The decline of Star Wars

Spectator World ^ | 09/05/2024 | Alexander Larman

[SeekAndFind]

The video game Star Wars Outlaws is to be released this week. The game is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — so in the universe of the original, still-greatest film trilogy — and has been several years in development. According to its “narrative director” Navid Khavari, “We didn’t just look at the original films, we looked at George Lucas’s own inspirations: Akira Kurosawa, World War Two movies like The Dambusters and spaghetti westerns. You see the care that was taken in that original trilogy to make it tonally consistent. We need to make this feel…

The video game Star Wars Outlaws is to be released this week. The game is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — so in the universe of the original, still-greatest film trilogy — and has been several years in development. According to its “narrative director” Navid Khavari, “We didn’t just look at the original films, we looked at George Lucas’s own inspirations: Akira Kurosawa, World War Two movies like The Dambusters and spaghetti westerns. You see the care that was taken in that original trilogy to make it tonally consistent. We need to make this feel like it has high stakes, lighthearted humor, emotional tension, growth between characters [and] the hero’s journey.” All of which makes this expensive game rather more exciting than the usual run-of-the-mill fare. The player takes on the guise of Kay Vess, a young woman who lives by her wits and is planning a heist to pay off a syndicate.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars was essential viewing

If this sounds vaguely like the crime-picture trappings of the unsuccessful Star Wars prequel Solo, then you wouldn’t be wrong. Ever since Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney in 2012, there has been an tendency, by now bordering on some sort of compulsion, to mine its intellectual property for any profitable purpose. In the case of the first of the Star Wars sequels, 2015’s The Force Awakens, this led to vast financial success, glowing reviews and a rejuvenated interest in the series. In fact, it was better than the mediocre, George Lucas-directed prequels. Another two films followed, the divisive The Last Jedi and the ridiculed (but actually quite entertaining) The Rise of Skywalker. Then the floodgates opened.

Some of the films and TV shows produced by the Disney regime have, admittedly, been splendid. Rogue One was thrilling. It delivered sheer spectacle and fun better than any of the Star Wars sequels — despite, or because, of a downbeat ending that saw the deaths of the principal cast. Its prequel (confused yet?) Andor was also popular, earning the sobriquet “a Star Wars television series for people who don’t like Star Wars,” although to be honest it’s hard to see why such people would bother watching it. Likewise, The Mandalorian did well during its first two seasons, although last year’s third installment was less enjoyable and less watched. Nevertheless, there is a feature film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, planned for 2026, as well as a possible fourth series.

And this is where Disney has got it so spectacularly wrong. What’s happened is the Marvel-ification of Star Wars. Marvel films were once entertaining, unpretentious adventures with some sly winks to comic-book connoisseurs. They became a hugely complex, virtually incomprehensible behemoth spanning several different platforms. The same is now true for the expanded Star Wars universe, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up. There are now too many TV shows to list here, and the recent news that The Acolyte, the latest release, was cancelled after one series was a tacit acknowledgment that the flabby franchise is faltering.

Yet still they come; the latest, December’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew appears to be a family-friendly adventure about children adrift in the galaxy, with Jude Law as a suitably paternal Jedi guiding them on their way. (Law, incidentally, deserves some sort of medal for the number of franchises he has given gravitas to, what with his appearances in the Harry Potter prequels, Captain Marveland now this; surely his M in the rebooted James Bond is inevitable casting at this point.)

I was too young to appreciate Star Wars the first time round, but a generation of film fans and directors still talk, admiringly, about the sheer effect that seeing the pictures had on them. It brought about the realization, amid a decade in which cinema had become far more cynical, that there was still wonder and breathless fun to be had. Today, the exploitation of Star Wars’s ideas and iconography for the gawping chasm of streaming means that the wonder and awe have been swallowed whole.

I sincerely hope that Star Wars Outlaws really does live up to expectations, because it will be one of the very few offshoots of an increasingly tarnished brand that does. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars was essential viewing. But now, it’s just there, a product to be consumed or ignored, like 99 percent of the rest of what’s on the streamers. For anyone who has a child still somewhere inside them, asking to be awestruck, it’s a pity.

[MinorityRepublican]

I must admit there are a few exceptions. Ridley in Alien and Aliens, and Sarah Connors in the Terminator comes to mind.

But these aren't *GIRL POWER* bosses, they are ordinary people caught in a situation where they desperately fight for their lives.

Even Hunger Games is a similar situation.

But girl warriors? Doesn't resonate with anyone.

That's a winning formula. Too bad Hollywood isn't doing that anymore. Maybe they will when they become bankrupt.

[John Milner]

I saw the first one the week it came out. I was a college student and found it somewhat juvenile and also disjointed. I may have missed some critical stuff because as the weird lettering “In a galaxy far far away...” was still going by, the film broke. We sat there maybe 5 minutes and then it started again with what I remember as something like mechanical camels in the desert.

I was expecting science fiction and I felt like it was a mixture of a western with some Wizard of Oz overtones. I was not at all impressed.

I never saw another one.

That said, I have a friend who would like to see the 3 trilogies and I said I would watch them with an open mind.

Should they be viewed in the order they were released? Or in the chronological order of the story line?

[Sicon]

That’s beautiful.

[Gaffer]

Most of them nowadays have to have some kind of “ethnic” look to them.

[Sicon]

“Those stupid Teddy bears ruined it for me.”

Yup. It was all over after that. Teddy bears, rehashed Death Star assault, ridiculous plot devices, and the worst acting of the entire original trilogy.

[Republican Wildcat]

It was over with Episode 8...actually before that since they have since admitted what was obvious - they had no set plan or storyline and had zero respect for the storyline they were supposed to be adhering to as though there was no established source material.

Rogue One is the only decent Star Wars product released since Disney took over.

[alternatives?]

I hadn’t seen the first one that summer but in the first week of college there were some guys who were excited about it, and one guy said he had seen it 11 times at the theater. 11 times, that was a turn off. I saw the second one first, then the first one. The second had better special effects. The third one was dumb with the teddy bears. It was like a toy commercial. I thought the Star Trek TV shows had better plots.

[John Milner]

Yes, Star Trek had some action/adventure components but also had some deeper thought provoking scenarios.

I only remember watching one or two episodes when it was in first run prime time. But a few years later it was syndicated and shown on our local ABC affiliate between 5:00 and 6:00 (back when the news was only 1/2 hour). That’s when I became a fan.

[minnesota_bound]

It started when they added in the original 3rd movie, the furries called Ewoks that were put in the movie solely for selling toys. The next set of 3 movies were not good. A kid racing, a whiny soon to be Darth Vader. The other movies that followed were terrible. Some will say they liked Rogue One but I think it is because everyone died in that story....

Like Indiana Jones, the studio just had to do that stupid Crystal Skull movie. I have not seen the bomb that was the latest. Just clips and read the reviews.

[Bernard]

“Spaceballs” is the 2nd best Star Wars movie ever.

[CodeToad]

“Should they be viewed in the order they were released? Or in the chronological order of the story line?”

The later trilogies were a disaster. I don’t think they even flow in chronological order. It seems the stories where changed from the original trilogy. There may be a very thin line of plot continuation, but it seems the characters were even changed.

[CodeToad]

“The teddy bear movie was just stupid.”

She said she cried for George when she saw the teddy bear movie. It was that bad.

[DiogenesLamp]

+1.

[DiogenesLamp]

She said she cried for George when she saw the teddy bear movie. It was that bad.

It was so stupid I kick myself for watching it. Clearly she was the talent in the marriage.