We already know that The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars movie since 2019—an IP Disney is eager to revive in theaters, especially after the mixed reception of the last trilogy. Wasn’t there a better way to do this than turning one of their Disney+ streaming shows into a full-blown theatrical feature?
Now, given that Disney recently asked a handful of journalists to watch the first 15 minutes of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” at IMAX headquarters in Los Angeles, you’d expect the studio to have vetted who was invited and what they could or couldn’t say. But one journalist, Jake Kleinman from Polygon, somehow seemed to slip those constraints and ended up writing a sharp takedown of what he saw on screen.
Kleinman kicks off his piece with this lengthy description of the footage.
After “Return of the Jedi,” the New Republic is rebuilding while Din Djarin and Grogu hunt down scattered Imperial forces. The film opens with Mando storming a crime boss’s meeting, chasing him through snowy mountains, destroying multiple walkers before the target escapes and is blown up. Mando returns to a New Republic base where Commander Ward criticizes his messy tactics but hires him again. His new mission is to work with the Hutts to rescue an ally and use the lead to track down the mysterious ex-Imperial commander, despite Mando’s reluctance to deal with criminals.
Suffice it to say, Kleinman wasn’t too impressed.
He argues that the opening 15 minutes of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” feels more like a generic streaming show or video game than a cinematic experience, criticizing director Jon Favreau’s tight, “portrait-mode” framing and shallow backgrounds that resemble “Zoom-style Netflix visuals.” He adds, this approach is tolerable on streaming but disappointing for the first theatrical Star Wars film in years.
That's mildly annoying when you’re watching a mid-budget TV series on Disney Plus. For the first theatrical Star Wars movie in seven years, it's downright unforgivable.
While acknowledging that early scenes don’t always define the whole film, Kleinman emphasizes how memorable openings in classics like ‘A New Hope,’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith, set the tone, arguing that by comparison this one feels flat and forgettable.
Hopefully, I'm wrong. Star Wars really needs a win, but I'm still not convinced The Mandalorian and Grogu is it […] nothing in this first 15 minutes makes me feel optimistic about the remaining two hours I still haven't seen.
Brutal, right? How Disney somehow managed to let this journalist escape their clutches and, quite frankly, just do his job is surprising. Somebody in the chain of command might be losing their position over this (of course, I’m half-kidding — or maybe not; you never really know), but it’s definitely an embarrassing piece for them to contend with.