Star Wars debuted in 1977 and became a smash hit, and this risky little venture from 20th Century Fox was soon extended into a trilogy of films following the adventures of Luke Skywalker and his friends. And of course, there was merchandise, tie-in novels, comic books, TV shows and movies and video games.
Over the next sixteen years, the movies became beloved on television broadcasts, theatrical reissues and home video. People who'd seen them as kids on their original release were having their own kids and sharing it with them.
Well, that is, except me. My family just wasn't a Star Wars family. Most likely it was because my parents were over twenty when the first film was released so it wasn't part of their childhoods.
So here comes 1999, I was thirteen and everyone was going crazy over The Phantom Menace, a new Star Wars film that would start a prequel trilogy to the original series. It was, in fact, the first Star Wars film I watched. Not willingly. They were having a movie night at church for the youth group and lo and behold, that's what it was. It was not a good entry point.
This isn't to say that I was unaware of anything in Star Wars. It permeated pop culture enough to know lines like "Luke, I am your father" (even though that's not the actual line), most of the principal character's names, even some other reveals. (Thanks, The O.C.)
Anyway, I didn't watch the original trilogy until about 2008. There's a thing I didn't say about the movies until now: they have often been re-edited. About 1997, George Lucas added in new computer-generated special effects and other alterations and made these versions the only ones available going forward. In fact, going forward, when the movies would see a new release on DVD and eventually Blu-Ray and 4K UHD, there were new alterations to watch for. These changes have been criticized as many believe the films that audiences fell in love with should be available untouched. One little change, though, was that the first Star Wars film became A New Hope so Star Wars could be the series name with little confusion (unless you remembered when it was just named Star Wars).
Eventually, the "original theatrical versions" were made available on DVD and it was this version I watched in 2008, thanks to Netflix's DVD rental program.
Honestly, I really liked A New Hope. It's a good introduction to this universe, following young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he's thrust into a battle of good and evil that arrives on his doorstep. We're not given explanations for everything, we get to see how this universe works. It's a theme other theatrical films in the franchise would come back to: common people coming together and stepping up to fight evil, even when it feels overwhelming. In the original trilogy, it's in the form of the Empire and its emissary Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones).
The two other films I found myself getting a little bored with. The stuff about the Force and the Jedi, I didn't really care about. But still, I thought they were solid films.
So, it took me some time to buy my own copies of the films. By that time, Disney had acquired Lucasfilm and had begun a sequel trilogy as well as a series of films set in the same universe. I decided to give the new movies a shot because I hadn't seen Star Wars on the big screen, though I actually started with buying a Blu-Ray of The Force Awakens. Shortly, I picked up "The Complete Saga" collection on Blu-Ray (the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy), and later found a set of the DVD releases with the "original theatrical versions" at a pawn shop for $5. I simply kept up with the new films.
So, about two months ago, I decided to finally sit down and watch the entire film series. I know, there are various TV series (most animated) and some TV movies, but I watched just the live action films released in theaters.
The Phantom Menace—as I expected—works better as a "sequel prequel," a prequel that is best enjoyed after you've experienced the original work. That said, while there's some experienced talent at work (particularly Ewan MacGregor and Liam Neeson), a lot of the acting (particularly the child actors) was just wooden. Jar-Jar Binks was even more bearable than some of that acting.
The story follows a young Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor) and his Jedi mentor Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) as they assist Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) weeding out treachery in the Senate as they meet young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a boy with a strong connection to The Force.
Attack of the Clones picks up some years later, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) has been training with Obi Wan and attends directly to the Queen. Meanwhile, Obi Wan discovers an army of clones has been created and he tries to discover what it's for. This one is markedly better than Phantom Menace.
Revenge of the Sith is easily the best of the prequel trilogy, showing how Anakin turns against the Jedi and becomes Darth Vader. However, the prequels largely exist to set up the original trilogy, which was enjoyed for years without them. While they have some good moments, they're largely skippable.
Two films Disney greenlit for Lucasfilm fit in here. Chronologically first is Solo, a prequel about Han Solo (played in the original trilogy by Harrison Ford, played here by Alden Ehrenreich), a rogue pilot who teams up with a shaggy humanoid creature called Chewbacca. Frankly, I often say that this is my favorite Star Wars movie as it's a rollicking good adventure that is largely unaffected by the other films.
Next is Rogue One, which is very much a prequel to A New Hope, with its ending being exactly where that film starts. A patchwork group of rebels find the plans for the Empire's new weapon, the planet-destroying Death Star, so the Rebel Alliance can find how to destroy it. With a colorful cast of characters, this prequel hits all the right points.
So that takes us to the Original Trilogy. A New Hope sees Luke join the Rebel Alliance with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo and Chewbacca, as well as the droids R2D2 and C3PO (Anthony Daniels) as they seek to destroy the Death Star.
The Empire Strikes Back sees the Rebel Alliance evading the Empire as Luke meets Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), the last surviving Jedi Master. Luke also winds up face to face with Darth Vader, who reveals an incredible secret. (Which you already know.)
Return of the Jedi wraps up the original trilogy as the Rebels come together united on the planet moon of Endor to take down an Empire base as Luke has to face both Vader and Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
This takes us to The Force Awakens. The First Order, led by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is set on conquering the galaxy. A new generation of rebels joins the new Resistance, led by Leia as they seek the location of the missing Luke Skywalker.
The Force Awakens is a nice way to bring back the series with a new generation of heroes, though a lot of its DNA is clearly lifted from A New Hope, even down to taking down a new planet-destroying weapon.
The Last Jedi sees Rey (Daisy Ridley) train with Luke while Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) struggles with working under the leadership above him in the Rebel Alliance, who are dwindling fast under assault from the First Order.
That brings us to The Rise of Skywalker, the latest film and the finale of the sequel trilogy. Emperor Palpatine is revealed to be the mastermind behind the First Order as the Rebels try to find his base and Rey discovers her true lineage.
The last two movies of the sequel trilogy split fans. Frankly, I like that The Last Jedi tried to toss new twists into the mix. The Rise of Skywalker was less so ambitious and tries to have a big emotional conclusion it didn't really earn. Still, there's some sort of story there, setting up future adventures in this universe.
So, there's probably the least strongly opinionated review of the Star Wars franchise you'll ever read.
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