The Mandalorian and Grogu

by Mike McGranaghan

You know what the worst thing to happen to Star Wars is? No, not Jar Jar Binks. It’s getting bought by Disney. The company has done exactly what so many of us feared; they’ve saturated the market to the point where a new Star Wars movie no longer feels like an event. George Lucas’s universe has become a product to be exploited. The Mandalorian and Grogu exemplifies this. The film is nothing more than an overlong episode of the Disney+ TV series, made to fulfill the need to have a big screen installment every few years.

For months, the preshow at my local AMC has featured a clip of director Jon Favreau saying he wants to make modern audiences feel the same way he felt watching the original Star Wars. If he felt bored and unamused, then I guess he met his goal.

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is hired by the New Republic, under the supervision of Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), to rescue Jabba the Hutt’s kidnapped son Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White). Rotta is being forced to fight in a series of gladiator-type fighting matches. Right there is a perfect example of what’s wrong with the film. The Mandalorian is captured and forced to brawl alongside him. How many times have we seen movie characters being made to take part in gladiator-type fights? Heck, it happened in Attack of the Clones. The entire story is made up of familiar, overused ideas that lack basic imagination, much less magic.

Whereas Star Wars was inspired by Joseph Cambpell’s “Hero’s Journey,” The Mandalorian and Grogu is inspired by prior Star Wars pictures. Remember the trash compactor scene where Luke Skywalker got pulled under by a tentacled creature? A similar sequence can be found here. Laser gun fights and a finale wherein X-Wing fighters have to destroy an enemy compound feel similarly copied. At all times, you sense the movie trying to “give the fans what they want” instead of surprising them with fresh concepts.

Worst of all are the comedic moments, most of which involve Grogu. He’s not a character, he’s a gimmick - a baby Yoda who gets in trouble for randomly pushing buttons on the Mandalorian’s ship and eating too many cookies before dinner. No effort is made to let him be anything other than a baby Yoda. Grogu’s big showcase is a long sequence where he tends to an injured Mando. It runs about 10 or 15 minutes, effectively bringing the pace to a screeching halt. Otherwise, he engages in lame, childish hijinks that don’t hold a candle to the interactions between C-3PO and R2-D2.

I’m of that generation of kids who saw Star Wars in 1977 and had their world rocked. For that reason, there’s still something satisfying about seeing X-Wing fighters, AT-ATs, and Stormtroopers up on the big screen. Those visuals are able to bring back a touch of childhood awe. That’s just imagery, though. The plot offers little of the thrilling excitement that blew our minds back in the day.

Pascal is fine as Mando, and it’s always nice to see Sigourney Weaver, even if her character doesn’t get much of substance to do. On the whole, The Mandalorian and Grogu is packed with dumb ideas, including a muscular Rotta the Hutt, and terrible dialogue, like “Do you know how hard it is to be your own man when your dad is Jabbe the Hutt?” We get it, Disney. You’re checking off boxes of what you think will sell. The Force is not with you this time.