Word came a few weeks back that the next Star Wars film (Episode 7) will start filming in April of this year. It got me thinking about what makes Star Wars so special and important for me personally. The jury is still out on what JJ Abrams’ Star Wars will turn out to be like.
A great video came out a few months back (amazingly well animated) describing 4 rules to make Star Wars great again. It’s definitely worth watching and makes fabulous points that nearly all fans would agree with:
Where the Prequels Went Wrong
George Lucas has said many times in interviews that the older generation of fans loves the original films but the younger generation actually prefers the prequels. Older fans are flabbergasted when they hear this. How could someone prefer the sterile, over-CG’d environments and flat acting of the prequels over the magical fantasy-based films from the 70’s and 80’s?
The main problem with the prequels isn’t the overuse of CG, or the whiney kid that would become Boba Fett, or the wooden acting, or even Jar Jar Binks for that matter. Those are all factors (among countless others) to be sure. No, the core problem with Episode 1,2, & 3 is a story problem. Anakin’s character arc isn’t even slightly believable and because we already know what happens to him from the later films, there’s no suspense as he moves towards his inevitable character change. Anakin does not become Darth Vader because of important events and character choices. He becomes Darth Vader because he needed to in order to fit into the overall storyline. The entire weight of the three prequel films rests on this story problem and the weakness by which it was handled, causes everything else to collapse around it.
Why the Original Films are So Important
Now, I don’t hate the prequels the way many do. I saw Episode 1 in the theaters at least four times and really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it was that I was just so happy to see Star Wars back on the big screen again but I remember being really jazzed. It wasn’t until Episode 2 and 3 along with some personal reflection that cracks began appearing in the shiny Mandalorian armor.
The greatest accomplishment of the prequels (besides bringing back Star Wars into the worldwide consciousness) was showing how great the original films were. Even as great as they are, if Star Wars (episode 4) had been the only film, it might not have raised Star Wars to the epic proportions that it reached. It was only with the brilliant sequel Empire Strikes Back (the best film in the series) and the satisfying climax of Return of the Jedi that made the original films one of the best movie trilogies in film history.
The prequels might have taken the shine off but there’s still room for more great stories in the Star Wars universe.
3 Ways to Make Star Wars Special Again
Bring Back the Magic
Star Wars has always been as much fantasy as science fiction (if not more). So explaining the force away as a blood condition was a disastrous move. What’s done is done but the best thing the new films can do is to distance themselves by avoiding any discussion of midichlorians and focus on the magic of the force.
High Drama
George Lucas is an idea guy. He’s a story guy. He’s the greatest film technology innovator of our time. He’s not a great screenwriter and he’s an even less great director. The prequels were plagued by wooden acting and awkward scenes. They were also missing a key ingredient, real, emotional, drama. The reveal that Darth Vader was Luke’s father caused audible gasps in theaters. Nothing in the prequels even came close to that. We need that kind of drama back.
Go Intimate instead of Geo-Political
Instead of having universe-wide conflict that spends more time on government squabbles and galaxy-spanning wars, focus on a few characters and their problems as they try to survive in the galactic frontier. Focus in on a collection of characters that we care about in a dangerous world.