The Star Wars sequel trilogy proved to be a fun return to a galaxy far, far away. Though the films were full of excitement and adventure, there were some frustrating moments in each.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy wrapped up last December. The feeling about the films is mixed with some fans loathing them and others loving and embracing them as a worthy conclusion of the Star Wars saga.
Personally, I enjoy the films, though think they would’ve benefited from a more cohesive plan from start to finish. While they are plenty of great moments in these movies, there are plenty of head-scratching and frustrating moments and decisions that were made.
To conclude this ongoing series, we will look at the most frustrating moments from each film in the sequel trilogy.
The Empire is Basically Back
The opening shot of The Force Awakens is a ship going over a planet. The second shot we see is a bunch of stormtroopers. Stormtroopers? Really? Didn’t we just destroy the entire Empire at the end of Return of the Jedi? The fact the filmmakers decided to just bring the Empire back and pretty much make the victory at the Battle of Endor meaningless, was an odd decision at best.
It’s one thing to have the Empire back in the form of the First Order but to have them be as powerful as they are was very unbelievable. There’s no way this new Empire should’ve had the assets to create a massive military fleet. Not only do they have a massive fleet, but they’ve also built another superweapon that is even more powerful than the Death Star.
What kind of government did Princess Leia and the rest of the Rebel leaders install that would allow such a powerful and evil entity to rise up? It makes them look incompetent and foolish and the whole scenario is completely unbelievable.
I’m sure Disney wanted the Empire to be back to help with the nostalgia factor of having stormtroopers again, but it would’ve made much more sense to have a scaled-down version. A new Empire that results in terrorism and guerilla warfare would’ve made more sense. They could’ve gained power throughout the trilogy and it would’ve been interesting to see the former Rebels now being the ones with the massive fleet and power and having to fend off this new upstart threat.
I still enjoy the sequel trilogy but will ever agree with the decision to basically resurrect the Empire and have them be just as, if not more powerful than they were prior to their defeat in Return of the Jedi.
Luke Almost Murdering Ben
The Last Jedi is easily the most hated film in the sequel trilogy. I never really understood why, as it is a very tight film from start to finish that does a great job of continuing the story where J.J. Abrams left it at the end of The Force Awakens.
Many had an issue with Luke Skywalker and his decision to live his life in isolation and distance himself from the Force and the Jedi. That was actually something I thought was a realistic situation for Luke to be in. As we get older, many times life beats us up. It’s easy to feel defeated when life continues to crap on you, and perspectives can change. Luke’s Jedi Academy failed, he lost his nephew to the Dark Side, and was clearly fed up with the constant cycle of failure that is associated with the Jedi. Instead of continuing this cycle of misery, he opted to end the Jedi by living the rest of his life alone having Jedi die when he does.
It took a potential new student in Rey to make Luke see the error of his ways and return to being the hero he always was. That was a fine and well-done story arc for Luke, the problem I had was in the flashback scenes.
Luke senses Ben is slipping away to the Dark Side. When he sees just how far Ben has fallen, he takes out his lightsaber and ponders murdering Ben in his sleep. This is a decision that is completely against not just Luke’s beliefs but the entire belief of the Jedi.
Luke was one of the only people who saw the glimmer of light that was still in Darth Vader. Surely Ben still had some light in him, and that is what the Luke Skywalker we knew and loved from the original trilogy would’ve hung onto, and tried to nourish.Instead, we get a Luke who is going to murder his own nephew? That act would’ve sent him down the path of the Dark Side, and is clearly against everything Yoda and Obi-Wan taught him.
For the most part, Rian Johnson did a masterful job with The Last Jedi, but this is a concept that should’ve been cut in early drafts of the script and never made it to the big screen as it goes 100% against the character of Luke Skywalker.
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No Force Ghosts in Final Fight
The Rise of Skywalker was a film that was, for the most part, loved by fans but hated by critics. It was an action-packed finale filled with all kinds of new Jedi and Force lore along with the return of Emperor Palpatine. The film had to tell its own story while putting a bow on the entire sagan. It mostly accomplished that, but the final battle with Darth Sidious will never sit well for me, as I feel there was a huge opportunity missed.
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Darth Sidious is able to use the Dark Side of the Force and transfer his essence to a clone body after Vader tosses him down that shaft of the second Death Star. So to destroy him Rey just uses her two lightsabers to send force lighting back on him? That was an odd decision to make especially after Rey just reaches out and hears the voices of many fallen Jedi throughout the Star Wars saga.
To truly vanquish the evilest entity to ever roam the galaxy a massive amount of light side Force energy would need to be used. It would’ve made more sense to not just hear these fallen Jedi but actually see their Force ghosts appear. Seeing Yoda, Mace Windu, Qui Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, and especially Anakin would’ve been a great climax to the saga that could’ve tied all nine episodes together. They all could have reached out with the Force and along with Rey and Ben, been enough to extinguish the Dark Side evil that was Sidious. They could have stolen a moment from the Dark Empire comic and spoken the words of Yoda about being luminous beings as they used the Force on Palpatine.
That would’ve been the climactic ending that the Star Wars saga deserved. While it was cool to hear the voices of the Force ghosts, it was a major blown opportunity to not see their luminous faces and actually be used in the defeat of Darth Sidious who in a way was responsible for many of their deaths.
What were some other frustrating moments in the sequel trilogy?