The saga of
Star Wars
has always moved in quicksand, about to be devoured by a Sarlacc, that creature that lurks in the dunes and subjects its victims to a thousand-year digestion.
During the filming in southern Tunisia of the first installment of the series, there was a protest from some actors, including Alec Guinness, at what they considered ridiculous phrases from the script.
About that time, Harrison Ford, who would become universally famous thanks to the character of Han Solo, declared: “Science fiction doesn't interest me.
And fighting and running through corridors of special ships was not going for me at all.
The film, at first, seemed crazy to everyone."
It wasn't, not at all.
That mixture of science fiction and western, war cinema and romance, worked much better than anyone could imagine.
Several generations keep among the happiest memories of their childhood the moment they discovered R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Obi-Wan Kenobi.
They filled their houses with space dreams, stick figures, toys and models of the
Millennium Falcon.
More information
May the series be with you: a guide to not getting lost in the 'Star Wars' television galaxy
From that remote moment when the yellow title credits, “A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Far Away” first emerged from a black screen, to the symphonic music of John Williams blaring, until now, outer space It has been filled to the brim: with series, movies that no longer know if they are continuations or prequels, cartoons, characters stretched out like chewing gum, spaceship combat, asteroid fields, lightsaber duels, bad guys who sometimes turn out to be laughable —especially compared to Darth Vader—, monsters getting bigger and names of planets that have been losing their evocative power.
Of all that load, until now the couple that formed the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda was almost the only thing that was saved, which retained some of the grace and charm of the original trilogy.
The Force is very powerful, but not that powerful.
Even for that child who rediscovers the original trilogy over and over again, as the author of these lines does, the third installment of
The Mandalorian,
which started Wednesday on Disney +, is disappointing.
There is nothing new, nothing surprising, nothing that will change the history of the galaxy.
It's not even funny.
I think I've seen all the products—it's hard to use the word movies—that have come out since George Lucas returned to the Galaxy with
The Phantom Menace.
Even then, I interviewed him in London and saw it several times, in different cinemas, until I was convinced that the magic had ended with
Return of the Jedi.
.
And I've kept trying and found some other flash in the
Obi-Wan Kenobi series
,
in
Rogue One
or the very strange
Andor
.
But they are all in a galaxy far, far away from the original trilogy.
After watching the first installment of
The Mandalorian
I have returned to the origin, to the scene of
Star Wars
in which Luke Skywalker watches the twilight on Tatooine, with two moons on the horizon while the music of John Williams plays.
The Force is capable of bringing back childhood emotions and memories, over and over again, but I'm afraid it can no longer bring the Galaxy to life.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
Keep reading
I'm already a subscriber