Film Review: Star Wars — The Mandalorian & Grogu

Directed by Jon Favreau | Starring Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White | In cinemas now

From its opening frame, The Mandalorian & Grogu announces itself with unmistakable authority. Din Djarin cuts through a gauntlet of adversaries with the cool, unhurried precision of a man who has never once doubted his odds — and just like that, the pulse is set. What follows is nearly two hours of unapologetic, full-throttle Star Wars at its most cinematic: spaceship dogfights that fill the IMAX frame edge to edge, ferocious hand-to-hand combat, and planetary landscapes rendered with a scope and detail that earns every inch of the big screen.

This is the franchise's first proper theatrical outing in years, and Jon Favreau — architect of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Mandalorian television phenomenon — ensures it feels like an event, not merely an extended episode. The world-building here is extraordinary. Entire planets were constructed on warehouse-scale stages in Los Angeles, blending stop-motion, miniatures, practical puppetry, and cutting-edge ILM visual effects into something that feels simultaneously ancient and astonishing. Favreau's guiding philosophy — that the best Star Wars is eighty percent grounded reality — is evident in every frame.

Then there is Grogu. Performed by a small village of puppeteers, animatronics specialists, and digital artists, the little green scene-stealer delivers what can only be described as a genuine performance — by turns courageous, comedic, and quietly moving. The craft behind him is extraordinary; you simply forget there are thirty servos and five operators involved.

Pedro Pascal, alongside suit performers Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, brings the Mandalorian to life with a warmth that deepens what began as reluctant guardianship into something altogether more profound. The father-and-apprentice dynamic at the story's core gives the relentless action its emotional ballast — and it lands. Sigourney Weaver arrives as the formidable Colonel Ward, all veteran authority and dry wit, and slots into the Star Wars galaxy as though she has always belonged there.

Capping it all is Ludwig Göransson's score, expanded for this outing to a 106-piece orchestra and 64-voice choir. It is lush and traditionally orchestral, yet distinguished by synthesised flourishes that feel genuinely original — music that doesn't simply accompany the action but propels it.

Whether you're a devotee who has followed Din Djarin from the very first episode, or someone experiencing this fifty-year franchise for the very first time, The Mandalorian & Grogu offers something rare: a blockbuster with genuine soul. The Force, it seems, is very much alive and well.

This is the way. ★★★★½

The Big Curious attended a media premiere courtesy of Shout Communications.