Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. To be fair, in my early years I never got into Star Wars. If anything, I was sort of repulsed by it. When Episode II came wandering into the theaters, I remember buying a bag of Lays chips with Yoda on the cover and I could barely look at it. I sort of knew what it was but never really saw the appeal. First of all, I was born in the mid 90s, a time way, way past the Star Wars crave. I thought to myself "It's just a movie. I'll get to it when I get to it." However, I was unaware of how many millions upon millions of fanboys who would literally kill me with the police turning an eye just because of a comment like that. People take this series so seriously I've seen people try and dedicate a religion to Star Wars. Now my perspective is what makes this series work when most space movies are laughable. I've come to two conclusions. A. The world seems used. To be fair, most early space movies have their aliens in goofy bright costumes with flashy lights and a a cleanly polished look and feel. Like they're neat freaks. Here, as Oscar the Grouch best put it "Everything's dirty and dingy and dusty. Everything's raged and rotten and rusty." The worlds feel like everyday life. The ships constantly break down. The aliens themselves look vile. And a good portion of them are out for blood. There's no nice campy feel to these worlds whatsoever. B. The characters are interesting. Before I start on this, let it be known I also like the prequels. I do. If you want to arrest me over it, I'll give you my name and address right now. But back to my point. George Lucas knew damn well walking into this series he had little money and or time for glamorous giant effects like with the technology we have today. And if you can't have 20 explosions, what do you do? Create interesting characters. Now to be fair, the dialogue is dated and easily shows in itself, but I like watching Luke on screen. I like watching Han Solo. I like watching Padme or Obi Wan or Rey and Finn. They are so goddamn interesting. They interact so well with one another that you can't help but become invested in what they're saying and doing. These characters make you want to know what happens next, like a good 60s episode of Batman on a cliffhanger. Will Han Solo be freed? Will Anakin be alright after having his hand cut off? Is Finn still alive? You want to know what happens next because they've got you that invested because they're so likable. Note to screenwriters, start with characters before explosions.
The main thing I should probably point out is that I saw the prequels before the originals. A friend of mine lent me them and I thought the prequels were awesome and started to fall asleep when I put on A New Hope. But to my credit, I was 12 at the time. I now went back and watched the series all over again and have now found myself agreeing with half the internet and enjoy the originals more than the prequels. But that doesn't necessarily mean I dislike them. I view them as a whole, Holiday Special and Ewok movies included. A sort of first official MCU. With that being said, I can finally understand the appreciation of the series and look forward to whatever lies ahead.
The main thing I should probably point out is that I saw the prequels before the originals. A friend of mine lent me them and I thought the prequels were awesome and started to fall asleep when I put on A New Hope. But to my credit, I was 12 at the time. I now went back and watched the series all over again and have now found myself agreeing with half the internet and enjoy the originals more than the prequels. But that doesn't necessarily mean I dislike them. I view them as a whole, Holiday Special and Ewok movies included. A sort of first official MCU. With that being said, I can finally understand the appreciation of the series and look forward to whatever lies ahead.