Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeCultureMoviesMovie review: The Mandalorian and Grogu brings tiny cuteness to the big screenBest of all, you can go in cold.; no need to study the latest plot twists, backstories and political manoeuvres before the show begins You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Grogu, ready for action, in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Photo by LucasfilmReviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.Star Wars has always created a push and pull between the big screen and the small. In the early days, cinema reigned triumphant, with movies released in 1977, ’80, ’83 and then ’99, ’02 and ’05, versus nothing on television unless you count the weird 1978 Holiday Special or that time Luke Skywalker was on The Muppet Show.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorBut even then, TV beckoned. Even before Return of the Jedi opened in 1983, the first Star Wars had come to home video, as both a VHS cassette and on heavy rotation on First Choice, an early pay TV channel that was the nearest thing that era knew of streaming.More recently, the small screen has been in ascendance. In fact, it’s been seven years since a new Star Wars movie came to a theatre near you, but that same period has seen 11 TV series, some of them amazing. (Here’s looking at you, Andor.)All of which makes The Mandalorian and Grogu feel like an event. Sure, it’s based on three seasons of The Mandalorian (plus The Book of Boba Fett, which might as well have been a fourth). But it also makes great use of the big screen, with exciting dogfights, laser shootouts and creature-on-creature violence, including a wrestling match between Hutts that can only be described as a slugfest. It’s literally one battle after another. Rotta the Hutt in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Photo by Francois Duhamel /LucasfilmIt’s also refreshingly small-stakes. Rather than try to defeat the Empire (or the First Order), Mando’s assignment is merely to hunt down Coin, a mysterious Imperial wanted for war crimes. Thanks to the Star Wars universe’s bizarre lack of cameras, no pictures of Coin exist, so Mando has to first rescue Rotta the Hutt (son of Jabba) from a criminal syndicate in exchange for information on Coin’s identity and whereabouts.The simplicity of the task also means you can go in more or less cold. Unlike with Disney’s increasingly convoluted Marvel universe, there’s no need to study the latest plot twists, backstories and political manoeuvres before the show begins. A quick title card (alas, not the traditional Star Wars scroll) gives you all you need to know.Mando’s assignment comes from Colonel Ward, played by Sigourney Weaver, whose work in Alien and Avatar (not to mention Galaxy Quest and WALL-E) makes her the nearest thing to science-fiction royalty these days. Baby Yoda and a quartet of Babu Friks — or if you prefer, Grogu and four Anzellans. Photo by LucasfilmHe is accompanied on his quest by Grogu, the cutest thing to come out of the Star Wars universe since Babu Frik back in Episode IX. In fact, the new movie features a quartet of Babu Friks, or Anzellans as they are properly known. (This is also perhaps the time to remind you that it’s “Grogu” and not “Baby Yoda.”)Grogu elicits most of the chuckles in the film, through his wide-eyed reactions, chirpy vocalizations and (filmmakers take note) being mostly a physical effect rather than a computer-generated one.Other crowd reactions come from fan service. There are cameos galore and celebrity voices aplenty. Martin Scorsese is fantastic as the voice of a nervous, four-armed fry cook, and Jeremy Allen White from TV’s The Bear provides the voice of Rotta.There’s also oodles of Star Wars tech, including a new Razor Crest spaceship for Mando, lots of familiar droids, and even a few new items. The opening scene introduces a Mini Cooper version of the two-legged walkers from Return of the Jedi, and there’s a landspeeder seemingly based on the 1948 Tucker automobile, I guess for fans of George Lucas’s generation. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) riding a Mini Cooper version of a Star Wars AT-ST. Photo by Francois Duhamel /LucasfilmRotta the Hutt makes for an interesting character, if only to reverse more than four decades of Hutt fat shaming. Turns out that, while Hutts are all big-boned, they’re not all built like garbage-fed Toronto raccoons. Rotta is a buff specimen, and looks like the result of a cross between two bears — a gummi and a grizzly.Pedro Pascal does his usual excellent work as Din Djarin, a.k.a. The Mandalorian, pouring his entire performance into voice and body movement, since we never see his face.And director and co-writer Jon Favreau sets things up nicely, though I wish he’d taken a few more risks. There is an early fight scene that unfolds in one fantastic unbroken shot, but too many of the later moments feature standard cinematography and editing. That said, kudos to whomever came up with the callback to holo-chess from the very first movie, and its perfectly orchestrated reveal.So yes, there is much to enjoy in this latest big-screen outing. And we are even now just a year away from the next one. Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling of Project Hail Mary, opens May 28, 2027. To borrow a Mandalorian aphorism: This is the way.The Mandalorian and Grogu opens May 22 in theatres.4 stars out of 5 Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.