Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
So I loved The Mandalorian for two seasons and didn't bother watching the third because I just got out of watching Star Wars television entirely because while I do like Star Wars, I'm content with sticking to the movies.
I'm not original at all here but Mando and Grogu really are a great team. Yes, Grogu is incredibly adorable, and the puppetry and mixture of CGI is done really well. Yes, the once distant man taking care of this little baby Yoda still works even though it's been years. Yes, all the drama that matters, all the emotional beats, rely on these two. And that's fine! The nomenclature literally tells you what this is up front. Honestly, they're enough.
The movie's kind of weird. There are plenty of times when this movie looks fantastic, such as when Mando is walking through the city and it's a low shot that slowly reveals more. That's moody and atmospheric. Great cinematography and framing. Then other times the movie's incredibly corny. Rotta the Hutt has a good backstory, but watching him slap meat with other creatures looks cheesy. When you watch him at the end slapping meat with other Hutts it's hard not to laugh. But then other fight scenes are cool and Mando specifically shows how badass he is. But the highs definitely outweigh the lows. Really it's just that the visuals sometimes contrast in weird ways so you have a movie that looks like a 9/10 sometimes and 6/10 others.
Weirdly though, whenever Mando is just walking it looks cool.
I will never understand why Disney felt like this would be the movie to bring Star Wars back to the big screen. I'm not knocking points because it feels like a long TV episode because a) I'm okay with it and b) I review based on what something is trying to accomplish. But it does have to be said how stupid it was to think this was it. This is the kind of movie you drop when the big Episode is out and you want to fill in the space between the next one. I think it would review better overall too.
I like this more than the most recent trilogy. I like it more than Solo (which surprised me). I don't like it more than Rogue One. Rogue One was fantastic. I think I prefer it over the actual most recent Episodes because there's a real heart in there because of the two leads. That's more than the sequels had. That's also what Rogue One gets right, among other things.
I'm not original at all here but Mando and Grogu really are a great team. Yes, Grogu is incredibly adorable, and the puppetry and mixture of CGI is done really well. Yes, the once distant man taking care of this little baby Yoda still works even though it's been years. Yes, all the drama that matters, all the emotional beats, rely on these two. And that's fine! The nomenclature literally tells you what this is up front. Honestly, they're enough.
The movie's kind of weird. There are plenty of times when this movie looks fantastic, such as when Mando is walking through the city and it's a low shot that slowly reveals more. That's moody and atmospheric. Great cinematography and framing. Then other times the movie's incredibly corny. Rotta the Hutt has a good backstory, but watching him slap meat with other creatures looks cheesy. When you watch him at the end slapping meat with other Hutts it's hard not to laugh. But then other fight scenes are cool and Mando specifically shows how badass he is. But the highs definitely outweigh the lows. Really it's just that the visuals sometimes contrast in weird ways so you have a movie that looks like a 9/10 sometimes and 6/10 others.
Weirdly though, whenever Mando is just walking it looks cool.
I will never understand why Disney felt like this would be the movie to bring Star Wars back to the big screen. I'm not knocking points because it feels like a long TV episode because a) I'm okay with it and b) I review based on what something is trying to accomplish. But it does have to be said how stupid it was to think this was it. This is the kind of movie you drop when the big Episode is out and you want to fill in the space between the next one. I think it would review better overall too.
I like this more than the most recent trilogy. I like it more than Solo (which surprised me). I don't like it more than Rogue One. Rogue One was fantastic. I think I prefer it over the actual most recent Episodes because there's a real heart in there because of the two leads. That's more than the sequels had. That's also what Rogue One gets right, among other things.
Mini Review: I enjoyed this more than almost every modern Star Wars movie, but it's a little messy. Leans hard on Mando and Grogu still working, which they do. The visuals are all over the place. At times it's shot astounding well, or the puppetry is great, but then other times it looks cheap and cheesy. The action is hit or miss. The plot is slight but I mean, it is what it is. I think there was some emotion in there occasionally.
More Reviews of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
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