The film “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is not what you might expect from either Star wars in general, or from what I’m guessing you may have heard in other reviews.
I I’m not saying this is a perfect Star wars movie. I am also not saying it is the worst, I’ve seen that one. This isn’t that, but that’s a low bar and we all know it.
Musically, the word of the day is “departure”. The closest recognizable theme from Star wars you get is from the mandalorian television series that predates this film. Choices we’re definitely made.
Seasoned viewers might recognize homages to other films, one of which made it into the trailer, but not the movie. I guess they wanted to real people in with x-wings and Apocalypse Now, but wanted to “spare the children”, which they did not do for a good chunk of the first part of the movie. Don’t worry, we’ve already had murdered children in previous Star wars films, so we don’t need to worry about that happening in this film. I’m just saying that you might want to consider how sweet and tender your children are, because a cute little baby Yoda is not going to guarantee you a warm and fuzzy 2 hours 15 minutes film.
Other tangential references include the first Blade Runner movie, and a rather humorous recycling of an entire conversation from the first Star wars film.
But don’t worry, those references are not here to kill you. They are also not here to rescue you.
This film does make a hard turn in tone, but if you return your lenses to viewing this as a Western movie, it fits.
The credits are credits, with the same thread of music that is a departure from the rest of the franchise, but still tied to the Mandalorian TV series.
There is no post credit scene, but you are free to sit and see the exact thing George Lucas has done to movie credits for the rest of us.
I was entertained. I did not get bored, and I almost expected myself to be.
Jabba Jr is a likable character.
If you ever wondered if you wanted to see two Hutts duke it out, I have good news.
Oh, and sigourney Weaver gets “and” billing, and time in the cockpit