He’s hanging by a rope? That seems rather on the nose, doesn’t it?
The sudden downfall of Solo: A Star Wars Story has left many wondering why a seemingly invincible franchise has suddenly lost its luster. Some people blame Kathleen Kennedy, others talk about the Memorial Day release schedule, and yet more speak about the influence of social justice warriors. All of these topics are critical points of discussion, but there are other crucial things that Youtubers, the media, and critics have completely missed (or become complicit in).
With that in mind, let’s explore how Star Wars went down the tubes in four movies or less!
1. Lucasfilm Has Lost Its Mind.
The buck ultimately stops with this woman.
In any creative enterprise, it’s important to balance the desires of the customer with the stories that the content creators want to tell. While some may not like it, this approach is the only way to maximize profitability and give the content creators room to flex their muscle. It’s what I try my best to do here, and I’m pleased to say that many others live by this creed as well.
Ideally, creators should look for an active fan base and try to cater to their needs. When done right, it turns a significant percentage of the audience into the evangelists who will spread the Gospel of Maereath (available at fine online stores everywhere!), Middle-Earth, Tiberium, or Marvel!
That doesn’t seem to be happening at Lucasfilm. Instead of listening to the criticism and keeping calm, the creators lashed out at their detractors by calling them sexists who are afraid of strong, independent wamen. Apparently, this brave new world doesn’t require any male fans either because “The Force Is Female.”
I’m not sure if I know all that much, but I do know one thing. If I EVER responded to people with this kind of tone, I would have been hounded off of the Internet. And yet, people are absolutely shocked when Hollywood gets a taste of people power.
Is the box office implosion starting to make sense now?
2. J.J. Abrams Destroyed Han Solo In The Force Awakens.
The more that I thought about this scene, the more that it fell apart in my eyes.
At this point, I think it’s important to say that I haven’t seen Solo yet. Then again, why would I want to?
If we put aside the obvious fact that Han and Chewie survive the movie, it’s important to acknowledge where our smuggler-turned-hero ends up. At the end of Return of the Jedi, he has the love of his life, a new brother, the responsibilities of a general, and his furry best friend. After that, he flees from the oncoming war like a coward and dies a humiliated failure.
“But what about Harrison Ford’s desire to kill him off?” you might ask.
Much like Luke, Han could have died in battle as the hero that he was meant to be. It may have stung for a while, but it would have been far more satisfying than what we got. Instead, we are at the point where many fans don’t care anymore, including me.
3. The Last Jedi And Social Justice Jackassery.
“Don’t you mansplain things to me! I’m going to get us all killed!”
I think that almost everyone at Disney underestimated the sheer amount of bad blood that The Last Jedi generated in the fan base. If we put aside the nonsensical criticism, it’s important to recognize that a plot hole is nothing when compared to the toxic social justice messaging that’s strewn throughout these new movies. Before we go any further, it’s important to examine why the first six movies and Rogue One didn’t fall into this trap.
At their core, these seven movies are a cautionary tale about the rise and fall of republics and dictatorships. Some people might have issues with the quality, but it’s hard to dismiss George Lucas’ intent to tell a timeless story that could parallel the Roman Empire, the Nazis, the Soviets, or any other part of history. And yes, he added all sorts of beings to the fight because they all had something to gain or lose. Rogue One plays with this premise quite nicely by adding the inner squabbles of the two factions and ironing out the backstory.
By contrast, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi routinely snap the audience out of the story with appeals to social justice nonsense. For your amusement, let’s recap them!
- For some girl power-related reason, Rey is able to outmatch the antagonist in the first movie, outpacing Luke and Anakin by a country mile.
- Poe is suddenly painted as an “impulsive hothead,” even though his opening actions saved the Resistance.
- Leia and Vice Admiral The View’s criminal negligence and incompetence are painted as heroism.
- The Resistance knew that arms dealers in Republic space were selling weapons to the enemy, but no one tried to stop them.
- Finn and Rose release (and ultimately kill) a bunch of domesticated animals… in the name of animal rights.
- Rose stops Finn from sacrificing himself, effectively dooming the Resistance in the name of the Holy Gospel according to Justin Trudeau!
So, when the audience hears about a droid rights activist and Lando’s sudden pansexuality, what are they supposed to think? They just dealt with a generous helping of that garbage in the last movie!
If anything, it’s going to get worse in this one. To add to the despair, we all know that the media is going to amp up the SJW narrative, which will only drive more wedges into the audience!
4. The Franchise May Be Creatively Bankrupt.
A game from sixteen years ago has better characters than the saga films of today.
If we put aside the previous three points (and we won’t), the newer films in the saga appear to be unable to move beyond the Rebels vs. Empire storyline. Sure, it makes a bit of sense from a business standpoint because of the nostalgia factor. However, this decision offers very little creative flexibility because we don’t know anything about this universe outside of their fan fic rewrite of the original trilogy.
For a sense of contrast, I’d like to point to the defunct Expanded Universe. The fans like different aspects of it, but it’s important to recognize the quality stories that it brought out of the brand. Consider the following:
- Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy
- Mara Jade Skywalker
- The New Jedi Order
- Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo
- Knights of the Old Republic
- The Thrawn Trilogy
You, dear reader, can say what you will about the quality of each character and title. In my humble opinion, these products offer far more in the realm of character and story development than J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson could ever dream of.
Conclusion.
There’s a reason why Rogue One is the best of the newer films. It cuts through all of the nonsense.
With much of the fan base in open revolt and a lack of creative direction, it’s no secret that Star Wars is in desperate need of an intervention. Some may think that the creative team merely needs to step back and take a breather, but their actual problems are far beyond their comprehension. Down in the real world, Disney has two paths that they can follow.
- They could step back, clean house, and take the time to build a cohesive plan.
- They could take the franchise out behind the barn and put it out of its misery.
On a personal level, I’d love to help with Option #1, but let’s get real. These people are not going to change their ways until Episode IX crashes and burns at the box office.
Then again, it’s not all bad. If Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t want your money, I’d be happy to take it off of your hands in exchange for some badass entertainment.
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