2026 Summer Movie Season - Star Wars The Mandalorian and Grogu: Review & Analysis

Feeling of The Force!!!!! Mando and Grogu Kickstart The Return of Star Wars With Action-Packed Pomp and Circumstance!!!!

Review By BJ Porter

This is the way.

The Story

In a period of galactic peace, a great darkness grows just under the surface. 5 years after the demise of the emperor, the remnants of the once-prominent galactic empire are slowly rebuilding their ranks, putting them in a position to reemerge and challenge the New Republic to seize back control of the galaxy. A group of New Republic air marshals under the command of Colonel Ward (Sigoruney Weaver) work to try and stifle the growing threat, but are stretched too thin to truly make a dent, especially with members of the Republic senate refusing to take the matter more seriously. Out of options and desperate to get ahead of the curb, Ward decides to enlist some help from the far reaches of the outer rim. Known across the territories for their heroic escapades, a Mandalorian warrior named Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young force-sensitive adoptee Grogu are recruited by Ward to hunt down key figures who are considered high-value targets to the New Republic. In their attempts to provide assistance, Din and Grogu find themselves going from being the hunters to the hunted as they are soon pursued by the surviving members of the infamous Hutt cartel. With enemies closing in from all sides and with the desperation to protect each other growing with each passing moment, Din and Grogu must confront the harsh reality before them and truly decide what is worth fighting for despite what could be at stake regarding the bond they have built together.

Ward Consults With Her New Collaborators Grogu and Din on Adelphi

The Review

For the first time since December 2019, Star Wars makes its long-awaited return to the big screen in the latest cinematic chapter of the saga with the arrival of The Mandalorian and Grogu. Serving as the theatrical continuation of the acclaimed Disney+ series, the film looks to kick off a promising and prosperous new era of cinematic storytelling within a galaxy far, far away. After witnessing this large-scale adventure with the iconic clan of two, The Mandalorian and Grogu, is a thrillingly entertaining adventure within a galaxy far, far away. The decision to do a feature-length film as opposed to a fourth season of the acclaimed series has been met with confusion and, at times, cynical dismissal. Detractors find very little justification for putting two characters that originated on the small screen on the big screen in a story that very well could be told in a standard 8-episode format. All that said, Jon Favreau still manages to deliver a Mandalorian story that may not be the large-scale Star Wars cinematic epic we've been waiting for since the end of the Skywalker saga, but it is still such a thrill to join these iconic characters in an action-packed summer blockbuster filled with everything you want from an adventure movie set in one of the most beloved universes in fiction. The characters are the main thing that makes this film work, and our titular duo of Din Djarin and Grogu is a pair you never get tired of watching on screen. The relationship the two of them have is the heart of the film and is responsible for the majority of the film's laugh-out-loud moments and emotional ones. Pedro Pascal, as always, delivers as Din truly fitting the action hero archetype to a tee. The immaculate stunt work and Pascal's vocal performance make Din such a force to be reckoned with from scene to scene. While Din does the heavy lifting when it comes to the action, Grogu is without question the straight-up star of the film, and let's be honest, the main draw for those coming to see the film. Every moment he is on screen is a delight as the character is brought to life in a way that makes him present and real whenever he shares the screen with another character, real or digital. For those who have grown with this character since his introduction in Season 1 of the series, Grogu has shown tremendous growth as he goes from being helpless to nearly being Din's equal to an obvious extent. The other characters are fun in the time they are given as well. Sigourney Weaver is not in many scenes, but she works well with what she has in her role as Colonel Ward. Zeb from Star Wars Rebels, voiced by the character's original voice actor Steve Blum, is such a fun addition to the movie, and I was thrilled to be able to see him in action more prominently following his brief cameo in Season 3. While I enjoyed the aforementioned performances, the real standout in this film was surprisingly Rotta The Hutt voiced by Jeremy Allen White. This is the character's first real major front-and-center role in a Star Wars story since his franchise debut as an infant in Season 1 of the Clone Wars. This allowed him to be a blank canvas for Favreau to craft a new version of him that fit into his story and his part of the Star Wars canon. The results ended up turning Rotta into one of the movie's best characters. Rotta's is given so much humanity and depth thanks to the voice work of Allen White. Eager to carve out his own path outside of the shadow of his problematic family, Rotta aims to take control of his own destiny and be his own person. Rotta is such a great addition to the Mandalorian and Grogu and the Mandoverse in general and I am eager to see what is in store for him as the timeline expands and continues. 

Ready. Set. HUTT!!!

This brings me to the bantha in the room, which is this film's standing within the mandoverse and the Star Wars cinematic portfolio as a whole. I want to be clear that, as a movie, the film does a ton of things right to make it feel like an authentic Mandalorian adventure. Unfortunately and predictably, that could see a ton of people dismissing this as a glorified condensed season of television. We are so used to seeing Grogu and Din on the small screen that putting them on the big screen can be seen as a safe gamble that doesn't truly push Star Wars forward. While the goal was absolutely to get the franchise back in theaters, you can't help but wonder if some of the other options that were on the table would have made a bigger splash in terms of really signaling that the series wasn't really relying on the familiar, as they've been accused of doing in the past. Let it be known, however, that if you are looking for a Star Wars movie filled to the brim with fun and excitement, you absolutely are going to get your money's worth. This film is a wall-to-wall action fest with set pieces delivering thrilling gun play, hand-to-hand combat, monster battles, adranaline laced ariel battles, and fast-paced chase sequences. It is the type of cinematic thrill ride that is nothing more than big-screen fun. The movie is also as heartfelt as it is explosively thrilling. Most of the biggest emotional moments come in the last act but they are embedded throughout the narrative. All of them are rooted in one Star Wars' core themes having to do with choice. It's a thematic theme that has been within Star Wars since the beginning. The power of choice and what you choose to do with that power you are given. For Rotta, it's the power to choose to be better than his family, who seem keen on continuing the family's destructive traditions. For Grogu, it's the choice to do whatever it takes to not just get himself out of danger, but also protect his father figure. It all works because you care for the characters, which is the main thing that truly makes or breaks a film like this. Sure, the investment in the characters started on Disney +, but for those who are jumping in for the first time, there is enough of an emotional foundation to truly make the trip joyful in more ways than one. All in all, The Mandalorian and Grogu is just a good time within a galaxy far, far away. The action on screen is frenetic and fun, the story is simple and by the numbers, but it is hard not to feel like you didn't have a blast from the first frame to the last. While there is still debate on whether or not this was the best strategy to use when it comes to bringing this franchise back to the theaters, the latest adventure of the clan of 2 is as every bit as forceful of a cinematic thrill ride within this vast galaxy of Star Wars' storytelling portfolio.

Final Score Rating

Filled with action and heart in every frame, the first Star Wars film in over half a decade 
delivers the fun and adventure you expect, despite it not doing more to push the series in
bolder territory

Salute to Star Wars being back!!!