There's a disturbance in the franchise

The effects of post-Episodes I-III syndrome are catastrophic.

By Joey Vergara

Published July 8, 2009

Jar Jar Binks isn't that bad. The Gungan is obviously a gross exaggeration of C-3PO's ability to annoy, but he's only become a scapegoat for a franchise gone (somewhat) awry because he makes an easy target.

If you watch episodes I-III today you should be able to pick up on what went wrong pretty quickly: the blatant overuse of CGI and amateur dialogue. Jar Jar is certainly part of that, but doesn't deserve all the blame.

The challenge of the "Star Wars" franchise in putting out these three prequels was matching the epic nature of the original troika of sci-fi perfection. Herein lies the problem. "A New Hope" began a futuristic epic -- that's a key word. Anything that takes place before it, by nature, must be explanatory. It's just dressing for the good stuff.

The original trilogy adapted classical models of heroism and villainy to an otherworldly setting, and it worked flawlessly. They're stories told in Ancient Greece and Medieval England but with the appeal of flashy swords and flying machines.

Perhaps this is where things began to go wrong. George Lucas' captivation with new technology led to the excess in visual arts. A twirling CGI Yoda falls remarkably flat in the face of Frank Oz's puppets in "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." It's much more impressive to look back at the comparatively limited technology of the original three than to see an entire screen filled with computer-generated tricks.

But excess alone wasn't the downfall of the "Star Wars" empire. Ego helped, too. Lucas, unwilling to bring in others to help write the scripts, penned some of the worst dialogue imaginable: "Anakin, you're breaking my heart! And you're going down a path I cannot follow!" No Force could help even Natalie Portman deliver her lines better.

Still, there was something to appreciate in seeing the birth of Darth Vader or a little Boba Fett running around, firing up the Slave I. It's not all sour grapes in the prequels.

As a franchise, "Star Wars" is forever tainted by these mistakes. It's not permanently ruined by Jar Jar Binks, no matter how often he manages to haunt us in cartoons and other spin-offs, but there's some disturbance nonetheless.

The best course for correction at this point for a franchise as legendary as Lucas' lies in the realm of its expanded universe. The movies cannot be corrected, but filling in the gaps through TV shows, books and other media can provide a sort of closure, if only to the most devoted.

Maybe in a spirit of goodwill, and hopefully regretting his mistakes a little, Lucas even gave his stamp of approval to the long-delayed "Fanboys," a fun exploration of "Star Wars" nerddom in the guise of a road trip movie. For missteps committed long, long ago, it's certainly a step toward re-evaluation.