The 7 Biggest Problems With The Original Trilogy
When it comes to the Star Wars trilogies, the original is the one with the least amount of criticisms. However, it is not completely free of them. Here are what I consider to be the seven biggest problems of the original trilogy.
7. Not Enough Biggs
It's somewhat fitting that the first thing on this "biggest problems" list is about Biggs Darklighter, Luke Skywalker's childhood friend. I really love the deleted footage of him interacting with Luke Skywalker at Tosche Station. It provides more context for their friendship and makes his death in the trench run more painful. In the Special Edition, George Lucas reinserted the footage of him reuniting with Luke before they take off for the battle. Without the Tosche Station footage, however, the reunion comes kind of out of nowhere. I understand that the Tosche Station footage was deleted because it didn't mesh well with the pacing at the beginning of the film. But I wish there was some way that some of it could have been repurposed in a way that fits.
If you want more Biggs, I suggest reading the Legends comic Empire Vol. 2: Darklighter and the From a Certain Point of View story "Desert Sun." The former shows him deserting the Empire, and the latter provides heartwarming final thoughts from him just before his death, when he has faith that Luke will save the Rebellion.
6. Not Enough Alderaan
When Alderaan is destroyed, viewers care simply because of what it means to Leia. Props to Carrie Fisher for her believable reactions, but we did not get to know Alderaan well enough within the original film. We do not even see innocent civilians on the ground just before the planet is destroyed. Oddly, Alderaan has seldom been featured in onscreen materials, as it is only shown in The Clone Wars episode "Assassin" and the end of Revenge of the Sith.
Thankfully, Leia's relationship with her Alderaan family is explored further in the novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan and the From a Certain Point of View short story "Eclipse."
5. Boba Fett Barely Does Anything
People love to talk about how cool Boba Fett is, but he barely does anything in the original trilogy. There's kind of a disconnect between the Boba Fett we see in these films and the Boba Fett we see in the prequel era and The Mandalorian. There's not really much visible depth to him.
4. Jabba's Palace
The entire first act of Return of the Jedi is much longer than it needs to be. Luke's plan to rescue Han is so needlessly convoluted. He gives his lightsaber to Artoo for safekeeping, seemingly because he knows he will need it if he ends up above the sarlacc. Somehow, he knows that Artoo will conveniently end up on the sail barge near him. And he surmises that this has to happen if Leia's attempt at rescuing Han fails. It is not until after her failed attempt that he arrives. Why could he not have simply walked in with his lightsaber? Luke gives Jabba chances to comply, but honestly, he gives the crime lord way too many chances.
Luke's plan could have been streamlined, and the rescue could have been quicker. If it was needlessly complicated simply because it was more dangerous or risky to enact his plan at the palace itself, this is not conveyed very well in the film at all. I'm sure that other materials have tried explaining the overcomplicated plan, but it really should all be evident within the film itself. The entire Jabba segment of the film could have just been like the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where it's the end of one adventure before the next adventure, without having too much time spent meandering.
3. Luke Is Not Very Conflicted Against The Jedi
For someone who has been lied to and kept in the dark by the Jedi, Luke sure does not seem to have much of a beef with Yoda and Kenobi. At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, he seems angry at Kenobi for not telling him the truth about his father. In Return of the Jedi, it seems like we are meant to believe that there is a possibility for Luke to turn to the dark side, what with the dark clothing and how he deals with the Gamorrean guards. But this possibility flies out the window during the battle above the sarlacc. In a sequence where he is slicing opponents with ease, what should have felt like a dark moment in the character's path is played out more like a heroic moment because of the triumphant music. Luke is a little angry with Yoda and Kenobi when he meets with them later, but not as much as one would expect. The possibility that he can turn dark is flirted with a little, but not very convincingly.
2. Luke And Leia Being Siblings
It is pretty obvious that Luke and Leia being siblings was a last-minute decision from Lucas. In fact, he intended to make another trilogy that would have been about Luke searching for his sister. Feeling burnt out, however, he decided to condense his ideas. So Leia became Luke's sister, and the pay-off is...nonexistent. Luke says that the Force is strong with her, but there is no real pay-off to this until The Last Jedi, when she survives being blown into outer space. When Vader finds out he has a daughter, he threatens to turn Leia to the dark side, but there's really no threat here. Leia does not seem like the type of person to join him. As far as the original trilogy is concerned, Luke and Leia being siblings just makes their interactions (including the kiss on the mouth) in the earlier installments just awkward.
1. Leia's Decreasing Role
In the original film, Leia becomes a damsel in distress, but also shows that she is capable of defending herself. In The Empire Strikes Back, she is sort of just along for the ride on the Falcon, gets captured with the others at the end, and takes part in action at the end, however brief. In Return of the Jedi, she is put in a slave outfit. Sure, she kills Jabba, but was it really necessary for her to be put in that humiliating outfit? On Endor, she does take part in some of the action, such as the speeder bike chase and the blaster fight toward the end of the battle. But, as mentioned above, she does not get to demonstrate that the Force is strong with her in a very impactful way.
Her role in the sequel trilogy was going to have her role become increasingly more important. (Better late than never, I suppose.) Unfortunately, the passing of Carrie Fisher meant that Episode IX could no longer be as much of her movie as VII and VIII were Luke and Han's movies. Leia is able to use the Force to redeem her son in a meaningful manner, but we are left wondering what more she could have done had Carrie Fisher still been around.