5 Things “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Should Learn from the Prequels

Top 5 Ways The Phantom Menace Got it Right: What The Force Awakens Should Salvage from its Prequel Counterpart.

I know, I know – The Star Wars prequel trilogy was horrible. Objectively speaking simply from the perspective of a serious fan of film, I’m not one to disagree. For the most part the pacing was uneven, the plot full of holes, character development abysmal, dialogue unrealistic, the cinematography flat, the special effects overbearing, the list goes on and on.

However, the first film in that trilogy is still my personal favorite – an unpopular opinion, for sure, but one not unfounded. As I hope to explain in the following points, Episode I still served as a fitting opening act for what could have turned out to be a fine little trilogy of decently entertaining Star Wars films, albeit not of the same greatness as the originals. Had George Lucas emulated his previous tradition of handling all the creative duties for the first outing but then handing over the reins to more capable filmmakers for the sequels, that could have happened – instead, what we got was an unmitigated mess that (in my opinion) only got worse with each installment.

But enough about the Dark Times – let’s try and find the silver lining in Lucas’ 1999 pseudo-epic and look at the Light Side. Without further ado, here’s the #5 thing The Phantom Menace did right.

#5: The Jedi Order

The fact that the Jedi depicted in the Original Trilogy were nothing more than nomadic remnants of a much more sophisticated hierarchy was an intentional narrative move – it built mystery and intrigue around these guys. Eccentric space wizards like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda never should have worked as written on paper, and yet the way they were presented on the screen gave us glimpses into a very high-minded, regal, philosophical order full of magic and wonder that made pine for more.

Well, The Phantom Menace gave us exactly what we wanted, in that respect. And while one can (convincingly) argue that the costumes of the full-fledged Jedi knights in the prequels never should have been the same desert rags that Obi-Wan Kenobi was clearly wearing as a disguise in the original Star Wars (because after all, he was supposed to be in hiding), the overall presentation of the Jedi Council – the traditions eluded to, the codes, the prophecies, etc. – made for a much more fleshed-out and fitting depiction of what we all had in our minds ever since Alec Guinness spoke those immortal words, “for over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the Dark Times… Before the Empire…”

You can’t tell me you weren’t at least a little pumped in the theater to see Yoda sitting there on his chair, leading the Council and speaking in his classic, twisted-about vernacular – a revered sage finally being recognized as such in a “more civilized age.” It almost made you forget all about Jar-Jar, didn’t it? Be honest. It was awesome.

Fast-forward to the present. In order for The Force Awakens to please as many fans as possible, it needs to serve three functions:

1) Pay reverence to the Original Trilogy’s marriage of gritty aesthetic and human wonder;
2) Somehow keep/solve consistency between both existing trilogies (like it or not, the prequels are still canon and plenty of Wars fans do like them);
3) Keep things fresh and intriguing for a new generation.

That’s a tall order, but one way to start is to follow Episode I‘s lead when it came to reinventing the Jedi – we don’t want Luke and company to have stagnated in the past 30 years; instead, we need to see a fresh take on the Jedi Order that reminds us of just what highly civilized philosophers they are – they are warriors, yes, but only in war time. Their overall demeanor and code of ethics needs to match what old Obi-Wan eluded to in the 1977 Star Wars, as well as validate the image that The Phantom Menace brought to the fold. At the same time, it has to bring something new to the table that makes us, yet a third time, go “wow” when we see a Jedi – as if we’ve never truly seen one before.

No easy feat, but I believe in that if anyone can do it, it’s J.J. Abrams.