Fans who have never watched “The Mandalorian” but are intrigued by the adorable little Baby Yoda are the target audience for “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Dedicated “Star Wars” fans who watched all seasons of “The Clone Wars,” “Rebels,” and all three seasons of “The Mandalorian” are no doubt going to find themselves disappointed. This is a popcorn movie in its rawest form. There’s only surface-level character growth, no lore, and lots of action scenes that don’t actually move the story of Din Djarin and Grogu forward in any appreciable way.
As “Rogue One” proved, the characters don’t need to have extensive lightsaber battles or use the Force in order to make a good “Star Wars” movie. The franchise, when it first began almost fifty years ago, explored deeper themes, like finding the balance between good and evil in the galaxy and in ourselves. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” doesn’t have any deeper themes, but it does have a lot of action and a few adorable critters – Anzellans – who are sure to make great action figures. They’re not as cuddly as the Ewoks, but they’re better than the Porgs, so take that as you will.
The movie begins without an opening crawl and dives right into the action. This is a kid’s movie through and through, and the movie keeps things going at a pretty brisk pace. It almost suffers from the same issues as “The Rise of Skywalker” in terms of pacing: we need to get to here to get this, and then now that we have this, we need to go there. It feels more like crossing off a checklist of events instead of an organic narrative.
The Good: Grogu Is Still Cute
There are a few things I enjoyed about this movie. For one, if this had been a straight-to-streaming movie, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. If they presented it as a special episode of “The Mandalorian” or even a limited three-episode special, I would have sat back on my couch with my popcorn and enjoyed it.
The score isn’t John Williams, but Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack is a highlight of the film. It sounds like a “Star Wars” movie, and for all intents and purposes, it does look like a “Star Wars” movie. From the dogfights to the creature features, it does read exactly like a galaxy far, far away would.
And, of course, Grogu spends a great deal of time being adorable and trying to steal snacks. He does have a standout moment that I won’t spoil here, but all in all, I would have liked to see a bit more from the little green guy. I mean, he’s over fifty years old and still won’t speak a single word? Come on, now.
The Bad: It Does Very Little For ‘Star Wars’ Going Forward
All in all, the movie is a fun little side quest for these two heroes, but it has no bearing on the story as a whole. Where will their adventure go from here? I have no idea, and honestly, at this point, I don’t think Lucasfilm does either. This movie is so low stakes, I’m pretty sure that they could continue with a fourth season of “The Mandalorian,” and fans who haven’t watched the movie could pick up right where they left off.
Considering this has been heavily marketed as a standalone movie, I wasn’t expecting much, but this would have been the prime time to have Grogu say his first word. Okay, maybe Din Djarin is a little hard to pronounce, but we needed something to help move their story along and show some real growth. If anything, Din Djarin removed his helmet again, and atoning for that was basically the whole plot of the show’s third season. Are we going to have to take another trip back to Mandalore in season 4?
Where Is The Future Of ‘Star Wars’ Going?
Many critics have questioned the film’s raison d’être, especially since “Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, and a whole lot of other A-listers, is coming out next May. “Star Wars” fans have already had to wait seven years for a new movie. Why not wait eight? That movie, directed by Shawn Levy, has already promised a lot more action and heart – and, yes, the iconic lightsaber duels – along with a father/son/found family type story that “The Mandalorian” is trying so hard to achieve.
Personally, I think this all ties into rumors that Dave Filoni is working on his Mandoverse, which will tie in the stories of The Mandalorian, Grogu, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. It might even be part of the reason that “Ahsoka” season 2 was pushed back to early 2027. Seeing all those fan-favorite characters come together on screen in an Avengers-style mash-up only works if audiences are familiar with them.
Right now, “Ahsoka” is best known from the animated projects and the first season of a live-action show that aired over three years ago. General audiences are probably not as familiar with “Ahsoka” as they are with Grogu, just due to basic merchandising. Setting up “The Mandalorian and Grogu” as a film may help introduce them into the consciousness of the general public, so if and when they do release a mash-up of heroes to fight Grand Admiral Thrawn (I just know someone is reading this, going, ‘Who?!’), audiences are more aware of the general characters, and it gives them some reason to go.
In Closing…
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” may not be the blockbuster hit that Lucasfilm wanted it to be, but right now, we don’t even know why they made this movie to begin with. Is it a long-game set-up for a bigger franchise movie? Were there concerns that season 4 of “The Mandalorian” would kill all goodwill towards the character completely? Is Lucasfilm just trying to get “Star Wars” back in people’s minds before they drop “Starfighter” next year?
All in all, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a decent streaming movie for the general public who just want to eat popcorn and bond with their kids over a simple action-adventure film. For the diehard “Star Wars” fans, though, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is likely to leave them saltier than the surface of Crait.