Movie Review: The Mandalorian and Grogu

I recently saw the latest Star Wars installment of

The Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters with my brother Philip. The Mandalorian TV series is one of my favorite Star Wars-Disney creations with a total of 3 seasons. The premise is around a devout Mandalorian warrior who strictly follows the creed of his people. In season 1 he adopts the adorable baby Yoda later referred to as Grogu. He then partners with other Mandalorians such as Boba Fett and Bo-Katan Kryze. The Book of Boba Fett could almost be seen as a chapter within the Mandalorian story falling between seasons 2 and 3. Season 3 ends with the Mandalorian helping Bo-Katan recapture the planet of Mandalore and later adopting Grogu as his apprentice and son. The last season was released in April of 2023, thus leaving quite a gap of time since this release. 

This latest film was directed by Jon Favreau who could be seen as the chief director, writer, and executive producer of the popular Disney TV series. Pedro Pascal also returned to his iconic role with a brief face reveal so he could get his proper dues. The other supporting cast included Sigourney Weaver and some voice acting by the great Martin Scorsese. This film seemed to be marketed as a final chapter to the Mandalorian story, however spoiler alert, this did not feel like a closure story. It was a non-stop adrenaline rush of action but also had some emotional themes of companionship. I walked away feeling quite satisfied with the production, especially seeing it in 3d. The main question now however is what comes next for the popular Star Wars spin-off series. 

Movie Premise

The Mandalorian (aka Din Djarin) continues his work as a free-lance bounty hunter now working for the New Republic. He is aided by his small companion Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) a creature with jedi-like powers. He is also accompanied by Zeb, an Ace pilot that was featured in the animated show Rebels. The opening sequence is an exhilarating mission on a snow planet where the Mandalorian storms a heavily guarded imperial fortress. He even faces off against the iconic AT-AT walkers that first made their debut in Empire Strikes Back. The Mandalorian is able to hit his mark in epic fashion, which had me hooked right at the start. He then travels to the central command center where he collects his payment and reluctantly accepts another job where the payout is a massive space ship known as the Razor Crest. This one involves the Hutt twins, who are paying for the location of Jabba's son Rotta Hutt. Even though the hutts are considered gangsters the Mandalorian must accept this job to reach an even larger target, Janu that is sought by the Republic.

The Mando first travels to Nal Hutta to meet the twin hutts to accept the job to hunt down their nephew Rotta. He then travels to the planet Shakari to conduct an investigation that leads him to Rotta the Hutt. He discovers that Rotta is a popular gladiator and has no desires to escape from his prison cell. Rotta is a complex character who wishes to be different from his gangster dad, and be an honorable person. He enjoys the attention he gets and also the money he receives from the fights. The Mando later finds out from Janu that Rotta the Hutt will be killed in the next fight. When the Mando tries to convince Rotta once again to leave, Rotta calls the guards and the Mando is quickly subdued by sleep gas. Mando then awakes in the arena where he must fight Rotta. Mando is able to beat Rotta, however surrenders and insists that Janu frees him. Janu instead releases more monsters upon them both. Monsters that happen to be references to the figures seen on the Millenium Falcon chessboard in the original Star Wars film. Mando and Rotta fight together to break free, and establish a bond with one another. Rotta convinces Mando that the twin hutts want to kill him because he is considered a successor to his dad Jabba the Hutt. Mando captures Janu and decides to break his agreement with the twin Hutts.

The Mandalorian parts ways with Rotta, and returns to his homebase with Grogu. He then begins mechanical work on his newly acquired spaceship, with the help of the miniature Anzellans (first introduced as mechanical specialists in Episode 9: Rise of Skywalker). While the repairs are happening his shelter is raided by the bounty hunter Embo who captures him and takes him to the twin Hutts. Grogu and the Anzellans are able to hide and quickly come up with a plan to free Mando. Meanwhile Mando faces the vengeance of the twin huts, who have also now captured Rotta and plan to torture him for hundreds of years. When Mando tries to react, they open a vault, which sends Mando plunging into a monster pit. There he comes face-to-face with a massive snake-dragon. He is able to overcome the giant monster, however is punctured with poisonous venom. Mando is able to escape into a chamber with the help of Grogu and the Anzellans. However their ship is too small to escape the planet and Mando insists they leave while he come up with another plan. Mando is able to fight off several bands of enemies, but he eventually succumbs to the poisonous wound and faints.

It appears the Mando is approaching his heroic death in the forest, when out of nowhere comes Grogu to rescue him. The movie then turns into a survival story, where Grogu must hide, care, and find a way to revive the Mando. He is able to scavenge for food and water, build a shelter, and even use some of his power to help heal Mando. But still it is not enough and the Mando does not seem to respond. Finally Grogu meets a mysterious alien fisherman, who offers him an antidote to the poison. Grogu applies the antidote which finally revives Mando the next day. The Mando thanks Grogu and the two agree they must fight the huts rather then running-and-hiding knowing the huts will continue to hunt them. The Mando and Grogu lead an all-out raid on the hutt's palace, which includes a fight with the bounty hunter Embo. They are also aided by an X-Wing strike on the palace. Rotta is able to break free with the help of Grogu and sends the twin hutts plunging into their monster pit to be devoured by the dragon-snake (Embo however is able to escape). Mando, Grogu, and Rotta just barely escape the palace before it is blown to pieces by the X-wing strike. Rotta finds work with the New Republic while Mando and Grogu fly away to their next adventure.


The Review

Like I said in the opening I was really satisfied with this film as I have been with all Star Wars Disney expansion films. It kept within the Star Wars Universe with lots of old-school references, but also a great new exciting story. The heroic pairing of the Mandalorian and Grogu have to be the most iconic new characters in Disney's Star War Universe. They absolutely did not disappoint in this film, bringing forth non-stop action, but also great humor, and even some emotional elements. For me the story hit a new depth of quality when baby Yoda was rescuing Mando in the deep forests. This became a long emotional sequence, that wasn't built on thrilling action yet rather a loving survival story. Baby Yoda was now taking care of Mando; "The old protect the young, and the young protect the old. This is the Way". 

I also really enjoyed the miniature Anzellan creatures that provided some great companionship and humor alongside Grogu. It was a true David vs Goliath story when this group of 5 miniature creatures were able to track down Mando's whereabouts and infiltrate the Hutt's palace. Even Rotta the Hutt was a likable character, with a complex sense of emotion and humor. It was somewhat strange seeing a muscular hutt figure fighting in an arena, but the way he fought by rolling around seemed to work. I also thought the dragon-snake monster was pretty cool and a great reference to the Rancor fight from Return of the Jesi. And I especially enjoyed the Dejarik reference, where Rotta and Mando faced the figures of the old Millennium Falcon gameboard.    

I walked into this one thinking it would likely be the last time we see the portrayal of the Mandalorian. It seemed there would likely be a closure story, maybe he dies or takes off his armour and walks away in the sunset. However that was not the case whatsoever, and it really just seemed like another cinematic episode of the Mandalorian. The movie ended with the Mandalorian continuing his father-role teaching Grogu how to fly the space-ship. If I had to take a guess I would think Disney will continue his character development based how the box office does (which already seems to be off to a good start). I could see the return of a fourth season, or even frequent cameo appearances in other shows such as Ahsoka Tano. I think I speak on behalf of many Star Wars fans, that I just can't get enough of the bad-ass Mando, the ultra-cute Grogu, and the amazing theme song by Ludwig Goransson.