Fred Asquith On Film

The Mandalorian, Grogu, and 1 Huge Rant (Spoiler-Free Review)

Fred Asquith On Film

Show Notes

Today we return to a galaxy far, far away to review (SPOILER-FREE) The Mandalorian & Grogu, the new anxiously anticipated big screen spin-off of the previous Disney+ streaming spin-off. So we’re spinning off the spin-off. I walk you through my snap reaction to the film (because they have barely given us any time to gather our thoughts) before descending into an impassioned rant to Star Wars fanatics and casual fans alike. We talk about the marketing, the love (or lack thereof), the action, the warms, and the fuzzies. Stick around to find out Mark Kermode’s favourite seat in the BFI IMAX, as well as the behaviour of the guy sat next to me.

SUBSCRIBE and join the FoF Family! RATE & REVIEW! ("FoF IS ON THE UP") EXPLORE the FoF socials via my creepy website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fredasquith.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:41) My Star Wars Credentials (02:00) Rob - our Star Wars fanatic correspondent (02:52) Plot Synopsis/Set Up (03:49) Marketing & Anticipation (05:03) Is it a Cinematic Experience? (07:42) Disney have messed us around with this IP (12:15) This is strategy first not passion first (13:00) Sigourney Weaver’s weird performance, and Pedro (14:22) No Warm & Fuzzies, No Star Wars (16:15) Picking out some positives (18:13) Not coming from a place of love (20:07) Star Wars fans deserve better than this. (23:40) I take no joy in saying I was bored. (25:36) Summary & Letterboxd rating https://boxd.it/eqqxsF (26:30) The FoF Disclaimer (26:40) A brief ranking of Mando & Grogu (27:05) SeatyMapper - Mark Kermodes Favourite BFI IMAX Seat (28:03) Forrest Grump - Mando & Grogu Cinema etiquette RANT (30:08) Next week!

More from Fred Asquith On Film

Oct 19, 2026

This week on FoF we mourn (and celebrate) the passing of LFF by doing a nice little debrief of my most overrated, underrated, surprising and disappointing movies at the festival. I also tell the story of the most annoying audience member of the whole 10 days. We then move on to review 2 movies released this week that Premiered at the festival. First there’s Wildwood, which rallies against the ever looming slop. Then there’s Fatherland, a heartfelt vignette about a time and place not often depicted. As always, send in your voice note hot takes which I will hope to get back to next week! Any annoying LFF screenings, thoughts on the Oscar race now we’ve seen some of the contenders? Or any other business…go wild! https://memo.fm/fredasquithonfilm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Timestamps below.

Oct 14, 2026

This week on FoF we dive DEEP into the review of Whalefall, watch out for my spoiler-free section of the review in the timestamps before touching on some minor spoilers later on. I then give a run down of some of my favourite Ocean-based movies and NO, Castaway doesn't count. We finish off with a very thought-provoking voice note hot take about Cruise's Oscar chances, and the nature of "Oscar Bait" performances. Timestamps below.

Oct 7, 2026

This week on FoF we reckon with The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's spiritual follow-up to The Social Network, discussing why I think Aaron Sorkin may not be the best director for his own writing. We also touch on Verity which came out last week (minor spoilers for Verity) where I fiercely defend the erotic-thriller's right to be actually good. We then have a cracking voice note about the best nightclub scenes in movies where I get over excited about Black Swan, before finishing off with a PSA about the upcoming London Film Festival and what common viral condition to be aware of that I'm coining as "Film Festival-itis"! Timestamps below.

Sep 29, 2026

This week on FoF I'M NOT HERE!* And yet we STILL dig up Tom Cruise’s new outing DIGGER, one of the toughest movies to review in FoF history... I also give my personal take on Tom Cruise’s filmography and what I see to be 3 clear phases. We then do a Tom Cruise fOfSCARS awarding all your favourite Oscar categories to the Tom Cruise filmography, before finishing off with some really interesting listener voice notes about AI and Objectivity vs Subjectivity. Timestamps below.

Sep 21, 2026

This week on FoF we sense a sensible review incoming of the new Jane Austen adaptation Sense & Sensibility. I dive into the performances, cinematography, and whether I felt it landed the emotional plane at the end. I also give a quick nod to Babystar which is a movie I think is worth your acknowledgement. We finally return to the Voice Note Hot Take well and give our favourite listener Thomas some new recommendations - including my favourite film of all time There Will Be Blood. Timestamps below.

See all episodes →