Why do we need a Mandalorian and Grogu movie? After watching this latest Star Wars film, I’m still puzzled why it needed to be a movie on the big screen. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. It is a fun movie, but a very average movie…not the kind of greatness we expect with a Star Wars movie. This film feels more like a few episodes of what should have been season 4 strung together to make a movie. And if I’m being honest as a Star Wars fan and a critic, I didn’t need to see this on the big screen…this story would have been perfect for Disney +. While I enjoyed some aspects of the film and of course the Mandalorian is a fun character and Grogu is cute, this film is just Disney trying too hard to make me want to go back to the theater and watch Star Wars after the sequel trilogy severely disappointed, but using popular characters that Star Wars fans can enjoy. It’s a safe bet when returning to the theaters, but it’s not bold and exciting which is really what Star Wars fans needed to be enticed to see Star Wars in the theaters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not completely ragging on the movie and my biggest complaints really aren’t with the movie, but with Disney and LucasFilm not really understanding what the core fans want. We’ll get into that.
Here is the good and bad about The Mandalorian and Grogu. At its core, it’s just a bounty hunter movie. I’m not complaining, they can be fun the same way that Solo was really just a heist movie introducing us to one of Star Wars most beloved characters. However, I still like Solo and will continue to watch it again. The Mandalorian film is trying to be something that it’s not…this is not a grand adventure on the same level as the original Star Wars trilogy or Revenge of the Sith…even Rogue One if I’m being honest. The action is good. It’s the same thing we’re used to seeing in episodes of The Mandalorian and he doesn’t disappoint. Grogu is even better in this movie. He’s really the star of the film and the cuteness factor makes the movie better than it seems. I won’t spoil the story, but it does center around the Hutts and everything about that makes the movie work and more entertaining. Jeremy Allen White does a great job voicing Rotta the Hutt…I hope we get to see more of him in the Star Wars universe.The story is also made better with familiar characters like Zeb from Star Wars Rebels. I can’t deny that the action sequences are entertaining and make me want to go back and watch the Mandalorian series, but is that enough to make me want to go to the theater to see this movie…no!
The worst part about this movie is that it feels like three episodes of a Mandalorian season put together. It’s divided into three distinct chapters that feel like three episodes. They’re like episodes of the week where each episode is taking down a particular bad guy. And I love Sigourney Weaver, she’s great, but also kind of wasted in this movie. Except for a really cool scene of her flying in X-Wing, her character is wasted. I’m not even sure why they had her in this movie except to say they had Sigourney Weaver in a Star Wars movie. In addition, The storytelling is not bold, it’s predictable, they use regurgitated lines from other shows like Star Wars Rebels, It seems all too familiar and not in a good way. It seems like a Kathleen Kennedy project where the story doesn’t matter as much as the nostalgia for Star Wars. I’m sorry but that’s bullshit! This movie feels very average compared to three seasons of the Mandalorian. While each season had its individual episodes, they all led to something bigger at the end of each season. In season 1 it was about saving Grogu. In season 2 it was about getting him back to the Jedi and the best thing the Mandalorian series ever did was have Luke Skywalker be a badass for 4 minutes. Season 3 may not have been as great, but it was also reclaiming Mandalore and having Bo-Katan Kryze take her rightful place as the leader of Mandalore. Each season led to something bigger, this movie leads the Mandalorian story nowhere except that he’s a bounty hunter working for the new Republic. I could see this movie leading to something bigger like an Ahsoka movie ( if there was going to be one) where he was going to be part of the big battle that takes down Grand Admiral Thrawn. But it’s just a simple bounty hunter story of multiple episodes cobbled together to make a movie and I could have easily skipped the theater and just watch this on Disney Plus. As a Star Wars fan I’m a fervent believer that Star Wars belongs on the big screen, but I also recognize what stories belong on Disney Plus. This is one of those stories. Look, if Jon Favreau admits an interview that he doesn’t understand why this was made into a movie for Disney’s big Star Wars theatrical comeback then that should tell us right now that this is not going to be that great of a movie.
Overall, my biggest criticism is not the film itself. Again, it’s a fun movie, but it’s not that exciting despite having lovable characters. My biggest complaint is Disney trying to sell me and other hardcore fans on the idea that it’s a great movie meant to be seen on the big screen. Disney’s biggest problem with Star Wars since 2019 is deciding what belongs on Disney + and what should be a movie. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a great story, but it could have easily been a 2 1/2 hour to 3-hour movie. Originally it was supposed to be a movie. The same thing with the Book of Boba Fett. The Mandalorian and it’s stories should be the temple of the streaming service. It’s meant to be told in episodic fashion where each episode and each season leads to something bigger…that’s not what movies do. There’s a lot of great stories for the Mandalorian and Grogu basically being the go-to bounty Hunter of the New Republic, that doesn’t need to be a movie. At the same time, Ahsoka or what was essentially Rebels season 5, didn’t need to be an eight-episode season…between season 1 and season 2 that’s coming out next year, this should have been a trilogy of movies…avenger style Star Wars movies where you pack it full of beloved characters including the Mandalorian fighting an epic war against a really good villain.
Lucasfilm is essentially doing their version of Timothy Zahn’s expanded Universe trilogy, Heir to the Empire where we were first introduced to Grand Admiral Thrawn. As a Star Wars fan, I wouldn’t much rather see this story told in three movies or two at the very least where the Mandalorian is just a side character and we also get to see Luke Skywalker in his prime. I wrote an article 5 years ago titled How the Mandalorian saved Disney’s Star Wars and it did in a lot of ways. That doesn’t mean it was meant for the big screen. Disney is trying to lure Star Wars fans back to the theaters, but they’re going about it the wrong way and trying to take stories that should be properly told in a movie format but putting them in an episodic fashion that makes it too long and boring. And I don’t think fans really cares about Starfighter with Ryan Gosling. Next year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, that’s when we should have had the last Ahsoka movie defeating Thrawn. Maybe season 2 will be good. Now for the hard truth… the best Star Wars movie we’re going to see in 2026 will be 10th anniversary screenings of Rogue One. And I can pretty much guarantee that the best Star Wars movie we will see in 2027 will be the original theatrical release of A New Hope. Is the Mandalorian and Grogu better than the Rise of Skywalker, of course, but the bar wasn’t really set that high. Disney and LucasFilm has to make the core fans care about the franchise again and this is not the way to do it. It’s time to be bold with their storytelling. Killing the Mandalorian in this movie, that would have been and maybe a better story. Just playing Devil’s Advocate!
I’m not suggesting a course correction, but it’s time for stories to be told in the Old Republic because there’s plenty from that era that are bold. Those are movies that are meant to be on the big screen. I would even argue that Rey’s Jedi movie that is supposedly in development and might get made would be a better fit for the big screen. This movie is 5 at best, However, Disney, you get it 2 for giving fans something we really didn’t need in the theater and trying to convince us that this is the best way to go. Star Wars fans can’t be easily fooled like that anymore after the sequel trilogy. Giving us a Mandalorian movie is something Kathleen Kennedy would have done instead of taking chances. Maybe when it’s all said and done and Favreau and Filoni are not being influenced by her terrible decisions, LucasFilm can get back to bold storytelling meant to be on the big screen. We’ll see, But for right now, I could have easily waited to see this movie on Disney + as episodes of what should be season 4. Thank God I didn’t spend too much on a movie ticket because I have AMC A-List, Although, I will happily pay full price to see Rogue One on the big screen again!
