It's been nearly seven years since the last time a Star Wars movie hit theatres. I know that the sequel trilogy and mixed results with Disney+ shows have soured a lot of people on the series, but I will always be excited for new content from the galaxy far far away. I was initially a bit hesitant to the idea of bringing these characters to the big screen, but the trailers honestly won me over quite a bit. While the end result does feel a bit like a tv show made for theatres, there was still something magic about seeing Star Wars on the big screen.
As is the case with The Mandalorian show, the film takes place after the events of the original trilogy. While the rebellion has formed a New Republic, there are still remnants of The Empire sprinkled throughout the galaxy. The Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and his tiny sidekick Grogu (Baby Yoda) work to take out existing warlords, a job that leads them into trouble at many turns.
I'll get started with what sadly doesn't work here, and that's the pacing. The original story for season 4 of the show was reportedly scrapped so the team could make the film as the Mandalorian and Grogu's next chapter, but it does at times still feel like the narrative was made for television. It ultimately feels like two really long episodes, as each half of the film could easily be its own contained story. I still enjoyed following the story that unfolds, but that episodic feeling causes the film to have some rather janky pacing, especially one extended period towards the end of the film that basically stalls out. I still enjoyed what I was watching, but the inconsistent pacing made some scenes flash by while others felt almost like filler episodes. The runtime just doesn't feel right where it is, as the film would benefit from either cutting down to under two hours or going a bit longer and allowing the story to find its footing more.
My other gripe isn't as note worthy, but there are moments where the CGI is a bit lacking. The film brings Zeb from Star Wars: Rebels into live-action, but the effects bringing him to life are a bit mixed. At times he looks great, others he looks just a bit off. Similarly, Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta is a big part of the film, and there are just a few too many moments that he looks like the bad version of Jabba from the 1997 special edition of A New Hope. There are also a lot of new creatures in the film and I sadly didn't love the design on quite a few of them.
For the most part though the effects are great, and the practical work/puppetry bringing some characters to life is fantastic. Grogu may be the cutest creature on the big screen right now, and the puppetry on display not only works perfectly, but also brings you back to the kind of magic that came from the original trilogy. Aside from the two I mentioned, other CGI characters also do look great, especially Hugo Durant (a four armed guy for some reason brilliantly played by the iconic Martin Scorcese), and Embo, a bounty hunter from Clone Wars finally getting the live-action treatment.
I've seen some complain about the look of the film and that's an area I disagree. Aside from a few shots with green screen that feels like it'd be from the show, I thought this looked pretty great. The settings are fantastic and there are moments throughout where the cinematography really wowed me. Big moments also get the benefit of a score from Ludwig Gorannson, one of the greats working today.
The fight scenes are pretty damn good, and as a huge Star Wars fan I loved how the production and costume teams brought a lot of original trilogy sets and uniforms back to life with a modern touch. Of course the real draw of the movie are the two in its title, and the dynamic between Pascal's Mandalorian and Baby Yoda is still as charming as ever. Even with the film's shortcomings, it'd be pretty much impossible to make me not like something that has Baby Yoda snacking a dozen times. This is a pretty safe movie with some narrative flaws, but one that I appreciated nonetheless. 3.5/5
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