The Mandalorian and Grogu (Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu) – Movie Review

TL;DR – A generally solid, if only occasionally ambitious Star Wars film, but can’t quite escape the feeling that they took a season of television and smashed it into a film.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Grogu and The Mandalorian look over a sand dune.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Review Introduction

Today, we have an interesting film, as it has so many competing factors needed for it to work as a film. The Mandalorian and Grogu have to be a conclusion to a whole range of Disney+ television series, it has to be a tent-pole production bringing the cinematic glam back to the Star Wars Universe, and it has to be a good film in its own right. That is a lot of different tasks, all with their own baggage being brought to the table. Add to this a rapidly changing cinematic landscape in general, Disney+’s hit-and-miss aspect to its stories, and their profound inability to confront the toxic aspect of their own community. So yes, I’m concerned. But let’s see if they’ve managed to stick the landing.
 
So, to set the scene, since retiring from pulling bounties for more despicable people, The Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal/Brendan Wayne/Lateef Crowder) and his apprentice Grogu (Himself) have begun working bounties for the New Republic. Capturing those of the Imperial Remnant before they can cause more harm. But Colonel Ward gives Din Djarin a new mission deep in the territory of the Hutts. He needs to rescue Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), but that might mean making deals with the exact people he has tried to stop working for.

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Movie Review – Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

TL;DR – An interesting juxtaposition of the past and present, through music, Bob Dylan, and a very particular look at the 1970s.    

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review

Recently I’ve been listing in to a weekly Twitch podcast about music, exploring all the different genres that had no experience with. This has gotten me more interested in exploring the world behind music and Hollywood’s recent biopic spree has helped a bit in this regard. But when you find that a film about Bob Dylan has dropped on Netflix, by Martin Scorsese no less, you stop what you are doing and jump back to the 1970s.

So to set the scene, Rolling Thunder Revue tells the story of Bob Dylan and friends tour across New England and beyond during 1975. This was a year where America was at crossroads, Nixon had just resigned, the Vietnam War debacle was still in everyone’s mind, and economic recession had started in places of the Rust Belt. All in all, it is a time very similar to the one we find ourselves in right now. It is at this moment of flux that Bob decided to get a group of folk/rock pals and do a tour, something he had not done in a while, and we get to see it all.

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