Cinematic Point Of View

Memorial Weekend rolled around and we needed something to do on a rainy Saturday. I’d glanced at the early reviews of The Mandalorian and Grogu before going in, so I set expectations to low, switched off the critical brain as best I could, and we headed out.

And you know what? I kinda actually loved it.

It’s no Rogue One, nor does it touch any of the original 3, but it had more genuinely fun moments than almost any other Star Wars movie in recent memory. Sure, the story feels very episodic in nature, but it still comes across as a sort of cozy, meandering space adventure. It’s heart is in the right place.

There are ton of little moments and set pieces that I allowed myself to be won over by. I’m just going to “out of context” rattle them off as not to spoil too much.

The Mando detective scenes in Act One. The AT-AT fight sequence. The rain assassin scene. The cozy swamp shack and swamp creature who offers food to Grogu. The little Anzellans, their funny dialogue. and their tiny spaceship. I thought it was interesting to see the inside of the Hutt home. The stop-motion giant robots in the third act.

When I really gave myself over to it instead of thinking about what it wasn’t, I started to appreciate all the little things. I could really feel and see director Jon Favreau stuffing in every little, weird old-school touch in this movie. I kept seeing shades of The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story, and even a little bit of Riddick.

There is a stretch in the Act Two where Grogu is nursing Mando back to health that makes the movie for me. Some people might call a lot of this “filler,” but this is the stuff I love. I’m happy to have a film that doesn’t put the weight of the world on the story. It felt like a breath of fresh air. Very old school. I know that won’t be for everyone though.

There is one thing I really wish they had done differently though. More Pedro Pascal face time. I think it would have helped the movie feel more like a movie than just a charming space romp. My hope is that they’ll make another one of these and pony up for a bigger budget and more face time for Mando.
I give this one a big A for effort. I was totally surprised by how much I liked it.

It’s a lot fun if you’re open to it.

Am I saying this a great piece of cinematic history? Probably not. Am I saying you can have a good time with it if you’re a fan of The Mandalorian? Absolutely, all day long.