Star Wars is back on the big screen for the first time since 2019, and the smartest thing The Mandalorian and Grogu does is not pretend to be bigger than it is. This is a tight, two-hour-and-twelve-minute adventure that knows exactly what it wants to be, and that restraint is both its biggest strength and the reason it never quite breaks into greatness.
Director Jon Favreau leans hard into a practical, old-school feeling, and it pays off. Everything here looks smaller and more grounded than the recent run of Star Wars films, in the best way. The world feels real and tactile, lit dark and shot like the puppets and sets actually exist in the same room as the actors, because a lot of them do. There is a texture to this movie that the franchise has been missing, and it lands emotionally because of it. The Hutt home in particular is a great piece of design, primitive and lived-in in a way that sells the whole environment.
The action follows the same philosophy. Zeb’s fight scene is a highlight and feels pulled straight out of Rebels, which is a compliment. The dogfighting is a healthy blend of old and new, fast enough to feel modern but framed with enough clarity that you always know what is happening. None of it reinvents the wheel, but it moves, and it is fun to watch.
Where things get more uneven is the cast. Martin Scorsese, of all people, turns in a genuinely great voice performance as a fry cook, full of character and life. By contrast, Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt feels too monotone, missing the soul and dynamics you want from a character with this much potential. Embo, on the other hand, is fantastic and steals every scene he is in. The performances around the edges are stronger than the one the movie spends the most time setting up.
The story is where the low 7 lives. It is straightforward and a little predictable, but it earns real stakes by the back half. The film finally hits some genuine intention once it makes clear that Grogu will outlive Din, and the idea of Din willing to sacrifice himself to stop the Hutts gives the relationship weight beyond the usual father-son beats. Grogu catching up to Mando feels a touch too easy, and the Force healing is a convenient lever, but the emotional core holds. There is also a missed opportunity here. The film could have set Rotta up as the next Hutt leader after his aunt and uncle die, which would have created protection for Grogu that extends beyond Mando’s lifetime and given the whole story a longer shadow. The pieces were on the board, and the movie chose not to play them. That tension, between what it is and what it could have been, defines the experience.
A small story with big ramifications is exactly the right description for it. The ramifications just stay potential rather than fully realized. The Mandalorian and Grogu is a good time and a strong return to theaters for Star Wars. It is practical, heartfelt, and confident in its own scale. It just plays things a little too safe to be essential.
Score: 7/10
gfpods.com 
Leave a comment