This week is the launch week for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I shall
be honest, I am filled with trepidation.
I discovered Star Wars in the
second grade and it instantly grabbed my attention. When my family picked up
their first computer in the 4th grade, my first games were the Star Wars
collection. Dark Forces, X-wing, TIE Fighter, Rebel Assault, Rebellion... these
games ate up a large chunk of my free time. Some explored parts of the SW
Universe that we have already seen, but many of them took the story into new
and exciting directions. Then I discovered the X-wing series by Michael A.
Stackpole and Aaron Allston. I do not think I would be the reader I am today
without those books.
None of this includes the hours
I spent with kids on the playground playing "Star Wars", or when I
deconstructed my LEGO sets to build my own X-wings and Y-wings. Countless
summer evenings were spent playing the Star Wars CCG in front of a TV playing
the Star Wars movies. So let me reiterate this, I was hooked on Star Wars.
So why the trepidation?
Shouldn't I be jumping up and down in joy for another Star Wars film?
Here is the problem, Star Wars:
The Force Awakened was not any good. It had all the bits that should make it
good. An awesome scene of X-wings flying over a lake moving into battle. Rey
picking up the lightsaber for the first time to battle the forces of Evil, TIE
Fighter chases, an awesome new little droid, a new evil Empire to fight.... as
I said, it had a bunch of good bits.
However, that was all of it. It
was a bunch of random bits glued together by characters falling into the next
scene. It lacked the soul of a story that would tie all of these parts together
and make them into something greater. I have also see this before. I was at the
opening night of every Star Wars Prequel movie and the voice in the back of my
head just kept saying, "Maybe this one will be better". But I've seen
movies where people won't tell the director "no" because his works
have made so much money, and I feel like we are in that loop all over again.
So… I will enjoy Star Wars, but
it will be in my own way. I will tell new stories in the universe as I run Star
Wars RPG campaigns with friends; I will jump into space battles with games of
X-wing and Armada. I will take up the mantle of the Empire when I run an
Imperial Assault campaign at work. These I am still excited about, because in
the end they are still fun. Maybe I will get excited about JJ Abram's Star Wars
once he figures out what makes those movies fun too.