Star Wars is "The Lord of the Rings" of science-fiction. When
it came out the first time, the movie was magical because the visual effects
and worlds were something new. The story-line was unique yet familiar;
mythological even. We had never seen it
before. And spirituality was something we were discovering and were fascinated
by because it was more personal and, in fact, made sense; it was straightforward.
Those were the original three episodes.
The origin storyline films were still fascinating. We were still
spellbound by its magic because it wasn’t far away from the story of the
Episodes IV, V, and VI. Plus, the often re-runs of the originals, VHS/DVDs,
books, merchandise, and ComicCons helped to continue the magic, the dream of
great adventures, and unbelievable feats. However, Episodes I, II, and III were a
disappointment. The stories were hardly explained in depth, plots were rushed
through, characters unique but some shouldn’t have been there, and way too much
CGI. Nevertheless, the magic and the myth were still there. That is why the
animated Star Wars series were so successful though, at times, writers got lazy
with creating solid stories with important characters. Instead, they jumped
their storylines from world to world to show us how the Empire came to be (very
illuminating), why Yoda didn’t defeat Palpatine (would ‘ve liked more stories
on this point), and the path that Anakin chose to take in the end (and that
wasn’t too clear but prepared for Episode III). Of course, at the end of these
series, we saw that one female Sith was still alive.
And, now, we are at a time when a new Star War Episode VII is
coming out on December 18th. Disney bought the rights from George
Lucas for way too much money, a few billion. Disney, lacking its own creative
machismo that made it magical in of itself, decided to continue to earn money
by buying up stories and merchandising rights from other successful companies
like George Lucas Co. and Marvel, for example. This is a very smart business
decision when its own creativity is all but vanished.
Disney hired J.J. Abrams who was charged with revamping and
relaunching the Star Wars saga. He did similar with Star Trek which was
successful in terms of story-line and character-driven plots. (I am not talking
about money). But will his re-hashing of Star Wars be as successful? I would
answer yes, for now. Fans, fanatics, and new generation of people will flock to
the cinemas to see and then judge the new Star Wars episode. It will make
enough money so that Episode VIII will be filmed. As for me, I will go and see
it. However, for the first time,
I am not too optimistic and not holding my breath to be blown away by it or be
fascinated by its magic and mythology. The reason is simple: The whole barrage
of teaser trailers, trailers, and featurettes were badly assembled. They did not
create fascination for me as was the case with Episodes I, II, and III. I don’t
mind the intrigue, but there wasn’t much about to be intrigued by, though I must
concede that legend is being reborn. So, what didn’t I like about all of those
clips?
First of all, the whole look is something out of “Hunger Games”
and “Divergent” series. This episode apparently is geared toward tweens and
teens. This makes sense. The creators want a new generation to get interested
by the Star Wars. However, the trouble could be that the serious and strong
story-plot tones will be overshadowed by melodrama. As such, it would be
interesting to see the end result and whether a melodrama will be present. In
the end, this episode doesn’t look to be created for everyone but for certain
groups of people. For me, the original films were created for everyone.
Now, I am not so sure.
Second, the movie has way too many questions.
But why start on Tatooine again? Is this a throwback to the beginning of
Episode IV? I call this lazy writing. In contrast, Episode I began on Naboo.
Another point is that the main character around whom the story
will coalesce is a female. I don’t mind having a strong female character. But
who is she? How come does she have to go in search of the Force? Who are her
parents? Furthermore, we saw a glimpse of an African-American stormtrooper.
Alright, I’ll bite. This is possible. According to Star Wars legend, after the
Empire fell and the Rebels destroyed clone-manufacturing factories, the last
remnants of Empire were not able to create clones anymore. As such, they had to
conscript and ‘grow’ regular folk to be soldiers. These new additions are
welcome. However, I do hope this is not because of the new cultural hype of
bringing diversity into Hollywood. I sincerely hope that these characters are
interwoven intelligently into Star Wars story-line and universe and not be there
just for show. Well, watching the movie would help in understanding this
particular conundrum.
Last, but not least, the new little robot looks less intelligent, more annoying, and unlikely to
save our heroes from near-death situations like R2-D2 had done. How come Mark
Hamill (Luke Skywalker) wasn’t present in the clips aside from his sage-like
voiceover sound? (He has been known to act in VoiceOver world than on-screen
world). Is his role so small that’s not worth mentioning though he is the
person who became the Jedi Master, who created the new Jedi Academy, and who sought out people who could become Jedi? Isn’t Luke around
whom the future of Far, Far Away Universe established anew? Furthermore, how
come the Force is conveniently forgotten? Is Coruscant no longer in existence?
Does the New Republic still fighting Empire? And, lastly, what’s up with the
new Sith? Why does he have such a deep voice like we’ve been hearing in movies
like “Batman: The Dark Knight” (Christian Bale as Batman), Eddie Redmayne in
“Jupiter Rising” and Benedict Cumberbatch in “Star Trek II” as Khan? Why do
actors decide to create a character with such deep voice? For me, those types
of voices sound cheesy. Therefore, since I have questions such as these, I will
have to watch Episode VII, but I won't buy a ticket ahead of time.
In conclusion, the new episode is not an original story-telling
as Star Trek was. It is an amalgamation of all other Star Wars movies that is
based on a sage mentor, an unlikely hero, and an evil Force consisted of one
person (if it’s a group, then that is anti-Sith mantra of One Master = One
Apprentice as per 1,000 years of Sith existence). In my opinion, the movie doesn’t have legs for
Episodes VIII and IX. I will see the movie and then review the whole movie. But
for now, I don’t believe in characters though actors look like they are playing
their roles very well. And I don’t believe in the story that doesn’t capture
imagination and desire to fly in a X-Wing, in Millennium Falcon, to shoot at
storm-troopers, to travel to different planets, or learn the ways of the Jedi.
But ‘Let the Force be with you’ to have a desire to see the movie and be
captured by its magic and story.
