STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is designed to entertain fans of the television series, delivering a supersized episode for the big screen with astonishing visuals, an excellent musical score from Ludwig Göransson, and an abundance of adorable Grogu moments, even if the film overall will not appeal to the more casual Star Wars movie going audience.

It has been a long seven years since a Star Wars film has been released in theatres, but it is great to see this legendary franchise back where it belongs: on the big screen. While Star Wars has continued on the small screen since over the last seven years on Disney+, there is a magic about travelling to a galaxy far, far away on the big screen, and that is what Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau attempt to recapture with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Taking the two beloved characters from the flagship Disney+ show and giving them their own feature film, Filoni and Favreau use the same formula that made The Mandalorian a fan favourite series for the film, which gives fans of that series something familiar that they will no doubt enjoy. However, the film itself never captures the cinematic marvel of Star Wars that made it a cultural phenomena in the first place, resulting in a perfectly acceptable film that buckles under its long run time and narrative that feels like a stretched out episode of the television series rather than true cinematic storytelling.

Driven by the bond between its two main characters, The Mandalorian is not a series focused on story but on the characters of Din Djarin and Grogu as they explore the galaxy while hunting bad guys. While it is appreciated that to be able to follow along with the story of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu you only need to know who its two main characters are and very little else about the events of the Disney+ series, the movie itself feels like a supersized episode without narrative aim. Starting off the film strong with an exhilarating action sequence as Din and Grogu, the film captures the big screen spectacle of Star Wars in spades as we watch our heroes fight off remnants of the Empire, but everything that follows this opening set piece never reaches the standard set by it. The mission that Din and Grogu embark on takes them to new worlds, encountering new foes and allies along the way, and is never short on well executed action sequences that deliver the big screen spectacle of Star Wars. But, the story is less concerned about Din and Grogu and their relationship, feeling like a side quest that is inconsequential to them as characters and more concerned on giving Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta an origin story with lots of cute Grogu moments sprinkled throughout.

The film’s second half scales back the action, instead shifting its focus momentarily to the bond between Grogu and Din from Grogu’s perspective. Here, the screenplay is able to find some emotional honesty and does some good character development for Grogu as he has to fend for himself and grow from the young foundling into a more independent character, while calling back to some of the iconic mystical magic of George Lucas’ original trilogy. But, at the same time, with the absence of dialogue and abundance of cute Grogu moments, the film’s pacing comes to a grinding halt and exposes the buckling weight of its overextended runtime. Though the screenplay eventually pushes the focus back to the action with a massive set piece to close out of the film, what unfolds on screen feels more like an over-extended episode of the television series rather than a movie narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. It’s certain to satisfy fans of the series as they are getting more of the episodic storytelling they love on a larger scale, but for Star Wars fans looking for something closer to the preceding films or the more casual viewer looking for a more narrative driven film, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is not the film they are looking for.

Three seasons in, Pedro Pascal knows exactly what he is doing as Din, and his performance is more of the same. It’s never bad, as Pascal is incapable of giving a bad performance even if his life depended on it, bringing a stoic heroism to the film, but with so much of his performance hidden by his Mandalorian suit, there are few moments where he truly gets to shine. Grogu continues to be the little diva he is, with each sound and mischievous moment delivering big laughter and “aww” worthy moments that bring a much needed energy boost to the film. But beyond these two, the screenplay gives the supporting cast little screen time to truly shine in. Jeremy Allen White is good as Rotta the Hutt, quickly developing this young individual wanting to break free from his father’s notorious gangster legacy with a voice performance full of strength and vulnerability, but despite being central to the quest that Din and Grogu find themselves on, White has very little to do within the story. And despite prominent placement in the marketing, Sigourney Weaver is barely in the film. While a legendary science fiction actress who always delivers exceptional work, with her performance here being no exception, Weaver barely has five minutes in the film as Ward, a colonel and leader of the New Republic's Adelphi Rangers, questioning why she had to play this role rather than waiting for a more exciting and meatier role in a future Star Wars project worthy of her talents.

What cannot be argued is how incredible Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu looks on the big screen, matching the visual grandeur of the television series at every turn. The animatronics and practical creature effects used to bring Grogu, the Anzellan Droidsmiths, and many of the other creatures and droids encountered in the film to life are exceptional, creating life-like characters that ignite the imagination with wonder and amazement. In terms of special effects, the CGI work is flawless and perfectly blends with the animatronics and set design to create a realistic world on each planet, helping to deliver cinematic magic at every turn and remind audiences why Star Wars belongs on the big screen. Continuing not only his great work from the television series, but also generally in his career, Ludwig Göransson’s musical score is exceptional and one of the driving forces of the entire film. Building on the themes he created for the television series, Göransson composes an exciting soundscape that compliments and matches the visual scale of the film during the bigger action sequences, but also the quieter character driven moments in the second half with evocative melodies, delivering beautiful work throughout that audibly echoes the magic, danger and hope of the Star Wars franchise.

The creed of the Mandalore is “this is the way”, though the direction that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu takes narratively is not the way for the future of Star Wars on the big screen. There is no questioning the technical excellence of the film, as every below the line element of the film comes together to create the big screen magic that had defined the Star Wars franchise for almost fifty years, but, the drawn out narrative feels more episodic than anything and fails to create a worthy standalone narrative for the big screen despite lots of cute Grogu moments. While fans of The Mandalorian television series are no doubt going to be satisfied with the supersized episodic event that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu creates, the film’s technical excellence is not enough to compensate for its aimless narrative even with an abundance of the ever lovable Grogu and an outstanding musical score from Ludwig Göransson.