HAVE GROGU, WILL TRAVEL

In May, 1977, I was seated in the long-gone Cinerama Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, for the first showing of a virtually unknown space adventure “Star Wars.”

20th Century Fox had so little faith in this modest sci-fi movie that it opened “Star Wars” in just 25 cities nationwide. However, from the very first scene, I could tell it was something unique. And when the movie ended, I got back in line to see it a second time.

Little did we know at the time that the George Lucas movie eventually would spawn an entire industry and that decades later, Disney would buy the whole shebang from Lucas for $4 billion.

The deal has largely paid off for Disney, but the movies churned out by the Mouse House, for the most part, have been disappointing. Except for the TV properties.

Andor, a series that foreshadows the action in “Rogue One,” and hints at a major plot point in the original “Star Wars,” is, in my opinion, one of the best SW properties of recent years. And “The Mandalorian” is equally great television.

So now, in a reversal of how these things happen, Disney has turned “The Mandalorian” series into a full-length cinematic event. And I think the big-screen treatment is well worth a look.

(And if you haven’t seen the TV series, no worries. You can enjoy “The Mandalorian and Grogu” as a standalone experience because screenwriter and director Jon Favreau appears to have had newbies in mind when he created the project.)

To boil it all down, the story takes place in the years following the third original SW movie, “The Return of the Jedi.” The rebels have won, the Empire is in tatters and the galaxy is at peace. But in that moment, the villains are regrouping and aiming to regain their evil foothold.

A wanna-be warlord, Janu, is behind the coming insurrection and is building an army of storm troopers in his thirsty rise to power.

Meanwhile, the bounty hunter Mandalorian, aka Din Djarin, is hired by the twin brother and sister of the now-deceased Jabba the Hutt, the alien mobster from the first SW movie who briefly imprisoned Han Solo. The Hutts task him to find and bring home Jabba’s son who has disappeared. Their motive seems genuine—family togetherness above all.

It turns out Janu is also an impresario who stages fights to the death starring his main attraction, the Hutt son Rotta.

The Mandalorian finds Rotta, attempts a rescue but is then thrown into the ring instead. Janu wants the pair to fight each other, like the bloodthirsty emperors in all those old gladiator movies. But the Mandalorian refuses to engage and Janu then pits the pair against a horde of alien monsters.

Since the movie is just getting started, naturally the two heroes escape. But not for long.

The story continues to unfold in ways that demonstrate Favreau has a knack for zigging when you expect him to zag. And he introduces a species of small humanoid creatures, Anzellans, that mimic the Ewoks from the “Return of the Jedi” or, more recently, Minions. So, this time out a Star Wars movie jettisons the pretensions of some earlier adult fare and targets kids. I think it was a smart move.

The CGI is seamless, and the cinematography is some of the best put onscreen in ages, making the total package deeply satisfying. One big surprise is film director Martin Scorsese adding his voice to a minor character (I’ll let you decide which one) and Favreau smartly casts veteran actress Sigourney Weaver in a critical role.