The Mandalorian And Grogu First Reviews: A Fun But Familiar Return To The Galaxy Far, Far Away
Critics praise the action, visuals, and Din Djarin-Grogu dynamic, but say the film's thin narrative and fan service reliance keep it from reaching the stars.
A new Star Wars movie hits theaters for the first time in almost seven years with this weekend’s release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, and the first reviews are in. Continuing the adventures of the title characters on the big screen after three seasons of The Mandalorianon Disney+, the feature also loops in many characters from various Star Wars animated shows. The standalone story may disappoint some fans of the franchise, but most audiences will still enjoy the action, the heart, and especially the music score in this entertaining blockbuster.
This is a film focused on Din Djarin and Grogu, and it delivers on that point. With those expectations set, The Mandalorian and Grogu is genuinely delightful to watch. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
As long as audience expectations are kept in check, Favreau, along with co-writers Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor, delivers an adventurous romp along the lines of a sci-fi serial. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
The Mandalorian and Grogu may not reach the highs many hoped for, but it still delivers a fun two-hour space adventure in the same vein as Solo: A Star Wars Story. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
The Mandalorian and Grogu mostly fulfills its goal of being better than the much-maligned The Rise of Skywalker and giving its titular characters a viable launch on the big screen. But it’s hard not to wish that had aimed been a bit higher.. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
The ironic reason I would say [the characters] translate just fine to the big screen is that they bring with them our collective sense of lowered expectations. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
My expectations were pretty in check, and even by those standards, those expectations were not met. – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
How does it compare to other Star Wars movies?
It may not rank among the franchise’s all-time landmarks, but it is a highly successful and rewarding big-screen entry. – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies
It may not belong on the Mount Rushmore of the franchise, but after years of uncertainty surrounding Star Wars on the big screen, it’s still a welcome hyperspace jump back to a galaxy far, far away. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
[It’s] easily the most purely entertaining Star Wars movie since the 1980s, even though it’s hardly the most meaningful or ambitious. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The Mandalorian and Grogu at times seems like its holding itself back from reaching new heights. Star Wars spin-offs like 2016’s Rogue One and 2018’s Solo were imperfect in their own ways, yet they at least had high aspirations. – Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
It might not be the worst Star Wars movie, but it could well be the most inconsequential Star Wars movie – and that somehow feels worse. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Will it satisfy diehard fans of the franchise?
Star Wars returns to theaters after a seven-year absence with a known commodity that will delight die-hard fans and newcomers alike, but probably fail to impress the haters who’ve lost faith in a galaxy far, far away. – Julian Roman, BlackFilmandTV.com
Audiences who are hoping for a fun, lighthearted film starring some of Star Wars’ most beloved new characters are going to love it. All things considered, that’s good enough. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
The truth is, The Mandalorian and Grogu isn’t a movie for long-time Star Wars fans; it’s a desperate attempt to cultivate a new generation before it’s too late. – Jake Kleinman, Polygon
Even if you’re a fan of Star Wars, I’m not exactly sure who this is for beyond the brief moments of recognition of characters from the larger Star Wars universe. – Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
It’s telling that even in our screening that was filled with Star Wars fans, even the “hero” moments of the set pieces were met with barely a murmur. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Can we enjoy it if we’ve never seen anything Star Wars ever?
There are a few Easter eggs for longtime franchise fans…but others who don’t want assigned homework before watching a movie might welcome the jazz-like looseness of this feature. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
There’s no homework required, and while there are characters from the wider Star Wars universe brought in, you don’t need to know who they are for it to make sense in the movie. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
The movie presents such a simple, straightforward story it requires almost no knowledge of Star Wars or The Mandalorian to follow it. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
It’s hard to imagine anyone experiencing this as their first Star Wars film and getting hooked for life as those who saw the original trilogy in theaters did. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
Does it push the Star Wars franchise forward?
The Mandalorian and Grogu is as fresh as live-action Star Wars can probably feel these days, moving forward in story and tone, and embracing the evolution of the franchise. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
As a course correction following Disney’s numerous cinematic Star Wars missteps, it lays the groundwork for a franchise future defined less by Luke, Vader, and their descendants than by the fascinating good and bad guys roaming the far corners of this universe. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Where the movie falters is in its broader impact on the Star Wars franchise, although whether that’s really a flaw will depend heavily on what viewers are looking for. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
There is no forward momentum here; it could just be a mid-season filler arc as we end the story basically where we started. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
There are no huge changes to the status quo, no dramatic developments that make it feel essential to see. It is a solid space adventure featuring some fun moments, but nothing that plots a course forward for the future. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Is it a good standalone story?
The story of two heroes and their healthy relationship makes The Mandalorian and Grogu more focused than many of the arguably more “important” tales in this franchise, no matter how much they claimed to say about the rise and fall of political regimes. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor craft a screenplay that feels far more interested in introducing new characters than building a compelling emotional story around the ones audiences have spent three seasons investing in. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
The Mandalorian and Grogu is a straightforward adventure with almost no character development and little to discover below its handsome surface. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
As the story returns things to the status quo, it’s hard to think of what has even changed between the two, what they might have learned about each other, and if the filmmakers will ever take an interest in finding out. – Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
As the clunky plotting continues to unfold, there’s the sense of being cheated, not only by a film that doesn’t feel like a film, but by a company that doesn’t think you deserve real characters or an actual story. – Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
Is The Mandalorian and Grogu worth seeing on the big screen?
There are numerous battles with various CGI creatures, space dogfights and chases, and enough explosions to make people feel they’ve gotten their premium screen money’s worth. – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
This standalone feature is a ton of fun and a fully cinematic journey meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible. It’s a perfect summer movie. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
This film is absolutely glorious in IMAX. I’m sure it will play just as well when I watch it on my TV later this year, but it needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies
There’s no escaping that The Mandalorian and Grogu comes at us with a tidy small-screen consciousness. The upshot is that maybe that’s what Star Wars now is. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
It never makes a case why it has to be on the big screen. Neither the spectacle nor the story demands people leave their homes and come out to see this in a movie theatre. – Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
[It’s] a longer and below-average episode of the Disney+ television show…I kept thinking, why should anyone already subscribing to Disney+ have to pay for this? – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
What are the biggest issues with The Mandalorian and Grogu?
The problem for The Mandalorian and Grogu is that it’s just not that entertaining. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
It feels disposable. It feels like, well, what most things feel like these days: content. – Kate Erbland, IndieWire
Most damning of all is the lack of unique themes or anything resembling the high stakes and emotions that Star Wars has famously brought to the big screen. – Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
What if we’re just here for more adorable Grogu moments?
There’s no denying that Grogu remains a preternaturally adorable addition to Star Wars, and screenwriters Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor grant him regular opportunities to do something worthy of an “awwww.” – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Grogu continues to steal scenes as arguably the most adorable creature in the galaxy, leading to some of the film’s sweetest moments. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
I enjoyed how they…allowed Grogu to do things by himself and have some agency in what happens. The movie should do great with children, as they should be able to identify with Grogu in this movie. – Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
The only sequence that really surpasses its source material is a nearly silent interlude focused on Grogu alone on a hostile alien world. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
Any Grogu moment in the movie is delightful, but [one sequence] feels different to what’s come before and isn’t just relying on the cuteness factor. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Is there enough Pedro Pascal?
Even with stunt performers Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder helping physically bring the character to life, Pascal’s voice performance remains the emotional glue holding everything together. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
He gets one unmasked action set piece where we can see he’s really doing the physical work, and it’s a highlight in the film because of Pascal’s emotions and commitment. – Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon.net
There’s no emotion to observe on the face of Pedro Pascal – the one time it appears only serves to remind that the film has been deprived of this for no discernible reason other than he might not have been on set for much of it. (If he was, then I’m even more baffled.) – Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
I thought, since this was a movie, and movies are expensive to go to, especially for families, we’d get to see the face of the famous actor for more than one scene. We do not. – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
Do any characters steal the movie away from Mando and Grogu?
The true standouts are the Anzellans, who, in The Mandalorian and Grogu, have officially proven themselves to be some of Star Wars’ funniest creatures of all time. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
Shirley Henderson completely steals scenes as Babu Frik and the entire Anzellan crew. Every moment involving them becomes chaotic, hilarious, and instantly memorable. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
They have some of the most entertaining scenes in the whole film. I was so delighted when they were doing stuff and talking gibberish…Felt like I was watching Space Fraggle Rock, and that is a great thing. – Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
The best performance in this movie comes from Martin Scorsese, who voices the short-order cook who provides Mando with information about the Hutts. – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
How is Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Rotta the Hutt?
Jeremy Allen White delivers one of the film’s biggest surprises as Rotta the Hutt…somehow it completely works. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
Jeremy Allen White does some interesting stuff voicing Rotta Hutt. It feels like he’s trying to sound like old Jabba’s voice in the original films while also speaking English. – Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
White’s low-energy delivery also makes a poor match for the burly, brooding Rotta. If you didn’t want the quiet smouldering that White typically brings to his roles, if you’re going to disguise his voice as it emanates from a character that already looks nothing like him, why cast him in the first place? – Matt Singer, Screen Crush
Anyone expecting Jabba’s style of speaking or disturbing, guttural laugh is going to be thrown off by the fact that Rotta sounds like a normal guy. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
Andrew L. Jones and Doug Chiang’s production design is a highlight in sequences where characters interact with the practical sets, like the Shakari bar and Lord Janu’s art deco-ish beach mansion. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
What Andrew Jones and Doug Chiang bring to the table as production designers is nothing short of phenomenal. – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies
The film [looks] like the show, and while the show doesn’t look cheap, it also lacks anything that makes it feel particularly cinematic beyond the avalanche of CG that accompanies just about every blockbuster these days. – Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
Its muddy and gloomy aesthetics prevent it from reaching the interstellar highs to which it aspires. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
How’s the action?
Great hand-to-hand fighting and kinetic shooting action mix elements from westerns and martial arts films well. – Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
The monster madness is on full display with thrilling fight scenes worthy of blockbuster summer cinema. – Julian Roman, BlackFilmandTV.com
Action sequences throughout the movie are absolutely where Jon Favreau’s film shines. – Liz Declan, Screen Rant
There are lots of action sequences, most of them shamelessly lifted — in the grand Star Wars tradition — from other movies. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The Mandalorian and Grogu often forgets that action is character, and action is drama. It simply shows off the spectacle of big fight scenes while removing the humanity. – Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon.net
This is a franchise that has iconic villains like Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Kylo Ren, and Grand Admiral Thrawn, while the villains here are two Hutts that don’t do anything! – Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon.net
We can quibble about the film’s subpar villains — one of them is literally just “Telly Savalas in Space” — but this is a film about appealing heroes, not charismatic bad guys. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Is the music the best part of the movie?
I think my favorite part of the film is the score by Ludwig Göransson…[he] brings something new and modern to Star Wars music. – Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
Ludwig Göransson’s score takes The Mandalorian and Grogu to another level entirely, transforming familiar Star Wars emotion into full theatrical spectacle all the way through the credits! – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
There’s nothing more exciting…than what composer Ludwig Goransson is doing with the soundtrack, perhaps the only element of the film which has any real sense of adventure through its clashing electronic and traditional instruments. – Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
It’s still very weird to not hear the John Williams Star Wars theme at any point during a Star Wars film. But suffice it to say, Ludwig Göransson has done a fantastic job with scoring the film. – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies
Göransson’s use of synth throughout the score absolutely rips, and what continues to separate him from so many working composers is his ability to make each soundtrack feel distinct from the last. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
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