Ryan-SWI said:
Say what you will about any other film from I - VI, but each film added something significantly new in one way or another, and all of them stood on their own narratively without having to wait for the next movie in the series to explain all the nonsense it created.
But again, that was a personal preference list.
If we’re talking objective filmmaking the list would probably (for the most part) look like a lot of the other lists on here, but what’s the point of posting the same list over and over again.
I’ll bite.
ANH brought the most new things to the table in terms of ideas since it was the first, obviously. The Force, the Jedi, Empires and Rebellions, etc.
ESB essentially brought the Dark Side to the table, although it had a passing reference in the first one. The idea of Jedi Masters was also stated outright, and massively expanded the mythos of the Force via Yoda with visions of the future, nightmare encounters, and Force-sensitive trees.
ROTJ didn’t introduce many new ideas, and if one were to look at it in a forgiving light, one could make the argument that it merely had to reconcile the disparate ideas of the first two films in the mind of our protagonist. He understands the need for emotion in his life, but also recognizes that taken too far, it could consume him. He becomes more than a Sith or a Jedi, and finds a different path, one that ultimately leads to his father’s redemption.
TPM introduced the idea of a scientific basis of the Force in Midichlorians, as well as the idea that the Force itself can conceive of life forms. Taken together, this implies the mythical ‘Chosen One’. Also introduced, though already existing with out name in the originals, was the idea of the Sith as philosophically opposed to the Jedi. This one was definitely idea heavy, though most would agree that the ideas were bad.
AOTC introduced the idea that Jedi cannot form attachments, and this became the overriding theme of the film. This was definitely a risky move, since it flew in the face of much of the EU at the time.
ROTS suffers from the same problem as ROTJ in that it brings little new to the table, but again an accommodating interpretation is that ROTS must merely allow the conflicting ideas in the previous films to be juxtaposed in the protagonist’s mind. In this case Anakin had to reconcile the attachment that forms the meaning for his life with the admonition against attachment of the Jedi Order. Also implied in the immaculate conception by the Force is the idea that his life is solely the result of the Force, and by extension he can do nothing to change his Chosen One destiny. This is in conflict with the understanding that the Force obeys your commands. It is free will versus determinism on a galactic scale, so on this level at least the film gets a pass.
TFA on this scale may be the weakest of the bunch, since it is the job of the first film in the trilogy to introduce the big ideas. ANH and TPM were both very strong thesis statements followed up by equally challenging ideological rebuttals, but what is the thesis of TFA? I honestly don’t know.
