Critic reviews of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu are rolling in, with some saying it’s a “ton of fun” and others calling it a “snooze fest.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu Reviews
FilmSpeak’s Griffin Schiller said the movie is “fine? An inoffensive, technically impressive spectacle that’s kinda a snooze fest.”
He said it’s structured like an abridged season of The Mandalorian series on Disney+ and “plays like watching the cutscenes of a Star Wars video game instead of playing one.”
He said the writing is weak and lacks emotional connection but “it’s a nice return to the pulpiness and simplicity of the first two seasons.”
Schiller praised Ludwig Göransson’s score, saying the composer “is working overtime to deliver the goods.”
Fandango’s Erik Davis also had good words about the score, which “felt like an homage to ‘80s synth-driven horror and action thrillers.”
Regarding the rest of the film, he called it a “thrilling adventure full of big fights, gnarly creatures and plenty of adorable Grogu moments. It’s less about the lore and more a fun, freaky romp across the galaxy. I really dug that about it.”
He added, “It reminded me how fun #StarWars can be when it stops worrying about canon homework and just cuts loose. Treat it like a pulpy Saturday matinee ride and you’ll have a blast.”
Peter Sciretta of /Film said the movie is “actually a lot of fun” despite feeling like a “supersized high budget few episodes” of the Disney+ show. Like many critics, Sciretta said the Anzellans “steal the show.”
Variety’s Courtney Howard said the movie is “a ton of fun” and the “perfect Summer movie” with “a lot of humor & heart.” Contrasting some of the other reviews, Howard didn’t feel like the movie was “episodic” and called it a “fully cinematic journey.”
Reporter Jonathan Sim, on the other hand, thought The Mandalorian and Grogu is “one of the weakest ‘Star Wars’ movies,” calling it an “emotionless, predictable experience that doesn’t push Din Djarin anywhere interesting. Dull, unexciting fight scenes; just CGI monsters. Action figures mashed together. A long, colorless made-for-TV movie.”
Collider’s Peri Nemiroff was mixed about characters. She said she’s “defenseless” against Grogu and the Anzellans — “Irresistibly cute and also a filmmaking feat I cannot get enough of.”
However, Nemiroff didn’t love Rotta the Hutt. “Live action Hutts are a challenge to pull off, a gladiator Hutt even more so, and it didn’t help that Rotta’s dialogue was often too on the nose. He did grow on me, but it feels like there was a more compelling way to convey his place in the world and his mission.”
Germain Lussier of Gizmodo and io9 called the movie a “longer, bigger episode of the show” with “one or two stand out scenes” that “feels much more interested in developing the story to new locations with new creatures than the characters.”
The first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu will be in theaters on May 22. Are you excited to see the film? Let us know on social media.
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