{"id":2423256,"date":"2026-05-19T13:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2423256"},"modified":"2026-05-19T13:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:04:38","slug":"the-mandalorian-and-grogu-review-decent-one-off-tries-to-restart-star-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-mandalorian-and-grogu-review-decent-one-off-tries-to-restart-star-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Mandalorian and Grogu&#8217; review: Decent one-off tries to restart &#8216;Star Wars&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F05%2Fnewspress-collage-7k5ihgl6a-1779192408403.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261779178107\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tmovie review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tTHE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Running time: 132 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sci-fi violence and action). In theaters May 22.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d boldly goes where no \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie has gone before.<\/p>\n<p>Like rival \u201cStar Trek,\u201d it\u2019s a movie spun off from a TV series.<\/p>\n<p>The previously unheard of small screen to big screen leap shows how much the galaxy far, far away has changed. Eight years ago, there were no live-action \u201cStar Wars\u201d shows to speak of, and anything Lucasfilm put into theaters at least partly concerned Luke Skywalker and was a giant Hollywood event.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These days, however, the Force isn\u2019t as forceful as it used to be. Even considering the franchise\u2019s 49-year vastness, cute little Baby Yoda from a streaming service is its only sure thing right now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I sense much fear in them.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>And so this is a very different kind of \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie \u2014 an elongated and beefed-up episode of television that aims neither to be part of a broader saga or expound on one. I don\u2019t see \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d as a starting point for a series of films so much as a likable enough one-off with plenty of exciting action set pieces.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda return in \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Lucasfilm\/Disney via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The self-contained adventure directed by the Disney+ series creator Jon Favreau does not try to widen the \u201cStar Wars\u201d universe or even pile onto the \u201cMandolorian\u201d mythology. I wouldn\u2019t dare accuse it of containing character development.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But, you know, the film\u2019s relative modesty comes as something of a relief. Freed from the burden of canonical responsibility, it\u2019s flighty fun; a Western-y space mission that\u2019s commenced and neatly wrapped up inside of two hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The story, such as it is, is as simple as Chewbacca\u2019s vocabulary and there\u2019s no arduous homework to do in advance of seeing it. Unlike Marvel, you don\u2019t have to remember five-year-old TV plots to merely understand what\u2019s going on. The movie is pretty much all shootouts, fights, chases and adorable Baby Yoda antics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and science-fiction Rent-A-Star Sigourney Weaver cashes a check for a couple minutes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) gives Mando a dangerous assignment. <span class=\"credit\">Lucasfilm\/Disney via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The tale is set in the debris of the fallen Empire, with the galaxy lorded over by thugs and slugs. At the start, Mando (Pedro Pascal doing his careless whisper) is tasked by Weaver\u2019s Colonel Ward, a New Republic leader, to gather a piece of intel from the Hutts.<\/p>\n<p>The only way the pair of sleazy worms will help Mando is if he rescues Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), Jabba\u2019s strangely buff kid who\u2019s been enslaved on another \u201cBlade Runner\u201d-like planet and been forced to battle in the fighting pits.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve watched the show, you know that the helmetted Mandalorian \u2014 a k a Din Djarin \u2014 isn\u2019t the chattiest of dudes. So, here aliens do most of the talking, which can be weird.<\/p>\n<p>Rotta especially. He\u2019s akin to a second generation immigrant. While the other Hutts speak their own burbly language or use a heavy accent, Rotta\u2019s smoothly delivered English sounds like he grew up in Secaucus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mando must rescue Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White). <span class=\"credit\">Lucasfilm\/Disney via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYou know how hard it is to be your own man when your father is Jabba the Hutt?,\u201d he moans, not quite ready to return to his cave home. Needless to say, screenwriters Favreau, Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor won\u2019t need to prepare a Writers Guild Award speech.<\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t matter much since Mando and apprentice Grogo\u2019s friendship is, in large part, expressively non-verbal.<\/p>\n<p>The best section of the movie, actually, has no words or adrenaline-charged action at all. Rather the montage brings to mind Jedi trainee Luke sloshing around on Dagobah when pint-sized Grogu steps up to the plate as Mando is in distress. That sweet green puppet really never gets old.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Baby Yoda really never gets old. <span class=\"credit\">Lucasfilm\/Disney via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of course a \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie can\u2019t subsist on \u201caww\u201ds alone.<\/p>\n<p>The many action sequences in which Mando battles water monsters and takes down land vehicles reminiscent of Imperial walkers give you a jolt. They\u2019re scrappy rather than epic, and admittedly nothing matches the scale of any of the clashes in the Rey trilogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yet, like cinematic Nicorette, they do the trick. And they help justify \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d showing at a theater rather than my laptop, because those scenes have been shot to beautifully fill an entire IMAX screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also elevating \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d beyond an episodic is the dynamic score by Oscar-winning composer Ludwig G\u00f6ransson. Yes he also contributed music to the TV series, but he\u2019s taken big career steps since then \u2014 better known as \u201cOppenheimer\u201d and \u201cSinners.\u201d Vibes of the Skywalker films, \u201cThe Good, The Bad and The Ugly,\u201d air-raid sirens and techno beats are combined into one rich and heart-pumping soundscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>G\u00f6ransson should be the successor to John Williams when the next \u201cStar Wars\u201d film comes around \u2014 whenever and whatever that winds up being.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>movie review THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Running time: 132 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sci-fi violence and action). In theaters May 22. \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d boldly goes where no \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie has gone before. Like rival \u201cStar Trek,\u201d it\u2019s a movie spun off from a TV series. The previously unheard of small screen to big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2423257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,21741,21993,21912],"class_list":["post-2423256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-entertainment","tag-films","tag-movies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/The-Mandalorian-and-Grogu-review-Decent-one-off-tries-to-restart.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2423256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2423258,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423256\/revisions\/2423258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2423257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2423256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2423256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}