The Mandalorian and Grogu - MY HONEST REVIEW!

Indexado: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Hello there, my dear friends, and welcome back to another Star Wars video.

[00:00:05]So, I just got back from watching The Mandalorian and Grou. There's a lot to process. I have a lot that I want to say, and I think you'll find that my review doesn't really fit the narrative of stuff you've been hearing for the last 2 days. I don't really share the same sentiments as the majority of the outlets who've been talking about it.

[00:00:21]And it's like I've been saying to you guys in my last few videos, go and watch this thing for yourself. Make up your own mind. And along the exact same lines, this review is just my own personal opinion. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't, but I'm just being authentic.

[00:00:37]We live in an age now where opinions, be they about media, films, TV shows, politics, are so tribalized, you're either on this side or that side. But like Obi-Wan said, only a Sith deals in absolutes. And the reason I'm bringing this up as an important consideration is my review has both positives and negatives. I'm not trying to pander 21.

[00:00:59]You're not going to hear me artificially praise it or bash it. This is simply how I felt as a Star Wars fan since I was a little kid watching the film for the first time. So, with that, my friends, let's dive in. I'm going to give, you know, just a broad overview of some of my thoughts. I'm going to jump around a bit. Not everything is going to be chronological, and I should say there will be spoilers. So, The Mandelor and Grou, honestly, not as bad as I thought.

[00:01:25]Going into this film, I had read so many different reviews, and even on my way to the cinema, they were bouncing around in my head. I couldn't stop thinking of reviews like the one from The Independent when they said, "Stick a fork in Star Wars. It's done." I was still excited going into it, but a part of me was expecting a mess. But I have to be honest, it doesn't have big connections to Ahsoka or Luke or Thrawn, but for what it is, it's fun. I fully expected to come out of the cinema thinking this was a big waste of time.

[00:01:56]But even though a lot of this film isn't of consequence, if you go in with your expectations in check, you're going to enjoy it. And here's the bottom line, my friends. If you're still invested in the Mandover verse in 2026, that is to say, you've watched all three seasons of Mando, you watched Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, and you're still not fully put off, there is very little in this film you're going to dislike. Especially if you love your Star Wars aliens, because my goodness are there a lot of creatures in this.

[00:02:24]There are long periods of the film where you don't see a single human face. And if you're like me and you grew up watching episode 6, Return of the Jedi, and you love the weird and gross aliens at Jabba's Palace, then this movie is going to speak to you more than most.

[00:02:38]There are new creatures, but also tons of familiar ones. The Huts, the Ardinians, the Ammani, Rodians, Twilelex, a dragon snake, and an Easter egg I've not seen anyone else mention, Fuzball, who originates in Lucasfilm's Captain Io, but also appeared in Skeleton Crew. That's right. This obscure creature is back. I'm going to break down some of the other Easter eggs later in the video, ones which you might have missed. But first, I want to go through everything I liked and everything I didn't, things that worked for me, and things I could have done without. So, in terms of the setting, I came into it as a die hard. I know everything about The Mandoverse. I've seen every spin-off. And it's very clear that I think John Favro and Lucasfilm were trying to introduce the post episode 6 time period to the general audience. In other words, I think they played it very safe. But this is where my first criticism comes in. Because while I know it's meant to be a fun action adventure with very low stakes, I just wish there was something more for those of us who've been invested since day one because it really was a kind of reset. Yes, it's highly beneficial to have seen the first three seasons. Grou is now Mantin Apprentice, something which is hinted at a couple of times, but honestly, you don't have to know anything going into this. You'd be absolutely fine if you're someone who knows the basics of Star Wars coming into this not having seen a single episode of the TV show. There is almost nothing in this film that requires prior knowledge. And this is where I'm a bit conflicted, maybe frustrated, because you could still target the general audience, still keep the film more or less the way it is, and just throw in a line of dialogue that connects things to the wider galaxy, notably what's going to happen in Ahsoka season 2. They could in theory have done a postredit scene, but if we're keeping the structure of the movie exactly the way it is, it might have benefited from a mention of the implications of a bigger villain. I guess for me, the most annoying thing were the sheer amount of missed opportunities to connect the dots. So, Gourney Weaver's Colonel Ward mentions wider plans of the Imperial Remnant. And yes, the New Republic is still very much in the dark. But given her authority, I'm sure she's spoken to His Jula, Senator Gono, Monmothma, or even Carson, who appears in this film and was present in Ahsoka season 1 when Hia was court marshaled. On a more positive remark though, I think Grou has evolved quite a bit. I know a lot of people were complaining this film is corporate slop and there is nothing in terms of growth or progression for a character like Grou. I strongly disagree. Having to look after Den, fending for himself, being resourceful, staying optimistic and calm in light of a dire situation, Grou has come a long way, and this film solidifies that they're preparing him to be on his own eventually. The final scene is Den letting Grou take control of the Razer Crest and the Lvig Gorson track playing in the background. Your turn, Grou. Grou has learned a lot.

[00:05:29]There were times in the film, I will admit, I was frustrated he wasn't using the force more or using more of his abilities we've seen in other seasons, but all in all, there were some crucial moments for him, especially on Alhhatter. So, I disagree that Grou was just a mcguffin in this. Something else I noticed, and I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, the movie does nothing about the situation concerning Carl's death. We do visit Navaro Mando's homestead and there is no mention of the magistrate's grief car which means that in universe he's still alive. He wasn't relevant to this story so they didn't have to address him but I was half expecting something of a tribute. But now I want to talk about Roter the heart. This was the one character in the film that the reviewers tore to shreds. They said he shouldn't be speaking English. His accent is New York accent is distracting and the CG is bad. While it was a lot to get used to, it wasn't as jarring as I thought it would be. But I will admit, I did find some of the action scenes with the huts a bit too much. Especially the final fights when Ro is fighting the twins, his aunt and uncle. The way the three of them were rolling around before they fall into the water pit was, let's say, a very interesting creative choice. I wasn't the biggest fan of that. Same with the DRI pieces. There were certain frames that I think when it drops on Disney Plus, if you pause them, they do look a bit cruddy for the technology available in 2026. And I'm not talking about the creature designs in and of themselves. I'm talking about the way it looked when they were fighting and piled on top of each other. But in terms of the individual creatures, same in Ljanu's shop, in terms of the miniatures, the action, the sound design, the overall feel of the movie, I think it was a good cinematic experience. And by the way, my friends, if you're curious how this stacks up to other Star Wars films, I will be doing an updated rankings list ranking all 12 live action movies. Something else I noticed is that most of the merch, the action figures, and what's been marketed is from the opening 30 minutes. The Ice Planet sequence is pretty inconsequential to the overall plot. And yet they've been pushing the action figures of the snow troopers, the ATRTs, the Atats, and even this guy who now has a name, Captain Barrow. But I do have to criticize something which I cannot get over. We've been waiting years and years to see Narad in live action. And from the trailers, because we were going to a moon of Nalhata, it looked like that was going to be the case. But instead, we go to a moon which looks just like it called Shakari. To make matters worse, Narador appears in the same system in the film. We see it twice from space.

[00:08:07]Why are they so afraid to let us see it?

[00:08:09]I will say though that one performance, one character I really enjoyed in this film was Steven McKinley Henderson as Gator. This was a character we theorized might be of the same species as Yoda's master and might be a false mentor to Grou. Unfortunately, neither of those things ended up being true, but he was still a likable character nonetheless. A further remark I want to add to this review is it's very clear they regretted killing off Cadbane in the book of Boba Fett because Embo filled the exact same role. And I guarantee you had Dlon confirmed that Cadbane survived the Book of Boba Fett, you would have seen Cad Bane arrive on Navarro. The Anzelins lovable as always. Not really much to say about them. But now, my friends, I want to talk about some big Easter eggs.

[00:08:52]This movie is jam-packed full of them.

[00:08:55]Just off the old noggin, Mando uses Bib Fortuna's greeting from episode 6, Dwana. A casual greeting in Hearties that the Twilec uses on R2-D2 and C3PO.

[00:09:07]Another Easter egg, which I suppose isn't too surprising considering John Feather and Dave Filona basically confirmed this at Star Wars Celebration in Japan. In the background of Adelfi base and later in their X-wings, various New Republic pilots are played by Lucasfilm directors Dave Felonia as Trapper Wolf, Rick Fami Yiwir as Jib Dodger, Lee Isaac Chong as Doc Suri, and Deborah Chawa as Sash Ketta. And not just them, but Martin Scorsesei, Anthony Daniels, and Doug Chang all feature in this film. And I think this means that in one way or another, Anthony Daniels has been involved in every single Star Wars movie. In The Man's Roy and Grou though, he does not pay 3PO or even Dunnel for Tony, but instead he's the voice of air traffic control. The movie makes mention of the droid Gotra. This is a call back to the canceled 1313 video game. This is a band of lethal repurposed battle droids who came together in support of droid rights.

[00:10:05]Another little throwaway Easter egg that you might have missed is when Zeb says, "I'm a pilot, not a mech neck." This is the Star Wars version of a freelance mechanic. And was first mentioned in the Acolyte. So, I think for now, those are my initial thoughts. These are very raw coming out the cinema, and I'm sure I'll have more to say in the days to come.

[00:10:23]But my review of The Mandelor and Grou, I'm going to give it maybe a 7 out of 10. But what did you think? If you saw the Mansorin and Grou, share your thoughts in the comments down below, my friends. And if you enjoyed this video, if you enjoyed my review, please be sure to give me a big fat thumbs up, subscribe if you're new, check me out on socials, and may the force be with you always.