10 Things Nobody Wants To Admit About Star Wars

The laws of cause-and-effect are vital components in the construction of a story, every aspects of a narrative needing to be established, as well as justified. In Star Wars, the Force functions as a supreme deus ex machina, solving virtually any problems in the script instantaneously, and with relative ease. If a character needs to be made aware of something, the Force can give them a vision; if a character is trapped, the force can present them with a means of escape; and if a character is oblivious to something, the Force can be blamed for clouding his judgement.

It’s a simple means of fixing even the most impossible of situations, but it’s also incredibly cheap, and remarkably overplayed. In fact, the presence of the Force as it had now evolved inhibits the tension inherent in the story, because our heroes are shown to be capable of anything. In The Phantom Menace for instance, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi are trapped by Droideka – a heavily armoured droid complete with twin blasters and deflector shields – yet, the Jedi are able to escape the situation by… running away, super-fast.

It’s this kind of cheap, lazy writing that’s facilitated by the Force, and it undermines any semblance of danger or dramatic tension.