Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Rated PG-13 • Theaters

It’s been seven years since The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up the sequel trilogy, leaving Star Wars fans with mixed emotions over the state of the galaxy far, far away. The problem with the sequel trilogy, which began with The Force Awakens (2015), was that Lucasfilm didn’t go into the project with a clearly defined story arc, instead letting filmmaker J.J. Abrams retell the classic story with his own spin. He seeded the film with cryptic hints about later developments, but he didn’t plan for where the story was headed. Rian Johnson, who directed the next installment, put his own stamp on the story, undoing Abrams’ groundwork and alienating many fans. Abrams came back to get the franchise on track, but the final entry in the trilogy was so lacking in originality that he didn’t win back the fans.

At about this time, Disney needed original content to boost subscribers to its new streaming platform Disney+. Lucasfilm started cranking out streaming content, and much of that content was of uneven quality. The emotions of diehard fans started to become less mixed and more hostile toward parent company Disney. But it wasn’t all bad. Both critics and fans approved of the first season of The Mandalorian—a Western-inspired series about a tough-as-nails bounty hunter who rescues an alien child the internet quickly nicknamed “Baby Yoda.”

In these years, Lucasfilm hadn’t abandoned theatrical releases, it just couldn’t finish projects. During her tenure, former president Kathleen Kennedy announced plans for numerous films that never materialized. Now Lucasfilm is pivoting back to theaters in hopes of restoring some of the franchise’s prestige, but it’s once again playing it safe, adapting its most popular small-screen duo for the big screen.

The Mandalorian and Grogu takes place during the years after the Empire’s defeat in Return of the Jedi (1983). Mando is no longer a gunslinger for hire. He and his force-sensitive ward work for the New Republic, rounding up imperial warlords who remain at large. But in tracking their latest target, Mando and Grogu run afoul of the galaxy’s most notorious crime family—the Hutts.

The movie has much to commend it. It preserves the father/son bond between the protagonists that gave the show its emotional core, while making use of the bigger screen—the movie was filmed for IMAX—and the bigger budget to tell a story with expansive visuals. Even though the film is rated PG-13, it’s safe for younger kids who don’t mind sci-fi action. There’s no foul language or sensuality. Mando is a one-man killing machine, but for the most part, his action-packed battles remain bloodless. As is typical for Star Wars, this film has plenty of humor. Mando might be a no-­nonsense tough guy, but his nonverbal sidekick peppers the film with amusing moments that are also terribly cute.

In many ways, The Mandalorian and Grogu manages to recapture the look and feel of George Lucas’ original trilogy, and fan response has been mostly positive. Those steeped in Star Wars lore will delight at some of the inclusions, but knowing the back story isn’t necessary. Folks unfamiliar with the series can enjoy the film because it tells you everything you need to know. Even so, the film has its faults.

The 132-minute running time is about 20 minutes too long. The second half drags, and a couple of scenes don’t add anything to the story, a likely byproduct of the studio’s request that filmmaker Jon Favreau scrap the TV series’ fourth season to make this film. And while the visuals are impressive, one of the computer-generated Hutts never looks quite as real as the giant Jabba puppet from Return of the Jedi.

Despite its deficiencies, the movie succeeds because it respects the franchise and the audience—it contains none of the agenda-laden storytelling that marred some of the other TV shows. And embedded in this story about a grizzled warrior and his adopted son is a message America, in the midst of a demographic crisis, needs to hear. As Mando says, “The old protect the young, and then the young protect the old.”

The question is, can Disney convince folks who have grown accustomed to watching Star Wars stories on the small screen to head to the theater to watch the next installment? This film makes a tentative step toward that goal, but fans are still waiting for a truly cinematic Star Wars experience.