Star Wars Day Special: Top 25 Good Things about Star Wars

It of course goes without saying that lots of people love Star Wars. But ever since Disney bought LucasFilm, there has been lots of talk about whether it's been doing well under their umbrella with there being so much hate from not all but many fans. So I felt today to celebrate Star Wars Day that we would look at what I think are the 25 best things about the franchise. Not just from when Disney bought LucasFilm, but long before that too. All personal preference and some things I think are good may surprise you. Of course, I have had to see, read, play and do many of the Star Wars things in order for it to be on the list and I have no doubt done most of those things for most parts of the franchise. So let's escape those traps, feel the force and let's look at the good things from a galaxy far far away:

25 -The Ideals and Principles of the Jedi Order and the Sith

One thing that a lot of people really loved about the prequels was how fleshed out the ideals and principles of the Jedi and the Sith. We learnt that there can only be two Sith lords at any given time (though this didn't stop some of them from breaking that rule), that the Jedi fight for peace and justice, the Sith fight for power and control and that both sides can use the Force in a number of ways. We also learnt that its possible (though with side effects) to become seemingly immortal for a time and you can heal wounds with the Force. Everyone has their preferences on what side they want to be on, but for a long time I thought the Jedi were the good guys. Though after seeing Revenge of the Sith a few times, some people may think of it the other way around. But still its one of the big things that has driven the franchise forward for as long as it's been a thing, and we still get people's takes on it. So yeah choose your side and let's see how things go.

24 - The Parodies by Robot Chicken and Family Guy

Star Wars has of course been the subject of so many parodies and spoofs. Although I do like Space Balls, the parodies I think are just perfect are the ones done by Robot Chicken and Family Guy. Both tend to make fun of one another (which is probably because some actors are involved with both things), but both also have very different approaches. Family Guy decides to create three hour long specials of the original trilogy with characters taking up the various roles with the usual gags and jokes that the series is known for. Whereas Robot Chicken does its skit approach to the idea and uses the many characters in a variety of funny scenarios. Both are very good parodies of the beloved franchise and I hope we get more of them (unless Disney says otherwise).

23 - A Diverse Cast of Characters

Everyone has their own reasons to hate when a franchise goes on a different direction in terms of characters and casting. But as we all get more aware of the diversity among us, so too does the TV and film industry. Some of the best characters from Star Wars are female, of a different ethnicity to the rest of us and even of the LGBTQ+ community. Its good that a beloved franchise like Star Wars acknowledges this too moving forward and sure some of us may have a dew reasons to hate this direction of some franchises out there. I on the other hand, welcome it as long as there is a good reason or purpose for it. So yes I do like characters such as Rey, Ahsoka, Finn, Phasma and the others. Sure they are not perfect, but they are good characters. Give them a chance. You may be surprised with what you see.

22 - The Costume Designs

When you have a sci-fi franchise like Star Wars, this of course means that we are going to get some over the top but otherwise great costume designs. That's what we got in every film. Some are quite simple while others are in a class of their own. Queen Amidala is a good example of this as in the entirety of The Phantom Meance, she has a great costume in every scene she is in. Whether its actually Padme or her decoy is another matter, but still a masterpiece in its own right. Lots of great costumes in the whole saga, but must be a pain for some cosplayers out there (I personally have a tailor made Darth Vader costume, so I feel your pain if any).

21 - The Many Spaceships

It is really hard to single out just one spaceship out of so many. In almost every film, there's always a new spaceship or a new variation of a spaceship. Ships like the Imperial Star Destroyer, the TIE Fighter, the X-Wing and even the Millennium Falcon are just a few of the many great spaceships that the franchise has. Some are massive, some are fast. But one thing we do know about them is that they are all iconic. There is no other spaceships like them, and they are truly something to be in awe of.

20 - The Many Video Games by LucasArts

For a long time, LucasFilm had a video game division called LucasArts. They would be responsible for both the creation and publishing of many Star Wars games. Many came to game consoles and PCs while others ended up in the arcades. Most of them are superb with some stand out ones for me being the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter simulators and The Force Unleashed which is basically a developer answering the question about how much Force can one be able to use at any given moment. Not to also mention The Old Republic series by BioWare which explores a time before the Skywalker Saga. Unfortunately since Disney took over LucasFilm, LucasArts has dissolved into a simple licensor these days with Star Wars games for the hardcore audience being made by EA and mobile devices by Disney themselves. But most of the games are still around with a majority of the games being available on the likes of Steam and GOG. So yeah even video games have had some Star Wars thrown in.

19 - Order 66

One of the major parts of both the original and sequel trilogies is the idea that there is an unbalance in the Force due to the Sith being the dominant one over the Jedi. That was because of Order 66. A simple command given to Clone Troopers with chips inside them which would make them turn against their allies and attempt to wipe them out. What's really sad about this was that in The Clone Wars, it was heavily empathized that the troops made some close bonds with their Jedi Generals and when looking back at that scene in Revenge of the Sith, it's really heartbreaking. More so when Anakin kills younglings. Well I guess Revenge of the Sith earned its 12 rating here in the UK just by the amount of death seen in the film. Still, a great scene despite its content.

18 - The Jedi Mind Trick

Oh, the amount of things we could get away with if the Jedi mind trick was a thing. Ever since seeing Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness do that trick, its just something many just want to use to get people to do things. Would also save a lot of time too in some areas of the world. I guess the force can be used in many ways which as Palpatine has said that some powers can be unnatural. It can be a harmless little trick, but if it were real I can imagine the news saying about people not paying for things or having people do lord knows what. So yeah love the mind trick. Now let's move along.

17 - It's a Trap!

Yeah, it's had memes, parodies and all sorts, and yet I find out that Leia actually said it first. Right in Empire Strikes Back, she says it as she is taken away somewhere on Cloud City and just so happens to see Luke from a distance. Its that kind of line where we are all thinking "too little, too later" or "well duh". Its just that kind of reaction people have when it happens. I'm going to miss Admiral Ackbar because he is such a wise, but oblivious character. Not to mention he is one of a few examples that practical effects can work.

16 - The Kessel Run

Throughout all the films he is in, we always hear Han Solo go on about how he did the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs and then finally in Solo, we see how he did it. Now while music that sounds like John Williams would normally work in most scenes in any Star Wars film, I kind of felt that it was out of place during this great scene. But despite that, the visuals are epic and even though people talk a load of jack about the film, I think its an alright film. Would have loved to see more than just what we were expecting, but that's OK. A great scene from an underrated film that didn't deserve all the hate that it got.

15 - Bounty Hunters

Now let's talk about one of the many types of characters we would see in Star Wars. Bounty Hunters are neither good nor evil as they are just doing their job. Finding someone that is needed either dead or alive and earn a lot of credits to help them get by. They are often underrated because while we see how cool they are, they don't get many lines in films and not much character development either. But that's where The Mandalorian comes in to give us a good series about a bounty hunter. Finally, something we fans want. To see a show about a bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe. Would love to see a film too. But for now, enjoy that series and one day they will get more love coming their way.

14 - The Droids

But one thing that does get a lot of love in Star Wars is the droids. They are often seen as the comic relief in the films and when they appear on screen, they just make us all smile. Of course the most iconic ones are C3-PO and R2-D2, both of which are like a comedy duo but care a lot for each other even though many of us think they act like an old married couple. Then there is the cuteness of BB-8 and D-O who are just adorable little droids with a child like sense of wonder. But of course there are tons of them out there. You would almost certainly get a number of them in the prequel era with so many incompetant battle droids. No wonder they all got shut down in the end. But yeah, any Star Wars thing wouldn't be complete without at least one droid appearing whether it be for comedic effect or something else.

13 - Planet Designs

I think since the original trilogy, we have always wanted to see what other planets in the Star Wars there are. Tatooine and Naboo I'd say of all the planets have been featured in the most films within both the prequel and original trilogies. Whereas in the sequel trilogy, the planets are largely all new with some comparisons here and there. But aside from that, just by looking into the planet, there is a ton of things. Naboo is of course considered a beautiful planet while Tatooine feels more like a dessert wasteland than anything else. The capital known as Coruscant is just a massive sci-fi like city as a capital should be. Then you have the forest enviorments of Endor and Kashyyyk of which the ewoks and wookies come from respectively. And some of us even consider the Death Stars to be unofficial planets because of how massive they supposedly are in scale. Just goes to show that the imagination can go wild and many people often forget that.

12 - The Opening Scene to Revenge of the Sith

So a bit later on in the list, I will be talking about the many space battles that Star Wars has had. But before that, let's look at the openings to each film. So after the opening crawl (or lack there of in some films), the first scene is always in space. Revenge of the Sith may still not be a great film, but its the strongest of the prequels and has what I think is the best opening ever. A battle in space where there are loads of space ships going to war from both sides and it just looks incredible. I since watched this scene quite recently and it still holds up even by today's standard. So say what you will about CGI overkill, but it does work when you need it to work espeically in space.

11 - The Chronological Evolution of Human based Troops

We've come to know and love the many human based troops that have been featured in the series. We had the clone army and two breeds of stormtroopers. All fighting in wars against enemies and former allies. They are intimidating when not being tricked by Jedis, shooting in random places and actually have good armor. Some of you may be surprised to know that many of these troops were played by well known celebrities and many of us didn't know because of how many of the same troops there are. Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Daniel Craig and even the Duke of Cambridge himself Prince William are just some of the many celebrities that have donned the now iconic but useless armor. What really saddens me is the evolution started with them being allies to the Jedi before suddenly turning against them. But nevertheless, we still love them and its often seen as the starting point for serious cosplayers.

10 - Introducing Darth Maul, Count Dooku and General Grevious

One of things many people hated about the prequels was how such great villains like these three, were introduced and then suddenly get killed off. This is of course another reason why you really should not have an unfocused director making these films. Off camera, George Lucas does a good job, but directing is certainly not his strongest skill. However people have since forgiven him thanks to both Clone Wars series that helped develop each of these characters well and made us love them even more. We all love Darth Maul as being the quienessentail Star Wars version of the devil as well as the well choreographed fight scenes (plus in the show, we get to go to his home planet) that make him use his now iconic double blade lightsaber. We all love Count Dooku for being a tactical genius and for being an old but wise man with force lighting and another unique lightsaber. And finally we all love General Grevious as being that insane droid with the ability to weild four lightsabers at once. Say what you want about the Sith, but these guys know how to fight and be intimidating as they do it. A shame we probably won't be seeing them again on the big and small screen. But they are all great villains in their own right even if the creator thinks nothing of them.

9 - LEGO Star Wars

So long before The Lego Movie, LEGO as a company was not doing very well with their pretty basic sets. Then they acquired the Star Wars license which allowed them to create sets based on all aspects of the franchise. They started out with doing sets based on The Phantom Meance before moving on to do the rest of the films and other media. But interestingly, LEGO originally were not keen on making sets based on a franchise that was all about wars and battles as it went against their values and principles of peace and harmony. But they decided to go with it and they have been making sets ever since. There are now at least several varaitions of the Millenium Falcon that they have done as well as several collectors sets, advent calendars, non-canocial films and TV shows and loads more. Of all of LEGO's licensed themes as they call them, Star Wars is their longest one and it has not had a break or changed company since they got the license. This would then follow with them acquiring licenses to other franchises with notable ones being Harry Potter, DC, Marvel, all things Disney and of course The Lego Movie. They would also change course on their original themes by adding a story element to them which proved successful with their Bionicle and Ninjago themes. But Star Wars will to me, always will be their best licensed franchise and I hope they continue to create more sets for the next few years. Also I personally have a Death Star set, an Star Destroyer set and a Millenium Falcon set.

8 - The Use of Other Directors Besides George Lucas

Part of the reason why the original trilogy did so well, was that both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi would use a director other than George Lucas. The guy is great at film making, but as previously mentioned, he is an unfocused director who had very minimal things to say to the actors which in my opinion is generally not good direction because this is his baby after all. Its also the reason why the sequel trilogy got a more mixed response than the prequels. To single out my personal favourite director of the ones that aren't George Lucas, it would have to be the late Irvin Kershner. When I watched all the films again recently, I learnt that Irvin Kershner is one of those film makers that is very underrated and given that Empire Strikes Back is my personal favourite of the films, its clear that people may have underestimated him a lot. Of course J.J. Abrams is a great director anyway, but Irvin Kershner is a master of his craft and I wished he got more attention out there. Oh well, but still a great Star Wars film that he did.

7 - The Special Edition Original Trilogy

Of course I know that the newer and now only versions of the original trilogy are not going to be perfect. But there are some things about them that are kind of good. George Lucas wanted to change parts of them to account for new technologies and to maintain continuity of the prequels. In doing this, this led to Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope being CGI, Ian McDiarmid taking the place of the original Palpatine actor in Empire Strikes Back and a new piece by John Williams for the ending scene in Return of the Jedi. Then you have some things that are less appreicated than those things including the whole "Han shot first" incident, Hayden Christenson in the place of the original Anakin actor and those weird and scary CGI monsters at Jabba's place. All that and many other good and bad things. Say what you want about them, but you have to accept that these are the way the films are now as the original ones are now out of circulation. In fact my first exposure to the original trilogy was these special editions so you have to make do with what you get.

6 - Star Wars Legends

We all know that Disney dramatically changed the timeline to allow creative freedom over what people can make to be part of the now canon timeline. But before that time, we had a series of books, graphic novels, films, video games and TV shows that are now collectively known as Star Wars Legends. This includes a lot of now discarded character development for many of the characters as well as stories that we hoped would be part of the canon timeline such as The Force Unleashed video games and companion media. There is a lot of great content out there, but its just a shame that most of that conent is no longer canon. But some people choose to draw their own conclusions as to what is their version of the timeline which is good.

5 - The Score by John Williams

It of course goes without saying that John Williams is a master at creating scores for some of the most accliamed films of all time. Almost every single film ever made by George Lucas and Steven Speilberg has had his music thrown in to help with the story and plot of the films. He has done every single film in the Skywalker Saga and in the films he doesn't do, his presence is still there in a way thanks to others being inspired by his scores. He is a great man who has done so much music over the course of his career and while he is getting on, I hope he continues to make more music as the years go on. He already said that he is done with Star Wars and yeah I'd say he's done well. Most of his iconic music actually comes from Star Wars itself including the main theme, the Imperial March, Palpatine's theme, Duel of Fates and so much more.

4 - Practical Effects over Visual Effects

So after I first watched the prequels, I then went on to watch one of the Hellboy films and noticed how they decided to use more practical effects than CGI and it works. Of course CGI works on many things like space battles and sequences that defy all logic, but if its used too much, people will notice and point out at how cheap it looks. Practical effects work in almost everything. Gives actors something to work with rather than talking to a green screen object that isn't there. The acting feels less awkward and we actually feel like we are seeing this being in front of us. There are lots of alien like creatures in the Star Wars universe and many of them made their debut via practical effects. Then there are characters like Jar Jar who is all CGI and well it just doesn't do well. I get it if you are trying to save money by using CGI more, but surely a large budget would cover the cost of practical effects. But anyway, I prefer practical effects over visual effects in most scenarios and I always think that films and TV shows that use both those things, need to have a balance to them in some way. Anyway, that's my thoughts on that.

3 - Emperor Palpatine's Rise to Power

Although Palpatine isn't quite as scary as Darth Vader (though how he performs in Rise of Skywalker says otherwise), his rise to power is often considered as the makings of a smart and calculating villain. He manipulated both sides of the Clone Wars using his Chancellor persona, had a back up plan in place should the Jedi figure him out and turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader which allowed his plans for intergalactic domination to come into fruition. He is often compared to historical figures who have a need for domination and he is a great villain in his own right even though he looks more like a creepy old man than someone with great power that people fear. He is one of the best parts about the prequels as I often think aside from Anakin Skywalker and maybe a few others, he is the most developed character in those films. Who knows if he will return again or someone posing as him will make an appearance in the future. Only time will tell.

2 - The Many, Many, Many Space and Lightsaber Battles

So aside from the Revenge of the Sith opening, I really like a lot of the battle scenes that take place. Lightsaber battles and even doing battles that go with the franchise's name sake. A lot of them are really good. Many people often find the lightsaber battles in the original trilogy to be pretty iconic, but lame in a way. Whereas it can be pretty epic in later films with flips, force weilding and near death moments. The space battles have always been really good in all the films with the opening in Revenge of the Sith being in my opinion, the most visually stunning one and maybe even the best one too. Well it isn't Star Wars if there are no battles in them whether it be on the ground or in the stars and there are lots of them that are great.

Honourable Mentions:

• The Eventual Fate of Jar Jar Binks
• Pod-Racing 
• The Senate Chamber
• All the Different Lightsabers

1 - The Sunset on Tattooine

Out of all the things that are good about Star Wars, this is the one thing I like the most out of it all. It may not be a battle, something epic or just merchindise. But it is iconic and is often the thing we see at the beginning of Luke's journey and the ending of Rey's journey. Don't see it as much with Anakin though I have noticed. Its just one of those moments where with the right music, it shows that as long as you believe in hope especially during these uncertain times, we will get through all our battles one way or another. It's a very simple and quiet scene in an otherwise very busy franchise full of battles, hyperspace jumps and more and its the one thing about Star Wars I really like above all else.

And that's my list. Now you may agree or disagree with me, but remember we all have our own opinions about things. Never be afraid of change unless the changes made in the franchise are not good changes in the end. Fandoms of anything will always have some hostile people in them, but don't ever feel like you can't have an opinion because we all have opinions and lives. So if you have your own list, leave them in the comments below.

May the force be with you all and enjoy the rest of Star Wars Day! Even though most of us are in isolation.