Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity Acceptable
Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable
Even before this movie came out, people were declaring it to be a failure and a bomb. Star Wars has become such a cultural flashpoint in the pop culture community that anything that happens with this franchise tends to provoke extreme reactions. But the real question is this:
Is the movie any good?
The answer is: yes.
Is the movie as great as the pre-Disney Star Wars films.
No.
But if you take the movie as a simple, fun adventure, then you will have a good time.
The movie takes place after the events of The Mandalorian season 3. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, and Lateef Crowder) is raising the "baby Yoda" Grogu. They go on bounty hunting missions together (like the manga Lone Wolf and Cub), taking down remnants of the Empire. New Republic Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) tasks him to work with the criminal Hutts to recover Jabba's son Rotta (Jeremy Allen White) so that they can gain important intel on a high ranking Imperial hold out. But as they enter into the hunt, all is not as it seems.
To say more would remove the twists and the turns that this story has to offer, which are quite enjoyable.
Let me begin with the movie's deficits. The movie has the opposite problem of shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi, where they took a movie script and expanded it into a series so that it felt thin. For Mandalorian and Grogu, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was original a series of television scripts condensed into one 2-hour film. As a result it feels like you have five stories instead of one. This requires some short cuts and contrivances, like one of the villains blurting out his evil plan to Din for no particular reason other than to get the plot going more quickly.
The second is that the story does not feel consequential enough for a feature film. Like a typical James Bond film, this feels like another adventure in a series of stories that won't make a difference in the character's overall development. The season 2 finale of the show felt like it had much more weight to it with the return of Luke, the revealing of Din's face to Grogu, and the farewell. While the movie has heart, it doesn't reach those earlier levels.
And this is a small thing, but if you notice I listed 3 people playing Din. All three got top credit for this movie. I agree that all of them deserved it, but because of this, I could not shake the idea that Pascal was not in most of the scenes, but it was only his voice. This reality would sometimes shatter the illusion that the movie was trying to create.
Having said all of that, I enjoyed this movie a great deal.
The movie feels like an 80's movie in the best sense of the word. Yes, there is a lot of CGI, but there is a fun sense of adventure to the story. This is particularly the case when director Jon Favreau uses old school puppetry or stop-motion animation. You can tell he has a particular love for this era of movies and it shows in the best possible way. Favreau knows how to film a scene with exciting spectacle and pacing. It recaptures some of the thrills I had going to the movies when I was younger. The early scenes of Din taking out his prey were reminiscent of the early days of the TV show where he felt a lot like "The Man With No Name."
Some may accuse this of nostalgia-baiting. Generally speaking, I don't care as long as I am entertained. There is a gladiator fight scene that pulled me in and I couldn't figure out why until I realized that the creatures in the areana were the ones from the "chess" game that C-3PO and Chewbacca played on the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars. Little nods like that made me smile.
I also enjoyed the fact the title of the movie reflects the content. This isn't just a movie about Din taking care of Grogu. This is both of their stories. There are large swaths of this film where Grogu is the main character moving the story forward. Favreau and co-writers Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor are trying to say something about the relationships of parents with children. At one point Din says "The old protect the young and the young protect the old. This is the way." Some people may see it as ridiculous that Din bring Grogu to these dangerous situations. But the he is a father teaching his son to become a man. Grogu may be too young, but that doesn't matter. Sometimes the world is dangerous and it cannot wait for you to grow up. And we see this in Grogu.
The movie also has something to say about bad parenting. Rotta is desperate to get out of his father's shadow. But there are those who see this desperation and take advantage of it. Rotta mistakes the cheering of crowds for actual love and validation. There is a look of horrible, crushing defeat when he hears them turn on him. I don't know if this was meant to be an allegory for young people seeking attention on social media, but it does tap into that truth about desperately wanting to find your own identity and how that path is filled with its own pitfalls and dangers. It is only in the bonds of love, family, and true friendship that we really find out who we are.
In terms of tone, it goes from very light to serious fairly quickly. If you find Grogu and characters like Babu Frik to be funny and adorable, you will connect to those emotional tethers very quickly. But if those puppet characters do not make you feel anything, then a lot of the story's heart will fall flat. I personally found the Grogu scenes to be both funny and tender. They do an excellent job of conveying his fear, courage, and vulnerability without him having to say a word.
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