1/2
USA 2026
Opening May 20, 2026
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Writing credits: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Noah Kloor
Principal actors: Pedro Pascal, Martin Scorsese, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, Steve Blum
A fearless bounty hunter appears on the horizon with a cute little green Jedi baby on his shoulder which is enough to make one smile, but will the force be with them? Within minutes the Mandalorian jumps into action, sparks fly, and the battle begins. This is a film that many of the fans from the Disney+ television series have been waiting for, but will this be a film that will attract a bigger audience in these politically dark times? Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is based on characters invented by George Lucas and are connected to the Star Wars franchise and the much-loved Disney+ television series The Mandalorian (2019-2023). The bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) known the Mandalorian has taken the foundling Grogu under his protection as a father figure, and they are now working for the New Republic to hunt down Imperial Warlords. This strong bond between Djarin and Grogu becomes critical to their survival against all odds and brings us closer to the characters who are not just superheroes; they are also vulnerable illustrating the fact that it’s best to be a team as opposed to acting alone. The film is held together by the strength of Pascal’s performance and although the visuals may not be up to everyone’s modern tastes, it is reminiscent of the Star Wars films of 70s. The music composed by Ludwig Göransson who was also responsible for the series is a definite fit to the visual flow of the film. Unfortunately the sequences that use animation with puppets feel awkward and unnatural. The figures move strangely across the screen and perhaps it was supposed to be humorous, but it just doesn’t work.
A pleasant surprise was to see Sigourney Weaver looking better than ever in the role of Colonel Ward. We even have the chance to hear the voice of iconic Martin Scorsese as Hugo the four-armed fuzzy Ardennian shopkeeper who is being harassed by Djarin for information. The scene to track down Rotta the Hutt is one of the few comical moments in the film, and I would have liked to have seen more of that humor to move the plot along instead of so many fighting and action scenes. Although for Star Wars fans, there is a never-ending trail of memorable characters and objects such as the Hutt family, old spaceships, and armies of droids filling the Galaxy of our imagination. The environments of the different planets are fantastic and remind us again of Blade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990), but the main station of the New Republic looks like it was filmed on a beach in Florida. There are a lot of inconsistences which reminds us of budget cuts and high inflation and perhaps this film needed a larger investment to get it to one hundred percent perfection. In the end, it is a film worth watching since there are plenty of explosions and chaos that lead to crazy fight scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen next.132 minutes (Shelly S.)