Fans who have never watched “The Mandalorian” but are intrigued by adorable little Baby Yoda are the target audience for “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Devoted “Star Wars” fans who have watched all seasons of “The Clone Wars,” “Rebels” and all three seasons of “The Mandalorian” will no doubt be disappointed. This is a popcorn movie at its rawest. There’s only surface-level character growth, no lore, and lots of action scenes that don’t really advance Din Djarin and Grogu’s story in any appreciable way.
As “Rogue One” proved, characters don’t need to engage in lengthy lightsaber battles or use the Force to make a good “Star Wars” movie. The franchise, when it began nearly fifty years ago, explored deeper themes, like finding the balance between good and evil in the galaxy and within ourselves. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” doesn’t have any deeper themes, but it does have plenty of action and some adorable creatures – the Anzellans – that will definitely make great action figures. They’re not as cuddly as Ewoks, but they’re better than Porgs, so take that as you will.
The film begins without an opening exploration and dives straight into the action. This is a children’s film through and through, and the film moves things along at a pretty brisk pace. It suffers from almost the same problems as “The Rise of Skywalker” in terms of pacing: we have to get there to get Thisand then now that we have Thiswe have to go there. It feels more like a checklist of events rather than an organic narrative.
The good: Grogu is still cute
There are some things I liked about this movie. On the one hand, if this was a straight-to-streaming movie, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. If they had presented it as a special episode of “The Mandalorian” or even as a limited three-episode special, I would have sat on my couch with my popcorn and enjoyed it.
The music isn’t John Williams’, but Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack is one of the film’s highlights. This looks like a “Star Wars” movie, and for all intents and purposes, it does indeed look like a “Star Wars” movie. From the dogfights to the creature features, it reads exactly like a galaxy far, far away would.
And of course, Grogu spends a lot of time being adorable and trying to steal snacks. He has one standout moment that I won’t spoil here, but overall I would have liked to see a little more of the little green guy. I mean, he’s over fifty and still doesn’t say a single word? Come on, now.
The bad: This doesn’t do much for “Star Wars” going forward
Overall, the movie is a fun little side quest for these two heroes, but it has no bearing on the overall story. Where does their adventure go from here? I have no idea, and honestly, at this point, I don’t think Lucasfilm knows either. This movie has such low stakes that I’m pretty sure they could continue with a fourth season of “The Mandalorian,” and fans who didn’t watch the movie could pick up where they left off.
Given that this was heavily marketed as a standalone film, I wasn’t expecting much, but it would have been the perfect time for Grogu to say his first word. Okay, maybe Din Djarin is a little hard to pronounce, but we needed something to move their story forward and show real growth. Rather, Din Djarin took off his helmet again, and atonement was basically the entire plot of the third season of the series. Are we going to have to take another trip to Mandalore in season 4?
Where is the future of “Star Wars” headed?
Many critics have questioned the film’s rationale, especially since “Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, Matt Smith and more, will be released next May. “Star Wars” fans have already had to wait seven years for a new film. Why not wait eight hours? That film, directed by Shawn Levy, already promised a lot more action and heart — and, yes, the iconic lightsaber duels — as well as a father/son/found family type story that “The Mandalorian” strives to achieve.
Personally, I think this all has to do with the rumors that Dave Filoni is working on his Mandoverse, which will tie into the stories of The Mandalorian, Grogu, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. This might even partly explain why “Ahsoka” Season 2 was pushed back to early 2027. Seeing all of these fan-favorite characters come together on screen in an Avengers-style mash-up only works if the audience knows them.
Currently, “Ahsoka” is best known for animated projects and the first season of a live-action show that aired more than three years ago. The general public probably isn’t as familiar with “Ahsoka” as they are with Grogu, simply because of the basic merchandising. Mounting “The Mandalorian and Grogu” as a movie could help introduce them into the mainstream consciousness, so if and when they release a mix of heroes to fight Grand Admiral Thrawn (I just know someone is reading this and saying, “Who?!” “), the audience is more aware of the general characters, and it gives them a reason to go there.
In conclusion…
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” may not be the blockbuster hit Lucasfilm wanted, but right now we don’t even know why they made this movie in the first place. Is this a long-term game setup for a bigger franchise film? Were there fears that Season 4 of “The Mandalorian” would completely kill any goodwill toward the character? Is Lucasfilm just trying to put “Star Wars” back in people’s minds before releasing “Starfighter” next year?
Overall, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a decent streaming movie for general audiences who just want to eat popcorn and bond with their kids over a simple action-adventure movie. For die-hard “Star Wars” fans, however, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” will likely leave them saltier than the surface of Crait.