A cult saga ranked among the best franchises in the 7th art, Star Wars nevertheless has numerous script flaws. Controversial choices made by George Lucas and his desire to digitize everything in the prequel, certain antagonists who died too soon, and Disney's almost chaotic takeover of the franchise. There are many mistakes to list, but we've identified seven that still stick in the craw of fans, six years after the end of the last trilogy.
#7 The Death of Boba Fett - Return of the Jedi
When he was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett promised to be a charismatic and particularly devious villain for Luke and the Rebellion. This imposing armor and this helmet that hides a mute bounty hunterimmediately appealed to fans of the Galaxy Far Far Away. But Lucasfilm chose to dash hopes of a setback in the sequel to Episode 5: Return of the Jedi, the film that concludes the first trilogy. The death of Boba Fett, ridiculously pushed around by Han Solo and ending up in the mouth of the Sarlacc, was experienced as a misunderstanding by the fanbase. But as everyone knows, the character's popularity has allowed all the rules of consistency to be broken, as Disney chose, through a very questionable twist, to bring him back with a bang: a series in his name released in 2021, but which ultimately proved disappointing.
#6 The Resurrection of Leia - The Last Jedi
Without doubt one of the most awkward scenes in the entire saga. Presumed dead after the destruction of the Resistance ship's cockpit, Leia wakes up in space to use the Force. A sequence that's incoherent in more ways than one (space doesn't seem deadly here, and we've never seen her use the Force before), in addition to being visually very strange. Through a very heavy-handed slow motion, she stretches out her arm like a Marvel superhero to get back into the ship. A staging worthy of a recent Disney live-action remake, deemed very kitsch, even too cheap by viewers. Director Rian Johnson wanted to pay tribute to actress Carrie Fisher (who passed away at the end of filming), and offer fans the scenes of the exchanges with Luke and Rey.
#5 The Whole Rise of Skywalker
From the beginning of its development, the conclusion to Disney's first trilogy was shaping up to be chaotic. After director Colin Trevorrow was ousted due to creative disagreements with Disney, J.J. Abrams came to the rescue of the project in order to churn out something in just 18 short months. A very short timeframe for a script whose barely disguised patchwork of the plots of the two previous installments. The bizarre artifact that allows resurrection, the character of Rose almost put away in the closet, the scenes of (the late) Leia taken from unused rushes, the sudden return of Palpatine and his affiliation with Rey, and this avalanche of fan service to fill in the blanks are all elements that sabotage a film and sweep away the rest of the trilogy.
#4 The copy-paste of The Force Awakens on A New Hope
The criticism that was immediately made after viewing The Force Awakens is its striking resemblance to A New Hope. What some describe as a real copy The 1977 film attempts to create a new story by distancing itself from the Skywalker mythology, but doesn't quite succeed. Jakku replaces Tatooine, Rey takes Luke's place, the First Order replaces the Empire, Starkiller replaces the Death Star, and finally BB-8 and his secret message evoke R2-D2. The characters lack depth and the stakes are very unclear, drowned in repetitive action sequences.
We're taking a step back to the prequel series, which began in 1999 with The Phantom Menace. Considered the weakest of the trilogy, and rightly so. Aside from the iconic Podracer race scene and the final fight against Darth Maul, the film lacks pace, suffers from numerous confusions, and features characters that aren't powerful enough, or even downright unbearable. We're talking, of course, about Jar Jar Binks, a CGI alien used as a comic relief to open the saga to family audiences. But his countless gaffes, strange body language, and annoying forced humor led to massive rejection from fans. At the time, he was primarily held responsible for the film's critical failure. His very brief appearance in Attack of the Clones is no accident.
#2 The Introduction of Midi-Chlorians - The Phantom Menace
In the same way that Jar Jar Binks was a failure, the introduction of Midi-chlorians in Star Wars harmed The Phantom Menace. Gone is the mystical source of the Force, George Lucas wants to give it a scientific origin through these microorganisms whose blood levels allow (roughly) to give an explanation of who will be a great Jedi or not. Perceived as a betrayal of the saga's legacy, this narrative knot that appears out of nowhere has also been gradually forgotten in the rest of the trilogy.
#1 The romance between Anakin and Padmé - Attack of the Clones
In the middle of a galactic war between an army of Clones and entire regiments of droids, there is this rather lunar romance between Padmé and Anakin Skywalker. The child the senator knew has grown up. He is now an accomplished Jedi and serves as her bodyguard during her diplomatic mission to Naboo. But their budding romance rings false on screen. Awkward dialogue, non-existent chemistry between the two protagonists, an overly present story, the budding love between the two lovebirds—which is essential because it will lead to the birth of Luke and Leia—cannibalizes George Lucas's film.
Want to continue reading? Check out these ten moments of fan service that ruined the saga.
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