I’m sure there are many people more excited about a new “Star Wars” movie in theaters than I was going into The Mandalorian and Grogu. Since I had only seen a few episodes of the series, I figured I should bring along my friend Alessio, who is a diehard fan who had been looking forward to this movie since it was first announced.
If not for Alessio, I would have been just as skeptical towards Mandalorian as I have been to every other “Star Wars” movie since I started writing about movies in 2001. And yet, from the new “Star Wars”-themed IMAX intro to some of the final battles, director Jon Favreau and co-producer/co-writer David Filoni clearly knew what made Lucas’ original 1977 Star Wars work so well, and they created a movie that follows a similar path without outright emulating any previous Star Wars movie.
The film’s plot involves Mando’s mission to bring in an Evil Empire leader, who has escaped and gone into hiding. Mando’s New Republic handler (Sigourney Weaver) gets him involved in rescuing Jabba the Hutt’s son Radda the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), so that his aunt and uncle will reveal the location of the Empire traitor. It’s a story that puts the characters from the television series onto new planets, encountering new creatures and villains in what is very much a big-screen experience.
Although I hadn’t watched much of the show, I did watch enough to enjoy the two title characters and their rapport, as they’re thrown into a bigger adventure that plays so well on the IMAX 70mm screen, on which I got to see it. The transitions to using the screen’s full-frame were handled much better than with Project Hail Mary, in that they’re done in a more logical and transparent way. There are a few problems, mostly on the visual FX side, particularly the way the Hutts are depicted, but it’s made up for with a next-level score by Ludwig Göransson (Sinners), which pays tribute to past scores by John Williams while very much being its own thing.
You can watch my video review above, but to me, Favreau and Filoni fully understood their assignment to make a Star Wars movie that would appeal to its fans, while also quelling any skeptics.
Rating: 7.5/10
The Mandalorian and Grogu opens nationwide and in premium formats on Friday, May 22.
