Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu & Ran

"Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" I went to see it with my wife. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to shout, "I've been waiting for this!"

"Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" is the first new theatrical film in the "Star Wars" series in about seven years, but my "initial" conclusion is that if you ask me, "Is this 'Star Wars'?", it's more of a "space action-adventure" where you can enjoy powerful action rather than "Star Wars."

Of course, it is complete as a movie that you can enjoy unconditionally as such. But actually, there is a wonderful scene near the end that is reminiscent of the "Empire vs. Rebel Alliance" battles, which I will write about later.

In the first place, a "Mandalorian" is a legendary group of warriors appearing in the "Star Wars" series who possess advanced combat skills and a strict code. The protagonist of this film is the story of one such Mandalorian, Mando, and Baby Yoda-like Grogu (a puppet operated by human hands that has a handmade feel).

The story is set after the fall of the Empire and the dawn of the New Republic era, but the galaxy remains a lawless zone. A legendary bounty hunter Mandalorian known as "Mando" (Pedro Pascal), who completes every job perfectly, and Grogu, who possesses the mighty Force (though over 50 years old, he is a long-lived species and still too young to speak), are bound by a bond that transcends parent and child. They accept a mission to find remnants of the Empire and head to meet Rotta the Hutt, the son of Jabba the Hutt, a crime lord who once ruled the galaxy's underworld, but they eventually get caught up in various crises.

The story follows the flow written above, but from the beginning, Mando the Mandalorian is rampaging! Rampaging! Or rather, he's just strong! Too strong!

He cuts down the remnants of the Empire one after another. That is full of exhilaration, and the incredible sense of speed and dynamism, the overwhelming sense of velocity, is a must-see. In that respect, it might be visuals overflowing with "Star Wars"-ness. Rather than just watching a movie, you can experience the excitement of an attraction ride.

Director Jon Favreau says, "I made it easy to understand even for fans watching the series for the first time. It's a new work that everyone can enjoy," and it truly has the atmosphere of such a film.

The "Star Wars" series has a structure that strongly feels the influence of Japanese cinema from the beginning. Director George Lucas deeply respects Director Akira Kurosawa and has publicly stated that he was greatly influenced by "Seven Samurai," and the "Star Wars" series incorporates the direction and period drama elements of Kurosawa's films.

And the story structure this time seems to have been inspired by "Lone Wolf and Cub" by Kazuo Koike; perhaps the Mandalorian is Itto Ogami and Grogu is Daigoro. There are also scenes where you can feel a somewhat Japanese image in the townscapes.

Director Jon Favreau says, "Star Wars also has “wabi-sabi”," and a spaceship that looks worn out, covered in oil and rust, might indeed be "wabi-sabi." I felt that such realism was quite worth seeing.

The parent protects the child
The child protects the parent

There was a line like that in the trailer, and while it's natural for Mando to protect Grogu, there is actually a scene where Mando temporarily collapses, and I'm sure you'll be won over by the poignancy of Grogu devotedly helping Mando.

However, since it would be a spoiler, I won't write too much detail, but the Hutt Twins, cousins of Jabba the Hutt, are so hateful! In the end, it's a "serves you right" moment, though...

Furthermore, in the second half, when Mando is in a critical situation, the surprise attack by X-wing starfighters arrives at a truly perfect time! I couldn't help but shout "Yahoo!!" in my heart at this. This is because it reminded me of the moment when the Rebel Alliance gains the upper hand in the confrontation between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance in "Star Wars." This is a must-see!

In the first half of this review, I wrote, “If you ask me, 'Is this Star Wars?', it's more of a...” but upon further reflection, I had to admit that this movie was indeed "Star Wars" after all. I would like to correct my initial statement.

However, while previous "Star Wars" films may have followed the same flow, the duo of protagonists created by the director to be "easy to understand for fans watching for the first time" are certainly charming, but it cannot be denied that it is a stereotypical good-versus-evil development that you can watch with peace of mind.

But since that is "Star Wars," I wonder if that's fine as it is...

After all, it might have been just as the tagline "Star Wars is returning to theaters!" said.

In the last scene of the movie, there is a line from Din Djarin (Mando's real name) to Grogu, "It's your turn." and he let Grogu pull the hyperspace lever himself.

In other words, the phrase "it's your turn now" might very well mean that if a next installment is produced, Grogu will certainly be the protagonist. However, I really wanted to see more of Grogu's immense Force power—it felt a bit lacking.

That is precisely why the next Grogu might show us the overwhelming power of the Force.

Besides, the battle with the bounty hunter who looks like he's wearing a sedge hat,Embo, hasn't been settled yet, and I have a feeling that will continue into the next film. I mean, it's definitely going to happen, right!

Writing this movie review has made me want to watchStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Groguall over again.

[Supplement]

The name of director Akira Kurosawa appeared in this article. I also love his filmsSeven Samurai and Sanjuro.

However, when I watchedRan, which he made after being recognized as a world-class director, I felt, "Isn't this a failure for a Kurosawa film?"

While the visuals and art direction were certainly magnificent, what about the screenplay? I was full of questions, wondering if this direction was truly Kurosawa's own. I wondered if Kurosawa had become an emperor with no clothes.

So, I honestly wrote down my thoughts and submitted them to the Asahi Shimbun's reader column, and it was published just as I wrote it. That was nearly 40 years ago.

However, a few months later, an envelope arrived at my home. It was like a threatening letter regarding my criticism of Kurosawa, with a message saying, "You won't have a decent death."

Of course, I ignored it. But I don't know how they found my home address. It was a long time ago, so perhaps personal information management was looser back then than it is now.

Or rather, I remember trying to think of it positively, that there was someone whose heart was moved that much by my movie review. It was a "good grief" moment, though.

[Postscript]If you add "?hl=en" to the end of this article's URL and press enter, it will switch to the English version.