Underwhelmed is an understatement. The Mandalorian and Grogu feels like a mashed-up TV arc that belonged on Disney+ rather than in IMAX.
As a massive, lifelong Star Wars fan who has spent years passionately following The Mandalorian series, I was initially thrilled when Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu was announced. The idea of bringing Din Djarin and our favorite little green foundling to the biggest screen possible felt like the ultimate evolution of their journey. However, as the months dragged on and the marketing cycle rolled out, that initial hype began to dwindle. I sort of forgot about the movie entirely. Still, I walked into the theater holding onto hope, eager to see how this story would translate into a grand cinematic experience.
When the lights went down, my initial reaction was actually quite positive. I saw the film in IMAX, and early on, that decision paid off beautifully. The movie starts incredibly strong. The action sequences are massive, crisp, and thrilling, perfectly utilizing the scale of a premium large-format screen. The opening act establishes an intriguing plot premise that hooks you immediately, thrusting Mando and Grogu into the high-stakes reality of a galaxy trying to rebuild itself while Imperial warlords still lurk in the shadows. For the first thirty minutes, I thought we were in for a true Star Wars epic.
Unfortunately, underwhelmed is an understatement for where the film goes from there. I left the theater initially thinking it was just a mediocre movie. But the more I sit with it, and the more I analyze the creative choices made here, the madder I get.
The most glaring issue stems from the central dynamic of our protagonists. Because Grogu doesn’t speak and relies entirely on coos, squeaks, and babbles, the script suffers from a severe lack of meaningful dialogue. This becomes painfully apparent as the movie progresses, culminating in a third act that feels entirely silent in the worst way possible. I won’t lie: by the time the climax rolled around, I was actively struggling to stay awake.
Instead of driving the plot through engaging character interactions, the filmmakers rely too heavily on Grogu’s cuteness and the comedy that comes with it. Look, we all know Grogu is adorable. He’s been a pop-culture phenomenon for years for a reason. But what works in a 35-minute TV episode becomes exhausting in a feature-length film.
The humor lands at first, but it quickly gets old. Really old. This exhaustion is only made worse by the addition of Babu Frik and the Anzellans. While they are undeniably cute and share a few genuinely funny, silly moments with Grogu, the film halts its momentum entirely to focus on their antics. The constant pandering to the cute factor completely deflated any sense of urgency. The writers desperately try to make the narrative feel like a high-stakes galactic crisis, but because the script keeps stopping to play for laughs, the stakes never actually land.
At two hours and twelve minutes, The Mandalorian and Grogu is severely bloated. It would have functioned a thousand times better as a tight, fast-paced, 90-minute sprint. As the runtime dragged on, the fundamental flaw of the film’s construction became impossible to ignore: this doesn’t feel like a movie. It plays out exactly like three or four extended episodes of what would have been The Mandalorian Season 4, hastily stitched and mashed together to fit a theatrical format.
This structure might have played out beautifully as a direct-to-streaming special event movie on Disney+, where audiences are already primed for the episodic rhythms of television. But when you ask audiences to pay for a theater ticket and sit in a dark room for over two hours, the expectations are higher, and the lack of a cohesive, cinematic structure becomes glaring.
The most frustrating part of this mashed-up television structure is the complete lack of true character development. By the time the credits roll, it doesn’t feel like anyone has actually grown. Grogu doesn’t get any stronger or learn to master his abilities in a meaningful way, and Mando doesn’t learn any grand life lessons. The plot doesn’t feel earned at all. Things just kind of happen around them until the movie decides it has run out of “episodes” to show us.
The one saving grace of the narrative – and easily my favorite part of the movie – is the inclusion of Rotta the Hutt, voiced brilliantly by Jeremy Allen White. Rotta is fantastic whenever he is on screen, bringing a much-needed spark to the dull pacing. He is the character that seems to involve in any way, shape, or form.
As a self-proclaimed Star Wars Rebels girlie, seeing a live-action Zeb Orrelios was an absolute dream come true. That specific moment felt like it was put in the movie just for me, but man, I would have loved more of him.
There are plenty of other fun cameos and surprise moments sprinkled throughout to appease hardcore fans, and the CGI is, for the most part, exceptionally well-done. The visual effects are polished, and the action remains visually entertaining even when the plot falters. But fanservice and pretty visuals aren’t enough to justify a theatrical release.
Walking out of my screening, the atmosphere in the lobby was incredibly telling. The reactions were mixed at best, with the vast majority of the audience settling on the consensus that it was just an okay film.
But as a dedicated fan, just okay shouldn’t be the benchmark for Star Wars‘ return to the cinema. What started as an exciting promise quickly devolved into a repetitive, stale experience that feels like a step backward for these characters. It’s a beautifully shot film with a few standout moments for the die-hards, but a hollow script ultimately sinks what could have been a cinematic triumph. It belongs on streaming, not the big screen.
Rating: 2 out of 5
About The Mandalorian and Grogu
The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.
The Mandalorian and Grogu comes to theaters on May 22.
