"The Mandalorian and Grogu": An Intergalactic Dud

After nearly seven years, "Star Wars" returns to theaters not with a bang, but barely a whimper.

By: Josh McCormack

It’s been nearly seven years since the last “Star Wars” film hit theaters, and in that time, Lucasfilm and Disney have announced, canceled or simply abandoned several possible spinoff films that might have followed 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”

Finally, they’ve settled on a safe bet: “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a film adaptation of “The Mandalorian,” the flagship series for Disney+ and one of the more popular “Star Wars” properties to emerge in recent years. With three seasons of television preceding it, many fans — myself included — were curious what about this film’s plot necessitated a theatrical release rather than simply another episode in the ongoing series.

The answer: not much.

While it might not be the worst “Star Wars” movie — although it’s pretty darn close — “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is the least essential film in the saga to date, complete with video game-like plotting and practically zero stakes.

These stakes aren’t just low compared with previous “Star Wars” movies; they’re also low compared with Mando and Grogu’s past adventures on television. Throughout the series, the masked bounty hunter and his little buddy have saved countless civilizations, come face-to-face with Luke Skywalker and even helped reclaim the planet of Mandalore. So when it began to dawn on me that much of this film’s plot revolved around befriending and eventually saving Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta — a premise frighteningly similar to the terrible 2008 “Clone Wars” movie — I was honestly baffled that this was the story director Jon Favreau and co-writer and producer Dave Filoni felt was worthy of the franchise’s return to theaters.

It’s not just the flimsy plot that feels underwhelming; the filmmaking is also frustratingly pedestrian.

Favreau’s directing résumé isn’t spotless by any means, but he is usually a deft hand at making effective, crowd-pleasing blockbusters. Between 2019’s “The Lion King” and his work on “The Mandalorian,” however, it seems as though he has become more invested in directing on “easy mode,” relying on VR technology, puppeteers and digital artists to create the more arresting images in his recent work. While there’s certainly a welcome use of practical effects throughout the film, some of the chaotic action is heavily CGI-driven and recalls the worst elements of something like “Attack of the Clones” or even lesser MCU films: ugly to look at and difficult to parse, with it often unclear who is fighting whom.

To be fair, it’s not all bad. Favreau clearly has an affinity for the puppets and stop-motion elements that made up the iconic creatures of “Star Wars’” original trilogy and, if nothing else, the movie features a plethora of cool-looking aliens to keep viewers distracted. One creature-heavy sequence in which Mando and Rotta must fight their way out of an arena is among the better set pieces in the film.

While many critics are saying the opposite, I actually found that the movie improved somewhat as it went along. There’s a point in the film’s midsection where the focus shifts back to Mando and Grogu’s relationship, and seeing that dynamic play out on the big screen reminded me why people fell in love with these characters in the first place. During this stretch, Grogu gets a lengthy sequence to himself, and it was probably the most charmed I was during the entire movie.

There are also some solid dogfights, and Ludwig Göransson’s score is a banger, but even the film’s strengths feel like “Star Wars” operating at the bare minimum. There’s nothing that makes the movie stand out and, while I can respect Favreau and company’s desire to make a film that is accessible to newcomers and distinct from established lore, the fact that we learn nothing new about the titular characters — and that neither of them grows in any substantial way by the film’s end — makes the entire adventure feel pointless. This is three or four filler episodes of “The Mandalorian” stitched together and parading around as a feature film.

After so many canceled projects, it’s disheartening that Lucasfilm and its Disney overlords seem to think fans will be content with what is essentially a TV movie filling the void left by what could have been Patty Jenkins’ “Rogue Squadron,” Steven Soderbergh’s Kylo Ren spinoff or even James Mangold’s MIA “Dawn of the Jedi.”

I understand that, with such a vocal and often insufferable fan base, it can be difficult for the creative forces at Disney to determine what comes next for “Star Wars’” cinematic future. But I think I can speak for most audiences when I say we expect more than this. “Star Wars” is supposed to feel big and audacious. Even at its worst, it’s supposed to get people talking. Even the fans who enjoyed “The Mandalorian and Grogu” more than I did don’t seem to have much to say beyond, “It was fun.”

Yes, “Star Wars” should be fun. But it should also be cinematic. And until creatives begin to recognize that what works for television does not necessarily work for film, I’m afraid the upcoming Dave Filoni era at Lucasfilm will be plagued by a lot more duds like this one.