A Geeky Guy's Guide to Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

This movie really seemed like they took four episodes of The Mandalorian and stitched them together to make a feature length film. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but it is important to know before setting your expectations.

Because I went into expecting nothing more than a long Mandalorian episode, I was not disappointed. I really enjoy the show and love the characters and relationship between Mando and Baby Yoda... I mean Grogu. I got exactly what I was expecting: a simple plot, fun interactions between Mando and Grogu, Grogu being insanely cute and some cool battle scenes. I got all that.

This was a unique movie. Although it was clearly made for kids, it also includes lots of bad guys actually dying. There are no pilots ejecting and Storm Troopers and other villains actually get shot and die... a lot. In fact there are many scenes of Mando just walking into a room and killing literally everyone. These scenes weren't choreographed that well but it was good enough to keep my interest.

One of the very cool things about this movie was the writer/director John Favreau insisting on using practical effects. I'm sure by now that everyone is aware that Grogu is not CGI. He is an old school puppet. Even in this movie, they stay true to that details. At one point Grogu scoops out a paste-like medicine without bending his fingers, wrists or any other joints. He is a puppet with puppet hands. While some may be annoyed by this, I found it endearing. An even better example is a battle scene between Mando, Grogu and two giant robots. The robots were actually animated using stop motion animation. While some may have found this hokey, I found it cool and nostalgic.

Not all of the effects were old school. there were plenty of the high quality special effects we have grown to expect from Lucasfilm. There are plenty of action sequences and space battles to allow them to flex their fx muscles.

But when it comes down to it, this movie (or more likely television show arc) was all about getting to the final act. The first two thirds of the movie was very simple and formulaic. Find the McGuffin. Get the McGuffin. Deal with the problems caused by getting the McGuffin. The only thing I will say about this particular McGuffin is that it is a fantastic call back for fans of the Clone Wars cartoon "movie" (A three episode arc that was released in theaters... kind of like this one).

So was this movie worth it? If you like The Mandalorian television show and you prefer watching movies in Dolby on the big screen, it is definitely worth it. If you are just as happy watching on your phone, you can wait for this to come to Disney+.

Although I enjoyed Mando and Grogu playing father and son, and I do find Grogu cute and funny, the movie would not have been worth it for me if it weren't for that final act. Clearly Favreau and Filoni wrote some insane battle scenes and then were like "OK how do we get to this final battle"? Until that final battle, there really were no stakes or excitement. I knew Mando wasn't going to die early in the movie so it was all a formality that in every crowded room he entered, he'd leave behind a pile of dead bodies. But the final battle did actually have me on the edge of my seat a bit.

So was this movie worth it? If you like The Mandalorian television show and you prefer watching movies in Dolby on the big screen, it is definitely worth it. If you are just as happy watching on your phone, you can wiat for this to come to Disney+.

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