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Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Star Wars Discussion Post


I'm doing something a little different- I've noticed in my analytics that this old Star Wars discussion post seems to get a LOT of attention. It came out right around the time of Star Wars: The Force Awakens so it's a little dated, especially since some of my criticisms were addressed in later movies or whatever. But I thought I'd re- present it here to see what people think now- about 5 years later. Also I had to edit and clean it up a bit. You can find the original post here if you want to see what people thought at the time.  

Since I thought Star Wars The Force Awakens sucked I thought it would be fun to imagine where the Star Wars story could have gone. But where would I have liked to see it go? Well, I'll tell ya. Keep in mind this is just a selfish for- me exercise so if my ideas seem terrible that's fine. You can let me know in the comments. Better yet, I'd love to hear what your ideas are. What would you like to see in Star Wars?

Here's a few things I wish they had done. 

Have Luke actually in the movie. For more than a minute. After all the hype, to have him only show up at the end was ridiculous. 

Ditto for Artoo and Threepio. They are the heart and soul of the original trilogy in some ways, and I think they are the ideal way to bring humor into the story. If you watch the original movies they were the comic relief, and could have played that role again, as well as providing a bridge to those earlier stories. 

Leia should have had more to do. She does nothing in Force Awakens, and she was sarcastic and badass in the originals that that was sorely lacking here. Find a way to keep that spark while at the same time acknowledging that she's older, wiser, more measured perhaps. Leia had no fire in Force Awakens. 

Han Solo is (sadly) getting older so having him revert to smuggling is silly. It just doesn't look realistic. He was a general in Return of the Jedi, he should have still been with the Alliance or whatever- have him lead from a position of authority and experience and pass the torch to Rey that way. It took me out of the story a bit to see a guy in his 70's trying to run around like the old days. 

Skip Maz Kanata. After Han warns Rey that she is unpredictable she turns out to be like someone's sweet grandmother. Nothing mysterious or dangerous about her- remember how Yoda was kinda mysterious at first? I yawned pretty much at that whole scene. 

Have the cast interact on some important worlds. Have you noticed that, except for the prequels, we never see Core worlds or important Imperial/ Republic worlds? Like Coruscant. I would have liked to see Leia be an important person in the Republic on Coruscant, with Han there grousing about incompetent bureaucrats or some such, and waxing nostalgic about his days gallivanting about in the Falcon. Since Rey is a pilot she could have taken the Falcon with Han's blessing and you pass the torch. It's not like Han did anything on the ship that Rey couldn't do anyway apparently. 

We could have seen Lando too maybe and Luke. Having them all on Coruscant would have been cool- Luke could be researching the old Jedi ways and if they're going with the "search for the Jedi temple" angle, like they alluded to, where better to start than on Coruscant? Imagine Luke exploring Vader's residence or finding hidden secrets in the Emperor's palace- the possibilities are endless! 

Instead our heroes hang out on places like Jakku and other places in the middle of nowhere. 

If we are going to revisit familiar worlds, how about Dagobah? Yoda lived there for years and Luke had an important test in the Dark Side cave. Maybe there's something there (an old Sith temple?) that plays a role in the story and Luke has to return. Maybe Rey has to go in and have her own test while Luke remains outside. 

Forget the Starkiller stuff. A third superweapon was too much. 

Regardless of how they do it, they should have had Luke, Leia and Han together. One last hurrah with the banter and camaraderie we remember. You could have had tension between the Republic and Luke, showing how maybe the Jedi and the secular leaders don't see eye to eye. Putting Leia in a tough spot opens up lots of dramatic opportunities. 

Show us cool places like maybe Corellia or a space station or the shipyards where they build Star Destroyers. Whatever- just something new. Science fiction means you can do anything- wow us. Don't just show us Tatooine and name it Jakku. they did some neat things, like the crashed star destroyers but I would have liked to see more. We used to get Cloud City, asteroid fields, stuff like that. 

And lastly more Jawas. 

11 comments:

  1. I never saw this one (or any of the ones that came after) because to me Star Wars is and forever will be the original three movies. I'm good with that. Seeing new/unfamiliar characters is just... meh. I heard spoilers for this one when it came out and the lack of Luke seemed like such a bad decision. To tease his return and then getting a glimpse at the end. Boo!

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  2. I kind of mix up all the Star Wars movies and I wish would put a number with the titles. I still prefer the original three movies because they are the ones I saw first but mostly, I just think they are better than these prequels and sequels. The Force Awakens wasn't a bad movie but maybe they could have done better.

    Luke -I think yes, Luke should have been in the movie more but he's not the main character so it makes sense he only shows up at the end. But I agreed with you, he should have been more in the movie since his character is important to the whole story. At the end of the movie, I thought Luke seems like a jerk because he just throw away that one important thing (I don't want to put in spoilers) as if it meant nothing and also makes me think the movie is joke and why did I wasted three hours on it?
    I did watched these movies for Luke, Leia, Han, even Lando, okay, maybe not him, I never did like his character. I suppose those who love the original would have like to see these familiar characters again.
    I should say I didn't like Rey all that much - her unknown/mysterious past annoys me because it created expectations and I was kind of disappointed by revelation. I suppose they created her mysterious past because her character is just boring without it.

    Artoo, Threepio? I prefer the other way of spelling their names, R2-D2 and C-3PO - I do like their humor, without them, the movies wouldn't be as fun.

    Leia, too, I guess should have more to do but you know, these new movies aren't really about the old, familiar characters, more like they are creating new characters around them but I did kind of wanted to see Leia doing more than giving some commands.

    Han Solo- he should have matured a little more shouldn't he? I do still like his rebellious ways because that's his character, that shouldn't change but yes, he should be doing more than just running around. While watching it, I actually did not think he should be in the movie at all because his storyline doesn't quite do much.

    Maz Kanata - she seems to know a lot which had me expecting her to do something great or perhaps have some importance to the story but she's just another character who maybe was sort of a model after Yoda but probably the writers decided no at the last minute. Perhaps they should have make her Yoda's sister or some relative.

    Important worlds - I think because of budget reasons, we don't get to see any nice new places but yes, these are new movies and they should offer new worlds.

    Dagobah - I wouldn't mind that Rey found Luke in Dagobah - it makes more sense since that he should be where he learned to use his powers, back to the beginning, the sort of thing.

    One last hurrah with Luke, Leia, and Han? Absolutely. The gang should get back together at one time since they are separated all throughout the movie.

    Jawas? I don't know. I suppose they are kind of fun scavengers, aren't they?

    I'm sorry, if this comment is way too long. Have a lovely day.

    P.S. why do you use that dancing photo instead of a Star Wars movie poster as the graphic? Just wondering...

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  3. I totally get the criticism about the newer movies. For me, my least favourite out of the newer movies was The Rise of Skywalker. I thought the ending was completely bogus. However, I do have a soft spot for The Force Awakens. I loved the introduction to the new characters and Finn and Poe in particular will always have my heart.

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  4. I must confess I am not a Star Wars fan but really enjoyed The Mandalorian!

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  5. Yes, him smuggling again was silly.
    And Leia should have more to doo than look serious

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  6. Have Luke actually in the movie! YES! And give him something to say. I would have really liked that.

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  7. As much as I enjoyed the movie overall, I still agree with pretty much all of your criticisms. Leia definitely needed more fire and sass, Luke should have been in the film, and Han returning to smuggling definitely made no sense to me.

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  8. I have to admit, I don't remember too much about these newer movies, but I think I kind of liked that Luke only showed up at the end? For me at least, it was pretty surprising.

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  9. Of this newest trilogy, The Force Awakens was my favorite of the group. I wasn't a fan of where they went with Rey at the end there. Maybe I'm still peeved that she wasn't just some nobody after all. I wish they'd had a bit more of a plan with them in general. I also think they dropped the ball with both Finn and Poe in the later two films.

    Of all the most recent Star Wars films, Rogue One has easily been my favorite. I was expecting next to nothing, but it was such a pleasant surprise.

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  10. I remember this post and it was fun reading it again. 🙂

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  11. "Forget the Starkiller stuff. A third superweapon was too much." Yes please. I was kinda tired of the villains trying to blow up a star, though I suppose that's the worst they could do? Pfft.

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