1 of 5 | Grogu and the Anzellan droidsmiths steal the show in “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm
The Mandalorian and Grogu, in theaters Friday, is an exciting new adventure for the characters from the first live-action Star Wars TV show. It takes full advantage of IMAX in many sequences, but would be a romp in any format.
Opening text explains that after the fall of the Galactic Empire (that’s Return of the Jedi), the Mandalorian hunts imperial fugitives. Essentially, this is a standalone episode, one of those missions.
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal’s voice, Brendan Wayne in the helmeted suit and Lateef Crowder in stunts) is accompanied by Grogu, a child of the same race as Jedi master Yoda. Grogu can help with The Force and by being adorable in otherwise melodramatic Star Wars scenes.
In the cold open, the Mandalorian finds one Imperial fugitive in a snowy mountain outpost. AT-AT walkers from The Empire Strikes Back traverse the cliffside, which seems imprudent considering how wobbly the walkers are even on terra firma.
But, it makes sense that these are what is left over from the Empire and the true believer is using whatever they’ve still got. Since it’s the first time we’ve ever seen AT-ATs towering over us in IMAX, it is worth it.
Then the title card comes on screen with the Ludwig Goransson theme just like an episode of the show. It should be noted that the Goransson theme is so distinct after three seasons that now it plays like John Williams’ original Star Wars score.
The Mandalorian reports back to Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) who gives him a new mission. He must travel to Nal Hutta, the Hutt planet, to meet the late Jabba the Hutt’s siblings and return their nephew, Rotta (Jeremy Allen White) in return for information on Commander Coyne.
This is also the first time we’ve seen Hutts in IMAX, which also plays into their oversized presence. One IMAX glitch is that the subtitles when the Hutts speak are lower than the people sitting in front of you.
Crowder is pretty agile in those fight scenes in full armor. Many of the fight scenes include dramatic elements that deepen the battle.
Rotta is an arena fighter for Lord Janu (Jonny Coyne, whose name seems to be an intentional spoiler). The Mandalorian is there to rescue him, but Rotta does not want to be rescued.
Rotta is content being an arena fighter, so when he’s in the ring with the Mandalorian, the Mandalorian has to defend himself but not hurt his bounty. Some other fun moments include Star Wars monsters rampaging through a Star Wars city.
Vehicular chases are less exciting. When Janu’s men chase the Mandalorian, they’re each just sitting in front of screens. It feels more like the old Star Tours Disneyland ride where you’d sit in a shaking car watching a screen of space scenes.
Several locations in the film look like computer-generated backdrops with the actors posing in front of green screens. That has become the Star Wars aesthetic ever since George Lucas made Episodes I – III, and The Mandalorian show pioneered filming in front of LCD screens with various planetary backdrops.
Still, it is a noticeable improvement whenever characters transition from in front of screens to expansive sets. It makes practical sense they would build sets where major scenes take place and use screens for transitional scenes.
Grogu is still a little puppet. His promotion to cinema has not increased his flexibility. So he jumps onto the Mandalorian’s back or the seat of his vehicle. He scampers across the ground. In one shot he is climbing, but they only managed to capture one arm movement on screen.
His language is a mix of alien dialect and actual baby cooing sounds. Everything he does is adorable, when he taps on Mando’s helmet or salutes Captain Ward.
The standout adorable characters are the Anzellan droidsmiths, puppets as small as Grogu with their own language and select English phrases. They appeared on the show but get far more screen time in this movie.
Rotta the Hutt is a good character, too. He doesn’t want to be like his father, the gangster who froze Han Solo in carbonite. Not all Hutts are bad.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is still episodic. They complete one mission but then have to deal with the next problem which comes looking for them. The transition could be smoother, but honestly it’s still more enjoyable than some of the more convoluted Star Wars movies.
Whether The Mandalorian and Grogu ever return to streaming or are movie stars now, their movie is a fun space adventure. Given how Season 3 floundered, perhaps a movie sequel is the way.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
