Movie Review: “The Mandalorian and Grogu”

By Bob Garver

Poster credit IMDB

            “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is coming at an interesting time in the history of “Star Wars.” It is a test to see if the franchise’s recent success on the small screen can translate to blockbuster status on the big screen. I have not seen “The Mandalorian” streaming series on Disney+, though I know of its massive success. I could even imagine a world where a “Mandalorian” movie makes enough money to have a legitimate place alongside classic installments like “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” That world just isn’t this one, not with this movie that nearly put me to sleep.

            The movie follows Din “The Mandalorian” Djarin (voiced and played in “face scenes” by Pedro Pascal), a helmeted human bounty hunter who resembles, but is not related to, beloved franchise character Boba Fett. His young apprentice is Grogu, a non-speaking alien who resembles, but is not related to, beloved franchise character Yoda. I’m sure the origin of the team-up is explained in the series, but for now all I need to know is that that they are a team.

            The opening moments of the movie follow The Mandalorian and Grogu as they take out a leftover Empire loyalist (Hemky Madera) running a protection racket. The sequence is filled with action, comedy, and visual spectacle on a level that the rest of the film lacks. I’ve heard some critics saying that this film could have been a few episodes of television, I’m saying that everything after this sequence could have been cut and the whole thing could have been a short that plays in front of another Disney feature. I know it’s wishful thinking, but it could have added some much-needed incentive to see a fledgling effort like… “Wish,” come to think of it.

            The rest of the story follows the team as they’re sent on a mission by their employer (Sigourney Weaver) to capture another Empire henchman who has thus far escaped justice. This person’s identity is known only to the deplorable Hutt family, and Jabba’s twin siblings won’t give up the information for free. Mando and Grogu first have to rescue Jabba’s son Rotta (Jeremy Allen White) and return him to his aunt and uncle. It turns out that Rotta has carved out a nice little life for himself on another planet as a gladiator of sorts fighting for unscrupulous promoter Janu Coin (Jonny… Coyne is the actor’s name), and he doesn’t want to leave. The “rescue” mission is going to have to be more of a “capture.”

            At first I liked the adorable, Force-enabled Grogu so much that I wondered if the movie even needed The Mandalorian. Around the two-thirds mark, I got my answer when Mando was incapacitated for a stretch. The answer is that yes, the movie very much needs The Mandalorian, because with just Grogu, this movie fell apart. Bless the writers for trying to give him a solo arc and the puppeteers for trying to make him sympathetic, but he just does not have a mode other than “cute.” He works in small, scene-stealing doses, but anything more than that is a mistake.

            “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is every action movie you’ve ever seen about a shady hero dealing with shadier secondary players, including, but not limited to, other “Star Wars” movies. Except it doesn’t quite have the ambition of other “Star Wars” movies. There’s too much blandness to the settings and periphery characters. I can see where Disney thinks this property is “too big” for television, but I can’t say this movie is theater-worthy, at least on the level that a “Star Wars” movie should be. It’s stuck awkwardly between the two tiers of entertainment hierarchy. I’m sure there will be another movie, and I encourage the creative team to step up their efforts (it won’t take much, just a few extra flourishes) so that film can unmistakably belong in theaters.

Grade: C

 “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action. Its running time is 132 minutes.

 Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.