I Let Nostalgia Ruin Star Wars
Upon leaving the theater, I had much to criticize.
For starters:
- Poe not being told about the initial plan for escape 🤐
- The unnecessary amount of slapstick humor 😒 💢
- The entire casino planet sequence ♠️ ❤️ ♣️♦️
- Rey and Kylo easily killing Snoke [or is he still alive…? 🤔]
- Porg = merchandisable plush toy (I see you Disney 💰 💸)
I couldn’t tell if it was a kids movie, a gritty science fiction film, or the eighth installment in the space opera series I‘ve spent years waiting for. When the movie ended, and the audience began to clap, I just sat there, contemplating.
Why did I not like this one? Why were the others so much better?
They weren’t. Not by a longshot. Nostalgia made them seem better in my memories. Episodes 4–6 may have been the originals, but they’re still riddled with flaws and questionable decisions. Imagine if The Empire Strikes Back was around during Twitter and the internet as we know it today? Outrage would have been strewn across message boards.
Fortunately, some Twitter user has helped recreate this for me…
Instead of remembering the experinece of the whole movie, good and bad, I only rembered the parts that I particularly enjoyed. The space battles, exploration of fantastic new worlds, a Force beyond explanation, and good triumphing over evil all stuck with me. So, let’s take a moment to remember some issues with the originals.
Episode IV: A New Hope
I forgot to consider the slow plot buildup and dull exposition by old Obi-Wan Kenobi about the Force.
I also didn’t remember the convenient ways events panned out. For example, how Han Solo shows up magically at the last minute and Luke happens to fire the torpedos into the right spot mere seconds before the Rebel base is destroyed. I don’t care how strong the Force is with any of the characters, there’s no way that all works out.
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The entire plot is centered around Luke following a ghost and a weird little alien.
While it turns out that Yoda is a great Jedi master, Luke adandons him on the whims of a single vision, only to play into the hand of the enemy. All of this happens depite Yoda’s warning. During this, the others conveniently get stuck in the gut of a giant alient space worm. Yes, it does add to the plot and great some suspense, this doesn’t generate much value. And then there’s the lackluster inclusion of Boba Fett….
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
All hope seems to be lost until a group of fuzzy little Ewoks capture, almost eat, and then agree to help the Rebels on the forest moon to eventually defeat the empire.
You honestly can’t tell me that the elite forces of the mighty Empire could be overwhelmed by mere furballs. Don’t even get me started on Vader’s last minute turn to the light. There was no grounding for this other than Luke being his son, who he was prepared to kill.
Conclusion? It’s our brain’s fault.
In each of these “great” movies, there are still flaws to consider, plot holes to cover, and convenient sequences of events. Oh, and there’s the part where George Lucas adds new CGI renditions to the movie in order to continually add to the nostalgic effect, but that’s minor in comparison.
Without accounting for the effect of nostalgia, its possible to create an unrealistic view on how these new movies live up to the originals. Sure, I don’t agree with every decision made by director Rian Johnson. However, I understand that my disposition as a longtime fan gives me an unfair lens to view the new movies.
So, to make up for that, here are some elements I did like:
- The opening sequence with the Rebel fleet on the run, low on time, fuel, and options
- Kylo and Rey fighting back to back on Snoke’s ship
- Luke’s illusion to Kylo Ren across the galaxy
- The multi perspective view on how Kylo fell to the dark side
- Rey’s training [minus the boob milk! 🤢]
Moral of the story:
Upon further thought, I actually liked the movie. I love Star Wars. I’m seeing Episode IX regardless😎
