It's been six-and-a-half years since Disney gave us a new Star Wars film, but the theatrical experience is finally back, in the form of The Mandalorian and Grogu!
Taking place sometime after the third season of the TV show, M&G picks up as Mando and his young ward are working in tandem with the fledgling New Republic, represented in this film by Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), to hunt down the remaining pockets of Imperial loyalists and bring them to justice. We jump right into the action as Mando takes down a squad of AT-ATs, once again channeling both Batman and Clint Eastwood. Once that mess is cleaned up, Ward has a new mission for him: find and bring home Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta, and in exchange his aunt and uncle will provide vital information on the whereabouts of a high-ranking Imperial warlord. Mando must travel to Shakari, where Rotta is reportedly being held against his will and forced to participate in gladiatorial games. Action ensues.
Alright, let's get some stuff out of the way first....
Yes, Disney has greatly watered down the Star Wars property by oversaturating their streaming service with it. Yes, the release of a new Star Wars movie should feel like a much bigger deal than it does in 2026. Yes, this movie feels like very small potatoes in the pantheon of cinematic Star Wars releases. Yes, the dialogue and acting here feels flat and uninspired. Yes, it feels like Disney was just trying to make a simple crowdpleaser to get people back in the theaters. And yes, The Mandalorian and Grogu is a very fun way to spend a couple hours.
I went into this just hoping for an extended Mandalorian episode, and on that level the film delivers. It's basically three or four episodes of the show strung together in one sitting. It would've perhaps worked better as a fourth season of the show (which was perhaps the original intent was before it became a movie), but it's an enjoyable bit of popcorn fluff where Mando does some very cool Mando stuff, Grogu does a lot of cute Grogu stuff, and lots of new and familiar creatures are thrown in.
There's fan service, to be sure. We get some Hutts, repurposed battle droids, AT-ATs, X-Wings, a newly built Razor Crest, the Amanaman creatures from Return of the Jedi, a clever use of the holographic chess set from A New Hope, and even the little Babu Frik guys from The Rise of Skywalker. This film is full of nostalgic eye candy, but there's some fresh stuff to look at as well - I'll leave you to discover that on your own. Live action Star Wars films are nothing if not visually engaging and immersive.
In the Shortcomings Department, the dialogue and acting is, as I said, very flat. Almost every line is just there to advance the plot, and not written or delivered with much style either. There's also very little in the way of thematic meat; this film is purely an unpretentious exercise in style, exploring the same kind of Space Western territory the series has already trod. What would've helped is the introduction of a colorful new character for the tight-lipped Din Djarin to play off of, a la Tuco in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. For the first-act mission Mando does have a sidekick in Zeb Orrelios, but Zeb disappears for most of the movie after that. There's just not enough going on between Mando and Grogu for their relationship to carry the film like it should. I'd also have trimmed fifteen minutes from the second half to keep it under two hours; there's no need for this to have the same running time as Return of the Jedi, and the film slows down in a really weird spot.
So the upshot is, if you treat this film as a special episode of the series (and you should), then it works well enough. There's plenty of engaging Star Wars-y action fare, Mando remains a badass bit of cinematic wish fulfillment, and Grogu is still super cute. There are no real risks being taken here and precious little in the way of new ideas being explored, but hopefully if they make a direct sequel they'll aim higher.
I give Mando a gentleman's *** out of ****.
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