Ten Things Wrong with the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

After having a lot of time to digest the final film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, I have realized the trilogy is not perfect.  In fact, it's far from it.  I've come to realize it is actually a fairly big disappointment.  It had so much potential.  It had the potential for people to argue for eons on which trilogy is better: the original or the sequel.  Nobody will ever legitimately think the prequel trilogy is better than the original trilogy, and now nobody will ever think the sequel trilogy is better.  I have ten reasons why this is the case; ten ways Disney, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Kathleen Kennedy screwed up.  These are in no particular order:

1. Rey is too much of a Mary Sue
You knew I was going to mention this.  She executes flying maneuvers you'd expect only out of a very experienced pilot.  She fixes the Millennium Falcon with ease.  She uses a Jedi Mind trick without practice.  She wields a lightsaber with competency against someone who's trained their entire life (although he was wounded).  Kylo should have easily been able to handle her in TFA.  It's hard to relate to a character that is so good at everything she does.  More on Rey later.

2. The back and forth between JJ and Rian
The sequel trilogy suffered from the inconsistency of directors.  Rian undid some of what JJ did, and then JJ undid some of what Rian did.  It left the trilogy feeling more like three separate barely connected films.  There's very little connecting the three films other than the characters.  One example is JJ hyping up Luke's lightsaber, only for Rian to have Luke toss it over his shoulder.  

3. No good romance story
Something prevalent in the first two trilogies is a romance sub-plot.  In the prequels, we had Anakin and Padme.  In the original trilogy, we had Han and Leia.  In the sequels, we have nothing even close.  We had a kiss between Finn and Rose in The Last Jedi, but that romance was forgotten about in the next film.  We then had a kiss between Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey, but there was very little to zero romantic build up.  He had just barely turned to her side.  The kiss felt forced and out of place.  If they had started building up the romance in The Last Jedi (or TFA) then it would have made a bit more sense.

4. Force Powers introduced that add plot holes, ruin integrity of Star Wars
I'd say one of the things that bothers me most about the sequel trilogy are some of the force powers introduced in it.  I'm ok with the mind extraction power Kylo used on Poe (although why didn't Vader learn this power?).  But what I don't like are the dyad, force heal, and new force ghost powers.  The dyad allows matter to be transported thousands if not millions of miles.  This means people could be transported, right?  They basically introduced teleportation in Star Wars, which belongs more in Star Trek.  Force Heal means no one has to die, and makes us wonder why no Jedi ever learned it before.  I like how JK Rowling said that once a character dies in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, they're dead.  That is no longer the case in Star Wars.  And the last thing that really bothered me was Force Ghosts and their new "powers".  Apparently now they can cause lightning strikes, use the force to lift objects, and even hold solid objects (Luke holding the lightsaber).  Why don't they help out the living world more often, then?  What rules are there?

5. Missed opportunity at the end of The Rise of Skywalker
When Rey is laying down and the Jedi are speaking to her, we hear Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Anakin, Mace Windu, and even Kanan Jarrus I think.  It would have been a million times more awesome to see them as Force Ghosts.  To see all of those characters rally behind Rey and help her would have redeemed TROS and even the entire trilogy, more or less.  It would have been a way to tie all the films (as well as a couple TV shows) together and probably would have instantly become a Top 5 Star Wars moment.  But instead, all we get is their voices and it has nowhere near the impact it could have.  

6. The handling of the original trilogy characters
I feel like Luke, Leia, Han, and Lando all could have been handled better.  Even R2D2 and C3PO were mere afterthoughts, although I understand wanting to focus on BB-8 (and sell merch).  But there were so many things I wish we had seen with the four human characters.  I wanted to see a Han and Luke reunion, a Han and Lando reunion, and maybe even a Lando and Leia reunion.  The only "reunions" we got were Han and Leia who were "separated" (don't agree with that), and Luke projecting himself to Leia.  Meh.  And the way they all were killed off... did they even have to be killed off?  Why can't they just live out their last days in peace?  At least perhaps Lando does.  Han dies so violently at the hands of his son?  That's an awful fate for a fan favorite.  Luke dying from overprojecting?  Ok...

7. Rey's lineage is a massive head-shaker
My absolute preferred lineage for Rey would have been to have her somehow descended from Obi-Wan, perhaps a (great) niece.  What Rian Johnson did in TLJ was have her parents be nobody, which I definitely would have preferred over her being a Palpatine.  At least as a nobody, that teaches kids (mostly girls) that even if your parents are nobodies and not that successful, that doesn't mean you can't be.  Instead, it shows that there has to be some lineage in your family tree in order to make a name for yourself.  And knowing the main "hero" of the ST be descended from ultimate evil is just an unsettling feeling.

8. There is no clear villain throughout the trilogy
In the prequel trilogy, the main villain was Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious.  In the original trilogy, it was Darth Vader and then the Emperor.  In the sequel trilogy, there is no consistency.  It goes from Kylo/Snoke to Snoke dying leaving just Kylo to Palpatine and then Kylo turns.  There is no clear number one villain in the trilogy.  It's not Snoke, he was only in a film and a half.  It's not Palpatine, he was only in one film.  And it's not Kylo, because he turns and betrays his own "master".  There's no one clear villain for the audience to root against.  

9. Side characters that are discarded or boring
The sequel trilogy introduced a lot of side characters: Captain Phasma, Rose, Finn, Poe, General Hux, and Zorii Bliss.  Captain Phasma was built up with a bunch of hype but dies in a lame fashion in TLJ.  Rose was basically forgotten about in TROS.  Finn was possibly force-sensitive but we get no resolution on it.  Poe was an ace pilot and former smuggler... but what else?  His character had no substance.  General Hux was a villain who turned for a petty reason.  Zorii Bliss was someone from Poe's past who no one cared for.  There was very little to no depth for the secondary characters in the ST.  

10. Missing an epic lightsaber fight scene
There was no epic lightsaber fight scene in the ST.  The closest we got was in TLJ when Rey and Kylo teamed up to take out Snoke's guards, but that fight had flaws and wasn't exactly a fair fight.  There was no fight scene with the magnitude of any of the OT fight scenes.  There was no fight scene that left us thinking how awesome it was after it finished.  This is just my opinion, but I think it's an opinion generally agreed upon by the Star Wars fanbase.  


The sequel trilogy was not entirely awful.  I only pointed out its flaws.  It had its strengths, too.  Kylo Ren had more depth than Anakin did in the PT, and Adam Driver killed it in the role.  The visual effects and music were all top-notch, with the visual effects the best Star Wars has seen so far.  They blended practical and visual effects better than the PT ever did.  The acting, even outside of Driver, was pretty good for the most part.  But it just pains me as a huge Star Wars fan to know that the ST could have been so much more.  I think someday we will get a Star Wars trilogy or movie series that people will universally regard as magnificent, but the sequel trilogy is unfortunately not that trilogy.  

My Expectations and Excitement for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(Spoiler-Free!)

In about 5 hours as I am typing this, I will be seeing the new Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Episode VII).  I am bristling with excitement in anticipation of seeing this film, as many are.  There are expectations for this film held by fans that it will at least be as good as the prequel trilogy, and it more than likely will be.  As for myself, I expect this to be the best combination of visuals and storytelling.

This is the first Star Wars film without any George Lucas involvement.  If his name appears in the credits it will only be to thank him for the characters (Han, Leia, Luke, etc.).  So I expect it to have at least a slightly different feel to it.  The cinematography and editing will be different, but the score by John L. Williams remains so that should bring some familiarity. 

All I want is for the characters to be deeper than the prequel trilogy characters.  Give the main trio (Finn, Rey, Poe) back stories and give them motivation to achieve their goals.  Also, the character I'm most curious about is Kylo Ren.  What drives him?  What made him the way he is?  Those questions might not get answered until a later film, but I'm still very eager to know.  As for Finn and Rey... are they descendants of any characters?  Do they have any connections at all?  Hopefully we find out. 

This is also the 2nd film in the Star Wars franchise to be given a PG-13 rating.  There will be some darker stuff included which leads me to believe a death is forthcoming.  Is it Han?  Luke?  Or will a character be introduced only to be killed off?  In the original trilogy, Grand Moff Tarkin was killed off in the first Star Wars film.  In the prequel trilogy, Darth Maul was killed off in the first film set chronologically.  Someone has to die in this one, more than likely a character who we as an audience would consider to be bad or evil.  Will it be Kylo Ren so soon? (I hope not).  Will it be General Hux (Dohmnall Gleeson)?  Will it be Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie)?  There's also a Supreme Leader Snoke played by Andy Serkis, who might be but isn't for sure evil. 

All I know is that it'll be very hard to disappoint us after a 10 year layoff from live action Star Wars films.  As long as Luke didn't go bad the movie should be pretty well-received.  I simply cannot wait.  See you guys then!  And may the Force be with us all.

My Thoughts on the Cast of Star Wars Episode VII and the Roles I think They'll Play

The filming for Star Wars Episode VII is underway, with pretty much all of the principal cast having been announced.  The cast includes Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, Oscar Isaac, and recently announced Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendolyn Christie.  I really like this cast.  I don't think it's perfect, but I'll hold my judgment for after having seen the film.  So for now, since no plot or character names have been revealed, I will predict the role each actor will have to see how close I get. 

Adam Driver: Main Bad Guy/Sith (Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus?)
Adam Driver has been rumored to be cast as the main villain, so I'll go with that.  Obviously, it would be near impossible for his character to compare to the legendary Darth Vader, but if he comes close, his acting and JJ/Kasdan's writing will be well-commended.  If I wrote the script, however, I would have Adam eventually be revealed to be the son of Han and Leia.  In the expanded universe novels, one of Han and Leia's sons (they had two sons and a daughter) turns to the dark side.  I would love to see Adam reveal to someone (his sister...?) that he is their brother.  If he is a bad guy, he will more than likely be a Sith and fight a few lightsaber battles. 

Daisy Ridley: Lead female, daughter of Han and Leia (Jaina Solo?)
Daisy Ridley is one of the unknowns to be cast, and seeing as the bears a resemblance to Carrie Fisher as well as the fact that in the cast release photo, seen below, she is in between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, I believe she will be playing their daughter.  Also, I'd like to point out each Star Wars trilogy has had a trio be the main stars, which included two guys and a girl (Han, Luke and Leia for the original trilogy, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme for the prequel trilogy).  I think she'll definitely be the girl in the trio for this trilogy, more than likely continuing down the female line of Skywalkers. 

John Boyega: Member of trio, descendant of Mace/Lando?
John Boyega, another unknown (at least to me) cast, has a role that is hard to predict.  He is rumored to be one of the stars, so I'm guessing a good guy and one of the trio.  To add to his character, I think he'll be either a descendant of Mace Windu (Great-nephew?) or Lando Calrissian (Son/Nephew/Grandson).  He's got to have some connection to the rest of the characters, so being a relative of Lando's would be the most logical choice.  The fact that Billy Dee Williams has yet to be cast might mean the character of Lando is dead for this trilogy, meaning Boyega might be seeking vengeance or redemption.  But, if he's a Jedi, the most logical thing would be to have him be a descendant of Mace Windu.  I just can't pinpoint it. 

Domhnall Gleeson: Luke's son (Ben Skywalker?)
I love Dohnall Gleeson.  He was awesome in Harry Potter and he was brilliant in About Time.  He will make a fantastic addition to the cast.  His role is slightly hard to predict, but I'm going to go on a limb here.  I predict he will be Luke Skywalker's son, therefore completing the trio with Ridley and Boyega.  I could be completely wrong and his role could be just as a supporting character, like Bail Organa was in the prequel trilogy.  But the resemblance with his actor-father Mark Hamill is there, albeit slightly, and what's a Star Wars movie without a Skywalker as part of the main cast? 

Andy Serkis: Alien Creature (Bothan?)
Andy is arguably the best motion capture actor today, playing Gollum, King Kong, and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.  So it would be safe to assume he'd have another motion caption role.  Since this is a Star Wars film, he'll probably be an alien creature.  If I had to pick a species from the Star Wars universe, I'd say he'll play a Bothan, because they were mentioned in the original trilogy, but never shown.  Andy Serkis isn't tall enough to play a Wookiee, so that's not really a possibility.  He won't be the lead star of the film, but his role certainly will be interesting and will more than likely use the best in technology available.

Max Von Sydow: Evil Leader (that is killed off)
Many legendary actors have appeared in Star Wars, from Peter Cushing to Alec Guinness to Christopher Lee.  Most of them have played bad guys.  My best guess is that Max too will play a bad guy.  I think his role will be similar to Peter Cushing's in A New Hope.  He'll only be in one film and be killed off, but he will have an evil presence.  Someone is bound to arise 30 years after the fall of the Empire to try to bring it back, and maybe that could be Max's character that leads it.  I am pretty confident that they will kill off Max's character in Episode VII, because of Max's age and not wanting to commit to him for a full trilogy. 

Oscar Isaac: Evil apprentice
It is very hard to pinpoint what Oscar Isaac's role will be.  I loved him in Inside Llewyn Davis, but I don't think he'll have that large of a role for the new trilogy.  I think he'll be like a Darth Maul/General Grievous type villain, not really being the main villain but certainly one the heroes will have trouble with.  I would guess that he will also be a Sith and not just an Imperial Officer or anything.  I'll just say he'll be Adam Driver's apprentice that is probably killed off before Adam, but hopefully not in Episode VII.

Lupita Nyong'o: Asajj Ventress

One of the more recent additions to the cast was Lupita Nyong'o, the Oscar-winning actress from 12 Years a Slave.  There have been rumors that she could play Asajj Ventress, one of the main villains from the Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series.  I'll go with the rumors yet again, feeling that I might be wrong this time.  Asajj Ventress would be quite a few years older (approximately 60 years have passed since the Clone Wars).  But they curiously did not kill off Ventress in that series, because perhaps they were saving her for something else.  I could be wrong and Lupita could end up playing a descendant of Mace Windu or Lando Calrissian, or an entirely new character, but whatever role she has will be a very interesting one.

Gwendolyn Christie: Mon Mothma-type leader
I haven't seen Game of Thrones (yet) or anything else Gwendolyn Christie has been in, so it's hard to say what she's capable of as an actress.  She's more than likely playing a supporting character, and I will predict she'll play a role very similar to Caroline Blakiston/Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi.  She could even play her daughter or granddaughter.

Well, those are my thoughts on the cast and predictions for the roles they'll have.  Things will start to become clearer as things get leaked or announcements are made about the plot or characters.  I'm going to go back to this post after having seen Episode VII and see how bad or good I was at predicting the characters for each of the actors.  I can't wait!