The original Star Wars trilogy is by far the best of the Star Wars films because of its superior practical effects, superb acting and clean storyline.
The other six films pale in comparison because of their shoddy CGI, contrived bits strung together to get cheap laughs and ridiculous, meandering plots that eventually culminate in lackluster climaxes and boring endings.
The original trilogy did an excellent job of exploring Luke Skywalker’s rise to heroism. The series delves into his inner struggle with the light and dark sides of The Force and, just for fun, the drama with his bonkers family.
Throw in the bromance between charming rake Han Solo and the furry Chewbacca, an incredible scene in a trash compactor, the two most lovable droids who ever existed, and an inspiring performance by the legendary Alec Guinness and you have everything you could ever want in a space epic set in a galaxy far, far away.
My mother introduced my siblings and I to Star Wars when the trilogy was re-released to VHS in 1995. The stunning box-set was one of the few things I ever saw her splurge on. She made us Star Wars fans and we spent the next few weeks having lightsaber battles with paper towel tubes.
We were thrilled when the prequels were announced. My mother took us to the theater to see Episode I, which I must admit I enjoyed, but by the time Episode II came out I was old enough to recognize that pod racing and lightsaber battles do not a story make.
The prequels were an overblown money-grab that made George Lucas a ton of cash from merchandise sales as kids like us flocked to Toys ‘R’ Us to buy Queen Amidala costumes and Darth Maul and Qui-Gon-Jinn action figures.
The movies lacked the heart of the first trilogy. Anakin Skywalker was unrelatable, irredeemable and worst of all wooden. Hayden Christensen may have been a teen heartthrob but he’s a terrible actor.
I had slightly more hope walking into the theater in 2015 to see Episode VII “The Force Awakens.” I was thrilled that a young woman would be at the heart of this next installment of the saga.
John Boyega proved he was an incredible actor in “Attack the Block,” a 2011 British sci-fi horror film about a group of Black and immigrant kids who have to defend their South London housing project from aliens. I was thrilled to see more diversity in the cast.
Daisy Ridley was great as Rey, the main character. She was immediately a relatable and likable heroine. The last trilogy lost me when they squashed the burgeoning romance between Rey and Finn, crushed Finn’s storyline like a soda can and phoned in the last two films with a weird-ass storyline featuring, of all people, Emperor Palpatine.
Then the series tried to rehabilitate Kylo Ren, who should have met his end the same way Darth Vader did. The sparks flying between Kylo Ren and Rey should only have come from their clashing lightsabers.
Producers should have quit the franchise while they were ahead and ended the series after the 1983 masterpiece “Return of the Jedi.”
