Alright, I know exams are stressful and everyone just wants to go home and have some well-earned time off, and I am completely on board for that. But before we go, a lot of people probably do not remember a really important thing that is happening in the next few weeks (and I am showing a lot of my geek side with this so please bear with me): a new Star Wars film is coming out. That’s right, boys and girls, a story set a little less time ago in a galaxy just as far away is coming to theaters for the first time in 10 years (31 if you ignore the prequels and all that other stuff that isn’t “canon”).
Hey Han! This new movie is kind of a big deal.
This is fantastic because spoilers are stupid, and aside from trailers I try to limit as much as I can see of a movie before I am sitting in the theater and watching the title crawl. However, a lot of fans have uncertainty and reservations about the idea of another Star Wars movie, and these are not without due cause. But to explain this further, a brief history lesson.
In 1977, the first Star Wars was released. At the time summer blockbusters were not that common, with the exception of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws two years earlier, and Star Wars was considered a big risk. Listen to this premise: in a different galaxy full of aliens and thousands of planets, a group of rebels are fighting to restore order to the Empire, fighting against the Imperial forces led by Darth Vader, a seemingly asthmatic robot who becomes one of the greatest villains in cinema history. The protagonist of this story? A whiny farm boy, a hotshot space captain, and a giant bipedal bear. But this idea worked and created one of the most amazing stories ever captured on film. The fan base is insane; the amount of works and spinoffs following this original trilogy of movies has created a story owned just as much by the fans as by the original creator. And twenty years later, they made three more! But no one liked them and it is almost universally agreed that they did not live up to the greatness of the originals.
In discussing the complicated history of Star Wars on film, this has to begin with the creator of the universe: George Lucas. A young aspiring filmmaker in the 70s, Lucas showed a lot of promise and skill as a writer and director. He directed the coming of age story American Graffiti. Does anyone remember the scene from The Godfather of the montage and newspaper headings for the mobsters “going to the mattresses”? Guess who edited that? George Lucas. The man clearly had skills, and he showed it even more when he created the Star Wars universe. The reason people have such disdain for him is because of the prequels. While Lucas was under control and kept the story simple against the large scale of the originals, no one stopped him in the prequels. He had free reign over everything, and the result went too far. He forgot what made his original story so endearing: a story of amazing scale and scope that is rooted in the humanity and struggle of the character.
One of the biggest reasons the prequels did not work was because there was no focus on the characters but rather on the action and spectacle. Computers and special effects have evolved, and while they make some pretty remarkable visuals, it also lacks to personality and charm of good old fashion models and sets. While not every shot looked stunning in the original films, it felt authentic and real. In promoting The Force Awakens, Abrams has highlighted how many sets and props are being used, making a lot of people really hopeful for the future of the film series. Therefore, the collective fan base breathed a sigh of relief when Disney bought the franchise for $4 billion. But then everyone worried again when J.J. Abrams was hired as the director. While I liked his work in Lost and enjoyed his Star Trek films, I did not know the original Star Trek and a lot of fans had issues with his take on the classic story. This has led Star Wars fans to cry bloody murder at the risk of the same thing happening here. Here is my piece of advice to him (way too late but hopefully already heard by him a thousand times): If he wants Star Wars to work again, he should look to the best movie of the series, which of course means The Empire Strikes Back.
The Empire Strikes Back was the second film of the original trilogy, in addition to holding an easy spot in my top three favorite films of all time. Here is the best way I can explain its impact. If Star Wars invented the wheel, The Empire Strikes Back put the wheel on a car and turned it loose. With the characters established, it was time to throw them into more trouble and to separate the story. Here the writers did a great job of capturing the spirit of the original but taking it deeper, discussing deeper spiritual topics about the “Force” and the delicate balance between good and evil. Additionally, the writers did something almost unheard of by having the bad guys win at the end. This story was unafraid to take the audience through the ringer, and it has the most devastating and shocking reveal in the history of film. With so many new young characters meeting the original heroes and threat from The Force Awakens, the fine line between being good and falling to the Dark Side is easy to explore in the apparent uncertainty of this story. Older characters mentor, the younger ones struggle, and we care. That means more to me than an annoying alien that is a great effect but has the charm and personality of a crumpet.
Everyone knows the risk that comes with a project like Star Wars. No matter what happens, someone is going to be upset and there will always be an air of uncertainty with the director’s vision matching the audience’s dreams. Here’s to hoping that all will be right with the newest one, that the filmmakers remember what has made Star Wars endure to today, and that my Jedi robe gets here in time for opening night.
