|
| Anything Geared To 4-Year-Olds |
|
Lucas has repeatedly declared, "Star Wars is for children!" But he must acknowledge that it wasn't children that made him a billionaire. It was nerds like me that emptied their wallets for all things Star Wars.
I was 12 when the first movie came out. There really wasn't much cutesy-cute stuff like the Ewoks or Jar-Jar in Episode IV, but it didn't prevent us from becoming completely hooked. As a matter of fact, by far the most popular character among us kids was Darth Vader. A friend of mine has a couple of very young boys who are now Star Wars nuts themselves. Their favorite character? Darth Vader. |
|
| Scientific Explanations for Spiritual Stuff |
|
One of the coolest moments in Episode IV is when Obi-Wan is explaining the nature of the Force to Luke (and Han Solo is cynically smirking). It kind of laid the framework for the entire series: a greater good; more than the physical; the merits of self-sacrifice.
And then, as we know, that was all destroyed with a ridiculous conversation about midichlorians. No more. As Shakespeare said, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". |
|
| Lame Humor |
|
It's hard to pick the worst example of this from Episodes I-VI; there are so many to choose from.
Jar-Jar reacting to a flatulent animal. Jar-Jar stepping in manure. Chewbacca letting out a Tarzan yell (a Tarzan yell!) A belching frog outside Jabba's palace. Jar-Jar's slapstick nonsense during the Battle of Naboo (come to think of it, a lot of these involve Mr. Binks). |
|
| Straying Too Far From The Formula |
|
I'm sure to a certain extent JJ Abrams wants to put his own stamp on the series. At the same time, there is a reason that we're all crazy about Star Wars.
I don't want Episodes VII - IX to feel like new movie versions of Firefly. Star Wars might be grittier than Star Trek, but it is definitely not as gritty as Firefly. Obviously the prequels have their flaws, but I will say this: they feel like Star Wars. They are definitely part of the canon. |
|
| Dwelling On The Past |
|
Acknowledging what has come before will be great.
Rehashing what we already know will not. I think I'm more amped about this movie than I have been since, oh, probably 1980. Because when The Empire Strikes Back was announced, you had no idea what that movie was gonna be. We generally thought, "the whole story was told in Star Wars. What else could there be to say?" And then came what is universally considered the best Star Wars film of all. I want to be genuinely surprised. I want to be excited like a 12-year-old. I want there to be endless layers of detail and mystery so that I can watch these movies dozens of times and still find new stuff. Is that too much to ask? |
Jeffrey Dale Starr is a world traveler, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.
No comments:
Post a Comment