Movie Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ feels like an old Ray Harryhausen creature feature. ‘Course, all those beasties come with teeth, and the movie does, too.
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Guest (Male): You've all heard stories of the Mandalorian bounty hunter and a child.
Adam Holz: In the new Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, a popular Disney+ series gets the full-scale cinematic treatment. Like the show it came from, the result is equal parts cool, cute, and nostalgic, if a bit predictable. The Mandalorian is an armor-clad bounty hunter named Din Djarin. Fans know that in the course of his bounty hunting exploits, he's become a surrogate father to a little Yoda-like guy named Grogu.
Lately, the Mandalorian has been working with the fledgling New Republic after the fall of the Empire. There's still plenty of ex-Empire bad guys lurking about. But now, he's got a new assignment: rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, who's apparently been kidnapped. Mando really doesn't want to get mixed up in anything involving the notorious Hutt crime family. But hey, a paycheck is a paycheck. And when you're a single dad trying to keep frogs on the table for your little guy, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Guest (Male): I only hunt down Imperial war criminals. I don't work for gangsters anymore, especially the Hutts.
Guest (Female): That's right, you don't. You work for us.
Adam Holz: The Mandalorian and Grogu doesn't push into many daring new narrative spaces. Rather, it's an easy bone for Lucasfilm and Disney to toss the Star Wars faithful. A lightweight, standalone adventure that reminds us of more substantive Star Wars stories from yesteryear while we munch on our popcorn.
Families will find a bit of Star Wars spirituality and a lot of bloodless violence, as well as plenty of Grogu's adorably naughty antics. So, we're giving The Mandalorian and Grogu a three-and-a-half out of five for family-friendliness. You can read the full review at pluggedin.com/radio. I'm Adam Holz with the Plugged In movie review, by Focus on the Family.
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How Do Christian Parents Keep Up with Their Children’s Screen Consumption?
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About Plugged In Entertainment Reviews
Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Each month, PluggedIn.com is visited more than 1 million times by people looking for detailed information about what's really in popular movies, videos, television episodes, songs and games. Entertainment industry ratings only tell you so much. We go deeper, diving into specific content and the meaning behind it. Our award-winning website also offers news and blogs.About Adam Holz, Paul Asay and Johnathan McKee
Adam Holz After serving as an associate editor at NavPress' Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In's reviews along with hosting The Plugged In Show and the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books. He has over 20 years youth ministry experience and speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, He can be heard each week on the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature and The Plugged In Show. You can follow Jonathan on his blog, getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.
Contact Plugged In Entertainment Reviews with Adam Holz, Paul Asay and Johnathan McKee
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