The Mandalorian and Grogu bring Mando and his adorable companion to 4K with impressive audio, plenty of action, and a story that feels more like television than a feature film.
Is it possible for a movie franchise to become oversaturated? Absolutely! Case in point, two of the biggest, both of which are properties of The Walt Disney Company, have created so much content since their inception that audiences are getting tired of what they have to offer. With feature films, limited television series, animated series, comic books, etc., they seem to be becoming redundant and, while fans still seem to keep tuning in or making their way to the box office, the critical and audience acclaim is waning. These two franchises are the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the almost half-century-old Star Wars. The latter franchise offered The Mandalorian and Grogu this spring, and now it is coming out on 4K.
The plot of this film pretty much picks up where Season 3 of The Mandalorian television series left off. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal; The Fantastic Four: First Steps) and Grogu are bounty hunters looking for the remaining members of the Empire hierarchy while working for Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver; Avatar). Their newest assignment is to "collect" the son of Jabba the Hutt, Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White; The Bear), and deliver him to his backstabbing aunt and uncle. However, once Mando and Grogu find Rotta, things get messy, just like they always do.
As the film opens, we see Mando and Grogu finishing their previous assignment before finding Rotta, just as things go awry (did I mention they always do?). There are some decent visual effects, great stunt and fight choreography, good dialogue, and definitely some humor to lighten things up a bit. However, from there, the film gets a very episodic feel, and you think you may be watching a very long episode of the new season instead of a movie. Before it ends, you also become rather tired of the same old stuff with nothing new to offer, and it becomes apparent that this feature film is nothing more than a money grab.
The Dolby Vision video quality, with 2160p resolution and a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, is hit or miss at best. The color palette is very strong, and the black hues are deep and true throughout. There are plenty of tiny details to see, and Rotta has great definition. However, the special effects aren't the best, which can be distracting.
The Dolby Atmos audio fares somewhat better than the visuals, with a robust, multilayered track. Dialogue utilizes the front speakers for the most part, and the surround speakers offer terrific ambient noise, especially when Mando is fighting Rotta in the arena in front of a crowd. The Ludwig Göransson score has some deep bass that punctuates the action without overpowering the visuals.
The combo pack includes the 4K disc, Blu-ray Disc, and digital download housed in a typical plastic case. There are also about 40 minutes of extras (besides the commentary), which are all housed on the Blu-ray Disc. They include Audio Commentary featuring Jon Favreau, Crafting The Mandalorian and Grogu, Biomes From Snow to Swamp, Welcome to Shakari, and Dejarik for Real.
Jon Favreau (Iron Man) does a decent job with the direction and the limited script (which he helped write) he had to work with. He moves the story along at a decent pace but, again, the whole thing simply feels like another episode of the television series, and by the end, I found myself wondering if I or the series really needed this film.
At the end of the day, the technical aspects are the best around, which offer sometimes great, other times mediocre results, so one would really have to be a fan to consider this purchase. I will say, though, Grogu is one of the best recent additions to the list of characters in the Star Wars universe, as he is both funny and cute, so at least the film has that going for it.
Grade: C+
