by Steve James on Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:04 am
I remember seeing the original SW in the theater --(got to the theater late, and we had to sit in the first row). What made that movie great was that the story was how Lucas used popular film conventions to move a mythic story into the future. Yeah, the space battles were WW2 dogfights. Han and crew were pirates; the Jedi were knights; and then there are the robot comic relief taken from Japanese film. At the center is the family drama with a coming of age story for boys, and a sexy Princess who could shoot for the girls and boys. Finally, there's the conflict between the (dark) father and the force.
The first three movies put those elements together. The later movies had to fit into the mold, but it has never been done as successfully. But, afa standalone movies, I agree that some were successful, but most weren't. Otoh, the later movies are nowhere near as deep because the star wars universe has gotten so big. It's not possible for any Star Wars movie to satisfy fans of the books. Now, there's the Clone Wars and other animated series, not to mention the Mandalorian. It'd take a genius to combine all the elements "and" make them mesh with the universe.
That is probably why the Mandalorian is received better than some of the latest SW films. Hey, people are dying to see a live action Asokha Tano. The Skywalkers are just not interesting because they're Skywalkers --or Palpatines. So, I liked Rogue One on its own. It didn't matter if it didn't fit in.
Hmm, if you wanted to get someone started in the SW thing, which movies would you have them see first?
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."