Star Wars: A New Movie, The Same Story

A New Movie, the Same Story

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened this past weekend (in case you haven’t heard) to what may be the biggest movie ever. I have gone on opening day to see every Star Wars movie, except the original one, to be one of the first fans to experience the joy and the connection these stories give us.

Most fans love the original films (Episodes IV, V, and VI) and don’t care much for the second trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III). Like anything, we desire more of the original experience and feel dissatisfied with what comes next. Once again, we have a new hope in the third trilogy, and the magic formula of the first story is repeated, almost exactly.

Return of the Path of the Hero

Young, parentless adult makes way in tough dessert world to find cute droid with a hidden message to fight the bad guys. With the help of scoundrels, hero gets put on the path to the force and seeks to find a mysterious Jedi Master. Leader of the evil forces dresses in all black, talks funny through his mask, and is related to the good guys. He reports to a scary old dude via hologram. They have a big planet-sized weapon to destroy other worlds. Lightsaber duels, spaceship battles, and surprise means-to-an-end hit the viewer hard. Sound familiar?

That rather bland synopsis could be for either for the original 1977 film or the new 2015 story. However, that formula worked then, will it again?

J.J. Abrams destroyed the new Star Trek movies – in my opinion – to the point that I don’t bother caring when another Trek movie comes out. I couldn’t get into his TV shows (Lost, Alias), so why would I trust him enough to see his attempt to reboot Star Wars … because the original cast is coming back, that’s why.

Old Friends

While R2-D2 and C-3PO, the lovable and loyal droids from the original films, continued into and throughout the prequels, we lost touch with the likes of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca. Now, they’re all back with strong new characters to strike back after the poor execution of the second three movies.

Goosebumps formed every time a classic character appeared on the screen. Old friends, drawn to the light, delivered every line with a familiar fashion – even the poorly written ones – almost cloning the original films.

A Menacing Story

I liked the prequels for plot and back-story – not the implementation on the big screen. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, wrote the first six episodes. Lucas just cannot write a love story to save his life. However, the political story and power struggle worked well. Disney and J.J. Abrams, the new caretakers of the legacy fall short with that part of the story in The Force Awakens.

A redeeming quality may be the budding romance – if I’m correct – forming between two of the new characters. Will a love story save the franchise? It won’t matter; most fans will love this movie.

It was Good, Not Great

That’s my take on the new Star Wars movie (Episode VII). Average fans, those that fell in love with the original trilogy, will do so again. Meticulous fans like me will analyze the plot holes and wonder why it took so long for Han Solo to get his hands on Chewy’s crossbow weapon.

Just as the first film set the stage, the true love came during the middle story, The Empire Strikes Back. If history repeats itself, episode VIII will fill those plot holes with the force that binds all living movies. With the promised return of the original cast yet again, revenge will not be necessary, as I predict victory over the rebellion of the prequels.

Will you join me on opening night, May 26, 2017, for Episode VIII?

Photos are Courtesy of Disney, Lucasfilm, and Star Wars unless otherwise noted.