The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars movie we’ve gotten in theaters since The Rise of Skywalker back in 2019, so being a huge Star Wars fan myself, this film was quite anticipated. Following the third season of the Mandalorian series on Disney+, this film follows our titular characters as they traverse the galaxy, hunting what remains of the Empire in service of the New Republic. (Star Wars lore dump for you. The Mandalorian series as a whole takes place after the original Star Wars trilogy of Episodes 4-6, after Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance defeat Emperor Palpatine and his Galactic Empire. The New Republic is established shortly after and is threatened by Kylo Ren and the First Order decades later, but we’re not currently there in the timeline yet.) Chances are, if you enjoy the Disney+ series, you’ll enjoy this film. The Mandalorian and Grogu’s adventures remain entertaining to watch, with Pedro Pascal’s stoic performance as the Mandalorian, Din Djarin, continuing to mesh well the naive nature of baby Grogu and provide the audience the fun father-son dynamic that the two characters are known for. The action set pieces were incredibly well choreographed and the many environments visited throughout the film, many of which we’ve never seen before, were visually impressive, which is expected when it comes to the Star Wars universe. This applies to the many alien species we encounter in the film as well. There are plenty of Star Wars easter eggs and references throughout the film for fans to catch, especially when it came to character cameos from previous Star Wars media such as Rebels and Clone Wars. I absolutely have to talk about the soundtrack too, masterfully composed by Ludwig Göransson (music composer of Black Panther and Sinners) who also composed the music for the Disney+ series and always manages to bring his unique neo-noir flare to the world of Star Wars. The main issue I had with this film, however, is the pacing. This film felt like multiple episodes of The Mandalorian rolled into one, not always tying together in a way that felt cohesive. (This film definitely had its fair share of slower moments.) I’d even argue that this film probably would’ve worked better as a Disney+ special rather than a theatrical release. (I shared the same sentiment with Captain America: Brave New World.) However, while the film didn’t really serve a significant purpose when it came to pushing the Star Wars needle forward, it’s always great seeing these characters and being in this world. It was a relatively entertaining watch. Score: 7/10
Noah Robinson 