After successfully revitalising the Star Wars franchise on the small screen with three seasons of the Mandalorian, creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni bring their creation to cinemas with this first feature length Star Wars film in 7 years.
Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian, a battle-hardened bounty hunter who travels the galaxy with his little green apprentice and adopted son Grogu.
Now contracted to the new republic to hunt down the remnants of the empire, (The film is set just after the original trilogy) the pair are sent to the moon of Shakiri to rescue Jabba the Hutt’s Son Rotta from an evil warlord.
Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t get much deeper than that, episodically jumping from one set piece to the next as Mando fights off a string of CGI villains. Director Favreau, who wrote the film alongside Filoni and Noah Kloor, was planning a fourth season of the TV show before this film came about and it’s reasonable to assume a lot of what was planned for the small screen ended up being shoehorned into this cinematic outing. There is promise at the beginning as Mando and Grogu undertake an exhilarating heist boarding and then downing a classic At-At walker, but things quickly go downhill from there.
Grogu, then simply known as Baby Yoda, was a viral sensation when he first arrived in Mando chapter one, but he wasn’t the sole reason for that shows success, Favreau & Filoni created a deep and enduring mythos for the Mandalorion race embodied by their mantra: ‘This is the Way’ But there is none of that on show here, instead the ubiquitous action sequences are interspersed with comedic scenes of Grogu and the tiny Anzellan engineers from the last film.
Created by real life puppetry, Grogu and his friends are a real high point, but as entertaining as they are, it’s an oversight to expect them to carry the entire film.
To add some star power, Sigourney Weaver is cast as rebel leader Colonel Ward, but seems completely uninterested, dialling in a stilted performance for barely 10 minutes of screen time.
Pascal’s cool line delivery under the helmet still works, but he has a difficult job projecting his usual charisma when is face is covered for 90% of the film. The strict Mandalorian creed, that states helmets should never be removed in the presence of others, is hand waved away just to show off Pedro’s chiselled features for a few minutes.
And then there is Rota the Hutt. A horribly realised weightless CGI blob with a six pack who is quite possibly the worst Star Wars Character since Jar-Jar Binks. Voiced limply by Jeremy Allen white in a manner that suggests he’s never seen a Star Wars film before, let alone heard a Hutt speak.
It’s a damming indictment of Disney’s stewardship of the franchise that after 7 years away from the big screen, this is the best they could muster.
A low effort long form episode of the Mandalorian TV Show and not even a good one.
This is NOT the way.
⭐️⭐️
Paul Steward
07/06/26
X @grittster