Star Wars has many flaws, and fans and non-fans alike are likely to have different opinions on certain issues. Let’s talk about it.
Those Star Wars! The very mention of the term conjures up images of epic lightsaber battles, galactic wars, and iconic figures.
Star Wars, which began with the release of the first film in 1977, has become an integral component of popular culture. When Disney announced they were purchasing Lucasfilm in 2012, fans everywhere clutched their breath. They had faith that Disney would properly maintain the franchise responsible for turning many of us into nerds and experts on the world George Lucas created. This perfect pairing has to give the old tale a fresh perspective, right?
The Star Wars sequel trilogy has been met with both praise and criticism, with the latter typically being more vocal. Let’s put aside our fond memories and address how terrible these films really are.
You and I may have enjoyed the films individually, but there are so many issues with the story and the characters that no two Star Wars fans can possibly agree.
In a way, the old adage that “Nobody hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans” is accurate. While the sequels certainly have their high points, they also suffer from issues that have led many to loathe the series and, by extension, the House of Mouse.
Let’s discuss eight taboo topics related to the Star Wars saga.
- not even one story
There is a lot to figure out about the big picture of the Star Wars saga and how everything connects.
Keep in mind how outlandish Rey’s ancestry was. The audience was kept in the dark and misled while they debated various theories and examined every frame for hints. The parents of Rey, who were previously considered “nobodies,” suddenly found themselves in the royal Palpatine family. Then there’s the Emperor, Snoke. Kylo Ren killed this shadowy entity on the spot, despite the fact that he had never exhibited any interest in succeeding Snoke as the trilogy’s principal villain. The audience was confused by this turn of events.
The reviewers weren’t just being mean with their red markings. The errors were glaring and really irritating. After Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi and J.J. Abrams’s The Force Awakens, Abrams will helm the next installment in the series. Since Abrams returned to direct Rise of Skywalker, it seems as though the directorship of the sequel films has been passed about like a hot potato.
It seemed as if two separate films were combined to make Rise of Skywalker. The story veered off in unexpected directions, moved at a snail’s pace, and featured moments of redemption that seemed forced. One can only imagine the Star Wars and Disney creative teams huddling over a table discussing the sequel trilogy and shrugging, “Eh, we’ll figure it out in the next one.”
Disney and its narrative writers did a lot of damage to the main story, but it’s still enjoyable to experience moments of joy, redemption, and the first kisses we’d been thinking of (couldn’t have been just me, right?). To say nothing of the many stories and characters from the Extended Universe that Disney stifled and discarded by declaring them to be non-canon. While Disney has remade a few European Union films, there is still a lot more they could have saved and used in their theatrical or television releases.
- It was a bad idea to perform a soft reset on the planet.
Fans of the franchise have long wished for more nuanced portrayals of the series’ main characters as well as fresh takes on the Jedi and the Resistance’s hardships. However, the sequel trilogy steers us in a different direction, and it’s not clear how they contribute to the larger Star Wars canon. Instead, it appears like they are simply recycling old information.
Because of their dependence on Luke, Han, and Leia, Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren rarely try anything new. Disney claims that the purpose of the new characters, despite their unique histories and striking appearances, is to revitalize the brand. Create characters who are both contemporary and forcibly varied, and have the most well-known Star Wars characters “subvert our expectations” by acting in ways that fans wouldn’t anticipate.
Don’t get me started on the how Legacy figures like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have aged into grouchy old men. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to accept the way Luke was portrayed in the new trilogy.
Do you recall how, despite Vader’s long tenure on the Dark Side and his many atrocious actions, Luke still considered him a wonderful person? How about risk-taking Han Solo, who would do everything for his pals?
Those distinct and cherished identities have been shattered to pieces. To be frank, this makes me sad. Your favorite characters from your youth make an appearance, but they serve just as plot devices. Since the focus is on building up Rey and narrating her story, the other characters don’t get much of a chance to develop.
- Circular and jumbled plot development
Picture this: you finally get your hands on the new album from your favorite band, only to discover that it consists entirely of your favorite old songs. This is the way the newer shows are like. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy references to earlier works, recognizable settings, and protagonists with throwback appearances. It’s hard not to feel a little left down when the entire plot of The Force Awakens is simply an updated version of A New Hope and everyone has to go to Tatooine and is either a Skywalker or close to one.
More planets devoid of liquid water? The orphaned hero from the desert planet is once again leading a rebellion against the corrupt ruling class. The old, familiar story points were so loud that they almost drowned out the new ones. If I wanted to see “A New Hope,” I would put in my copy of the theatrical version on DVD instead of the new digital remake, which is a horror.
Was it too risky for the creators to deviate from the tried-and-true formula of the first three films? The fact that the sequel trilogy was structured more like a “greatest hits” reel than an original work suggests that the filmmakers didn’t have faith in their own storylines to attract new viewers. Everyone could not help but feel like they had seen this movie before due to the countless recycled storylines, plot devices, and character arcs.
These days, brands are not afraid to break the mold or buck consumer trends. People have come to expect franchises to take risks, so Disney’s decision to play it safe with the sequel trilogy felt not just odd but also out of sync. It’s always comforting to have an idea of what to anticipate, but this is Star Wars. So many great ideas for stories set in the fabled Extended Universe were just abandoned.
- Putting up with crappy supporters
Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico made her debut in the film The Last Jedi. It appears that she not only became a rebel in the Star Wars universe, but also in the actual world.
She represented progress, diversity, and tolerance as the series’ first Asian-American female lead. Rose’s introduction, however, elicited the most vitriolic and contentious response from viewers I’ve ever witnessed in all my years of TV-watching. Tran was harassed to the point where she deleted her social media accounts.
You’d think Disney would side with Tran and their belief that everyone should have access to the Star Wars universe if the time came to take a stance. No, but. Instead of telling stories of bravery and sticking up for what’s right, like they typically do, Disney catered to their nastiest fans.
Rose’s screen time was significantly reduced in Rise of Skywalker. The House of Mouse “caved in” to the hatred and sided with it, rather than making her character’s journey stronger or using the opportunity to teach about inclusion and tolerance. Whether or whether this was a direct response to the demanding trolls, it didn’t go well.
Disney blew an opportunity to show that it actually believes the lessons it teaches in its animated and, more recently, live-action films when it downsized Rose’s role. Moreover, this was the incorrect course of action in a galaxy where rebels, Jedi, and heroes of all stripes and origins roam freely.
- putting too much weight on what has already happened
Nostalgia is a potent drug-use tool. It can make us nostalgic for the “good old days” when we first saw the Millennium Falcon or applauded when the Death Star was destroyed, or it can make us laugh out loud. But sometimes memories dull our interest in information that would have been fascinating otherwise.
The emotional appeal of the sequel series, while well-intentioned, occasionally overshadowed the story. Too similar to the ending of A New Hope, in which Luke and Han earned medals but Chewie didn’t, Chewbacca received a medal at the end of Rise of Skywalker. It was satisfying to see the Wookiee get his due, but it also seemed to say, “See what we did there? Remember how you felt all those years ago?”
The act of catering to an audience is not inherently evil. It might be a subtle expression of appreciation for longtime supporters. When, however, the plot of what is supposed to be a new story instead unfolds in a way that makes every other scene feel like an emotional Easter egg hunt, then we have a problem.
Moments intended to elicit fan enthusiasm can backfire if they come off as forced or sentimental. When we suddenly go from “Wow, they brought that back!” to “Wait, what just happened?”, a seemingly uneventful journey becomes a major vehicle crash.
Even while it knew how to make us feel nostalgic, the sequel series may have benefited from a little more attention on driving the tale forward rather than this galactic roundabout because of this.
- Leaving the movies of the past behind
J.J. bears the brunt of the blame. Rise of Skywalker, directed by J.J. Abrams. Johnson allowed J.J. Abrams took control, and he immediately pressed the accelerator to a new level. Because he was working so hard to resolve the issues that Johnson had introduced, the film felt like a hybrid of two separate works.
We witnessed character arcs that abruptly shifted gears or were scrapped altogether. The films began to feel like a game of ping-pong on the big screen, with each one trying to debunk the claims of its predecessor rather than expand upon them. It was complicated, progressed too rapidly, and contained excessive detail. There wasn’t much time for spectators to stop and figure out what was happening.
One sentence from Poe’s current trilogy sums up the whole thing: “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.” The story shields the characters from harm. Johnson’s The Last Jedi killed off Snoke, so now we need to find a new villain. To Disney, it appears acceptable to attempt such a thing with a famous property like Star Wars.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, Rise of Skywalker requires careful placement of each component. Someone then walks in, drops a bucket of new pieces on the table, and instructs you to incorporate them into whatever it is you’re building. A haphazardly constructed tale, with key details added or removed at the last minute to appease the audience.
The success and narrative integrity of some of the original films were damaged by the subsequent trilogy. Consider the tale of Anakin Skywalker’s descent into evil and eventual redemption. Due to Palpatine’s reappearance in The Rise of Skywalker, the film loses some of its significance. I thought the point of Anakin’s sacrifice was to finally destroy the Emperor and the Sith. Have we wasted our time?
Not to mention Luke Skywalker, our collective beacon of hope. When compared to the confident, courageous combatant we rooted for in the first three films, his portrayal as a reclusive recluse in The Last Jedi is confusing. Everything he achieved and became in Episodes IV–VI seems like a setup for another hero to come in and finish the job.
The goal of a sequel is to expand on what came before, but the way this trilogy concludes ends up negating the successes and sacrifices of the original protagonists.
- Luke was annihilated, and Rey was elevated.
Farm kid Luke Skywalker inspired us to reach for the stars and believe in magic by becoming a Jedi Knight. From his days as a moisture farmer on Tatooine until his showdown with the Emperor, Luke Skywalker carried the first three films in the Star Wars saga. Fans were excited to learn he would be returning for the sequels because they were curious to see how he and his character had evolved. Instead, we were given a sour hermit who drank alien milk and lived alone on a remote island. He discards his lightsaber by tossing it off a cliff. Once a symbol of optimism and strength, this guy has become a byword for defeat and pessimism. Where did Disney go wrong? Mark Hamill, the actor who portrays Luke Skywalker, wasn’t Luke’s biggest admirer in the film.
Rey, a scavenger who appears to be quite adept with the Force, is the latest character to win over audiences. But hold on a second: why does Rey get a free pass to perfection without the flaws and growth that made Luke and the other characters so likable? She is a master with the lightsaber, she masters the ways of the Force more quickly than anyone else, and she solves problems that would stymie even the Jedi High Council if they were unfamiliar with them. I
In their haste to make Rey the Chosen One, the filmmakers neglected to show us the humanity and development that made the characters who came before her so compelling. Don’t get me wrong; I adore independent female protagonists. Rey is really one of my daughters’ middle names. Although she is a strong character, even they have to overcome obstacles. lacked all of them. Nothing except quick and easy triumph.
- The Mistreatment and Neglect of Finn
Finn, or FN-2187, was a defecting Stormtrooper who became an outcast hero. When we initially met him, he was sweating profusely and seemed frightened. We recognized in him a chance for the Star Wars world to try something fresh and exciting. One could have hoped.
Here was a character who showed us the inner workings of the Stormtrooper organization, as well as the difficulties of adapting to new situations, maintaining loyalty, and discovering one’s own identity. Finn was an excellent tale choice since his personality shouted danger and daring. It was very beautiful. Then the event occurs. I, along with many other fans, was eager to see what else our comrade could do after seeing him wield a blade in The Force Awakens.
In any case, that didn’t last very long.
What promised to be a brilliant development of character ended up being a stupid chain of misfortune and squandered opportunities. By the final installment of the trilogy, Finn had been reduced to the role of a supporting character at best. Not because John Boyega couldn’t act, but practically all of that original depth vanished. Even if the premise was dumb, he was fantastic in every scene he was in.
Many viewers and reviewers were disappointed that Finn’s story arc was sidelined and ultimately derailed by the introduction of new characters and developments. Instead of becoming a Jedi right once, he could have gone through trials and training like Luke did and become more in tune with the Force. In all honesty, finding out that his character development was a complete fabrication was like being slapped in the face.
The Star Wars universe, which continues to captivate and motivate fans, will always include the events and characters of the second trilogy. The most recent films in the series demonstrate the franchise’s continued success despite the fact that they squander several opportunities and include far too many issues to be overlooked.
Star Wars may have been developed over three decades ago, but its characters, places, and ideas are still sparking conversations, debates, and even lightsaber duels (have you ever heard of Ludosport?). Star Wars is still a huge part of popular culture, even if you don’t like the new stuff. It has an impact comparable to that of the Force.
We hold our breath as we anticipate the future of this well-known universe, such as the upcoming Ahsoka series on Disney+, out of equal parts awe and worry. This is the way of life for a Star Wars enthusiast.