Series Review: The Star Wars Original Trilogy
I know that most of you out there have probably seen at least a few of the Star Wars flicks. Many of you have probably seen all six films and, hopefully, enjoyed most of what was offered. For those of us that are Star Wars geeks, there is a deeper debate about the nature and quality of the first trilogy versus the supposed mess that was the new trilogy. In addition to giving a brief run-down of the first three films and what made them good (or not so good), I’d also like to touch on why so many people have turned to hating Star Wars creator George Lucas in recent years.
Star Wars Episode IV: A
This is the movie that inspired generations of kids and adults alike to hand over their souls to George Lucas and join him in a galaxy far, far away. The basic premise (for the few poor bastards that haven’t seen it) is that there is an intergalactic empire spanning the galaxy, seeking to take control of everything. Naturally, there’s also a rebellion, a dedicated group of people trying to overthrow the Empire and turn the galaxy into a republic. In order to help them with their conquests, the Empire has built a giant space station, the Death Star, armed with a weapon so powerful that it can take out entire planets. The Rebellion gets wind of this and steals some plans of the space station, hoping to find a weakness they can exploit.
Meanwhile, on a tiny desert planet, a guy named Luke Skywalker is living out his life. After a couple of droids end up in his possession, he gets led to a hermit in the desert by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As it turns out, Obi-Wan knows who Luke’s dad is and happens to be a Jedi willing to train Luke how to use the mysterious and all-powerful “Force.” They find a ride off the planet courtesy of Han Solo and his hairy companion Chewbacca and the group heads off to save Princess Leia, a prominent leader in the Rebellion. After infiltrating the Death Star, they manage to escape with the princess and set out on their plan to take down the Death Star. Oh, and there’s an evil Jedi by the name of Darth Vader trying to get them at every turn.
What made the original Star Wars so watchable was its classic theme of good versus evil and the ability of Lucas to keep things simple. We know who the hero is, we know who the bad guys are and all the other characters, no matter how morally grey, are interesting enough to keep our attention. A New Hope is very rewatchable, has amazing special effects given the time it was created and is a generally well put together movie.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
This time around, the old rebel crew finds themselves hiding out on the icy planet of Hoth. Unfortunately, their respite is short-lived, for the Empire tracks them and begins an invasion. Luke, while stranded in the icy wastes, has a vision from his now-dead teacher, Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells him to go to the planet Dagobah and find some guy named Yoda to teach him even more. After an epic battle, the rebels flee Hoth, Luke heads to Dagobah and the rest of the cast gets caught up in an asteroid chase.
Finally escaping their pursuers, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca head to
Empire is regarded by many Star Wars fans (including myself) as the best in the franchise. It also happens to have been written and directed by NOT-George Lucas, which could explain some of it. It has great pacing, action that moves the plot and creates tension and a deeper explanation of the Force. It is the darkest of the first trilogy and their willingness to take it past being just another science fiction series pays off.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Some time has passed between the second and the third films and Han Solo is still a prisoner of the gangster Jabba the Hutt. His friends manage to infiltrate and eventually, in an action-packed climax, rescue him. They all then set off to fight the good fight again. Luke heads to Dagobah to complete his training with Yoda and discovers that not only was Darth Vader telling the truth when he claimed to be his dad, but that he also has a sister.
When the group reunites, they’ve got a problem similar to what they had in the first (fourth?) film - the Empire is building yet another Death Star, this one bigger and badder than the last. They make a plan and infiltrate the moon of Endor, which the new Death Star is orbiting. After meeting smaller versions of Chewbacca (called Ewoks) and fighting various baddies, they manage to blow up the space station’s shield so that the Rebel Alliance can make their strike against it.
As all this is going down, Luke gives himself up to Darth Vader and gets to meet Emperor Palpatine, the guy running the Empire (who also happens to be a powerful evil Jedi). Darth Vader and Luke fight, the Emperor cackles and eventually Luke wins out and makes his escape.
Return of the Jedi, while it held to the story well, was where the franchise first begins to show its cracks. The Ewoks are blatantly there to entertain kids, many of whom are just being introduced to the franchise at this point (as a side note, the original plan was to have a planet of Wookies). The writing is taken less seriously and the contrast between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is very apparent. It still has the epicness of the other two, including some amazing battles, but the shift has gone from storytelling to entertaining, thus removing some of what made the franchise great to begin with.
Over the years, George Lucas, in addition to creating three more films that didn't quite live up to fans’ expectations, has gone back and tinkered with his original creations. He’s added scenes and effects that he says he wanted to be in them originally, but the FX weren't up to par at the time. He’s also cleaned up the film to remove some of the side-effects that occur when you use models in production. He’s added some CGI and even, much to the pain of loyal fans, changed some stuff around to fit with the newer trilogy. Some of these are quite controversial among Star Wars lovers, as this particular rant touches on. Others don’t seem to care one way or the other. One thing for sure is that Lucas gets a ton of grief from what he’s done. He’s stated openly that part of his decision in selling the Star Wars franchise to Disney was because the fans wouldn’t stop yelling at him. It’s understandable, but perhaps he should listen to what they’re saying?
In the end, the original trilogy still remains strong in our hearts because it was a great story. Once Lucas shifted his attention to the new episodes, he forgot what made the first three so great. The desire to use cutting edge technology and have over-the-top stunts overruled the sense to concentrate more on a story that people wanted to experience. If he’d ever gone and read some of the dozens of Star Wars novels crafted in his world, he might have gotten a sense of what people saw in his creation. Still, even if the newer films aren't great, he did manage to leave us with one amazing trilogy that continues to be a timeless addition to movie history.
Star Wars Original poster courtesy of filmgeekcentral.com
Empire Strikes Back poster courtesy of collider.com
Return of the Jedi poster courtesy of movieposter.com
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