The classic trilogy of Episodes 4, 5 and 6 are always held up as lofty ideals of what an ideal movie should be. They’re heaps better than the prequel trilogies, and no other piece of Star Wars fiction can match the impossible standards they’ve set.
Well, that’s really because of the novelty of those movies at the time, since they were a fairly groundbreaking idea at the time. With the lens of hindsight, we can see that the original trilogy is good, but it hardly lives up to the hype and reputation bestowed upon it. And we’re all objective enough, we can see why…
1)Boring lightsaber battles
Do you remember how awesome lightsaber battles were in the original trilogy? No? That’s because they weren’t. Here’s a gentle reminder of how lightsaber duels went in Episode 4.
And how much they had improved by Episode 6.
“But this was the 70s/80s! You can’t expect much from the fight scenes then!” Oh yes I can. Bruce Lee was around in that era, and his fight scenes, while cheesy, were also much, much more dynamic. So that’s not an excuse for the languid lightsaber duels we saw in the originals.
For reference, this is how spectacular lightsaber battles became in the prequels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV-Vpy1gqQ
2)Squicky sibling moments
So we all know that Luke and Leia are brother and sister, right? There are just some boundaries that can’t be crossed when you’re related to someone by blood. So there’s really no good explanation for this.
No amount of retconning or explaining can wash away that dirty feeling this scene gives you. True, they didn’t know they were related at the time, but if this happened then they should never have been established as brother and sister.
3)Ewoks
They’re such cute, furry little creatures, less than half the height of a human. Clearly they were included to increase the kid appeal of the film.
How is it possible that these giant teddy bears are able to defeat Stormtroopers? Never mind that. If they were able to defeat them, how did the Empire manage to build a shield generator amidst such hostile tribes in the first place? Nothing makes sense when it comes to the Ewoks, and it’s just baffling how they’re able to defeat the Empire. Maybe the Rebel Alliance should have sent them to battle Darth Vader in the first place?
4)Death Stars are way too fragile
It’s already been established just how much of an impact the Death Stars had on the Galactic Empire’s economy. So it makes no sense that they’re built with such crippling weaknesses that are so easily discoverable. I did a 20 minute retelling of Episodes 1 to 6 to my friend (who’s never watched Star Wars before), to which her response was “how come the Death Stars keep getting blown up?”
A fleet of Super Star Destroyers would have been much cheaper and far more effective.
5)Lando Calrissian is so cheesy
I cannot fathom people who hate Jar Jar Binks but conveniently forget that an equally annoying protagonist exists in the original movies. Lando Calrissian is just a walking bag of stereotypes who makes your skin crawl whenever he appears. The dude wears a gaudy cape! You know who else wears a cape? Count Dooku, but at least he manages to pull it off by being, you know, Christopher Lee.
Every line he spouts is a one-liner. He finds a need to pose dramatically in every scene he appears in. Nobody remembers him, yet he’s such a big part of Episodes 5 and 6.
6)Luke Skywalker never becomes all that powerful
The thing about Luke Skywalker is that he never becomes that powerful, even by Episode 6. Every other Force user is still more powerful than him, even when he challenges Darth Vader at the end. Yes, Darth Vader is more powerful than Luke, it’s just that he’s handicapped by the fact that he’s facing his own son.
And he ends up not being the hero of his own story, because:
7)The main protagonist changes halfway in the series
Think about every trilogy you’ve watched. The protagonist is clearly defined at the beginning, so we know who to root for over the course of 9 hours in the cinema.
That’s not the case with the original trilogy. It starts off as Luke’s story, but switches halfway to being about Darth Vader’s redemption simply because he’s so much more interesting. We still have to continue sticking with Luke since that’s how the story began, but come on. Nobody really wants to be Luke Skywalker. Everyone wants to be Darth Vader.
So much so that an entire prequel trilogy was made about Darth Vader. At least in the prequels, it’s clear that Anakin Skywalker is the spotlight character.
Hate it or love it though, the original trilogies are what started the Star Wars franchise, and gave us Sith Lords and Jedi Masters. Still, let’s hope “The Force Awakens” doesn’t go the hokey old way of the classic movies…
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