An Episodic Tale With No Stakes (The Mandalorian and Grogu review)
It seems almost odd that after what Disney+ has been doing with the Marvel franchise, Disney decided to have their first Star Wars in nearly a decade to be a continuation of a hit Disney+ show, relying on the fact that everyone had seen The Mandalorian TV show, despite Grogu toys being as profitable as Stitch at this point. All of us have been on the edge of our seats, wondering if this can turn Star Wars fans' favor, given that it seems like a reliable sub-franchise people have been into.
This Mando and Grogu adventure is very much its own thing, with the pair being hired by The New Republic to take out leftover recluses that want to revitalize the Empire's power towards the galaxy once again. In efforts to find one of them, Mando and Grogu enter the crosshairs of the Hutts to stop a double cross from happening and keep The New Republic in power (considering the timeline this is based on)
I wish there were more that I was hiding from you from the way I just summarised this movie's plot, but that is basically what the 2 hours and 12 minutes go back and forth with. It is very much a 4 episode arc presented together in a sort of binge model that you can watch in theaters. It does not serve as a dramatic finale to the 3-season show, nor does it start a story that could lead to any potential storyline in any of the upcoming shows or in next year's Star Wars Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling.
The pacing is a little off, and that might simply be because the story is still very much playing out as chapters/episodes in a TV show, which can be a little jarring when you're paying attention to the flow of the script. However, the first 20 minutes of the movie are probably the best action the film has to offer. There are several action scenes that follow, but none are as exhilarating. By the time it got to the last fight, I was feeling a little winded, and it was not because I was not interested. I was personally engaged with what was happening, but it just didn't feel like it was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. I knew that everyone would be safe by the end of it; there were no stakes, especially given the lack of context for what this story was doing for the characters.
Luckily, it was still fun to see these two interact with one another, the father-son duo, especially on an IMAX screen, which I think elevates the world, at least this part of the galaxy, to visually striking effects that they clearly worked hard on. None of it felt like it was on a green screen, or the volume, which were two of the main criticisms that were focused on when it came to the TV show. Grogu was, of course, the crowd favorite. He kept the audience happy and laughing as the action played out. And this was probably the largest number of creature aliens you will see in the franchise, whether old or new, which can be a testament to the practical effects used for this. Mando, however, is doing his thing, but sort of the same old. Sigourney Weaver is barely in this movie, and surprise, surprise, Jeremy Allen White plays a significant role you did not expect.
I am a little skeptical about how this will be received in the long run, as it will probably face the same issues Marvel is facing right now. Moreso now, with Star Wars very much these days, leaning into the Filoni verse, after straying away from the Skywalker saga, and it has been their only source of success lately. Only the diehards will enjoy this new entry to the ever-growing franchise, but how many of them are left these days, I wonder.
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