The Reel Review
With the fall of the Galactic Empire, Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his sidekick Grogu accept an assignment from the New Republic to find the son of the deceased Jabba the Hutt and gain a significant military advantage. Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White and Sigourney Weaver star in this latest entry in the Star Wars sci-fi/fantasy saga based on the popular Disney+ television series.
As entertaining popcorn flicks go, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu certainly fits the bill with lots of action, well-choreographed fight scenes and eye-catching visuals. The more kid-friendly story from co-writer/director Jon Favreau, however, is very predictable, formulaic Star Wars fare. Pascal is charismatic as The Mandalorian and the Grogu animated puppet is cute despite some clunky, unnatural movements. Weaver is, as always, spot on as the rebel commander, which helps to make up for surprisingly listless voice work from White (The Bear) as Rotta Hutt.
The Four Anzellans are super cute scene-stealers in this over-long saga whose pacing would have benefitted from more editing. The CGI monsters, in particular the huge Dragonsnake, are well done, as is the synth-laden score. It’s a fine, albeit forgettable entry in the Star Wars canon and pales in comparison to the Emmy-nominated Disney+ series Andor.
REEL FACTS
• The creatures in the gladiator scene are all full-size versions of those from the Dejarik chess game seen aboard the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars.
• Jeremy Allen White recorded all of his voice work prior to the start of production. Most of Pedro Pascal’s performance is voice only, with the physical acting by Brendan Wayne.
• Martin Scorsese has a voice cameo as Hugo Durant, an Ardennian food vendor.
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