On the Disneyfication of Star Wars
I saw the new Star Wars movie the opening night!!! It started off as a very good Star Wars movie and ended with the feel of a very good Disney movie.
It was a very good Star Wars movies because it had a great opening with visuals that truly were nostalgic of the first Trilogy (episode 4 -6), of course a part of that was merchandising. It introduced characters which were novel enough yet had a sense of being connected to the older world inviting the audience to an exciting exploration of the Star Wars world. I look forward to the next movies of this Trilogy to see how the questions raised will be answered.
Now, on to the part where it felt like a Disney movie...
Walking out of the opening night show with two other friends of mine, the consensus was that something was off with the movie. The after taste did not quite feel like a Star Wars movie. But couldn't quite put our finger on it. I went back and watched the original Star Wars - Episode 4. Then I realized that the key to the non-Star Wars feel had to do with the humor in the movie. In the new Episode 7, there were many rather forced laugh lines, I remember laughing quite a bit during the movie but I don't quite remember what I laughed about. The laugh lines were forced because it followed the usual Disney formula of using some cheap thrill to get a quick laugh.
In contrast, the original Episode 4 does not have any contrived laugh lines in the movie itself, but the characters themselves were laughter worthy forever after. Even now as I think about Hans Solo, I can't help but break into a whimsical smile, the reluctant warrior turned prince charming with the oddest of companions. How could one not nod ones head and laugh? The very thought of Darth Vader sends a tingle down my spine and I shake my head and smile, after all he turned out alright.
In Episode 7, I laughed a lot but didn't remember what it was about after the movie. Whereas with Epidsode 4, I did not laugh much during the movie, but continue to experience the humor forever after when I think about the carefully crafted characters. It takes a genius of Lucas kind to create a complex, evil but still endearing character as Darth Vader. Vader is kind of like Voldemort but not quite for there is redemption for Vader. Vader is kind of like Souron but not quite for he still loves. It is this brilliance in creating deep, long lasting humor that made the original Star Wars timeless.
In the Original Star Wars is that each of the characters there conjure up deep emotions within us that resonates with what we want life to be about. Liea whose guts may be grating but she is a true leader. Luke the explorer who is obedient to authority but also willing to explore and chart his own way. Hans Solo the iconoclast who beneath the frivolous nature has deep principles that align his compass and who can't love his idiosyncrasies. Obi-one the most faithful friend, the eternally hopeful one. Yoda the master who know that love is more powerful than death. Above all Darth Vader the one whose ambition got the better of love, but only for a while. I doubt that the new Star Wars will have such enduring characters. Rey holds some promise though, in the hands of a good writer, but my guess is none will be anywhere close to the creative genius of Lucas.
My prediction is that the subsequent movies in this Trilogy will have the look and feel of the original Star Wars, for that helps the merchandising. The content and the characters though will have a Disneyish formula applied to them. It will not have the idiosyncratic brilliance of Lucas and so will not be timeless, but still it will give a good movie going experience, after all Disney has mastered the art of creating good movie going experience, though one would be hard pressed to remember much of it.