I enjoyed seeing an older actor in an action role, but it felt like a role any pilot character could’ve filled. It might’ve been a bit more dignified to see Col. Ward run the whole operation from New Republic HQ, like General Organa in “The Last Jedi.”
Once again, the movie ends in status quo, as Mando and Grogu fly off into hyperspace aboard their new ‘specially modified’ Razorcrest starship.
Note: While the status quo ending was disappointing, it was nice to see prominent listings for Mando body doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder in the closing cast credits; they do much of the work.
The End.
Summing It Up
I viewed “The Mandalorian and Grogu” under excellent conditions. My senior discount in hand (55 and over), I saw it an an EPEX-fitted auditorium (another minor IMAX-ish variant) in a nice local theater, seated dead center in a motorized recliner, facing a large wide screen. The movie began right on time at 2 pm sharp, with no preview trailers (thank you, movie gods). Everything seemed perfect, except the movie itself.
Under the direction of co-screenwriter Jon Favreau, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is little more a series of episodic captures, cage matches and escapes that feel like a compressed, average 4th season of “The Mandalorian” series. There’s no stakes. No consequences. Not a single heroic character dies, not even one of the higher-profile New Republic pilots played by writer/producer Dave Filoni or Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. While it’s always nice to see Pedro Pascal (along with his prominently-credited body doubles) doing his Clint Eastwood-thing again, costar Sigourney Weaver—whom I love in so many movies–phones it in as Colonel Ward. Even the novelty of the once-adorable Grogu puppet has dulled a bit.
Speaking of dull, the cinematography by David Klein deserves mention for its overuse of heavily muted browns and grays. Typical of so many films these days, this muddy ‘style’ of cinematography is like viewing movies through a pair of thick, dark pantyhose. I really miss the days when cinematographers–especially Star Wars cinematographers–weren’t afraid to pour some light and bold color into their imagery. The music by series’ composer and Oscar-winner Ludwig Göranssen feels similarly uninspired as well.
Nothing of real consequence happens in this middling adventure, with no significant character deaths or raised stakes.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a superficial, consequence-free Star Wars film, with little-to-no character investment, save for the titular pair. The Hutt twins double-cross our heroes? Fine. New Republic fighters swoop down upon their planet to blow them to hell, like a video game. Ironically, this attitude mirrors current American foreign policy, though the movie seemingly lacks the awareness for such introspection. Despite the considerable talents of Favreau (“Chef”) and Filoni (“Star Wars Rebels” was excellent), this is a crowded toy box brimming with visual effects and littered with combat action, though surprisingly lacking in depth or substance.
Ultimately, this over-baked $166 million movie sequel to “The Mandalorian” is not on a par with the earliest, best episodes of its parent series (let alone the best Star Wars movies). By story’s end, Mando and Grogu fly off into hyperspace together aboard their Razor Crest starship completely unchanged. It is a cut-and-paste coda lifted almost directly from several episodes of the TV show. This is not the way…
Where to Watch
As of this writing, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has just begun its exclusive theatrical run. No doubt it will stream on Disney+ sometime afterward. Stay tuned.
