Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu: No risks, just entertainment.

Riot’s Reviews - Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

The titles seem to be getting longer by the day! Brand recognition and marketing be damned, I think we need to move away from having “Star Wars” in the titles unless they are working on another legitimate trilogy project. Trust the audience, they know what they’re there for. Irrelevant point out of the way, it’s probably worth addressing the biases I had going into this film. First, Disney+ as an institution has been an overall miss, in my opinion. There are exceptions, the diamonds in the rough, and The Mandalorian, at its start, was one of those. I always believed that Grogu as a character was a diminishing return and I think the slow decline of the television show is evidence of that being true. Second, because of the streaming services’ sketchy record with Star Wars as a franchise, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat waiting for this project at all. But hey, it’s Memorial Day weekend, there’s a nerd-culture movie in theaters, so by my own rules, Riot has to give it a go. And when it was all said and done, I left the theater…conflicted.

To start, unlike a slew of online reviewers/creators that seem determined to hate Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, I will not play into that game. The film, as a self-contained story, having no content that could seriously or legitimately affect the rest of the current Star Wars canon, was a fun and entertaining little adventure. I’ve heard it referred to as an episode of the show stretched too long and I can’t argue with that. But, the storyline is simplified and linear, it doesn’t over saturate the audience with new characters but instead introduces an appropriste amount of new aliens/worlds/set designs that are a treat to the eyes, and it plays things very familiar and safe. These are all elements that should ensure it’s a money-making machine for families to enjoy on their extended weekend. As a business formula, it probably doesn’t get much better. As a side point, I also went out of my way during the film to text my best friend about how much I loved the sound mixing/musical score. It was innovative, synth heavy and rhythm driven, helping to emphasize the story in the right moments like older films once did (an issue I have previously lamented about not being present in today’s cinema).

It was a very safe movie and that unfortunately is my biggest problem with it. Projects like Rogue One, Andor, and even the original trilogy prove that Star Wars as a franchise doesn’t need to play it safe and in fact it may be better off doing exactly the opposite! There is too much convenience to how everything plays out and because of this, you do have an entirely self-contained film that won’t really move the needle on anything around it. It doesn’t take any real risks. I repeat, this does not make the it a bad film, just a little blasé. It certainly is a few beats too long and spends an inordinate amount of time on Grogu (which will play to the fanservice people, however many are still out there). Between an over-reliance on his “cute” antics and continuing to use The Force as an ex machina plot device, I kept getting that diminishing return vibe that will probably/eventually kill my interest in upcoming Star Wars projects. Also, can we cut the crap with directors/producers injecting themselves into the story for no reason? It was cute/sweet when Stan did it and that’s it. Talkin’ to you Filoni!

For every element that unnerved me, like the Hutt’s speaking English (mainly Rotta, and that hurts to say because I really enjoy Jeremy Allen White) or the fact that Mando’s (Pedro Pascal) gear/weapons disappear and reappear suddenly and at will; there were things that delighted me, like the return of the OG Storm Trooper or seeing the Nexu’s head mounted on the wall. The movie suffered a little on the CGI front affecting most, if not all of the monstrous creatures but also in the surprisingly hokey/lame chase sequences (and I mean all of them, on every planet). But it excelled in the fight choreography, costume/set design, and of course the mechanical marvel that is the Grogu puppet. After an initial hiccup, it appears the film is on its way to raking in another bajillion dollars for Disney on opening weekend, but I don’t know that it has the legs to go the distance. In a world that is in dire need of a good fun for the family movie, I think it succeeds in its goal. The film excels when you shut your brain off, sit back and enjoy and at the end of the day, that’s not really a bad thing.

Riot’s Rating: 7.8/10: Star Wars: The Madalorian and Grogu may not be a full length feature that anyone actually asked for, but it delivers a quirky and fun sci-fi adventure that the whole family can enjoy.

P.S. Considering all of the s*** talking he had for Marvel, I found it hilarious (ironic) that Martin Scorsese found the time to get featured in a Star Wars side project movie. Also, as much as I love Sigourney Weaver, you’d be hard pressed to find a more disinterested performance. I hope it wasn’t one of those “contractually obligated” situations because it sure felt that way.