Star Wars: When Space Odyssey is Victimized by Bad Ideas

If you haven't been under a rock, there has been a lot of fan criticism levied towards the recent Star Wars movies. While the criticism was arguably loudest during The Last Jedi, it certainly has been raised again with the recent release of Rise of Skywalker. My daughter is a Star Wars fanatic and I've taken her to see all of them, so I'm always immersed in all things Star Wars.  We typically dress up when we go to the movies, adding a little fun to the whole experience. But , sadly, that's where my fun usually ends. It seems that  ever since the original trilogy, the story lines and screen writing have been mostly bad. George Lucas, in my opinion, produced a lack-luster prequel trilogy.  And then after the sale to Disney, the franchise has had a mostly disappointing run of movies.  I've been ruminating over the state of this franchise, which has oddly mirrored the decline of similar franchises like Alien and Terminator. I've come to the conclusion that the root of the problem lies in bad ideas being ratcheted onto an existing universe, which inevitably leads to a flawed movie.  The core of good science fiction writing not only relies on world building, but rich writing that weave characters into a story that readers can in some way relate to.  The oddities of  science fiction provide escapism for the reader, and the story writing engages with a return to our human condition.  It is in this story writing that the writer must be careful to maintain a level of continuity in characters, motives and general understanding of the created universe, else lose the reader in  poorly constructed ideas that fall apart on their own merit. 

The Prequels

While there certainly was problems in the first Star Wars trilogy (mostly in Return of the Jedi), I contend that the original trilogy still came out as a good story telling . The prequels, however, had plot mechanic issues that are so glaring that they outshine the poor screen writing.  If one were to look at the prequels in an executive summary, it would likely sound like a fantastic movie.  The origins of Anakin Skywalker, the coming of power of Palpatine and the conflict between the pre-empire republic and the trade federation -all of this while exploring how the Jedi council functioned and the rise of the clone army.  This sounds like a movie I'd want to see! Unfortunately,  much of the delivery was not quality writing.  The prequel writing was so poorly constructed that the end result came across as bombastic and childish.  Despite his slave status, Anakin as a young child  is presented as being a super genius prodigy  who has mastered the construction of droids, engineering complex pod racers,piloted said pod racer with master effectiveness and later pilots a star ship into battle  with zero flight experience.  The degree to which characters are given abilities without earning them is problematic. In the same universe, we had been shown Luke Skywalker having to master his own force abilities and spending significant amounts of time with Kanobi and Yoda in developing his skill.  The original trilogy spent time developing these characters and helping us understand the hurdles - something that most people can relate to.  In other stories and movies that involve prodigies, we still see a pathway in which the character accomplishes mastery so that the acumen is understood as part of the characters development.  Most presentations of prodigies in story writing and movies are presented in a way that make sense within the context of the story.  The reader or audience understands the unique gift of the character and can accept the talent as it is used within the context of the story. The dynamic of realism is accepted when the talent is used withing a logical sequence where the challenges are met and expected outcomes of success can be met.  

Within Anakin's story, the viewer is presented with what would appear to be incredible challenges. I've flown an airplane before, and I would assume I'm one of the few people who have been lucky enough to do this. There is an inherit level of skill needed to fly an aircraft, one that requires a level of understanding - not only about the instrumentation but also about the dynamics of flight as well as understanding the capability of the craft.  It's not something you just jump in and do.  Yet, Anakin does this with ease.  Heck, even Luke was alluded to wanting to join the academy and had friends who were pilots. Although we never saw Luke's progression as a pilot, his training as one was frequently alluded to. Anakin's talents seemed so incredible that they seem unbelievable - in a similar way that Rey's talents in Force Awaken's seem to be (more on that later). 

Another problem haunting Anakin's path is the ludicrous nature to which the story proposes he created C3pO and knew R2d2.  Given the prominence that these characters had in the original trilogy, it seemed far fetched for both of them to have had a relationship to Anakin prior to his decent. One naturally wants to know how these  two droids couldn't have had any acknowledgement from Vader or engaged Luke with some inside knowledge of his father once Empire Strikes Back revealed the truth of his father. It's just a preposterous plot point and takes away from any believably that the story tries to sell.   

The rest of the prequel series has a serious problems with screen writing. I don' t believe Natalie Portman is a bad actress, yet one would be hard pressed not to admit that she comes off as wooden in the prequels. And I believe much of that is due to the script just lacking personality.  We saw shades of this in Return of the Jedi, where there where awkward moments of poorly written dialogue  between Solo, Luke and Leia that seasoned actors pushed their way through.  I don't think Portman could overcome the poor writing.  It's been no secret that Harrison Ford was not fond of his script's dialogue,  and I'm sure he pushed for rewrites or just ad libbed when necessary.  I doubt Portman had that sort of creative license. 

Other writing concerns pertain to specific characters, like Jar Jar, who's character contributes levity but ultimately adds nothing to the story.  One might argue that the intent of his folly undermines  the seriousness of the Jedi's plight to stop a war, that the gags go too far by breaking up necessary moments of tension.  As a plot device, the only redemption this character provides is his when he is thrust into the senate - which then became a sublime meta reference to modern political buffoonery.  Regardless, the removal of Jar Jar from the movies would do nothing but improve them.  No one watches Star Wars for slap stick comedy. That's not to say that humor can't improve scenes ( ala Thor Ragnorok ). In the Star War's universe, however,  a slap stick character  just feels out of place. 

Disney Star Wars

I have an intense dislike for the Force Awakens, and it has nothing to do with the new characters. From a character perspective, what I really enjoyed most  was the exploration of Finn's Storm Trooper becoming disillusioned with the first order.  That was a fantastic concept that went absolutely nowhere and was never explored in any depth.  Likewise, I loved the idea of Rey as a force sensitive person living in the aftermath of the galaxy's biggest war. That was , until , Rey became an giant Mary Sue.  Rey goes from desert scavenger to master pilot to light saber wielding ace with such ease that it's difficult to command any respect for the character. I really wanted Rey to work, I  wanted my daughter to have a hero to root for. It seems that J.J. didn't want to take the time to explore Rey's own path and build her up- because that would have gotten in the way of his fantastic voyage through his recycled plot devices.   Yes,  Star Killer Base was ridiculous.  No one wanted or asked for another death star reboot. Quite frankly, Rogue One did it better and it made more sense (despite that movies own writing challenges). What makes matters worse is that J.J. could have gone a lot of ways with this movie. He could have explored the rise of the First Order, he could have given some exposition on Kilo and the Knights of Ren.  Yeah, Kilo seems like a cheap Vader knock off, but I personally liked that he was a flawed rageaholic. Quite frankly, that character's development makes the most sense, given what we know about how the Sith operate and how the dark side works. An emotional basketcase would be a superior force wielder - something well worth exploring. It's a damn shame we never got much of that. 

The Force Awakens ended up being a flimsy movie taking place in the Star Wars universe but it's new plot was shallow and didn't do much with it's new characters to warrant much admiration. I wanted something new, but what I got was something recycled and poorly written.  By the time Last Jedi came around, I was hoping a new director would correct the course and try to salvage the characters. Instead, it only made things worse.  Luke's shift to hermit status isn't really elaborated and his key moment with trainee Kilo seems completely out of character. The "bank heist" trope in this movie is perhaps the most unforgivable writing element, along with all the leaps of faith needed to believe that such a thing was both necessary and achievable.  The bombers in space made no sense at all, the writers here clearly think that viewers don't understand gravity.  The character of Rose added nothing to the story, and dare I say contributed to Finn's character regression since the prior movie by inflating the cowardice he had seemingly overcome at the end of Force Awakens.  This movie was irritating because  the story wasn't very good.  Snoke is never explained and his eventual death feels irrelevant. It's difficult to buy in to the seriousness of the First Order when they all appear to be a bunch of bumbling oafs. 

Had I not had a daughter who loves Star Wars, I would not have attended the Rise of Skywalker.  I still watched it, and again my complaints with Abrams echo his first attempt. It felt like a rehash of Return of the Jedi.  Rey's insane power is explained as her being a clone of Palpatine.  This would have been an intriguing plot concept had some time to explore it. But J.J wanted to rush us through his new adventure.  So we had to give Ren a redemption arc and spend much of the movie searching for McGuffins.  Then we are led to believe that Palpatine never died at the end of Return of the Jedi, that he's been hanging low on the Sith home world this whole time with a fleet of imperial star destroyers.   This story makes no sense, and regardless of how "good" the effects are, I ultimately  can't overcome the lack of respect the story gave to the all the characters. Finn was irrelevant, his  one shining moment didn't develop him in any way other than advancing the attack. Vader's redemption arc was flushed with the reveal of Palpatine. Rey became the very definition of a Mary Sue .  The only character that had any real growth was Kylo, and even then the viewer didn't really get a chance to see any true  introspection.  Unlike many, I actually thought his cry-baby tantrums SHOULD be part of his growth. It reflected a reality that I see echoed in real life, with talented youth overreaching for power and falling short of their own lofty goals. Given the nature of the Sith order, and the role of emotion in the dark side, this kind od behavior should be expected!

The most annoying part of all this is that the Star Wars universe has had some great writers really flesh things out in cannon.  Disney had the opportunity to do something with that, but they decided to trash it and go a different way. I get not wanting to go with the Lucas blueprint, but their attempt to forge a new path was paved in bad ideas. And don't even get me started on Solo!