LucasfilmAfter a ton of anticipation and fanfare, The Mandalorian and Grogu has landed, and the reactions are...mixed. In some ways, the less-than-stellar response was to be expected. After three seasons of explosive action, what could this film do that the series hadn’t already fully accomplished? While the opening sequence of Mando and Grogu is thrilling in IMAX, and it's fun to see X-wings swooping down in the final moments of the film, even the most staunch defenders of this new Star Wars film might admit that there’s something off about the vibe of everything. But what is the true flaw of The Mandalorian and Grogu? The list, from fans and pundits online, is already very long; there are no female characters other than Sigourney Weaver’s Col. Ward (a huge problem!), Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Rotta seems phoned-in (it seemingly was!), the stakes felt low (didn’t Mando fight bigger bads than this?), and the action was inconsistent, or at worst, too similar to the kinds of things we’ve seen before. And yet, the heart of the true problem with The Mandalorian and Grogu is none of these issues. Yes, each of these points is valid, but the overall flow of this movie could have been smoother and smarter, which would have helped us all overlook some of these other, more specific nitpicks. The reason we’re all pulling out specific things — or making generalized arguments that the movie is too much like a TV episode — is that the structure of the movie simply doesn’t work. And that’s because it violates an unspoken rule that nearly every Star Wars movie follows, with the odd exception of The Phantom Menace. In short, the real problem with The Mandalorian and Grogu is in the third act, when it's decided that the action of the film has to return to Nal Hutta. Look! It’s your favorite place to go! Nal Hutta! | LucasfilmThis is the movie’s biggest blunder. As J. J. Abrams laid out in his now-famous 2007 TED Talk about “the mystery box,” the brilliance of the first 1977 Star Wars was its constant movement. While we tend to focus, or make light of Abrams’ concept here, the thing that is crucial to the success of the first Star Wars, and all the other films, is that each new location moves the story forward. Much like an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie, dashing around to different places is the story, and the exciting adventure is partly defined by what the heroes will encounter next. While it might be fine for Odysseus to (briefly) revisit the island of Circe after leaving earlier in the story of The Odyssey, generally speaking, the way these kinds of stories work is that when it comes to the locations, we don’t look back. Imagine if the ending of The Empire Strikes Back involved Luke and company returning to Hoth. Or worse yet, if the 1977 Star Wars ended back up on Tatooine? Or even worse, if Return of the Jedi had its final battle on Tatooine after starting the film there? That’s essentially the crime that Mando and Grogu commit. Once it sinks in that we’re headed back to Nal Hutta, the audience starts to lose interest. We’ve already been there. We saw the Hutts, we’re done. Once we realize the entire movie is going to conclude on the Hutt homeworld, the mystery and the excitement is gone, because we essentially now know what is going to happen. Yes, The Phantom Menace returns to Naboo in its third act, with Jar Jar exclaiming: “Wessa going home!!” This is not one of the better things about The Phantom Menace, and, arguably, one of the reasons why that movie still inspires so much debate. The stakes are fuzzy at the end of that movie (Queen Amidala needs to find a guy, to make him admit, something?), and the stakes are equally fuzzy at the end of Mando and Grogu. They have to rescue Rotta alone? Why? Why not go get help from all of Mando’s contacts in the underworld? Why right now? And at the point at which the New Republic was already on its way, the movie also removes all the tension: Mando had a bail out the whole time, making he and Grogu’s brave assault on the Hutt palace somewhat silly. They’re back! Did you miss them? (No, you did not.) | LucasfilmCertainly, some grand adventures can circle back to the beginning as part of a great ending. The Hobbit is famously also titled There and Back Again. And of course, The Odyssey is all about returning home, where a final confrontation goes down. But, Nal Hutta doesn’t feel like one of those locations that is worth taking your entire third act to. It feels like a stop on Mando’s journey, not the destination. In short, the return to Nal Hutta in the final act of the film is what makes The Mandalorian and Grogu feel off-kilter and slow, almost like the mass of several massive space slugs was weighing down the story. The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now.