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Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

The Empire may have lost, but plenty of its old creeps are still out there running their own corners of the galaxy. Din now takes jobs from the New Republic, tracking them down in places where the government doesn’t have the people or reach to do it themselves. Sigourney Weaver plays Colonel Ward, the officer handing out those assignments, believing Din will finish the job. Grogu comes along as his apprentice, seemingly under the impression they’re on vacation. If you’re looking for a Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu 4K UHD Blu-ray review, this is the way.

 

Film ★★★☆☆

The main job involves a former Imperial commander named Coin, a man the Republic can’t identify beyond his name. The Hutt Twins know where he is, but they aren’t giving that up for free. They want Jabba’s son Rotta brought back from Shakari, where he has become a gladiator under the control of a local gangster named Janu. So Din goes after him. There he finds out the Hutts haven’t told him everything (not surprising for anybody who has ever met a Hutt).

Rotta is a muscular Hutt voiced by Jeremy Allen White, and there are some laughs to be mined out of how absurd he looks. Rotta has spent his whole life being judged by his father’s name, and all he wants is to get far enough away from that family to become his own person.

Din Djarin acts like he’s only interested in the mission, but he’s terrible at ignoring people who need him. Just like the show, Pedro Pascal is giving a pretty great performance here, despite only taking his helmet off only once. Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, the performers wearing the armor, give the character weight and presence, and Pascal supplies the feeling underneath it.

Grogu still works, too. He’s the star of every toy, cup, shirt, and lunchbox in the country, and for good reason. The puppet’s charm comes in its clumsiness. He waddles. His ears move before the rest of him does. His Force abilities have grown, but he himself never becomes a weapon. A late second act quiet stretch after things have gone badly and hardly anything is said is the best scene in the film.

The supporting characters are a fun bunch. Zeb barrels through several fights. Embo barely speaks and his fight with Din is one of the movie’s high points. The tiny Anzellan mechanics are funny, especially once Din has to squeeze himself into equipment built for people about the size of his boot. Martin Scorsese turns up as the voice of a four-armed cook. It all clicks into place.

Favreau keeps the movie moving. There’s the opening battle in the snow, a rough bar fight, a chase through the rainy streets and elevated railways of Shakari, a gladiator brawl, giant droids, an enormous water creature, and plenty of blaster fire in between. A couple of the monster fights pile up near the end, but it’s never boring.

A lot of that comes from the practical work. Grogu is physically there. So are many of the smaller aliens, mechanical creatures, and wonderfully strange stop-motion creations. Ludwig Göransson’s music pushes it all along, bringing back the familiar themes while giving each planet its own sound, most notably his electronic music over Shakari.

This is definitely a smaller Star Wars story, but don’t look at that as a problem. The galaxy doesn’t need to be seconds away from destruction every time somebody starts up an engine. This is about a father and son, a lousy job, and the point where Din decides that doing the right thing matters more than getting paid. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is easy to follow if you’ve never seen the series, but it doesn’t flatten the characters for those of us who have.

Video ★★★★★

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1, 1.78:1

Clarity/Detail: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu an exceptionally crisp 4K UHD Blu-ray, having originated from a 4.5K digital capture and completed through a 4K intermediate. Fine scratches, painted surfaces, panel seams and changes in reflectivity across Din Djarin’s armor are consistently exposed, while Grogu’s wrinkles, tiny hairs, robe fibers and intricate puppet construction remain readily visible in close-up. The practical and stop-motion creations integrate convincingly, but the collapsing AT-AT, the enormous white serpent and certain arena creatures can appear softer or less completely finished.

Depth: Dimensional imagery accompanies the film’s large-scale environments, particularly the snow-covered Imperial installation, Shakari’s neon-lined streets, the gladiatorial arena and the expansive lake setting. A good portion of the film opens from 2.39:1 to 1.78:1, increasing the perceived height, scale and immersion of the arena combat, aerial pursuit and climactic confrontation. For some, the shifting ratios might become distracting.

Black Levels: The Hutt hideout, shadowed interiors and nighttime passages preserve visible gradations. Shakari is the most persuasive contrast showcase, surrounding the characters with deep darkness while its neon signs, practical illumination and metallic surfaces remain clearly delineated. Blaster fire, electrical effects and explosions rise strongly from darker backgrounds.

Color Reproduction: The Dolby Vision presentation retains the comparatively restrained, earthbound palette established by the television series. Gunmetal armor, cold snow, weathered browns, gray industrial structures and swampy greens form much of the visual foundation. Shakari’s multicolored neon, the red illumination encircling the fighting pit, orange explosions and vividly colored blaster bolts provide concentrated bursts of intensity. The outdoor material at Adelphi Base shows off blue skies, ocean waves, greenery and palm trees with a vibrancy that stands apart from the film’s more subdued locations.

Flesh Tones: Human complexions remain natural and consistent as the characters move between the cooler lighting of New Republic facilities, Shakari’s warmer illumination and the film’s exterior environments. Alien skin and puppet materials are similarly stable, with Grogu’s green complexion maintaining appropriate variation through highlights and shadow.

Noise/Artifacts: The digital source is remarkably clean.

Audio ★★★★★

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 7.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French

Dynamics: Blaster shots are sharp, mechanical impacts carry real weight, and the larger confrontations have impressive intensity. The opening assault aboard the AT-AT is an exciting showcase, with heavy machinery and destruction never turning into an indistinct wall of noise. Later crashes inside the Hutt stronghold, the arena battle, space combat and the attack involving the AT-ATs all demonstrate considerable scale. Göransson’s music also expands freely, shifting from the familiar western-influenced material to the heavier trap rhythms and synth-driven sounds of Shakari.

Height: The clearest moment occurs during the opening raid, when an AT-AT’s enormous leg travels above Mando before its foot slams into the ground. The Hutt stronghold uses the upper speakers differently, carrying echoes and reverberation into the ceiling plane so its tunnels and chambers seem substantially taller. During the arena sequence, the chanting spectators are positioned above and around the listening area, accurately reflecting their elevated seating, while the train immediately afterward sweeps from the front of the room toward the rear overhead. Rainfall and rolling thunder later occupy different points across the ceiling, and spacecraft, explosions and the destruction of the AT-ATs supply additional activity.

Low Frequency Extension: Each AT-AT footfall lands with a deep, room-shaking thud, particularly when the machine steps over Mando during the opening. A major crash at the Hutt palace digs surprisingly low, explosions carry a dense concussive shove, and Rotta’s various falls, rolls and belly-first collisions produce appropriately hefty impacts. Even the unusual pop track playing when Mando meets the short-order cook has enough low-end rhythm to keep the subwoofers working. Göransson’s percussion and electronic passages provide additional weight.

Surround Sound Presentation: Early in the film, blaster bolts inside the AT-AT trade positions between the front and back of the theater as stormtroopers fire toward Mando, with clean, easy-to-follow movement. The Hutt chambers spread echoes and environmental sounds through the lower speakers, establishing a broad, cavernous interior before the height layer extends it upward. In the arena, weapon strikes and creature movement remain active around the listener while the crowd rises into the overheads. Ships can be heard landing or departing behind the seating position, rain and thunder drift across different portions of the room, and the climactic blaster fire moves rapidly through the entire array. Göransson’s score also opens well beyond the front stage, lending both the action and quieter planetary environments greater size.

Dialogue Reproduction: Voices remain firmly anchored to the center and consistently understandable.

Extras ★★★☆☆

FEATURETTES:

• Crafting “The Mandalorian and Grogu”: Discover the craft behind an epic Star Wars adventure! Go behind the scenes with artists creating the stunning puppetry, miniatures, sound design, and visual effects that bring the worlds, characters, and creatures of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” to life.
• Biomes—From Snow to Swamp: Voyage with director Jon Favreau and his crew to a pair of brand-new worlds that may seem a touch familiar to fans of the original Star Wars trilogy. Discover how the ingenious filmmakers constructed snowy landscapes and a living swamp from the ground up!
• Welcome to Shakari: A bustling metropolis like Shakari cannot simply be found—it must be made. Join the film’s fabrication as they build an entire Star Wars city with a downtown warehouse, conjuring an epic playground for Mando and his young apprentice.
• Dejarik for Real: Sometimes it’s the little things! Who can forget the Millennium Falcon’s charming holochess game introduced in 1977? Witness how the tiny creatures featured in the game were lovingly brought to giant-sized life for the Mandalorian’s big-screen debut!

AUDIO COMMENTARY:

• Audio commentary by Jon Favreau: Watch the film with audio commentary by director Jon Favreau.

Summary ★★★★☆

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu isn’t anything new or even that spectacular; it’s a fun, light romp that will keep you entertained for two hours. The commentary is enjoyable but the rest of the features are rather light.

For steelbook collectors, there’s a really nice variant. For hardcore fans, there’s a Beskar Collector’s Edition, which includes the Steelbook and 2 Metal Posters. It’s rather pricey at $219, so if it catches your eye, maybe wait until the price drops.