The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the...
WHAT I LIKED: Martin Scorsese has made a lot of fuss in recent years about modern blockbusters being closer to theme park rides, so it's ironic that he's found himself cameoing in a film which feels more like a theme park ride than almost any other.
Like the TV series that preceded it, Jon Favreau's 'The Mandalorian and Grogu,' is simply a collection of side-quests where the two central characters have to help people out of sticky situations in exchange for information about the dastardly New Empire. This time Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu have to rescue The Hutts' nephew (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) from a fighting ring in Star-Wars-Singapore so that his aunt and uncle will tell them where an Imperial General is hiding. Then, when Mando inevitably decides to break their terms, they put a bounty on his head, and so the adventure continues.
The surface-level appeal of that kind of story is that it's fruit for all kinds of action set-pieces, and here we get numerous shoot-outs, chases and fights with strange creatures in a range of interesting locales. It's all very well executed too, with practical effects merging seamlessly with CGI, a great mix of camerawork which places you in the action without it being disorienting, a rich score from Ludwig Goransson, and vivid production design by Doug Chiang and Andrew L Jones. Plus, the Grogu puppet is extremely cute...
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Unfortunately though, all of that on its own isn't nearly enough to make for an engaging piece of film considering all of the possible ingredients for a proper piece of storytelling are missing.
Unlike the early series of the show which were partly about the twosome finding their feet with the new father-son dynamic, neither character gets anything resembling an arc or an internal conflict here, so instead they come across as thinly-drawn video game pawns whose only purpose is to do badass things for the audience to cheer on.
Even that fails to land though, as it often feels like they're playing the game in easy mode; not only because the film opts for big explosions over the clever building of tension, but because the stakes of the story feel like one long, inconsequential side-quest.
Ultimately, that means that whilst the film does put two and a bit hours of *stuff* on the screen (which may be somewhat appealing to kids), it literally has nothing meaningful to say with any of it. For whatever frustrating flaws they've had, you couldn't say that for any previous Star Wars films, so it's a crying shame that the franchise has stooped this low, especially for its first feature film in seven years.
VERDICT: It may have some set-pieces worthy of passing the time, but without any character arcs, conflicts or themes, 'The Mandalorian and Grogu,' isn't really a proper film; it's just two hours of content.
