Hey look: every theatrical crisis in the Star Wars galaxy doesn’t need a planet-killing McGuffin.

Returning from a recent mission for the New Republic, Din “the Mandalorian” Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu are given an assignment to save a kidnapped hutt (Jeremy Allen White) from an interplanetary gangster in return for information on an ex-Imperial officer. Partnering with Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum) in a recently acquired and restored Razor Crest, Mando accepts the mission but quickly discovers nothing is what it seems, fighting their way through double-crosses, profiteers, and bucket-headed stormtroopers. When Mando bites off more than can chew him, Grogu is given his opportunity to shine, defeating new enemies with old friends in order to save the day.

Writer/director/producer Jon Favreau is credited for the MCU blueprint directing the successful hail-mary Iron Man but also for establishing “The Mandalorian” on Disney Plus. While the new trilogy “somehow Palpatine returned” viewers and crutched on too-familiar tropes, three seasons of “a lone warrior fighting injustice by a personal code” quietly captured the imagination of viewers new and old. Partnering with Dave Filoni and his Star Wars animation characters rebelling elsewhere else in the galaxy, there’s an interconnected storyline full of all things stars and wars to enjoy. After our heroes seemingly settled down onto their own small slice of the lawless outer territories, what will it take to bring them back to the good fight?

The Mandalorian and Grogu is essentially the show’s fourth season, trading half the episodes in for a theatrical budget and preassembling it into a two-hour binge-worthy supercut. While the big revelation of the main plot is “sometimes the people in charge lie,” the secondary plot has more weight, allowing Grogu to grow far more than Din Djarin has allowed him to until now. Details like intentional puppet movement and stop-motion creature animation informing the earliest look of Star Wars is on full display, including a clever reference to a Dejarik match (because droids don’t pull people’s arms out of their sockets). There’s a bit of a slowdown in the middle and some excessive nostalgia toward its own mythos, which may be lost on those just meeting our heroes for the first time. Looking for danger and adventure in a production design worthy of an illustrated issue of Heavy Metal? Here’s the perfect place to check out of reality for a while and enjoy obvious bad guys utterly defeated by the time the credits roll.

Before it became Episode 4: A New Hope, the original Star Wars felt like a pulpy space-opera fantasy, with trailers echoing Roger Corman metaphysics-on-a-shoestring productions more than any hard science fiction like 2001: A Space Odyssey. “A war amongst the stars” should have more closely resembled the bleak but incredible Rogue One and prequel seasons of “Andor” than the bulk of this beloved franchise — think The Guns of Navarone — but it’s easy to fall into the trappings to defeat “the evil Galactic Empire” whenever that John Williams “Imperial March” cues up. With “The Mandalorian,” Favreau reconnected with that childlike sense of wonder and discovery that charmed audiences in 1977, even if the newer Wild West setting leans more into High Plains Drifter than Seven Samurai. As a direct continuation of the successful first three seasons, why would a film version deviate from the earlier success?

In addition to Pascal’s top billing, two additional credits highlight those most often in the suit: suit performer Brendan Wayne and stunt fight coordinator/stunt performer Lateef Crowder, folks who weren’t always as credited up front as they should have been. Similar to the existing material, the new film sticks with what works and makes sense, not trying to introduce new phantom menaces or hidden Jedi orders. Not a single light saber is ignited in this movie, and while there are fans who’ll swear it’s not Star Wars unless a Skywalker resists the Dark Side, the plot moves the needle as much as it needs to… no Black Fleets, Starkiller Bases, or Death Stars necessary. I have spoken.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action. This is the Way.

Three skull recommendation out of four.