Enough of the Way
‘The Mandalorian’ arrives on the big screen for its truncated fourth season.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Director: Jon Favreau • Writers: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Noah Kloor
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Sigourney Weaver
USA • 2hrs 12mins
Opens Hong Kong May 21 • IIA
Grade: B
Is Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu too little too late? Season 3 of the Disney+ show ended on a drab note way back in 2023, which might as well be before the war (not Iran) by current standards so the House of Mouse is going to have its work cut out for it vis-à-vis relevancy. Seriously, when was the last time Baby Yoda was truly in the zeitgeist? The film’s been on the calendar for ages, and two labour actions (remember when labour had rights?) admittedly delayed it but even still. Mando’s been on the sidelines for a while.
So you can imagine the shock at seeing a strong nerd presence (so many light sabres) and hearing a healthy dose of “Woo-hoos” from the audience – yes, a Hong Kong audience – when the Lucasfilm logo came up ahead of some old school Star Wars text (no scrolling) to update us on the state of the Rebel Alliance and what Mando (Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder) and his charge-turned-apprentice Baby Yoda, AKA Grogu, have been up to since they settled down on the outskirts of Nevarro. Mando took the post as the city’s new marshal (because the other one was a racist maniac), but he’s back in the bounty hunting game, probably because it’s lonely in Nevarro with his High Magistrate pal Greef Karga (RIP Carl Weathers)… retired? The Mandalorian and Grogu starts with some Lucasian discussion of trading lanes and pirates (yes!) in a hazy boardroom, with a neo-Imperial thug extorting some local governors for more “tribute” and protection. He’s wanted by the New Republic, and Mando and Grogu make short work of his corrupt ass. There are Stormtroopers, multiple AT-ATs, a boatload of other Star Wars iconography peppered into this sequence and Mando has never looked cooler. It feels like slipping on an old, comfy t-shirt.
The muppet still rocks
Which doesn’t mean that The Mandalorian and Grogu feels any less like four episodes of the show stitched together in a picaresque adventure that does nothing for wider Star Wars lore and less for the evolution of Mando or Grogu as characters. Then again maybe it doesn’t need to. Director and MCU wunderkind Jon Favreau and Star Wars TV godhead Dave Filoni – who it should be noted sat out working on Andor – have delivered an almost four-quadrant, lightly comic neo-western romp anyone can get into; you don’t need to know anything about Karga, and the Darksabre, and Moff Gideon (I miss him), and Baby Yoda’s training with Luke Skywalker. Lest we forget, these are the years after the fall of the Empire, after Return of the Jedi. It’s accessible and largely self-contained, and while it’s also totally inconsequential it’s entertaining. Bonus: Pascal stays mostly under the helmet and it’s heavy on creatures and puppets, so the butt hurt fanboys who get triggered by girls and non-white people will be safe from harm. Though can we ease off on the ship landings, guys?
After the opening, Hoth-like capture of a rotten ex-Imperial warlord, Mando gets orders from his Republic boss Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver, yes a girl, but a sci-fi legend) to find another ex-Imperial, Lord Janu (Jonny Coyne). The Republic has struck a bargain with Hutt crime bosses The Twins and after a wee chat Mando’s off on a Blade Runner-style mission to bust Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White) out of indentured MMA fighting in exchange for info on Janu. Also? Strap in for Daddy Issues. Mission accomplished the next episode features a reunion with some of those Babu Frik mofos (they’re Anzellan) and a showdown with another bounty hunter. The last ep is a Baby Yoda-heavy, puppetry-centric Endor-ish job to save Rotta (long story) that also drops in X-wing fighters and the hardest working rebel pilot in the fleet, Carson Teva (Paul Lee, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett).
That comfy tee metaphor is no joke either, and reuniting most of the key crew makes The Mandalorian and Grogu instantly recognisable and soothing, despite the fact these fools couldn’t find a way to bring back Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) or Elia Kane (Katy O’Brian). Harrumph. But DOP David Klein is back from the series, Boba Fett and the underrated Skeleton Crew to ensure that signature broken down galaxy is resplendent. Multiple Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson (Sinners) adds some slightly discordant rave vibes to his more classic western themes on the standout TV score; Rebels (also underrated) favourite Zeb (Steve Blum) makes an appearance as Mando’s sometimes co-pilot; and check it out, director Martin Scorsese Scorseses it up as a food truck operator who’s just trying to mind his own business, but who points Mando towards Rotta’s whereabouts anyway. That may sound like a lot of backstory but trust me. If you’ve never seen Zeb and your loyalty is to the OG trilogy and The Empire Strikes Back – the de facto inspiration for this entire movie>TV series>movie property – you’ll be fine. Does the plot occasionally groan? Sure. But watching Baby Yoda fuck up Mando’s shit is always good value.
And hot take: the animatronic puppet work for Grogu and scads of other creatures (the fisherman!) is one of the film’s best elements, giving the few human actors space to find an emotional grounding that serves the story. It’s just ahead of Phil Tippett’s stop motion animation on the SFX front, and those tactile visuals are what have made Star Wars nerds come back to the franchise again and again, even after the abuse at the hands of The Rise of Skywalker. Both are safe filmmaking, but Skywalker’s safety was rooted in fear. The Mandalorian and Grogu’s is rooted in reminding us the galaxy far, far away is still here, but maybe nicer. The biggest gaffe is Disney’s insistence on rehabilitating characters we liked just fine when they were dicks (see: Predator: Badlands); not everyone needs to see the light. If the Mouse had half a brain it would adapt the best, least nice Star Wars series, Andor, into a movie. Oh, wait…