The new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out! I have seen all the previous movies, had action figures of Star Wars as a kid, and I have access to the internet, therefore I am an expert on both film-making and the Star Wars Universe. I haven’t seen the actual movie yet, and probably won’t for a few weeks after its release, but let me tell you all about what The Force Awakens got wrong.
First of all, according to the extended Star Wars universe (which includes cartoons, comic books, novels, fan fiction, haiku about slave Leia I wrote when I was 12, and a question on Jeopardy), they should have cast different people for all the key characters. I don’t know who the key characters are, yet, but I am sure the actors they picked are completely wrong. They are the wrong racial profile, gender, or nationality to play the part they were cast in. Or their hair color is wrong. Something.
Second, there is too much CGI. There was no CGI when George Lucas made the 1977 Star Wars, so therefore any CGI is too much. Forget the fact that the technology used in Star Wars was the best Lucas had at his disposal at the time, and he absolutely would use CGI if he had it available (Willow was made in 1988, and Industrial Light and Magic used ground-breaking CGI in that movie for digital morphing). I want it to look like the original, however poorly that would hold up in today’s effects-driven movie market.
The screenwriters and directors overlooked my favorite aspect of the Star Wars Extended Universe, and I really think it should have been in the movie. Perhaps it wouldn’t have fit the over-all continuity of the films in the future, but no matter. It was my favorite, and I want it. I didn’t write the script (although I totally could have), and I have absolutely no idea where the next movies are. Still, I contend my favorite aspect of Star Wars should be everyone’s favorite aspect. If you don’t agree, you are wrong.
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia should be younger according the the continuity of the Extended Universe. Now, again I haven’t seen the film, nor know anything about the story. Still, they all just look really old. It isn’t the Star Wars I remember. Therefore, this movie should be filmed in past, when they all looked a little younger and fresher. Nobody wants to see Grandma Leia in a slave costume, after all.
Finally, I cannot overlook the fact that this is, after all, officially a Disney movie. Granted, Disney took a faltering Marvel company and used movies to propel Marvel to the top of the Comic Book game. Sure, Disney has the budget and ingenuity to make the Star Wars Universe a really, really big movie franchise. Ok, I admit this means this will probably mean many of the Extended Universe stuff will actually see the light of day in theaters, but still. This is a company that uses a mouse as a logo. Really, Star Wars can do better. Then again, it does mean Leia is now a Disney Princess…which is as it should be.
