Note: You can’t trust reviews of Star Wars movies. Not even this one. Certainly traditional movie reviewers have always struggled with Star Wars movies and they see there is a “Disney Star Wars is in disarray” narrative that they want to engage with. Influencers who get lots of perks like set visits are desperate to prove their independence and that they are not Disney shills so their reviews are often looking for edgy hot takes. And of course there are the predicable trolls and haters, the Star Wars “fans” who are determined to hate Star Wars at all costs. So, of course the “reviews” are a hot mess.
Many people are framing this movie with weird existential questions like “Why does this movie exist?” And “Is it a bunch of The Mandalorian episodes stitched together?” This is a strange way to approach a review of a movie. Do you go into any other movie—even a bad one—and question why it exists? That’s a piece of grace we typically give to the difficult endeavor of moviemaking. The Mandalorian and Grogu exists to entertain people and make money like any other Hollywood movie. I don’t know why when talking about Star Wars people all want to put on their studio executive hats and speculate on marketing strategies and the relative position of the franchise.
As far as whether or not this is a bunch of episodes strung together, the story is that originally a fourth season of The Mandalorian was written which was lore-heavy and lead into season two of Ahsoka and the New Republic/Thrawn storyline. Those scripts were deprioritized and this movie was written as a standalone adventure. That doesn’t stop people from speculating about where “the episodes” start and end in this movie because some people are determined to do anything but sit down and enjoy this movie on its own merits. If I were of a mind and wanted to I could also do the same thing with all the Lucas Star Wars movies and show you exactly where the “episodes” would be were it a TV show. But I won’t do that. Because it’s a dumb exercise and a waste of time. Star Wars is based on Flash Gordon adventure serials. It’s always been episodic.
Oh, my review. I almost forgot.
It’s a very straightforward fun movie that takes Star Wars back to its early roots as lighthearted family entertainment. It’s a movie that families can go see without necessarily having seen much Star Wars and enjoy, very much like A New Hope in 1977. Certainly if you enjoyed The Mandalorian, particularly the first season, you will like this movie.
While I’d say it’s mid-level Star Wars, in that it’s pretty simple and unambitious in its storytelling—you are not getting the plotting and tragedy of Revenge of the Sith, the gritty Rebellion intrigue of Rogue One—you are getting a solid fun family friendly adventure, with all of the adorable child-endangerment you loved on the Disney Plus series. Besides, mid-level Star Wars is still awesome. It’s a straight-forward movie that is beautifully made. You are getting the things that cinematic Star Wars has sometimes struggled with in the Disney era: great visual storytelling and imaginative well-thought out design, all the hallmarks of that elusive thing that is “good Star Wars.” This movie is loaded with all kinds of cool creatures and locations, this should be no surprise because The Mandalorian did this so well.
So standouts for me include the planets of Shakari and Nal Hutta. Shakari is an urban environment that at first recalls Coruscant or Daiyu but you soon realize that with its elevated trains, gritty underpasses, and house music-esque audio that it is based on Chicago. I accept this honor on behalf of my city. I want Shakari merch stat. Also I loved that the Salt Bar location looked like a Suncoast video. Something tells me Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni spent many hours of their youths in Suncoast locations.
Nal Hutta, the Hutt homeworld, is appropriately gross and swampy and filled with slimly lounging Hutts, who seem to be occupying every shadowy alcove doing God knows what. The buildings seem to be made out of rotted pumpkins. The surrounding environs have a very bayou almost Splash Water Falls vibe complete with a Cajun-sounding alligator alien on a crudely made rocking chair.
I also really enjoyed the return of Rotta the Hutt, Jabba’s son. I wasn’t sure how this was going to play based on the trailers as Hutts have proven pretty difficult to get right in the past. While Return of the Jedi Jabba remains an amazing achievement in creature design and puppeteering, he doesn’t actually have to do much in the movie. When we’ve had to make Hutts move and emote it his been difficult, ie the Star Wars Special Edition. The twins in The Book of Boba Fett looked great, but again didn’t have to do much. Here Rotta is a gladiator, which means lots of action. Also, he’s a full on character in this movie with lots of emotion and dialogue. It’s okay, mostly because the character works well, I. The same way that you accept the limitations of prequel era Yoda because the technology always you to have a fully realized character who can move and emote despite having a weird uncanny sheen. The performance is good here and Rotta forms who I think will be a centuries long connection with young Grogu.
Lastly, the Anzellans from Rise of Skywalker and season three of The Mandalorian return and there is a delightful section of the movie where they and Grogu go on a little rescue mission together, complete with a tiny spaceship. It’s genuinely cute.
All in all this is a fun movie and I think one that will have a lot of kid appeal, which is great. This may be the movie that thirty years from now adults will remember as being their Star Wars. Despite the fact that it occasionally veers into darkness, Star Wars should always have something for kids to get into which is also well-made enough for adults to enjoy.
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