Does 'Star Wars' still have it?

1977. Films were primarily composed of dialogues and story-lines were grounded on Earth. Gone with the Wind was the Greatest Movie ever made, thirty-eight years after its release. Entered - Star Wars (it wasn't called 'A New Hope' then) and broke all expectations, delivering something people could have only imagined. Fascinating characters, ground breaking visuals (for the time) and a plot that would rival every single science fiction movie for years to come. The original trilogy was a success in its right. People flocked to theaters to watch Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), earning the franchise billions of dollars with Star Wars remaining the Highest Grossing Movie for twenty years until Titanic hit theaters in 1997. Star Wars inspired and mesmerized billions of viewers globally, commanding a fan base bigger than any other franchise. 

That being said it is also difficult but true to acknowledge that the franchise doesn't have the same zeal as it did forty years ago. A reason for that is stagnancy and repetitive story-lines. The original trilogy had a very binding plot but in the twenty-first century, where every movie is breathtaking and the Sci-Fi genre is full of exciting movies, rolling back a forty year old story without even attempting to freshen it is absurd. This happened with the Prequel Trilogy where they repeated the exact same story with different characters and everything new which was integrated into the movies was sheerly annoying and didn't commandeer a lot of interest. 

The Prequels failed, miserably and magnificently. Because they didn't try to commandeer a new age of fans. They felt that the only way to earn money and make their movies successful was to cater to the needs of existing fans who after forty years of waiting had turned into fanatics. Not only were fanatics high in numbers, they were also hard to impress. When you have spent years thinking about your favorite movies, you tend to develop unrealistic expectations; expectations that can't be satisfied and everything short of exactly what you had expected, feels like a short-falling. 

With the New age trilogy, Lucasfilms changed things. They were no longer focused on catering to fanatics. They tried to deliver something new and though The Force Awakens (2015) still felt repetitive, it was interesting and packed with fantastic music, great visuals and a new villain who had an interesting story arc. It seemed like a movie for a new age and satisfied new fans who had dived into the seventh episode after having binge watched all the previous films. The spin-offs also have merit and are independent of the limitations of the saga. These new fans weren't fanatics, they didn't have unrealistic expectations and were open to change. Force Awakens went on to break records at the Box Office and is currently the Third Highest Grossing Film of All Time. Fanatics still hated it, for the same old reasons. 

Moving on to the latest movie in the franchise, The Last Jedi; which in my opinion is the best movie of the franchise so far. The Last Jedi was written with ingenuity and dragged the entire franchise into the present world. Making plot twists and character developments which made every genuine movie goer gasp. Lets talk about these. 

SPOILERS FOR THE LAST JEDI

Poe and General Hux chat

This was absolutely hilarious. It was the writer's way of mocking the First Order and ridiculing the way they speak and take themselves too seriously.

Luke tosses Light-saber

Fanatics deemed this scene as 'un-Luke' but I don't really see why its such a big deal. The previous films never really focused on Luke's character or any character for that matter. Character depth wasn't considered very important back then. So, what this scene does is only add depth and introduce flaws into Luke's character; which is something people want. You don't want your characters to be black and white; you want them to be a blend of both. Luke later tells Rey how the extinction of the Jedi Order has made people romanticize and deify them but in reality, they failed and let the Empire seize control at the peak of their power. This is a very important hint at fans deifying Luke's character and exaggerating his capabilities since he was gone for so long.

Kylo Ren ditches the Helmet

This was a master move. Making Kylo Ren crush his helmet shuts all the critics who deemed him too similar to Darth Vader. This embedded a very new ideology into Kylo's mind. He goes on to tell Rey, 

Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. Thats the only way to become what you were meant to be

I'm pretty sure this is another hint by the writers. They had the same ideology in place while writing this movie. If they were to make this film great, they had to change the essence of the entire franchise, scrape it; and make something new.

The Conflict in Kylo

The twenty-first century doesn't fancy pure evilness. The conflict in Kylo Ren is one of the most important story-lines in the new age trilogy and the following is a perfect example of this conflict. Kylo chooses to spare his mother's life despite being ordered by Supreme Leader Snoke to kill her. He avoids a clear shot. This is surprising since he killed his father in The Force Awakens but doesn't choose to strike the final blow and kill both his parents. This shows that his character is not black and white but grey.

Force lesson

For once, Luke tells us all what the Force really is. Its something that is spread across existence and doesn't belong to the Jedi. This scrapes away a very old and popular myth.

Luke made Kylo

This is another attempt at depicting a flaw in Luke. He sees darkness in Ben Solo and tries to kill him to save those he loves but this in turn instigates a young and scared Ben to completely turn towards the Dark Side and become Kylo Ren. Luke incorrectly assesses the conflict in Ben and brands him Dark instead of helping him, in turn, creating Kylo Ren.

Master Yoda burns the Jedi Order down

When Luke decides to burn the Jedi Temple with the sacred Jedi texts inside but then is stopped by his conscience, Master Yoda strikes a lightning bolt on the temple and burns it all himself. Yoda tells Luke that the death of the Jedi Order isn't the end of the world and the Jedi texts contain nothing that Rey or Luke don't already possess. Tradition is merely a symbol of discipline and thereby not entirely necessary. 

Snoke's death

One of the biggest flaws in the Original Trilogy was that a completely unknown (not considering the Prequels) character became the antagonist in Return of the Jedi. His death isn't even satisfying because no one cared about him. Snoke is very similar. We see him in The Force Awakens and he reminds us of Sidious. No one knows where Snoke is from and whats his story. Killing him off was the right choice since it made Kylo Ren the front-man of the First Order. It was also a deeply shocking and interesting scene. It showed that Kylo Ren, despite being stronger than Snoke, is still in conflict.

Rey's Parentage

Since Force Awakens, fans and fanatics alike have been trying to solve the mystery of Rey's parentage. Tying her up with primary characters like Obi-wan Kenobi and Han Solo. This scene is very important. I was very convinced that Rey had to be the daughter of a lead character but the result still satisfied me. Fans are still speculating that Kylo Ren lied to her about her parentage but I believe its better to accept that he didn't and that she is the daughter of some random Junkers. She doesn't have a personal place in this story; she doesn't need to. You don't need to be a Skywalker or a Jedi descendant to be a hero.

Binary Sunset Vol.2

This scene had everyone in tears. The Binary Sunset in A New Hope is probably the most iconic scene of the franchise. It kicks off the Protagonist, Luke Skywalker's story. It was fitting that they ended his journey with the same sunset. It was the End of a very long and grand Era. Luke Skywalker is a fan favorite character and this end to his story gave everyone the closure they had all been waiting for. Luke may be back in his Force Ghost form but even if he doesn't, this is a wonderful way to end his story. 

With Episode IX due next year, I'm sure it is still worth for people reading this to begin integrating themselves with the franchise and to see for themselves why it is worth being a part of. These movies aren't perfect, no movie is. So, don't go in expecting unrealistically. Ease into it and enjoy.