As I said before, I didn't catch my cousins' reactions to the cliffhanger close of Empire, but they were very eager to move onto Return of the Jedi. They had been given enough time to get invested in the new characters and the story lines from the prequel trilogy were coming back into a smoother whole narrative. Episode VI has suffered the least in the new viewing order. It maintains a strong position as the epic conclusion of the saga for either six movies or three.
Surprisingly, they didn't have much to say on Jabba's palace. They liked the cool creature effects of the alien band, and of course thought Jabba was pretty nasty, but other than that, not much to say. Boba Fett didn't really add much to the scenes. He had much more gravitas in just the original trilogy when he was a mysterious, yet cool bounty hunter. Now, knowing his origin story and his traumatic childhood, the audience feels a little cheated that he is just a hired thug with little importance.
Yoda's death was very emotional and got a good reaction. Some people say that seeing Yoda use a lightsaber and fight in the prequels ruined his character, and I understand the argument they're making, but I feel his death is made all the more powerful and sad by our knowing what a great fighter he was. That after all the wars, the combat, and the epic use of the Force, age has finally caught up with him. This is one of only a handful of scenes from the originals that is actually enhanced by the back story provided by the prequels.
I wasn't at all surprised that the Ewoks were a big hit. Everyone loved them for being cute and funny. Even some of the harshest critics of Star Wars I've met have softened up for the overtly kid friendly creatures, which are far superior to the Gungans for enjoyment, despite similar functions.
The conclusion of Vader's arc was also well received. They all cried out "Look, it's Anakin!" when Hayden Christensen appeared at the end, while I could only sigh in dismay. I understood why they felt that way, but it made me truly regret showing the film in this order.
Final Thoughts
I asked my cousins what they thought of the films. Sadly, all said that Episode III was their favorite. Kat said that Episode V would have been her favorite if the effects had been better (and this included all the Special Edition stuff). This is very telling about the shift in priorities for new Star Wars audiences. They now expect and favor great visual effects spectacles over deeper storytelling. Berri even commented that the films would look great in 3D, to which I smiled and told her what was coming next year. I can't say for certain anymore if the SW franchise has truly lost its way, or if it is simply changing with the times. After all, Avatar was a smash hit despite having a recycled and predictable story. Time will tell on the direction of the franchise. In addition to the 3D conversion, more sequels have been announced, though I don't know what other stories there are to tell. If Lucas is picking up James Cameron's proverbial gauntlet, then there's no hope for old school fans like myself. I can only quote Mrs. Constanza from Seinfeld, "Why, Georgie, why?"
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