Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu 3D Movie Review
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu 3D Movie Review
Written By: Adolph Vega
Introduction (Written before I watched the movie):
To be 100% honest and transparent I am not particularly excited for this movie. I just feel like Disney never had a coherent plan with Star Wars franchise. I still don’t understand the strategy beyond simply making money. I guess Disney has ultimately won, because they got my 3D IMAX movie ticket. If I wasn’t reviewing this movie for the website, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to watch this movie in theaters.
From the 3Dor2D team I am probably the only member who still has some positivity towards the Star Wars franchise. The more I think about the sequel trilogy, the more I dislike those movies. Solo: A Star Wars Story was decent, but it didn’t capture my interest or imagination. Creatively speaking I don’t know where this franchise is going.
I do genuinely love the original Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope). I adore the shot of Luke looking out at the dual sunset. This introduction is partly my homage to the opening text scrolls that introduced the various films. I watched New Hope countless times growing up, and there’s still something special about that movie’s vibe. Star Wars was never really part of my identity the way it is for other people. I wasn’t quoting lines constantly or obsessing over the characters or lore. I’ve watched all the movies, but I skipped all of the TV shows outside of The Mandalorian. I heard that Andor is incredible. I heard that it’s a powerful show about fascism. Honestly I don’t want my fiction to mirror 2020’s reality, so I skipped it. I want to escape this nightmare of the current decade. I still have affection for the universe itself, but I don’t feel excited for new Star Wars content anymore.
When The Mandalorian tv show released in 2019 I watched it out of morbid curiosity. I really enjoyed the first season. I liked season 2, and I felt like the season ended the story perfectly (Strange CGI aside). When season 3 was announced I walked away from the franchise. I thought to myself: Disney is just milking a new franchise again — why add more to that story? So I never watched season 3 of The Mandalorian. From what I heard online, that third season ended up being a fairly divisive season anyway.
Anyway when this movie was announced I had the biggest eye roll in the galaxy. Of course Disney would have to make this into a movie. Baby Yoda (I know that’s not his real name) merch sold crazy. I watched trailers to this movie, and I had no idea what was going on with the plot of this film. I literally typed up this introductory section in the theater before the trailers started. I watched the IMAX 3D trailer for this movie, and I wasn’t impressed with the 3D aspect. Ugh - what have I gotten myself into?
So I’m going into this movie with a “meh” mentality. I will try my best to wipe away my biases and frustrations with Disney and try to enjoy the movie for what it is. We shall see. I wonder how they will incorporate seasons 1-3 and also keep it self-contained for anyone who hasn’t watched the show. I have no idea, how they will do that. We shall see. I’m not hyped. I want to be proven wrong. I have an open mind, and I want to enjoy this movie. We shall see.
3D
Overall the 3D aspect of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is fine, but it rarely wowed me.
The 3D depth is generally pretty shallow throughout most of the movie. I watched it in IMAX 3D and there were multiple darker scenes where the 3D was still visible but it was definitely muted. I had some minor issues with bright lights in dark environments. There are some genuinely nice layers of 3D on occasion though. The 3D shines especially in environments where characters are looking downward from tall cliff heights. Those scenes benefit a lot from the added 3D depth, and these scenes become much more visually engaging because of the 3D.
Some action scenes actually become harder to follow because so much is happening visually. There are moments where explosions, fast movement, smoke and lighting all combine into a mess where the 3D almost works against the clarity.
That said, there are absolutely some standout sequences. The aerial shots often look phenomenal, while some cockpit scenes genuinely make you feel like you are inside the ship with the characters. Pop-out effects are mostly not a factor, although the film has a few moments with 3D pop. Several shots feature guns pointing directly toward the audience.
The biggest 3D highlight is probably an underwater sequence. This scene was filled with bubbles floating around in 3D space. Another standout moment happens in a bar scene where feathers float around after the brawl.
It’s solid overall — not going to lie about that — but it never consistently reaches “wow” territory. Ironically it ended up looking better than the initial trailers suggested. Still, I worry non-IMAX viewers may struggle more with some of the darker sequences.
This is a hard 3D score to give because most of the movie sits in the “adequate” range, but every now and then it suddenly looks genuinely great.
Overall, The Mandalorian and Grogu movie looks solid in 3D. Some of the odd cinematography really hampered the 3D potential that the film had.
Final 3D Score: 7/10
Movie
I was wondering how the Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu movie would work for someone who hasn’t watched the entirety of the show. Or even if you never watched the show at all. The film is very easy to jump into regardless of whether you watched tv show at all. Obviously some character context is missing without watching the show, but the movie gives you enough information through dialogue to follow along.
The plot is extremely basic. Mando and Grogu go on various adventures to deal with the bad guys. You get a standard Star Wars style opening block of text — although it doesn’t crawl. The opening sequence in the snowy environment is a very smart and simple way to introduce this narrative. So don’t fear if you aren’t fully caught up with the show or other Star Wars content. The movie has several bad guys that Mando must hunt for, and it takes you to many different locations and you meet many different people.
The movie is packed with action. Tons of it. Mostly hand-to-hand combat with some flying sequences mixed in. If anything there may actually be too much action because eventually you become numb to it. So many aliens and enemies are dying constantly that the violence starts to feel weightless. I never really doubted the main characters would be fine in the end.
Mando himself is kind of a weird protagonist because he alternates between being unstoppable to suddenly being completely disabled. It almost feels bipolar in terms of capability and it’s jarring. I appreciate that he isn’t fully invincible, but the movie needed more basic consequences, more visible damage, more limping, more bandages, it just doesn’t have any real stakes.
Grogu is a cute sidekick. He is mute but has many memorable moments throughout the movie. Mando is very admirable in how honorable he is. Pedro Pascal is excellent in this role and has a great presence on screen. In a surprising twist I really enjoyed the multi armed merchant role. This character is played by a cinematic legend and I really enjoyed his performance. I do like these characters and actors, but all of the characters are very one dimensional. You really don’t get to know any of these characters.
The soundtrack is excellent overall and works extremely well during action scenes and emotional beats. The music and sound effects all fit perfectly and it feels distinct (no imperial march).
The biggest thing about this movie is that it is NOT trying to be deep or profound. It’s basically just a straightforward action adventure about an honorable dude and his little buddy going around defeating bad guys. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. I enjoy fun simple movies and not everything needs to be serious or profound. The problem is there also isn’t much that feels memorable. It’s fun simple fluff. I think a lot of people will walk out satisfied enough and then completely forget this movie exists within two weeks.
Visually the movie looks good. It captures that grimy used-future atmosphere from the original trilogy surprisingly well. It looks lived in and has excellent practical effects and the production is quality. That being said I did find some of the visual design to be messy and hard to follow. I had no issues with the CGI.
The movie at least feels distinct compared to other films and is its own thing. None of the dialogue feels painfully awkward like the prequels. It thankfully avoids the endless over-explaining that dragged down Solo. It also avoids the constant “building toward something” feeling that haunted the sequel trilogy. This movie is just a simple action movie set in the Star Wars cinematic universe. Nothing more, nothing less.
The movie’s pacing can be wildly inconsistent. The middle section drags HARD. I understand narratively why the movie slows down there, but it still noticeably kills momentum for a while. It just seems to sputter out after some enjoyable action sequences. The movie both feels too long and like it’s missing some important scenes to help transition between the scenes.
The movie has some light humor elements throughout. Most of the humor involves Grogu. It works well enough and thankfully they don’t overdo it. The comedy stays relatively grounded and light.
At the end of the day I don’t regret watching it. I wasn’t angry walking out of the theater. I also have zero interest in watching it again. It’s just a fun, simple romp that I’ll probably forget pretty quickly outside of remembering that lots of aliens got blown up. The movie genuinely feels like a few episodes of a TV show stitched together into one big-budget adventure. Yes it’s a stand alone movie, but it also doesn’t feel like a truly cinematic experience. It just doesn’t justify itself as a film meant for the cinema. The movie never fully justifies why it needed to exist as a theatrical film.
Does this movie give me hope for the future of Star Wars? Honestly no, not really. I think the filmmakers proved they can make a competent movie. The problem is competence isn’t the same thing as memorable storytelling. Nothing about the movie is bad. The characters are fine. The visuals are fine. The action is fine. Everything is just… fine.
“Adequate” and “competent” are honestly the two most accurate words I can use to describe the The Mandalorian and Grogu movie. The Mandalorian and Grogu is a totally fine movie that is largely forgettable.
Final Movie Score: 6/10
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https://movies.disney.com/star-wars-the-mandalorian-and-grogu
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