Movie Review: The Mandalorian and Grogu

– Spoiler Review –

After 7 years, Star Wars returns to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu, itself 3 years since the show aired its third season finale. Following the eponymous characters on their next journey, which finds them tracking down Imperial Remnants for the New Republic, The Mandalorian and Grogu offers an action-packed, creature-filled, low-stakes, fun time at the movies with some surprising beats, expected developments, and the usual lite character development. Find out what I loved, like all the things I never expected to see on the big screen, and what I didn’t quite, below in my review!

To me, ‘A Star Wars Story’ was such a great moniker for Rogue One and Solo, as it helped sort of set expectations, like you knew it would be adjacent to the main episodic films and therefore be more like a novel or comic, filling in other parts of the grand tapestry of the Saga. In a way, a title like The Mandalorian and Grogu does much the same, taking the show’s title and slapping the cutest little being to it ((literally shown doing exactly that in the traditional font for the title sequence in the film), which tells you it’s going to be more of the show. Its with these side stories I best feel comfortable judging The Mandalorian and Grogu, and I’d easily say I’d rank them Rogue One, Solo, then Mandalorian and Grogu, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like this one. In fact, it beat my expectations, as it felt the most like one of the publishing efforts and animated TV shows than any film before it. The fact there are Imperial Remnants, Rotta the Hutt returns and he’s buff as hell and has a axe to grind with his past, the dejarik creatures make more than a hologram appearance for once, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios of Star Wars Rebels fame mixes it up (even if he’s more of a side dressing and sort of drops out of the movie at one point), and Grogu and the Anzellans steal the show with how much they are featured, it all feels like what I’d expect in a side story for a novel, especially in the Legends days. It makes for fun viewing, seeing unexpected places and creatures on the big screen, as you get drenched in the visual and practical effect teams’ work in a way they couldn’t quite pull off on a TV production schedule (though would’ve still looked good on a screen at home). And the pace of the film doesn’t really slow down, even in a later sequence on Nal Hutta featuring mainly Grogu, with tons of action sequences which become too non-stop I grew fatigued by the end. Yet this helps keep the plot-lite movie full of never quite dull moments so you’re not thinking about how lite on character development and plot it is, especially for how long it is and ends up feeling. I probably won’t rewatch The Mandalorian and Grogu (TMaG) as much as I’ve come to rewatch Rogue One and Solo, but it’s a fun enough Star Wars experience that if you like exploring some of the weirder and unique aspects of the Galaxy Far, Far Away, or just want to see some damn cute little beings and a Hutt helping save the day, you won’t be disappointed watching the film as many as time you’d like (and those are both reasons why I’ll rewatch it in the future).

As I said, the plot of the film is a little lite, but it fits with the thankfully low-stakes adventure the eponymous characters go on. It’s nice when not everything leads to the fate of the galaxy at stake and keeping TMaG on the lower end means it gets to simmer in its various locations and events, even if it only ever goes surface deep with them. TMaG has an interesting structure, as it begins with what feels like a typical episode of The Mandalorian or two, and once all seems to be good after ‘rescuing’ Rotta the Hutt, the second half of the film kicks in and feels like its own thing (though I’m quite surprised Din Djarin wasn’t expecting the Hutt Twins not to retaliate for his actions as swiftly as they do), like something more than what we’d have got in the show. In a sense, The Mandalorian and Grogu feels split into two different films, one with the traditional fixin’s and one with some more unique situations, and I left wishing we’d have had more of the second half than the first. Having Grogu and the Anzellans working together to save Mando while he’s alone and trying to survive his capture and torture from the Hutts, as well as Grogu’s time alone helping Mando through a rough patch, are some of the best parts of the movie. It’s nice when things go a little different than expected, while seeing the titular two split, forced to do things on their own, showed how far Grogu has come under Din Djarin’s tutelage, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling I was watching two different films mushed into one.

Besides a lite plot, one hangover from the show I hoped wouldn’t happen is the lack of character development. I still don’t know if we really know Din Djarin, other than his sense of honor and desire to protect Grogu and raise him much like he was, but also ensuring the kid has a dad unlike what happened with him. This felt like a good time to dive into what drives him more, why he feels like he wants to help out the New Republic and cross Imperials off their list, but in the end he remains about static, besides maybe appreciating Grogu’s progress and affection for him more. The fact he says he tries to avoid violence and 80% of the movie is him kicking other beings’ butts, especially the poor Droid Gotra who get their first screen appearance and are dismantled by him rather easily, is just one of the ways I wish TMaG, and future storytelling with the character, would try to do better with and actually have him do more than just be a badass. And with Grogu, there’s some attempts here, through Rotta’s story, to paint Grogu’s progress as him choosing to be his own man but also respecting what his father taught him, but it never quite takes it as far as it could. Grogu is as protective and as caring for Mando as Mando is to him, which culminates in some downright fantastic moments with Grogu surviving on his own, but it left me wanting more and not totally satisfied there couldn’t have been more. At least, like I said, we get something a little interesting in Rotta the Hutt’s tale, performed wonderfully by Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), as he turns his back on his family past and wants to forge his own destiny. While he’s not wishy-washy on this aspect of his life, though I think it could’ve been more intriguing had he’d been forced to choose between being more like his father or not at some point, I did appreciate he wasn’t so sure how to go about taking on his own destiny, thinking he had it all figured out until he realized Mando was right all along. TMaG leaves things in an interesting place for the young Hutt and I’d love to see what else might become of Rotta; how far you’ve come, Stinky! (aka his nickname from Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars animated film, which kicked off the series, and was the last time we saw him).

The Mandalorian and Grogu is an absolute visual feast for the eyes. The sheer amount of new creatures and locations was a rush, with both the visual and special effect teams firing on all cylinders. At times, much like the amount of action sequences, it got a bit overwhelming for how many new beings and creatures we got to see, but I respect the mad minds behind-the-scenes willing and able to bring them all to life. Grogu has come a long way since first being introduced in 2019, as the animation to animatronic felt seamless, as it felt like in every scene, no matter what he was doing, he was a puppet. I imagine he was more often than not, which adds to his charm and whimsy, and the amount of small, precise movements he can make really aids in his believability than ever before, so mad kudos to the puppeteers performing Grogu, as well as the visual effects artists picking up where they puppet couldn’t. Same goes to the stop motion puppetry of the Anzellans, who were just absolutely fantastic in the film (and I’d almost agree with my wife they stole the show from Grogu), while their little ship is just…so little, it’s too adorable and silly and so very, very Star Wars to have it flying around in the big battle at the end and being totally ignored. There were a lot of Hutts on screen, with a bunch in the background in an early Nal Hutta scene, but the Twins, first seen in The Book of Boba Fett, and Rotta himself, were all very well done. We’ve had buff Hutts in the comics recently, but there’s nothing like watching a Hutt rear up and slam its considerable bulk down on a being, crushing it, which had me hooting in the theater in delight. Given how little the Twins move, they felt the most like a practical effect, even though they weren’t, but Rotta was damn good work by the visual effects artists for all his screen time and movement. Zeb looked delicious in the film, even better than his brief appearance in the show, and it left me wondering if some parts of him were practical as you could see hair on his arms wiggling in the wind in a very realistic manner! The big battle scene in the arena was one of the most overwhelming moments, both in how many creatures we got but also moments lacking clarity with how we moved through the scene (don’t get me started on the water fight), but it was really neat to see larger versions of the dejarik creatures for the first time and I adored the overall chaos of the moment. Both Nal Hutta and Shakari really standouts when it comes to locations, as Shakari has a dingy, vibrant, ol’ school gangster-era Chicago vibe to it, while Nal Hutta is a swampy delight with the neat ways structures were built into the existing nature, both coexisting but also perverting what was there, much like the Hutts are wont to do.

The fact it’s 2026 and we still don’t have a Star Wars film directed by a marginalized creative and TMaG only has one major female character (who has limited screen time), is really the film’s biggest letdown. It felt like, at times recently, especially in publishing or shows like The Acolyte, Star Wars was making pushes towards a more parity friend fulyture on and behind the scenes, but TMaG is a stark reminder we’re still so very far from anything resembling parity, it’s downright dumbfounding.

Here are a few other things:

Sigourney Weaver was a joy to see in Star Wars, it just felt like there could’ve been more for her to do. Love her time in the final action sequence, at the very least! Hopefully she’ll come back for future Mandalorian stories, be it on the big or little screen.
Speaking about mad props to the Grogu puppeteers, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder continue to make Din Djarin such a classic gunslinger vibe, bravo to them and their work in the suit.
Ludwig Göransson’s score has some bangers in the Shakari mix and Rotta’s theme, which has wormed its way into my head. I wish the food stall music had been made up of an original song, not a reworking of the show/film’s theme song, but it’s still a fun style to hear in Star Wars.
Given we had to watch a whole season of Mando trying to dunk himself into some water because he took his helmet off around others, I still wish we’d have gotten more time without the helmet on here, and not just because I’m very okay with seeing more of Pedro Pascal’s face. Though I’m glad there was a work around and he just has to kill anyone who saw him without it.
My friends and myself were trying to figure out who voiced Gatori, the swamp creature Grogu deals with on Nal Hutta, and I missed it in the credits since I didn’t know that was the character’s name. But now I see who it is: Stephen McKinley Henderson, who’s been in Dune, Lady Bird, Law & Order, and so much more!
It was a delight to see the various filmmakers and Lucasfilm staff make cameos, with some returning from the show, but myself and my wife, who barely knows him or sees him much, groaned the moment Filoni and his hat appeared.
The official site has a few articles around the film, though I suspect more shall come in the following weeks. For now, there’s a trivia guide, interviews with Pedro, Sigourney, and puppeteers for Grogu, and a look at The Mandalorian and Grogu version of Galaxy’s Edge’s Smuggler’s Run ride (with more details from i09!).
Here’s me, my wife, and the crew we got to come with us to opening night!

The Mandalorian and Grogu says it about all right there on the tin, serving up a bigger and more vibrant continuation of the show, for better and worse, but it does make for damn fun time.

+ Fun, action-filled romp

+ When the characters get split up in the film’s second half

+ The work the practical and visual effect teams do for all the creatures and places and battles!

– Action fatigue settles in by the end

– Not digger deeper with its eponymous characters

– We’re still doing this, huh, not even trying to attempt at parity in the cast?

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.

Movie Review: The Mandalorian and Grogu

+ Fun, action-filled romp

+ When the characters get split up in the film’s second half

+ The work the practical and visual effect teams do for all the creatures and places and battles!

– Action fatigue settles in by the end

– Not digger deeper with its eponymous characters

– We’re still doing this, huh, not even trying to attempt at parity in the cast?

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