I've never had this issue with serialized stuff. Yeah the prequels weren't that great, but honestly compared to a lot of shit scifi that gets churned out, they are still above average. But when people compare them to the OT, there is a massive level of mythmaking elevation I think, to the comparison. I don't LIKE the prequels, other than bits here and there in the various films, I don't think they really help, or add anything of real substance to the OT narrative, but they don't stain the subsequent movies for me either.
Rogue One is the only SW movie that I am like, genuinely annoyed by. And it's not even because of the Star Wars stuff in it. Well, the blatant fanservice callbacks and references that do absolutely nothing and just waste screen time. But, like the prequels, the movie didn't need to exist. We didn't NEED a reason for the weakspot in the PLANET SIZED CONSTRUCTION, when the reason of "it's a design flaw that got overlooked." is perfectly reasonable. I mean we have countless examples in our own engineering history of very minor things, being overlooked, that caused catastrophic failures, that destroyed the entire thing. And these are things several orders of magnitude smaller in scale, and we can still screw them up. So I have zero issue internally with the idea of "the Empire, in a rush to build this thing quickly, out of fear that Vader or the Emperor will Force Choke a ***** if they don't meet the deadline (a threat they use to literally open the Imperial introduction in Return of the Jedi.), and they just get everything functional as best they can, and to hell with safety checks and running tests to make sure it all works!! That psycho Vader is coming and his method of persuasion is to just choke you out in front of your underlings! So get that damn vent working so the laser doesn't overheat!! I don't care what you have to do!!"
So the entire point of the film, from the onset, is superfluous. But it was a lot of little things are what annoyed me, like how Jen was a complete blank slate and emotionless noodle. How they couldn't stop pleasuring themselves to namedropping the word HOPE at every opportunity, because NEW HOPE!! It's Star Wars!! LIKE IT DAMNIT!!
The part that broke me though, was that shot of Jen climbing the ladder at the climax, and she's going towards an opening to the next landing, and there is an iris porthole over the entrance/exit.....and it's just....opening and closing....for no reason. It's not like it's a motion sensor door at a grocery store or something. No it's just, opening on it's own, independent of her climbing. And she's apparently got to time her climb up this ladder to not be cut in half? Who the fuck designs a thing like that?! And they just...linger on the shot of her climbing that ladder...for soooo long...that I started dubbing in this line.
And I couldn't stop laughing to myself in the theater as I watched it.
Anyway, rant about Rogue One over.
OT: Because the various films and tv shows have utilized some of the most well established, and time tested story elements in human narrative history. So that a wide group of people, can find at least some element in them, that they enjoy and love, and that they resonate with on an emotional level. They introduced human culture to things that hit a really deep core, and have something of an atavistic reaction to our psyche. The lightsaber, being chief among them. Between the idea of a pocket sized LASER SWORD, the sound it makes as it ignites, the glowing power of it. The humming power as you swing one around. That all speaks to a lot of people, and they enjoy it. The mystic, zen like nature of the Force and how it doesn't really need any trappings of religion to explain it, while also speaking to that mysticism side of human nature. The villains are sufficiently villainy that we enjoy watching them be defeated, the heroes are sufficiently heroic that we cheer when they succeed. The archetypal nature of said heroes and villains, meaning they translate easily no matter what culture someone comes from, and even children can instantly understand who the badguys are, who the good guys are, what their motivations are, etc.
The music. There....there is a reason that John Williams is considered a legend in cinematic music circles. He knows how to compose amazing, sweeping scores that perfectly convey the emotions being reflected on screen, and the timing of his musical beats, perfectly help to transition the audiences mood from one of tension to excitement, and then to sadness and loss.
I mean, we could go on, but there are literally, tons of LECTURES, by actual historians and teachers, about the impact of Star Wars on human culture and society. So...go read/watch those maybe?
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