Star Wars

The Mandalorian and Grogu Review: A fun little romp

Brighton Nelson

23 May 2026 — 6 min read

As somebody who was disappointed by the trailers for this film, and really disappointed by Season 3's lack of coherence with previously established lore. However, given that I enjoyed the first two seasons, there hasn't been a Star Wars movie for seven years, and I am always an advocate for the non-main-episode Star Wars. So, did this movie feel like a couple of mediocre episodes, strung together boringly like the trailer suggested, or was it so much more? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be discussing in today's article. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy me!

As usual, I'll start with the negatives, then move to the positives. While I really didn't mind the editing, which was quite obviously telegraphing where each episode would start and end, I did mind that Mando and Grogu were practically static characters again. Ever since the two reunited in a somewhat unceremonious manner, it feels like nobody knows what to really do with them. I don't mind the idea of a reunion, as it feels wrong that Grogu would abandon Mando, but the execution has been middling at best. If Grogu and Mando hadn't reunited in The Book of Boba Fett and instead had reunited in this film, the film would've had a baked-in selling point and more gravitas for why this adventure is important. If Season 3 had simply focused on the badassery of Mando taking Mandalore (and was actually good and had not butchered so much previous lore), and had left a hole in our hearts with the absence of Grogu, both the show and this movie could've benefited from this.

Also, while I appreciate the idea of Mando becoming the Punisher and just killing dudes who wrong The New Republic, that formula makes far more sense on the small screen. When the whole movie revolves around a random job and neither the characters nor the overall Star Wars mythos advance over the course of the plot, it feels completely wrong. When the only character arc here is Grogu going from childish to slightly less childish, that's not great. It's understandable why many people are saying this should have been just the first three episodes of Season 4, or that it's just a general misfire in the first place—there's simply not enough weight here, and the story doesn't feel cinematic. Instead, it's just a couple of B-tier Mando episodes stitched together that don't quite cut through as a movie experience.

Aside from the fact that this movie feels like a weird, slightly irrelevant snapshot, the film has a couple of other faults. There are a few times in the film where the pacing ground to a halt, and the movie also completely underutilized Embo and Zeb—they deserved more screen time. If we're going to have cameos, they need to be cameos done right. It's nice that it doesn't feel like a movie only focused on being a cameo-fest, but it also just feels like these two characters were parodies of what they used to be. At least they didn't bastardize these characters as badly as Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett... But that's an incredibly low bar. The film also lacks stakes, as there's no moment when the characters feel truly in danger. While I'm not saying I need the characters to die, in other Star Wars movies, they at least feel in danger!

I also feel like it is very questionable that the rise of the First Order isn't tackled at all here, outside of one throw-away line of dialogue. While I'm pretty sure that's what the potential Season 4 would've tackled, I think this would've been a perfect place to start establishing the Mandoverse version of the events of Andor, but leading up to Episode 7 instead of Episode 4. I know that Ahsoka Season 2 is probably going to set that up, but leaving breadcrumbs behind would've been nice... and Ahsoka and the other Rebels characters have just been duds in live-action, unfortunately.

The only other negatives to discuss are the CGI, some of the acting performances, and the dialogue. It felt like Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White were phoning it in with pretty much every one of their lines. Also, some of the enemies in this arena looked a little odd, especially with the weird dark camerawork that also looks overly lit in random parts of the screen. And, of course, the dialogue struggles to cut through, as some of it feels like people are just telling their motivations rather than showing them.

Conversely, there's a lot more good here than many are giving it credit for, and its positives do really outweigh the bad! Mando and Grogu's relationship is great as ever, and this is one of the best movies of the year to take your young son to because the father-son relationship here is great. There are some truly great action scenes here, with a variety of different set pieces and combatants that make the film feel decently fresh. This film almost feels like a creature feature at times, with how many awesome creature designs there are here! The music by Ludwig Göransson has also officially joined Nicholas Britell and Brandon Roberts of Andor fame as being able to live up to John Williams himself. The music is my second favorite part of the film here!

But, best of all, is Rotta the Hutt. Somehow, we've gotten two movies centered on Rotta stitched together from a few TV episodes. Cue Dr. Doofenshmirtz quote or whatever. However, while he was useless and annoying last time around, he's easily the best part of this film, even if the voice acting was subpar. And, yes, I thought it was awesome he was jacked, I'm all for breaking down the Hutt stereotypes! By the time the film is concluding, and a certain scene happens, you're just hoping Rotta will become the unsung hero of the next 25 years leading up to The Force Awakens.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 66%
Letter Score: B
Star Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

The Mandalorian and Grogu may struggle to move its characters forward in any interesting ways—save the MVP, Rotta the Hutt—and its story feels like a circular argument. There's still plenty of fun action, marvelous music, and cute character moments to justify pulling up to the local theater opening weekend.

Interested in checking out some recent reviews for some other sci-fi and action films? See them below!