From saga to franchise

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2017)

Star Wars used to be an epic saga built up from an almost Jungian archetypical level. After all, Lucas was heavily influenced by ancient mythology, by Joseph Campbell's classic on mythological archetypes and other spiritual influences. A lot can be said about the second trilogy, but even those still retained some of that magic, albeit hidden behind all the CGI and the end-of-the-republic politics.
Not anymore with the new films, or almost not anymore. Since Lucas sold SW to -I thought- Disney, it's become a franchise. Other people -no doubt not as heavily immersed in ancient mythology as was Lucas- now write and direct the saga.
This becomes very apparent with the latest films, Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi.
It's not that it's bad, it's just not how Star Wars used to be. There is almost no spiritual and archetypical element anymore, or what is left has been reduced to -admittedly often great- grandstanding about the 'power' of the Force and of lightsabers. But beneath that, it's now become a series endlessly rehearsing staple SW ingredients but then without the deeper spirituality as its genuine base.
Without this, SW is little more than action packed (American) Science Fiction: it's a profane money-maker using all the old elements without truly feeling through the, so of course the old sacred vibe is gone.
A great pity.
No complaints about Adam Driver's performance though. What a great pleasure to see him embodying Darth Vader's grandson.