Year of Release: 2026
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Steve Blum, Jeremy Allen White, Jonny Coyne, Matthew Willig, Martin Scorsese, Hemky Madera, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Shirley Henderson
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Disney+
Synopsis and Review
Actor, writer, producer, director Jon Favreau has been involved in the Star Wars universe since the show "The Mandalorian" premiered on Disney + in 2020. In fact one has to go all the way back to 2019 to check his latest directorial endeavor, the "live action" rendition of "The Lion King". The narrative focuses on the bounty hunter Mando, and his adopted son Grogu, who are working for the New Republic, hunting associates or warlords of the former Galactic Empire. They tackle a new mission, to locate a Commander by the name of Coin. They've gotten intel on his location by the Hutt twins, siblings of Jabba The Hutt. The twins demand that the Mandalorian brings back Rotta, Jabba's son, who is on a different planet though they know very little of what's come of him. Mando discovers Rotta is in reality a very popular gladiator in a fighting pit. That fighting pit is run by Janu, a crime-lord. Rotta doesn't want to go back, as he suspects his uncles want to kill him, and he only needs to fight once more to get his freedom. What he doesn't realize is that the fight is rigged and he has no chances of winning. Mando is forced to fight in the pit, and he does vanquish Rotta, but refuses to kill him. They're forced to fight a series of lethal monsters, which they nearly avoid, but in the process have to escape the city once those creatures evade the pit. Mando realizes that Rotta just wants to live his life, and that he knows where the Commander he was set to bring back is located.
I have to confess I have not seen "The Mandalorian" show, and went into this film with certain reservations in terms of what I would understand from the narrative and characters. As it turns out, this film and the creative team behind it, introduce the scope of the narrative and its main characters very efficiently, setting up the main purpose for the storyline, its key characters, and the obstacles they're likely to encounter. It's a b-movie approach to the Star Wars universe, which makes this film for the most part, quite enjoyable and never dull. There's been a progressively digital and artificial look to these films and its characters since George Lucas' came out with his first prequel in 1999 ("The Phantom Menace" was released that year). Jon Favreau in that regard, doesn't stray far from the style and perspective George Lucas created: this film in particular, feels very much like an overabundant exercise in digital animation, where human characters have very little to do or even say. And that is coincidentally where the film feels very light and not particularly accomplished: there isn't much in terms of characters, both human and digital, which add substance to the narrative unfolding. The Mandalorian doesn't get a chance to demonstrate much in terms of layers, including a sense of humor, whereas the main antagonists, the villainous twins, are criminals mostly from reputation, and eventually from the treatment they impose upon Mando, but there's never an actual sense for what is these creatures control and what they stand to win (and lose) by the events that are taking place. The film does play out like a small episode that exists within a much bigger narrative (the whole Star Wars universe), however the film does fail to bring these characters some extra dimension and even create interactions that would make them more alive, and not just digital artifacts moving around. The cast tries their best with the material they have, with Sigourney Weaver clearly having the most fun with what is happening. Pedro Pascal sadly has only a few brief sequences to be visible, since for the most part he is hidden behind the helmet. The production team is impeccable, including David Klein's cinematography, Luwig Goransson's score, and Doug Chiang & Andrew L. Jones production design. The visual effects are also impeccable. It's watchable, Sigourney Weaver has a blast, and the creatures are endearing, but sadly this is a film that is also quickly forgettable.
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