So, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” debuts in about a month, the official trailer is out, and the character posters have been released. What has happened after the defeat of the greatest evil in the universe (Emperor Palpatine) and can any threat top it? Will we see spectacular lightsaber battles like Yoda vs Count Dooku? Will there be a tale of a bromance that ended in mutilations a la Anakin and Obi-Wan?
I’m amongst the 1% of the population to actually like the prequels more than the next three episodes. Maybe it’s because I actually watched them in chronological order, and it was horribly jarring to watch Episode 4, 5 and 6 since their technology levels, special effects and lightsaber fights were, comparatively, a downgrade. Also, the style and acting of 4, 5 and 6 were a bit dated at the time I watched them, which also didn’t really help the case.
Yes, I watched the entire Star Wars series rather late in life. They didn’t appeal that much to me when I was younger because I kept missing their airings on TV, and the only thing I saw was the Episode 4 fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. If you remember it… well, it’s best forgotten.
So here’s what I like about the Star Wars universe, and some other things I really hope I don’t see in the new film. Nevertheless, I’m still stoked for it. Stoked!
What I like about Star Wars
Lightsabers
Laser swords. Melding the two biggest weapon fantasies of geeks everywhere. Complete with a trademark whooshing sound. The more lightsaber fights, the better. Lightsabers being mostly made up of, well, light, means they don’t weigh that much – so really, anybody can wield them easily, even a child (as we’ve seen in the prequels). This means that a lightsaber battle is one about skill, not about strength, and is a true test of swordsmanship. But it all comes down to one thing.
Laser swords.
Jedi powers
I played the Star Wars d20 RPG when it came out, and that’s when I found out a whole host of Jedi powers existed, complete with explanations on how they worked and a benchmarking system for power levels. They had 30 skills to represent the depictions of Jedi powers, feats to simulate their lightsaber fighting styles, and dedicated classes to replicate any Jedi character you wanted to be. Going into such exacting, scientific detail about Jedi powers was really impressive, and showed me just how versatile and powerful the Jedi were.
The Death Star
I own a Death Star Transformer that becomes Darth Vader. Anyway, the classic galactic battle between universes is Galactus vs the Death Star vs Unicron. Yes, I have Galactus, and I have Unicron. I need to make them all fight one day.
But a giant floating metal planet that has a planet destroying laser? Sign me up. For that same reason, I love the Technodrome from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well.
Clones
I really did like the idea that the good guys actually created an army of clones that eventually became the bad guys. I mean, it really does solve a lot of logistical problems (how would you provide standardised suits and weapons for different species) and in a way, that is the army of the future. This was one aspect that really made sense to me, and in the prequels, it sealed the deal in creating a believable world.
What I dislike about Star Wars
Dirty ships
Yeah I really don’t get the grit and grim thing that George Lucas really likes to show off on his vehicles. Yes, they would be dirty due to excessive use, but then this is the future. Wouldn’t they have some sort of cleaning technique or product that would keep their giant vehicles in pristine condition? It’s realistic, maybe (I’m not qualified to judge whether it is), but it seems like unnecessary detail.
Ewoks and random aliens
I really, really don’t get the variety of aliens that exist. All the major characters are human anyway. And look how xenophobic the human race is – we’re racist among our own species. What’s to say we’re going to be very much nicer to other creatures? I’ve not actually seen a Star Wars alien that was really impressive and made sense. As with the dirty ships, the aliens seem to be there for the sake of being there, to qualify it as space opera.
Love stories
Till today, the cringeworthy love scenes in Episode 3 still makes my hair stand. It was terribly done, horribly cheesy, and made you want to gouge your eyes out. And let’s not even go to Luke and Leia (when I first saw that scene, I was already armed with the knowledge that they are siblings). Star Wars doesn’t handle love well at all, so it’s not something I’d like to see in the new film.
In any case, I do love the prequels more than the originals. I’m just a casual fan of Star Wars though, and I’m just waiting to meet someone who likes the prequels as much as I do.
Do you?
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