There have been twelve feature films in the franchise that started with Star Wars (1977). Eleven of them were live-action. One was animated. There have been 18 television series. The five initial series were all animated. The Mandalorian (2019) was the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise. It was also the first Star Wars series on Disney Plus. That show was a huge hit. It became one of the most-watched shows on streaming television. It become the first non-Netflix show to reach number-one on Nielsen Media's ranked chart. It was critically acclaimed, nominated for 15 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. It won 7 Emmys for its first season, including Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Music Composition, Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Sound Editing, Outstanding Sound Mixing, Outstanding Special Visual Effects and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. It was designed to be akin to the Western genre, built on a lot of action, mainly shootouts. There have been a number of feature films that have been announced or are in development within the Star Wars franchise. Many of them have not materialized, mainly due to financial troubles and even creative troubles at the Walt Disney Company, which owns the franchise. However, given the success of the 2019 show, it makes sense that it would be the one to make it across the finish line and be adapted into this feature.
Pedro Pascal (The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Gladiator II) stars as Din Djarin, a bounty hunter who used to work for himself. He comes from a group of warriors, known as the Mandalorians. The Mandalorians are a very secretive group that hide their identities by hearing a helmet. They also wear armor that's virtually indestructible, made of a metal that's very rare and valuable. They also have a lot of technological enhancements, blasters and flame-throwers. They even have jet packs, which allow them to fly. There aren't that many Mandalorians left. Din is one of the few that pops up on planets around the galaxy, so much so that people simply call him "Mando."
If you haven't seen the TV series, it should be known that Mando rescues a child that is the same species as Yoda, the Jedi master from The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Not much is known about Yoda's species, except that they don't grow to be any taller than three feet in height. They're humanoid but also frog-like in appearance in terms of their color and mannerisms but they have long, pointy ears like a mouse or some kind of dog. Because the child didn't have a name in the first season, people referred to the child as "Baby Yoda," even though the show takes place after Yoda has died. It's not till half-way through the second season that the child's name is revealed to be "Grogu" who is 50 years old but Yoda was 900 years old when he died, so Grogu being 50 still qualifies him as being a child. He can't talk yet. He acts like a toddler for the most part. The Jedis took Grogu and were training him to be a Jedi, but when the Jedis were killed, Grogu was put into hiding. Someone tracked Grogu and was going to kill him but Mando rescued Grogu and adopted the child. Mando became Grogu's de facto father, as well as protector.
Now that Mando works for the New Republic, which is the new government that oversees the galaxy now that the Empire was taken down in Return of the Jedi (1983). The series and now this feature take place less than a decade after the events of that 1983 film. There are still some people who are involved with the Empire or who are loyal to the Empire that are still out there in the galaxy. The New Republic is trying to find those people and stop them from bringing back the Empire. The New Republic has hired bounty hunters like Mando to seek out those Empire loyalists or Imperial forces. Sigourney Weaver (Avatar and Alien) co-stars as Colonel Ward, one of the military leaders in the New Republic who hires Mando for his latest job.
Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and The Iron Claw) also co-stars as Rotta the Hut, a character that was first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), the first animated feature in the franchise. Rotta is the son of Jabba the Hut, the character introduced in Return of the Jedi. Jabba is a large, slug-like creature that is a crime lord. He's like a mafia boss that set up a palace on Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine. In The Clone Wars, Rotta is kidnapped and needs the Jedis to rescue him. Rotta was just a baby then. Now, Rotta is a grown man and like Gladiator II, he's become a champion fighter who is being forced to engage in death matches. Mando is told that he has to rescue Rotta from certain death and deliver him to his aunt and uncle.
Rotta is arguably the most interesting character in the film. His father was one of the villains of Return of the Jedi, and Rotta grew up with this cloud of being connected to a criminal organization that has done bad things. Rotta wants to break away from that and live a better life, as well as be a good person. He's been forced into being a warrior and have to kill in order to survive, but, despite that existence, he would still rather be a good person. If he has to fight, he'd rather fight for good reasons. He also has to learn to trust Mando who doesn't have much compunction over killing people, if they get in the way of him accomplishing his mission.
It's not that Mando is heartless or doesn't have compassion. Mando's feelings and ostensible love for Grogu is proof of that. Mando usually only kills bad guys, such as Imperial forces or deadly criminals who have been pursuing Grogu. For the most part, he's been Grogu's protector. There is an interesting turn where Grogu has to be Mando's protector. It seems unlikely that Grogu who is around one foot in height and doesn't really have much of any fighting skills would be Mando's protector. However, this film, directed and co-written by Jon Favreau (The Lion King and Iron Man), does manage to turn the tables and make Grogu the hero and protector at least for a little while. Given how most people liked Grogu for how cute he was when he was first introduced in 2019, Favreau provides a large chunk where people can indulge in Grogu's cuteness and adorable nature.
Of course, the majority of the film is watching Mando doing kick-ass action. He's not a Jedi Master, but he might as well be one, given how proficient and almost flawless he is in his fighting skills or ability to accomplish any mission. Aside from that one sequence with Grogu, Mando is almost unstoppable. Favreau does craft adversaries that are meant to give him a hard time, but they don't seem to give him much of a run for his money. The one possible exception is a character named "Embo" who was first introduced in the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020). I wish more would have been made between the eventual battle between Mando and Embo, but seeing their action scene alone will have to be enough.
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 12 mins.
In theaters.
