wildyams

What's Wrong With Star Wars

If you're a Star Wars fan, or don't want to be exposed to negative sentiments about these new Star Wars Episodes, you probably should skip this. Now I know what you may be saying, you may be wondering why I'm suddenly so down on these movies when I have previously been so positively in favor of them. So allow me to explain:

When Episode 1 came out, I saw it 3 times in the first 2 days, then I saw it one other time a couple days later, and didn't see it again till it came out on DVD, and then just watched it once. But by the time it came out on DVD my feelings about it were clear: I loved the look of it, I loved the lightsaber battles, and thought it was just setting the stage for the real story which would unfold in the next two. But really my opinion was formed during the mega-hype phase of its initial release, and being the stubborn guy that I am I stuck to my guns about how I felt about it. Besides, all I really heard against it was that people hated Jar Jar Binks, and I felt that I just overlooked him somewhat and wasn't really that bothered by him in the first place. When Episode 2 came out I once again saw it twice within its first week in theaters, and I was very caught up in the progression of the story, and the huge battle scene at the end. I was so caught up I even thought it might be the best Star Wars movie yet. You know what, I still enjoy both Episode 1 and Episode 2. I think they are entertaining movies, with an interesting story and some great scenes in them. My problem is not with any one character, or with the acting or whatever. The problem I have with these movies goes a lot deeper:

I think that Lucas picked the wrong part of the backstory to show in this trilogy.

Look at the original trilogy: how much time would you say passes between the beginning of Episode 4 and the end of Episode 6? 5 years? 10 years, maybe? But really that's about it. It starts with Luke at the real beginning of his journey off to become a Jedi and ends when he reaches that goal. There is no significant aging done by anyone in the cast. It could be that the original trilogy only spanned maybe a year or two.

Now look at this trilogy: already just from the start of Episode 1 to the end of Episode 2 more time has passed than in all of the original trilogy. And Lucas supposedly will jump forward ANOTHER 10 years or so between Episode 2 and 3. What is the point of all that? Did we really need to see Anakin as a child? Did we need to see Obi Wan as a paduan apprentice? Wouldn't it have been more interesting to have started Episode 1 with Anakin much older than he was?

For me, there are really two problems with this new trilogy:

ONE - Who is the main character of this trilogy? Is it Anakin or Obi Wan? Sure in the orignial trilogy Han Solo was a major character, but that trilogy was about Luke, and Luke's journey from farm boy to Jedi, it was not about Han's journey from smuggler to freedom fighter. Or its not about Han and Leia's romance. Those are elements of the trilogy, but at the center of it is Luke and his journey. It is about the character arc of Luke Skywalker. But what is this trilogy about? Is it about Obi Wan's journey from apprentice to master to betrayal and exile or something? Or is it about Anakin's journey from slave to apprentice, to chosen one to traitor? Its not clear cut who is the main character.

TWO - I somewhat stated this above, but what is the journey that the main character is on. What is the goal of Obi Wan or Anakin? Where are they trying to get to? We know where they end up: Anakin as Vader and Obi Wan in isolation on Tatooine, but where are they trying to get to?

In my opinion, this trilogy should have been about Anakin, and it should have been about Anakin's journey from good to bad. its that simple. And its so simple that I think its what everyone expected before Episode 1 came out. The trilogy should have began with Anakin either nearing the end of his Jedi training or with him just beginning his tenure as a Jedi Knight. From there it should have been about how talented he was as a Jedi, and how the Emperor noticed his obvious talents and manipulated him into joining the Dark Side. And that really should have been it. Obi Wan should have been his friend who turned into his enemy by the end. Anakin should have turned into Darth Vader because of something Obi Wan did to him (i.e. a major lightsaber battle which ended with Obi Wan almost killing Anakin), and at the same time Padme would have given birth to Luke and Leia. Then Episode 3 could have maybe been about Vader trying to find Padme and his son (cause he didn't know about Leia), and had Obi Wan and Padme trying to hide them. All with the rise of the Empire and the Clone Wars (which should have gone on for more than what appeared to be one afternoon) as the backdrop, and with the Emperor using his forces to take control of the Senate and eventually the galaxy. Lucas could have even looked at the way Hitler took control of the Reichstag back in the early 1930s as an example, since he drew clear comparisons between the Empire and the Nazis in the original trilogy.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on how Star Wars could have been better. What do you think?