From the moment it was announced, I knew I was probably not going to see Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu in cinemas.
The Mandalorian Disney+ Series finished it's story with no real pointers towards where a future story might go, beyond 'the further adventures of...' There was nothing to really hook me in.
I did enjoy the series but it never got me invested in the title character or his cute prodigy so much that I wanted to see more.
Unlike the original Mandalorian, Boba Fett, who I was eager to see more of, until he got his own spin off series. Then I just wondered who wanted this particular story, that clarified everything about such a cool and mysterious character until there was no mystery left?
Then we got the trailers for The Mandalorian and Grogu which confirmed it was just a new adventure as a standalone film, with the purpose of introducing the characters to people who hadn't watched the series.
I don't regret not seeing this in cinemas. It's a film that does have cool moments and great action sequences but the story is far from challenging. It's very linear, with the adversaries kind of escalating as things progress.
As the story opens we find out The Mandalorian and his apprentice, Grogu, have been hired to locate several outlaw warlord types and either bring them in or, the less preferred option, eliminate them.
It doesn't really get any deeper than that. There's no mystery to solve (at least not one for the audience to engage with). No big reveal plot twist. It's mostly just a journey to complete the task, overcoming progressively challenging obstacles along the way.
Toward the end I felt the escalation got to a scale purely so the film could end with a bigger bang than was justified for the mission the Mandalorian was on. To the point where I wondered if the massive assist he got from his employer would be deducted from the bounty.
Overall, it's not a bad film by any means. It introduces a few new monsters and enemies, has one or two Easter eggs for long time Star Wars fans to geek over, and, as mentioned, has some very cool action sequences.
It's a good starting point for growing a new generation of younger Star Wars fans (though you may want to watch it first just to gage whether one or two creatures may be nightmare fuel for younger kids). However, if it is intended as a starting point, will we see more adventures of Mando and Grogu?
Generally it's a fun watch that feels inconsequential toward the wider Star Wars universe. It only connects to the original Mandalorian Disney+ series - which is all prequel to this film. It's the kind of film that could get better, or become more compelling should it be blessed with a better written and more engaging sequel. Something to at least compel me to see it in a cinema when released.
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