Grade: B+… This is the way! After 3 years since the last season of “The Mandalorian” tv show on Disney+, fans were finally treated to a movie featuring the monotone, all business, no nonsense Mandalorian and his cute, lovable, sidekick Grogu. I can confidently say that the wait for the transition to the big silver screen was worth it. I did watch every episode of the tv show and some episodes I recall moved kind of slow and were kind of a chore to sit through. The movie “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is anything but slow, it is a high octane romp through the galaxy loaded with hand to hand brawls and shootouts along the way to keep the audience entertained wire to wire.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is directed by Jon Favreau (who also directed the tv show) and it totes a story that was very similar to the 2024 video game, “Star Wars: Outlaws.” Simply put, “Mando” is tasked with taking down crime syndicates across various galaxies in order to keep The Empire at bay. Naturally, without spoiling anything, double crossings occur and things get messy at times because easy would be boring.
Prior to “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the last Star Wars movie that was released was “Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker” back in December of 2019. Nearly a six year gap. Disney has been advertising “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” like crazy the last several months in order to stir up Mandalorian mania again similar to when the tv show first released back in 2019 alongside the launch of Disney+. While I do not believe there was as much hype for the movie as there was for the tv show back then, it is safe to say that Disney will still wind up putting a lot of butts in the seats and make a killing.
Fair warning to parents with younger children, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is not exactly a kids movie and it does have a few intense “horror like” scenes (even bundled with a couple jump scares) that could scare some little ones. Despite the PG-13 rating, it does have a good amount of violence in it just like the tv show.
I saw the movie on a crystal clear Dolby Cinema screen. While I wouldn’t call the planets Mando has to visit in the movie pretty to look at, they are quite cool and creative looking. One aspect of the movie that was surprising to me was the generous helping of practical effects rather than relying heavily on CGI. Grogu is a puppet that requires five puppeteers to bring him to life. Some CGI is used to help him look more natural but the CGI use is somewhat minimal. So, outside of the backgrounds of the various planets where CGI is used, the movie favors practical effects. It was refreshing to see and it was really well done.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a fun ride through the galaxy that is worthy of your “credits.” It is highly entertaining and you will laugh a little along the way as you also marvel at Grogu’s cuteness while he helps Mando save the galaxy. Round up some friends and go see the movie!