A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
That line and the John Williams chorus would once get me excited about another part to the Star Wars saga.
But ever since the prequal trilogy ended and Lucas revealed his plans to further milk his franchise, I’ve pretty much declared that I am fed up with it all.
That’s right. I’m fed up with Star Wars.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not as big a fan as others are and I sure as heck weren’t alive when the first films were released in the 70s. But every time I watched them, I always enjoy them. It was never about acting (because it was without a doubt, for example, Harrison Ford’s worst role), nor was it about the dialogue. It was always about the action, the special effects, the excitement. All of that was never seen in film before and that’s why it’s one of the most influential films of all time whether you love it or hate it.
It’s not even about the prequals. I mean, George wanted to tell his story and, outside of Episode I, he did it. It may not be the best story or the most fan approved, but he did it. There are problems, of course, but it’s not something you totally need to watch to enjoy Star Wars.
But, for example, let’s take a look at Clone Wars. Released this past Friday, it is the first animated Star Wars film and it’s there to bridge the gap between Episode II and Episode III.
One question: Why? Why do we need to know what happens between those two movies? Didn’t Genndy Tartovsky do a good enough job of that in the other Clone Wars? I seriously doubt anything important happens that would shake the story up from then so why?
And this is my problem. The constant milking. It doesn’t feel like George cares about anything other then money. And it doesn’t even seem like he does a good job of it.
I have probably said this a thousand times about franchises, and have in fact written about them, that the best way to make someone care about your franchise is to not only make it reach as many people as possible, but to also consolidate it so people aren’t fed up with it and thus demand it.
The thing is, we’ve never felt like Star Wars has left us in any way. Every year, a new video game, a new comic book, a novel, toys, sweets, anything. Which would usually be good, until you realise that there has never been a period where people have wanted this sort of thing. It’s always given to them with no questions as to why.
Then we find out that ‘Clone Wars’ is only a pilot for a new TV cartoon that will be shown on TV. I cannot be the only one to think this seems really shallow and it doesn’t make it worthwhile to make the trip to the cinema knowing that it’ll just end up on TV in a couple of months. I mean, most TV series didn’t spring up until they were sure the show was going to work. Yeah, it’s going to work, but it doesn’t seem honest. Like they didn’t want to enhance the universe as much as make tonnes of money.
Not that I am a man against making money. As you can see from my other column, I have no problem with franchises making money. It’s what most franchises are there to do apart from make people enjoy their experience in the cinema. But, for me, the latter’s not being done. Nothing Lucas can do now can make me excited just because he’s expecting me to eat everything he makes sort of like an egotistical chef.
So that’s why I’m not in for Clone Wars. Nor the Cartoon, the live action show and God knows what else he comes out with.
The Force Unleashed? I’ll make an acception for that. I mean, you use the Wii Remote as a Lightsabre for crying out loud!
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