Perhaps what made "The Mandalorian" work in most of its three seasons on the Disney+ channel was its intimacy. The Mandalorian himself was a bounty hunter modeled on Boba Fett and something of an enigmatic gunslinger in the fine tradition of the good old westerns. Once he finds a Baby Yoda (Grogu, a tiny green creature with wizened ears who can use the Force and has a propensity for eating anything within reach) and rescues him, we all Jaded Jedi lovers developed a love for this unusual buddy-buddy in the world of the vast Star Wars universe. "The Mandalorian and Grogu," a feature film extension following the first 3 seasons loses all intimacy and a sense of adventure or genuine action scenes with purpose. I hate to report that this is the first Star Wars movie in eons, in 12 parsecs maybe, that left me bored.
The movie opens with a council meeting where there are discussions on bringing back the Empire that had long vanquished. Before long, one inquisitive associate is gunned down. Mando arrives (played once again by Pedro Pascal and two other stand-ins) and laser blasts the entire council room of its Stormtrooper guards and successfully knocks down a few AT-AT's with the help of the cute-as-a-button Grogu. It is a snowy landscape a'la Hoth and Mando kills an Imperial warlord whom he was to bring in for questioning to the New Republic. Yeah, Mando bringing in someone for questioning is like asking Grogu not to use the Force. Since that incident got "messy" according to the New Republic's Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), Mando is sent on another mission - to rescue Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), who is imprisoned and forced to fight gladiator-style battles with various opponents. The idea is to return the son to the Hutt crime clan who, in exchange, will spill the beans on some new members of the Empire and their dastardly plans.
Some of this could have lent itself to more dramatic confrontations and deeper character exploration about everyone's favorite masked bounty hunter. I'd also would have liked to learn more about Grogu. Worse yet is that other than some ugly monster guards that look like rejects from the Cantina Bar and a mysterious villain with a flat visor look, there is no real villainous presence here. There's Janu Coin (Jonny Coyne), a devious warlord and Rotta's master but he is seen too fleetingly. We get endless rescue attempts and sheer repetition and monotony of action chases and shootouts. The one chase scene thru what looks like a "Blade Runner" city is quite lamely composed and thrown together with no sense of geography. Nothing that appears on screen is exciting, humane or thrilling because the characters are mere window dressing. Only Grogu shows his sweetness and dedication to his adopted father particularly towards the end when mortality looms near.
There is a mild humorous exchange between Mando and Rotta about fitting in at the New Republic's headquarters but other than that (and Scorsese's wild animated cook character), nothing else will entertain. I never thought the day would come when I would call a "Star Wars" movie generic. Time to explore new worlds.
