Films:
I grew up with the Prequels and Originals simultaneously. I did go through a period of time where I listened to the critics with regards to the Prequels as it was hard not to as it used to be everywhere but over time I realised I shouldn’t let others define what I can and can’t love. For the record I love them. They’re my favourites and that’s okay. They’ve only grown in enjoyment as I’m older and can see all the layers and hard work George and team put into them. The Originals are equally my Star Wars and I love them too. Luke and Anakin for that matter were always my favourite characters. The Original Trilogy is timeless. I can’t quite explain but every time I see Binary Sunset I feel just like Luke. Anakin’s redemption is a beautiful act of love. Simply put the two trilogies tell a beautiful story that feels complete yet has room to further the story.
And so it eventually happened but not with George’s treatments but a story Disney decided to tell.
The Force Awakens - I really liked it a lot. I realised it was a modern spin on the classical story motif of the previous six films but I still really liked it and even loved certain things like Rey. I did wish there were more of an original story, designs, and better world building but I was sure that would come in the subsequent films and we’d get satisfying answers to the questions raised.
In retrospect, I can’t watch it. The film does nothing for me. It feels like a corporate remake to appease the fans. I want to like it but I just can’t get into it.
The Last Jedi - I liked it but I didn’t love it. I was very overwhelmed and burnt out by the time of Crait that I was ready for it to be over. It had beautiful cinematography, interesting new ways of using the Force, and some fun and interesting moments like the fathier chase and Rey and Ben/Kylo’s relationship. I thought going in they’d have a relationship of some kind but more likely as siblings who represent the two sides of Anakin’s legacy to eventually team up to bring Balance to the Force. That didn’t entirely happen. I had a lot of issues. Namely with the non Star Warsy humour, tension being immediately undercut by a joke, Luke tossing the lightsaber, Yoda lighting the tree on fire, Rey Nobody as we’ve always had nobodies as Force sensitive and Jedi, Snoke being a Nobody because it undercuts the significance of him separating our heroes and turning Ben to the Dark Side, meta commentary, non Star Warsy dialogue, and quite a bit more.
In retrospect, I still have many of the same issues with it as it breaks a lot of lore and canon (as do all these trilogy films) but I really like it more now and consider it to be one of the better Disney era films. It’s beautifully made in most ways and has some interesting ideas. It took some chances and some of them land. It at least tried something different to a certain extent but it came at the expense of the saga as a whole. (So did The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker to be fair.)
I don’t love the portrayal of Luke but I don’t hate it either. I can go both ways. I think it would’ve been better if we saw him get the way. A very big problem I find with this trilogy is we don’t get to see any of the interesting things as they’re pushed to the backstory for Rebels 2.0 versus Empire 2.0.
The Rise of Skywalker - I had fun the first viewing. I definitely felt uncomfortable with Rey being a Palpatine but I just rolled with it. I didn’t like her declaring herself a Skywalker but I think I would’ve liked it more if she were still random and did so after we see her parents leave her on Jakku. That may have worked a little better.
In retrospect, I’ve only seen it once all the way through honestly. So I don’t think it’s fair to give a full on opinion. I will say though I don’t like it but I don’t hate it either. It has some highlights like Luke and Leia training together (so long as I don’t consider context) but it also has lots of problems with pacing and macguffins.
Rogue One - I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I loved Chirrut and Jedha, the introduction, and some other things. I honestly didn’t really take much time to know what to think of it as I was so busy thinking about what would happen in Episode VIII and IX.
In retrospect, it’s my favourite of the Disney era. I love how it expands the lore but respects what came before it as it has references to both the Prequels and Originals. It captures the spirituality with the Force through Chirrut and Jedha that unlike the other Disney films feels right in line with George’s six films. The others seem to lean more heavily towards the Han Solo side of the stories. It has really good characters, fantastic cinematography and world building, and all around gives the opening crawl of A New Hope an interesting story to link up to. I’m still not interested in the CGI characters but it’s a minor nitpick compared to everything else offered in the film.
Solo - It was okay. I didn’t hate it or love it. It was okay. It had some good moments. However it also felt too topical and modern at times. I liked Qi’ra a lot though.
In retrospect, I feel the same way about it as I did when I first saw it.
TV Shows:
The Clone Wars - I’ve not watched every episode but I love everything I have seen. I especially enjoyed the Mortis Arc, Yoda Arc, and The Heroes on Both Sides Arc.
The Mandalorian - I’ve not watched it.
Rebels - I liked it then and I like it now. I especially enjoy when it delves into the Force and Darth Maul.
Resistance - I’ve not watched.
All and all, I’m trying to learn to seperate Disney Star Wars and George Lucas Star Wars. It will never be the same for me. I’ll always prefer George’s story but I’d like to hope I get to a point where I can enjoy the Disney era. It’s hard to do though when everything relies heavily on nostalgia and member berries. It feels more corporate now instead of being made with a vision and for the desire to tell stories. I’m happy to see Mandalorian do well and I may give it a chance at some point but I’m not ready. I’m burnt out by Disney Star Wars.
