So I got to thinking about this as I was watching some old off-screen Boba Fett footage, thinking how, if there was a character that could be made truly interesting, that taps into remotely relatable emotions for us earthbound sorts, and could make for a dark and interesting movie, that would probably be the one (for me). IMHO.
And then I started thinking how a lot of SW fans would be barking (rightly or wrongly, I'm not judging) that his whole MO is as a mystery man, that it's a story that doesn't need to be told.
And THEN...I started thinking about the entire EU...some facet of which is beloved by most(?). And it struck me - aren't those all stories that didn't need to be told? So, okay, the difference being, "Yeah, but, those were at least all done well, with a respect for the original subject matter". Now, I think we all know that this isn't necessarily true; this was a desperate time for SW folks; many of us were latching on to anything. And yet, we've always had our triggers; "Hot chocolate" in Dark Force Rising was one of mine. (I didn't read any EU on principle - aside from dabbling in the Han Solo trilogy as a kid - until a couple of years ago, and when I ran across that, I knew I screwed up, and ultimately didn't make it out of the book). Was I being ridiculous? Maybe. Point being, our triggers all reside in a very grey, very individualistic area.
But I guess my takeaway from all of that, is how much easier it is to be forgiving of books - or even parts of books - that don't square with "Our Star Wars". People are ripping SOLO after 3 minutes of footage, when I know there were parts of these books - annoying phrases/words used multiple times ("sardonically"..UGH!), characters behaving in an inconsistent fashion, etc. - that were jarring, but I seem to get a sense of more of a forgiving, "Eh, it was really good, in spite of itself at times" vibe from book sorts. Damning with faint praise is still praise, eh.
Which is all fine, of course. My question though is, do we attribute more "weight" to the movies, and is that fair? I mean sure, the movies are "canon", but they don't have to be (to you). Take what you like from the movie (if anything), and dismiss the rest. OR...is this just more of a "Sign of the times" thing, with social media just exacerbating the negativity by creating an anonymous voice, and almost - dare I say - creating folks hoping for failure in the name of their "transcendent fandom"? And don't get me wrong - guilty as charged on voicing my hate...but at least it's always been post-release hate!
Is there an inherent respect given to books simply because of their attempt at depth (whether they achieve it or not)? Maybe we let our imagination fill in the blanks more, to take a so-so scene and make it awesome, as opposed to a movie's visuals removing all ambiguity?