3.5 stars out of 5
I guess this is what passes for a Star Wars movie these days? Say what you want about George Lucas, but even at his worst it felt like the fate of the galaxy was at stake. Supposedly this flick was planned as a TV series but rejiggered for the big screen, and the plot does feel TV-episodic; hard to get fully invested in.
All that said, this is fine, maybe even good. It’s a no-pressure, family-friendly, enjoyable time at the cinema. For us olds, they mention or show various Star Wars stuff: Jabba the Hutt, X-wings, AT-ATs, stormtroopers, hyperspace lines. The credits say Anthony Daniels’ voice is in this; sadly no John Williams themes or phrases.
Pedro Pascal is reliably “I’m Batman”-gruff as the Mandalorian. Oh I don’t know if this is a gripe or whatever, but the Star Wars marketing team worked their intergalactic asses off to re-brand Baby Yoda as Grogu. He has a name – use it! But I’m looking at the IMDb page, and Pascal’s character’s name is Din Djarin. I don’t think I heard that uttered once. It’s all Mando this and Mando that. I call double-standard shenanigans!
Sigourney Weaver is in this as a Rebel bigwig which she can do in her sleep, yet I couldn’t help thinking maybe she accidentally wandered in from a different sci-fi set. As for-the-parents voice casting goes, Martin Scorsese is very amusing as a food-truck vendor, but they did not need to hire Jeremy Allen White as Jabba’s kid; the voice is processed and anybody could’ve provided it. Even Anthony Daniels.
Kudos to the creature shop, their work is a real highlight of this film – cool, funny, scary. There is some solid action as well. Director Jon Favreau does a decent if not remarkable job here.
But the main draw is the sweet friendship between the Mandalorian and Grogu, and the message to young viewers is to always be loyal to your friends. Which has been floating through the Star Wars universe all along.
being underrated is overrated
Jack Silbert, curator