(All Rights of images related to Star Wars are retained by Disney. In this instance, the image is used for a review of the film.)
So, I really liked the new Star Wars film, The Last Jedi.
Before purchasing the film on Amazon, I read through the Star Wars Facebook page as they were announcing the countdown til release and was surprised at how much hate the new film received.
Which got me to thinking about both Star Wars and Star Trek’s new franchise (also known as JJ Trek).
The new Star Wars film was a bit darker even more so than the Force Awakens.
The films are grittier, the bad guys nastier, the stormtroopers have taken some weapons courses and actually hit their targets this time, and the distinction between light and dark isn’t so very clear.
The world is more complex and the characters reflect that – Kylo Ren who in the first film seems like the ultimate betraying ‘bad son’ is the perfect example of this and is somewhat better understood once the actions of a not so good Luke Skywalker are revealed.
The same thing happened in Star Trek. The world wasn’t as morally pristine as the earlier franchise films (or television series). Things were clunkier in some aspects, more concrete and believable while, like Star Wars, it managed to keep the fantasy aspect alive.
Yet, I have a hang-up.
One small thing that is probably a little prejudiced.
Okay, maybe really prejudiced.
All the characters that I grew up with are either really old or dead.
Star Trek for me will always be Bill Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForrest Kelly, Nichelle Nicholes, and the NCC-1701 A.
Star Wars for me will always be young Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and of course, Carrie Fisher.
After the closing sequence of Star Wars, when the credits rolled, they showed an in memoriam credit:
In loving memory of our Princess, Carrie Fisher.
I choked up.
I got a frog in my throat and misty-eyed.
Sure, not only because she’s gone but because it dawned on me that Star Wars, like Star Trek, aren’t the same nor will they ever be again.
The franchise has been passed on. The torch has been given over to younger people. Its fate is solely in their hands now.
I, like those characters, and much like the show’s detractors, have simply gotten old and the way things were aren’t the way they are now. We’ve become too rigid. Too set in our ways and if it were up to us, the franchises would both fail.
In short. The films simply do not belong to me anymore. In fact, the shows don’t belong to Roddenberry or Lucas anymore. They’ve grown beyond that. Both men built not only a popular show but a series of films that while entertain, bring a lot of hope to people who view them and, as my parents did, will show them to their children.
Will they always get it on the money? Probably not. Hell, Lucas’ Prequels sucked and there were three Star Trek Films (The Search for Spock, The Final Frontier, and Star Trek Nemesis) which were downright awful.
Yet, all in all, The Last Jedi was the best film in the series. Easily.
Adventures are for the youth. I just hope that they boldly go wherever the Force may take them.