New Star Wars Movie Proves Just How Fun Giving Up Can Be

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 minute ago

When I entered the theater to watch The Mandalorian and Grogu, I kept thinking about Luke Skywalker going into that Dark Side cave on Dagobah. Yoda warned him that he would only find in there what he brought with him; Luke went in expecting a fight, causing his dreamlike battle with Darth Vader.

Unlike young Skywalker, I put down my “weapons” (namely, my cynicism about the franchise), clearing my mind as I took my seat. Star Wars was back on the big screen for the first time since 2019, and I was determined to give the film a fair shot. What could possibly go wrong?

To my surprise, the movie was both better and worse than I imagined. It delivers some truly stellar visuals, ranging from breathtaking CGI to world-class miniature work. The film is also filled with very solid action, offering fans almost every type of battle they could want.

But for better or for worse, The Mandalorian and Grogu abandons any pretense of being a traditional movie with an overarching narrative. Instead, this is basically a video game playthrough where we watch the title characters bounce from one quest to another, causing mayhem wherever they go. Is it fun to watch? Absolutely. Unfortunately, this movie is pure fan service, and its lack of any real substance signifies Star Wars’ final transformation into a mindless action franchise.

What What (With The Hutts)

The premise of The Mandalorian and Grogu is that our titular duo is doing dirty work for the New Republic, hunting various Imperial warlords down throughout the galaxy. They get a new mission: to go rescue Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta, from a criminal syndicate.

The Mandalorian isn’t exactly happy about the mission, but he’s happy with the payment that he receives upfront: a shiny new Razorcrest. After a not-so-meet-cute, Mando and Rotta the Hutt must reluctantly team up against a galaxy trying to hunt them both down. By the time it’s all over, the Mandalorian will have to choose whether to do right by the employer using him as a weapon or the bounty that keeps trying to get him killed.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is remarkably accessible to general audiences. You don’t have to be up to date on The Mandalorian in order to follow the plot.

However, that proves to be something of a double-edged sword (or double-sided lightsaber). Making the film so accessible (right down to giving Pedro Pascal’s Mando a replica of his iconic ship from Season 1) is a great way to get mainstream butts in the theater seats, and the movie does an excellent job of making Star Wars seem like a fun action romp. But if you are a superfan of The Mandalorian, you’ll be disappointed that this movie feels like a completely disconnected side story.  

Lights, Camera, And Nothing But Action

How much you enjoy The Mandalorian & Grogu will depend almost entirely on what you are expecting from this franchise. If you mostly want action and adventure from Star Wars, this movie delivers in spades with some of the coolest battle scenes we’ve ever seen in a galaxy far, far away.

There’s a fun mix of special effects and practical effects, including a stop-motion battle from Mad God director Phil Tippett that I was thinking about long after the credits rolled. There’s also some killer space battle stuff, and for many nerds, the sight of Sigourney Weaver piloting an X-Wing is, by itself, worth the price of admission.

Aside from its beautiful visuals and engrossing action, The Mandalorian & Grogu has some other major strengths. It felt like stunt casting from the beginning, and the sight of a Hutt speaking English is undeniably weird, but Jeremy Allen White does a terrific job voicing Rotta. His easy rapport with Din Djarin is one of the best parts of the film, giving us a few human moments (so to speak) so we can catch our breath between action scenes.

Plus, the music from composer Ludwig Göransson is wonderful, mixing operatic sci-fi with a few buzzy, lo-fi beats that had me bouncing in my seat. Throw in plenty of cute Grogu moments, and you have a real crowd-pleaser of a film.

Star Wars Is Now A Mindless Action Franchise

Beyond these strengths, though, the primary issue with The Mandalorian & Grogu is that there’s no there there. Beyond Rotta, nobody really gets any kind of characterization. The story itself has no greater connection to the Star Wars universe beyond a few character cameos (always fun seeing Zeb from Rebels), and there’s nothing here that really builds on the plot of The Mandalorian.

Now, that might be a good thing if you hate how that show eventually descended into weird Mando melodrama. But this is a movie based on a TV show that has almost nothing to do with the TV show and settles for being a very expensive set of jangling keys.  

To get a better idea of both the strengths and weaknesses of The Mandalorian & Grogu, imagine introducing a friend to the original Star Wars trilogy by just fast-forwarding from one action scene to the next. Chances are, your friend will be absolutely thrilled by these cool characters and unforgettable battles. But he won’t really know who these characters are or understand the greater story that connects these films.

As you’ve probably gathered, this is The Mandalorian & Grogu in a nutshell: it’s almost all action and no story. That makes it simultaneously one of the most thrilling movies in the franchise and, arguably, the laziest Star Wars movie ever made.

To be clear, The Mandalorian & Grogu isn’t a bad Star Wars movie: frankly, I’d happily watch this again over The Rise of Skywalker, and it’s better than much of the Prequel Trilogy. But when the sequels and prequels stumbled, it was usually because they were taking big, creative swings that didn’t always connect.

By comparison, The Mandalorian & Grogu plays it safe, sidestepping story problems by having almost no story at all. It’s not just Star Wars porn; it’s a compilation of franchise money shots. The result is a film not unlike your favorite X-rated videos: a very shameful, undeniably guilty pleasure that you’ll return to whenever you get bored enough.