Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — the first Star Wars movie in theaters since 2019’s Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker — is getting wobbly reviews from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Favreau, Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor, The Mandalorian and Grogu plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. The film stars Pedro Pascal, who is reprising his character, Din Djarin, from the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian.
In Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Din Djarin, aka Mando, teams with his baby Yoda-like sidekick, Grogu, to help protect the New Republic and the Rebel Alliance from Imperial warlords, even though the Galactic Empire has fallen. While joining in the fight, the Mandalorian and Grogu meets a new ally in Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), as well as an adversary in Rotta the Hutt (voice of Jeremy Allen White).
The review embargo for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu lifted Tuesday morning and as of the publication of this article, the film has earned a 66% “fresh” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 58 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score are still pending.
Note: Since these are early reviews, this article will be updated as more RT-approved critics add their thoughts to the site.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu’?
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian is among the top critics on RT who gives Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu a “fresh” score, even though he feels the film could have been more. Bradshaw writes in his RT review summary, “The film is watchable and barrels along capably enough, but perhaps there isn’t enough of the humanity, humor and extravagant space melodrama which has made and continues to make Star Wars lovable.”
Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence also gives The Mandalorian and Grogu a “fresh” score, but shares Bradshaw’s sentiments. Miller writes on RT, “There have been some exciting new stories told in this universe since The Rise of Skywalker, but watching this latest installment of Lone Wolf and Cub in space just confirms the degree to which Star Wars feels like it’s spinning its wheels.”
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gives The Mandalorian and Grogu a “fresh” score, but like his colleagues, he has reservations. Rooney writes in his RT review summary, “It’s hard to imagine anyone experiencing this as their first Star Wars film and getting hooked for life as those who saw the original trilogy in theaters did. Still, it’s an entertaining, fast-spaced space adventure.”
Katie Erbland of IndieWire also deems The Mandalorian and Grogu “fresh,” but just barely. She writes of the film on RT, “Inessential and inoffensive, frequently adorable and fun for the whole family, Jon Favreau’s film feels like three good-enough TV episodes smushed together.”
Bilge Ebiri of New York Magazine/Vulture is among the top critics on RT who gives the new Star Wars movie a “rotten” rating. Ebiri writes in his RT review summary, “Drab and stone-faced to a fault, The Mandalorian and Grogu struggles to capture the inventive vitality of the better Star Wars movies with action scenes that feel frustratingly pro forma and lifeless performances that seem determined to lull us to sleep.”
Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent isn’t impressed by the film, either. Loughrey writes in her “rotten” RT review summary, “With The Mandalorian and Grogu, Star Wars has lost all sense of wonder.”
Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph also gives the film a “rotten” score, writing on RT, “Everything Disney needed to revive the franchise after its seven-year absence from cinemas is in here. The problem is there is only around 20 minutes of it, and much of the rest is hopeless.”
Among the harshest takes on The Mandalorian and Grogu is from Keith Maher from The Times (UK), who writes in his “rotten” RT review summary, “Would someone please put Star Wars out of its misery? It’s an ailing pop cultural mutant, unrecognizable from the chirpy fable that George Lucas revealed to the world in 1977.”
Rated PG-13, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
