Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Star Wars is approaching its 50th birthday next year (May 25, 2027), and I have been blessed (mostly) to be a part of the franchise’s history since its inception. Ever since I was an eight-year-old in 1977 seeing Star Wars for the first time (and repeatedly for another 10 times in the theater, to my parents’ and grandparents’ chagrin), Star Wars has been something to look forward to, look back on, and look down upon in those narratively challenging times (“The Rise of Skywalker,” anyone?).

Will it satisfy the hardcore dweebs? Will it help win over a new fanbase? Will it appeal to kids, adults, and teens? Well, when it comes to the new “The Mandalorian and Grogu” movie brought to you by Disney and Lucasfilm Studios, the answer is a resounding “YES”… and “Not Quite.”

The runaway hit of “The Mandalorian” franchise on Disney+ has been the most popular and accessible series for a long time now. Oh sure, “Andor” was probably better scripted and executed because of its very detailed, in-depth story that had very real stakes for the Star Wars meta-narrative. “The Mandalorian,” however, brought us all back to the simpler days of what George Lucas first looked to when creating Star Wars in the first place. It was the science-fiction adventure serial (think “Flash Gordon”) that was broad in appeal and shallow in story: heroic good guys, devious bad guys, dangerous peril, and someone to save or protect. Of course, that was all derailed when Darth Vader became Luke’s father and the Skywalker Saga morphed and developed into a long-running, connective string of movies and shows.

Now, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” takes us back to those days of simpler narratives and single-shot stories that are not mired by knowing the extensive history of the characters or worlds they inhabit. Even if you have never seen a single episode of “The Mandalorian,” you can easily grasp what is happening here. Whether or not that is your idea of Star Wars is really up to you, and your entertainment mileage will depend on your opinionated scale of Mando’s coolness and/or Grogu’s cuteness.

We start strong by building the character of Mando as a bounty hunter who is both skilled and deadly, as hapless snow-troopers are taken out with ease along with some AT-AT Walkers. Grogu also helps Mando, and he is so darn adorable doing it. We are given the context that this timeline is set after Return of the Jedi, where a power vacuum exists as the remnants of the Empire are being swept away by the New Republic, and old enemies are being hunted down via bounty cards of the “most wanted.” Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu are a team and work officially for the New Republic as hired hands who hunt, capture, or kill these ex-Empire fugitives.

I have always admired how Pascal has been able to consistently emote through all that armor in such a way that is subtle and meaningful. Grogu looks more like a physical puppet than a CGI creation, and it gives him a tactile appeal and a real presence in a physical space.

One of the leaders of the Republic, Col. Ward (Sigourney Weaver giving a barely-there performance), gives Mando the job of rescuing Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White of The Bear), who is serving as a galactic MMA fighter. The request comes from Rotta’s twin aunt and uncle, who would love nothing more than to continue to rule their dead brother Jabba’s galactic criminal organization. The relatives feign concern for their nephew, but we know they are just after his birthright of being the big boss one day.

We get to see some new worlds and lots of new Star Wars creatures as Mando and Grogu find themselves in the seedier side of the galaxy looking for the pumped-up Hutt, who has his own reasons not to be rescued by the pair. Mando always gets his way, however, and finds himself in much more trouble than he can handle on the planet of the Hutts, where Grogu must now rescue his “dad” from their evil plans.

It has been rightfully hypothesized that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is basically three or four Disney+ episodes strung together to make a longer feature film to end a seven-year drought of theater-centered Star Wars movies. You can easily tell where the cliffhangers would be for each of these episodes, which creates a curious feeling of knowing you are watching a huge version of a living room TV with Disney+ on it. The visuals are cinematic enough. Yet, my brain has been conditioned so that when I see Mando and Grogu in his new Razor Crest ship flying in hyperspace, I just feel like I’m watching it on my iPad before bed (note: I was in a basic screen theater for this viewing, so next time I’ll opt for IMAX).

Where a typical Star Wars movie will have different strings of a larger story being followed until it all ties together at the end, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is basically one story thread running straight through this over-two-hour film, making the complexity feel like Dr. Seuss compared to something like “Andor” or “The Phantom Menace.” Yet, that may be the draw for many, as the intellectual property complexities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Harry Potter, and “The Lord of the Rings” have proven to be a lot of homework for many trying to enter into the lore.

Here we have an accessible story with little to no prior knowledge needed—just like those older sci-fi serials of yesteryear—with a lot of gun fighting, hand-to-hand combat, monster battles, and, of course, some super cute and funny moments with Grogu and his new, diminutive friends.

This is a PG-13 film despite the cuteness of Grogu and the simplicity of the plot. We do see some sci-fi action that is typical of Star Wars, such as aerial battles, vehicle battles, and villains being dispatched by shooting, stabbing, being set on fire, or being consumed by monsters. There is a gladiator-type scene with many weapons being used. Some space alcohol is consumed in the background. However, the language is mild (a “hell” and a “d*mn” is as strong as it gets), and there is no sexual content.

The worlds that Mando and Grogu visit are mostly dangerous and drab. To be honest, most of the movie is very muted, with blacks, greens, and browns being the most heavily used colors in the palette—which is a surprise looking at its bright, retro-style movie poster. The washed-out look brings a very suppressed mood to the whole affair. I do wish the visuals were a little more exciting. However, the mix of CGI, scale models, and stop-motion all work well enough, although some elements look much better than others.

There has always been a theme of loyalty and the importance of a “found family” in “The Mandalorian” series, and so it is here as well. Mando has effectively been an adoptive father to Grogu since the first season on Disney+. This comes with defending and protecting Grogu with sacrifice, strength, and (I’ll speculate) love.

God Himself created the concept of “family” and wants us to join His eternal family of love and salvation. When we accept Christ as our Savior and rely upon His sacrifice on the cross rather than our own good works for salvation, at that point of acceptance, we are adopted into the family of God.

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” —Romans 8:15–16

Christ Himself adopted us into His “found family” with sacrifice (on the cross), strength (enduring the suffering), and love (unconditional and ever-present). He comes to our defense against the Enemy (the devil) and armors us up with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6) so we can fight with Him and experience victory against evil (although we won’t be as cute as Grogu doing it).

After seven years of no Star Wars cinema, I’m happy that this movie came out and I had fun with it. To be honest, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is not quite the theatrical Star Wars experience we were waiting for… but it’s close. And hopefully, it will do, cinematically, for the next year. However, fans since May 25, 1977, like myself, should hope that Lucasfilm and Disney Studios will seriously up their game for that 50th anniversary. This is the way.

• Violence: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Vulgar/Crude language: Minor
• Profane language: None
• Nudity: None
• Sex: None
• Occult: None
• Wokeism: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.