The badass bounty hunter and his little green friend take on the Empire and Jabba the Hutt’s family in this solid enough addition to the ever-expanding universe.
This is a tale that exists in a space between canonical and semi-canonical, perhaps blurring the lines. It presents entertaining yet familiar Star Wars narrative tropes on a spectacular IMAX scale. And if you thought a movie like this could conclude without a climactic aerial dogfight featuring X-wing fighters, think again.
Developed from the Disney+ streaming series The Mandalorian, the story is set in the period immediately following Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. During this time, remnants of the defeated Empire, led by holdout warlords, are plotting a comeback against the New Republic.
Pedro Pascal portrays the Mandalorian, a formidable and independent bounty hunter reminiscent of Han Solo. His constant companion is Grogu, his “ward” – a quaint, Victorian term revived for the first time since the era of Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. Grogu is an infant of Yoda’s species, possessing nascent telekinetic abilities.
The Mandalorian himself speaks with a voice like Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name.” He is, in essence, a man without a face, rarely removing his helmet – except for one pivotal scene. This raises questions about how he manages visual field restrictions, as well as the practicalities of eating, drinking, and grooming his mustache.
Body doubles, Lateef Crowder and Brendan Wayne, skillfully portray the helmeted Mandalorian as he moves through scenes. This allows director Jon Favreau and Pascal significant flexibility in their filming and voice-recording schedules. The Mandalorian serves as a striking symbol of the dominance of genre intellectual property over traditional star power. The obvious comparison to Dave Prowse body-doubling Darth Vader is unsettling.
This is a solid enough addition to the ever-expanding Star Wars universe.