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| Together again for the big screen, in friendship and danger! |
Today at 12.15p.m. I settled down in a lovely comfy seat at the Odeon Leicester Square and saw The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars film of the Disney era since 2019, in a gorgeous Dolby Atmos sound and picture presentation (my preferred choice in seeing blockbuster films these days). I enjoyed a lot of the film, seeing it as a fun adventure within the confines of the George Lucas created vision of the saga, for families to especially enjoy (notably kids between the ages of 6 and 9). It was by no means one of the great Star Wars cinematic adventures, however, due to a thin story (which may, or may not, have been culled together from the scrapped fourth season of The Mandalorian TV series) full of unmined potential over 2 hours and 12 minutes (of which an appearance from the much-missed Gina Carano could have been a major boost), and despite the many lively action set pieces (notably the pre-title sequence, featuring twenty minutes of James Bond-esque knockdowns by our duo against an escaping Imperial remnant) and a cast of creatures that would keep fans of Return of the Jedi's and the Prequel era's weird and wonderful grotesques dizzyingly happy.
And The Mandalorian and Grogu has been made by top-tier talent, many of them returning veterans after seven years away from the big screen (including the likes of John Knoll and Phil Tippett), of which there's some fine motion control model work and lovely production design, though I felt that the CGI was of varying quality (notably with the Hutt villains and Rotta the cage fighter, the latter all grown up and rather a nice chap caught in a bad scenario). Adding a further plus, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Goransson brings another innovative score. In front of the camera, selivering the drama and humour, the guest cast of the film are fine if a little under-used (special mention to Sigourney Weaver, who looks great piloting a New Republic fighter), and there are some fun cameos here and there (Martin Scorsese finally joins the Star Wars universe - now its Coppola's turn!) in a fun alien cameo that's perfect for the edgy, diminutive director! The primary focus of the film, however, is the delightful relationship between the Mandalorian (played once again by Pedro Pascal, as well as other stunt men who are deservedly credited) and cute Grogu (still expertly puppeteered). But this emotional quality between them that would make the early seasons of The Mandalorian such a success sadly remains the same from what's been previously established - there's no further growth between them when this film really needs more impact in their unique character arc. Perhaps their ongoing potential is being saved for future tales in film and/or TV. but the idea of a Mandalorian & Grogu film bringing its unique universe of characters together (like Avengers Assemble) now seems unlikely - a shame, really, as this was what we should have had in the first place, cinematically!
All-in-all, there's some great visual flourishes from Favreau, lovely cinematography, and some fun Easter Eggs (enjoy the Dejarik fight made real!), but the film ultimately can't shake away its TV roots, try as it might (there's at least three episodes pulled together). But don't let that TV translation problem put you off from seeing it. Favreau and Dave Filoni are not hacks (as they've often unfairly been called by some critics during the run-up to this film's release) - they love the Star Wars legacy that they grew up with, and they are clearly having a great time bringing this film to audiences. There's a lot in this film that works well, despite not earning classic status...
AFICIONADO RATING: It's not perfect, it has a bit of an eclectic mixing of elements at times, but if you get a chance to see the film on a big screen, take it. It's overall worth the trip, and better than the majority of episodes within the prior TV series' under-whelming third season. 3 out of 5
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| Art by Paul Shipper, but where were the TIE fighters in the film? |
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