I can give you the bad before I give you the good.
As many critics have said, this is a season of "The Mandalorian" stitched together and condensed – one long romp that has twists and turns, clear delineations of time and plot, and is inexorably built for the enjoyment of children.
There is a suspiciously large number of Bug-like monsters that don't speak.
And the inclusion of Rotta the Hut, Jabba's dad, was...ridiculous. Genuinely, not even Jeremy Allen White could save that one, and the dialogue was incredibly heavy-handed. Again – inexorably built for the enjoyment of children.
This isn't one for those who want to challenge or expand the horizons of the children, or their parents, either. Jon Favreau leaves that to Tony Gilroy. Instead, this is genuinely a good one to take the young kids to - a little gross, no blood, pew pew, cute aliens, and so on.
Alright, enough pragmatism.
Many of you will know I'm biased – I am a long-time lover and fan of the show, despite all of its shortcomings. I was never going to be able to hate this film. Jon Favreau does nothing harmful here – no terrible themes of land theft being good or bad guys having a point, or Violence being the only answer. Even if the implication is that violence has a purpose and can even look cool, the nobleness of gentleness, one of the core themes of Star Wars, is on full display.
The scenes where Grogu has to tend to Mando as he recovers were thrilling to me – I consider them a well-placed narrative risk – and though we saw far too little of him, Pedro's performance was pitch perfect, if a little disjointed.
Reader, I can't be mad. Not really. I have seen some truly abhorrent, distasteful and genuinely disturbing cinema in my time. Even the least offensive cinema can rub me the wrong way with what it's trying to imply. I have more to say about Zombies and Aliens as a stand-in for colonial anxiety, and the implications of this, than I have about a movie that is simply expanding the universe of The Mandalorian into one more adventure, in a mostly harmless fashion.
There have been seasons of both the show and other Favreau/Filoni ventures that have felt harmful in their message. I don't know where I land, even now – but this is not one of them.
However, the reason it's harmless is that it doesn't get too deep into saying...anything. It's all the same five themes, retread for the benefit of IMAX. Every beat hit in my chest with true strength - even if it felt too familiar to warrant the cinematic experience.
I'm always going to want to spend more time with Din Djarin and Din Grogu. Always. That will always make me biased. If you're like me and love spending time in this world, then it's a fun time. If you're looking for Andor, he's down the hall.