© James Pyles

Yes, this is a book review, but I need to lay a little groundwork first.

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When online strife over what “Star Wars” as a franchise has become gets to be too much, I always return to watching the original trilogy. Nothing seems to capture what “Star Wars” is to me like those films.

I haven’t watched the prequels in some time. I’d probably enjoy them. I did when I first watched them. At the same time, the thrill wasn’t the same. For one thing, Anakin’s eventual fall to the dark side didn’t have the same horrific tone as did Luke’s final battle with Vader in Return of the Jedi (1983). After all we expect Anakin to become Darth Vader. No one knew for sure what would happen to Luke until it did.

As far as the sequel trilogy, I won’t even get into it. It was too flawed from the beginning to be able to carry the legacy of Lucas’ vision. The fact that Disney in general and Kathleen Kennedy in specific were in charge didn’t help.

I haven’t watched any of the Disney+ shows although I have heard all the angst about them on social media.

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