No, The Mandalorian and Grogu doesn't have much of a plot, and yes, it's a little silly (did we really expect anything else?).

When The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ back in 2019, the series was hailed as some of the best Star Wars in years, fresh balm on the still smarting wounds of the die-hard fans left by the “sequel movies” (Episodes 7-9). A friend of mine praised it for its western-style vibe, something really not seen in Star Wars since A New Hope back in 1977. I was forced to agree. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) was one part Clint Eastwood in the Man with No Name trilogy and one part samurai ronin. A badass with no master, no home, just a unique set of skills who gets wrapped up in a story bigger than himself as he finds himself protecting “the Child” from former Imperials out to get him. The show has run (so far) three successful seasons and this summer, it has come to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu.

            The plot? A colleague remarked to me that the movie had no plot, and I can’t exactly agree (nor disagree). The plot is announced on the pre-movie title card. The Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu hunt former Imperials for money. In the course of the film, they get roped into some Hutt family drama. That’s about it.

            The Mandalorian and Grogu, is like all the Star Wars that has been released since the beginning of the Disney+ era: it is beautiful to look at, it has tons of Easter Eggs, the return of a few recognizable characters, and some pretty cool action sequences. I also liked the soundtrack, which was unique for a Star Wars story. Beyond that, it is a two-hour episode of the show, and not just a little goofy and weird (Rotta the Hutt’s voice comes to mind; he sounds like a character from Family Guy.).

            My personal opinion is that the character of the Mandalorian ran its course very quickly. The thing that ruined him? The two things that fans liked the most: integrating the broader Star Wars Skywalker story into his, and … (gulp) Grogu, i.e. Baby Yoda.

            Baby Yoda as a story device made sense initially. It made Din Djarin perceive something bigger than himself, giving him something to live for. In a trope reminiscent of lots of other stories, when the hardened warrior is called to defend a child or a much weaker person, Din Djarin’s life took on new meaning as he sought to find someone to give Grogu, which he did. And don’t get me wrong, seeing Ashoka Tano and of course, Luke Skywalker, was the coolest thing in Star Wars in years, but once Luke took Grogu, we never should have seen him again, because Grogu staying with the Mandalorian ruined anything that was unique about the character. And frankly, the only reason they kept him is that he is cute and sells lots of merchandise, but the longer he stayed in the show, the more he became comic relief. And he plays that part in this movie, complete with his own armor and gear. Yes, there is a pretty good sequence where Grogu steps up, but it's not enough to distract from his hopping, shuffling, food-stealing ways. As far as the overall Skywalker story? The Star Wars universe is big enough, and outside of a few cameos, we shouldn't have heard much about any of it.

            In essence, the story became a cosmic buddy story, or perhaps a father-surrogate son story, and The Mandalorian and Grogu continues that trend.

            There are some really good action sequences in the film, the special effects are great, and it's cool to see AT-ATs, Snowtroopers, X-Wings, and the like. While Rotta sounds like he should be sitting next to Norm at Cheers instead of fighting monsters in an area, I liked his character. The movie is fun – not the life-affirming experience diehard fans might have been looking for, but fun. I think at this point, the lifelong fans should expect not much more than that. And that's okay.