Star Wars Wrasslin' Wroundup

This is a bit of a diversion from the regular blog, but I decided to just have a Star Wars conversation with two RPG luminaries... for no other reason than because I wanted to.

Join me, Marty "Raging Owlbear" Walser, Tom "Dungeon Bastard" Lommel, and Chris "King Torg" O'Neill (All Hail King Torg!) for a fireside chat minus the fire, about all kinds of Star Wars adjacent topics, from science fiction and fandom to prequels and sequels.

I want to thank Tom Lommel (@DungeonBastard) and Chris O'Neill (@AllHailKingTorg) for humoring me in this effort. The conversation was tangential, unruly, unexpectedly weird at times, and funny.

The Problem with Star Wars

I've been thinking a lot about Star Wars this week… and about the “controversy” around The Last Jedi.

First, let’s get this out of the way: we're a bunch of nerds arguing about a movie series. This is the very definition of “first world problem” and none of this really matters. Second, it’s OK to dislike TLJ, just as it is OK to love it. Third, I didn't hate The Last Jedi, but I didn't love it either… and that's what everyone is talking about, so I might as well too.

Here’s my thesis about the problem with the new Star Wars trilogy: it needed a “show runner”. Bear with me as I lay out my case.

The prequels (Ep I - III) have a better story. They are not good movies, but they have an amazing plot. If George had let others (like Kasden) craft the scripts and dialogue, and there had been better acting, they could have been amazing. The story was there, but poorly executed. I also posit that their importance is because of Palpatine’s story, not Vader’s. Anakin was a patsy. Palpatine was one bad-ass motherf@#%$!... But I'm straying off-point.

The point is that Lucas had a vision of the Machiavellian machinations which would lead a Senator of a back water planet to become Emperor of the Galaxy. Palpatine was playing a literal long game. Encouraging a civil war. Setting up the clones. Making his planet a victim so he could rise from obscurity. This shit had layers upon layers. It was an amazing idea ruined by terrible scripts… But the idea was there. A single over-arcing plot to tie the 3 movies together (even if it was poorly executed).

Star Wars: Rogue One

Disclaimer: This is outside of my usual D&D-related posts, but I have to comment being a huge Star Wars nerd. 

Go see this movie. Just go. Like right now! 

No real spoilers ahead.

Back before Disney, I was never a huge Expanded Universe fan. Many of the books often read like some authors' Mary Sue (or Marty Sue) versions of Luke, Han and Leia at best, or internet fan fiction at worst.

But there were some exceptions... specifically books that featured other characters in the Star Wars universe outside of the core three (or four, if you include Chewbacca, but he never really got his own novel...). The point is I was more interested in seeing different protagonists in the Star Wars universe aside from the movie characters. Among those novels were the likes of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy and Micheal Stackpole's Rogue Squadron.

So when Rogue One was announced, my interest was piqued. I was pretty sure it would not include Corran Horn, but I liked the idea of a movie that told the story of the Rebellion from a different group of Rebels... and the fact that no one has force powers is HUGE.

Off Topic: Star Wars Hype

So normally I only talk about RPGs, but since there is a major cross-over audience with the wider geekdom, I needed to just get something off my chest.

I was trying desperately not to get caught up in all the Star Wars hype. I mean, while I didn't hate the prequels as much as some, the first episode was "Meh" overall (and sometimes just stupid). While I liked many parts of Episode II and III, I had very little affection for any of the characters. So overall they were just OK. Not hated, but not loved either... which for me was a major disappointment because the 7-year-old me from 1977 really wanted to love Star Wars again.

And then the new trailers started trickling out. But I was circumspect. I like Abrams, but the first Star Trek reboot wasn't really all that. Into Darkness was better and a fun film overall, but still doesn't top the original Wrath of Khan from which it borrowed heavily.

But then I saw the so called Star Wars "super cut" trailer that is making the social media rounds.

Ok, so I didn't literally pee myself... but that 7-year-old inner me suddenly sat up again.

Am I too old to love again?

Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.