ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The first new “Star Wars” movie in seven years is here! While far, far away from the galaxy’s best “Star Wars” flick, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” offers up cuteness in overdrive. Read our review below.

Review: “STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU” (2026, 132 min., directed by Jon Favreau)

Okay, look. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” was originally conceived as Season Four of the television series “The Mandalorian.” It is the 13th theatrically-released “Star Wars” movie. It features characters previously featured in at least three “Star Wars” cartoons.

Is it the most original, groundbreaking, imaginative and boundary-pushing “Star Wars” movie yet?

Absolutely not.

But is ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ worth seeing?

I think so, yes.

For the first-timers, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” stars Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, the Mandalorian. Armed with his trusty jetpack, cool helmet and an arsenal of weapons, the warrior travels the galaxy putting down Empire remnants on behalf of the New Republic – the film is set some time after the conclusion of “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.” He doesn’t work alone, either. Mando’s apprentice and adopted son, Grogu, a bat-eared, giant-eyed, Yoda-green baby, flies wingman.

The core of the series has always been watching the über-cool Mando violently dispatch fascist goons while the über-cute Grogu babbles, snacks and saves the day, and the same is true of the film. For those already familiar with the series, there is nothing new in the movie that the show hasn’t already covered. The relationship dynamic between Mando and Grogu is frozen in amber. Almost all of the characters have been seen before. Even the plot feels episodic, as though writers Favreau, Dave Filoni and Noah Koor simply stitched a couple of Season Four scripts together into a feature-length film.

That is not a problem, per se. The film is a light, zippy adventure, gliding through a two-plus hour runtime with nary a hitch. The production design is thoughtful. I especially admired the look of a slug-infested swamp planet, complete with slimy, oozing walls and fungus-shaped mounds for buildings. The music, composed by Oscar-winning genius Ludwig Göransson – “Sinners,” “Black Panther,” “Oppenheimer” – is killer. The performances are fine. As “Star Wars” movies go, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is far from bad. It is not the camp of the prequel trilogy or the cynical unevenness of the sequel trilogy. It’s just solid, simple and sweet.

Its shameless recycling of preexisting “Star Wars,” however, is tough to get behind.

“Star Wars” references in “The Mandalorian and Grogu”

A brief list of “Star Wars” iconography and storytelling beats “The Mandalorian and Grogu” cribs from include:

• An opening action sequence set on an ice planet featuring a take down of AT-AT walkers (“The Empire Strikes Back”)
• A storyline where a master and apprentice go on a mission to rescue Rotta the Hutt from danger (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”)
• A sequence where the hero falls through a trapdoor in a Hutt castle and must battle a monster (“Return of the Jedi”)

(Courtesy: Lucasfilm Ltd.) The Mandalorian operates an AT-ST Walker on a familiar ice planet.

(Courtesy: Lucasfilm Ltd.) Twin Hutts menace The Mandalorian and Grogu in a familiarly antagonistic role.

(Courtesy: Lucasfilm Ltd.) Anzellans, a species introduced in the most recent “Star Wars” movie, “The Rise of Skywalker,” team up with Grogu.

There are many, many more. Favreau and Filoni have great taste in “Star Wars,” so the déjà vu moments are picked well, but as a result, the film felt more like a black hole of preexisting material than a shining star of its own.

Yet, the exception that proves that rule is an exemplary one. You have never seen better little creatures than those in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” There is a proliferation of adorable aliens in the film, brought to life through stop-motion animation or puppetry. Grogu is the prime and perfect example, but he is joined by tons of weird little buddies throughout, which was a total delight. There is a near-silent sequence in the back half that felt like deleted scenes out of “The Dark Crystal” — which is a compliment, I promise. In an age of ugly CGI, Grogu and company stand real, tactile and genuinely emotive. Favreau’s dedication to utilizing practical effects is what takes “The Mandalorian and Grogu” from “fine” to “good.”

Even if I can’t help wishing it were “great,” it’s nice to be back in a galaxy far, far away. It’s been, as they say, a long, long time.

Rating: 3/5