Even Mainstream Critics Hate The New ‘Star Wars’ Movie

The latest Star Wars movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” is being trashed by mainstream critics who would normally be the most sympathetic viewers.

It currently has one of the worst review scores of any “Star Wars” film on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes as the film gears up for its Memorial Day weekend debut. As of Wednesday, it’s sitting at a 60% critical rating with 120 total reviews.

That makes it one of the worst of the 12 “Star Wars” movies at the moment, with only “The Phantom Menace” and “The Rise of Skywalker” getting lower scores.

The plot description says, “The evil Empire has fallen but Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they enlist the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu.”

Many critics who saw it mentioned that it felt more like an extended, unnecessary episode of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” which premiered in 2019. They argued it didn’t deserve a theatrical release at all.

“’The Mandalorian and Grogu’ merely stitches together what is clearly three episodes of the previously planned fourth season of The Mandalorian and calls it a day. There’s not a whiff of effort here,” a review from The Independent said. 

“As a mid-season arc for the character of ‘Pedro Pascal’s sultry voice inside a metal bucket’ and his tiny, puppet son, this might have been adequate, if uninspired. As a so-called feature film event, blown up to Imax with Sigourney Weaver roped in to deliver a few lines, it’s the dullest and most inconsequential Star Wars film ever made,” the reviewer added.

“There’s no reason for anything in this movie except the wish to make even more money,” the reviewer from Roger Ebert observed, giving the film 1.5 stars out of a possible 4.

“The runtime saps energy and when it’s all done, the scrolling credits for all those special effects goes on a full five minutes. You used to leave a new ‘Star Wars’ movie on a cloud. Here, that galaxy is far, far away,” the reviewer from Associated Press wrote.

Even the good reviews weren’t that great. 

“Mandalorian and Grogu is, basically, four Mandalorian episodes wearing an IMAX trench coat,” one review said.

“The plot is non-existent and it really does feel like a fully CGI movie. But when it’s just Mando and Grogu going from A to B it’s such a sweet story,” another wrote.

The project was reportedly relatively low-cost for a “Star Wars” film with a rumored budget of around $165 million, including a $21.75 million conditional tax credit by the California Film Commission. That would mean it needs to make around $400 million to break even. 

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” debuts in theaters nationwide beginning this Friday, May 22.