I think you might have meant “epithet,” but since that is specifically about a word or phrase, “caricature” is probably the closest match.
The original, unmodified trilogy was a pretty archetypal hero’s journey for Luke (or rather, a series of journeys within the larger character journey). It was well done, reasonably cohesive, and had strong themes, owing in no small part to Gary Kurtz (producer for the first two movies), Marcia Lucas (editor on the first and third movies and uncredited contributing editor on the second), and Irvin Kershner (director for the second movie).
It began to fall off the rails a bit in the final movie when Lucas asserted more control, resulting in Kurtz’s departure, but ultimately in my judgment it stuck the thematic landing.
The rest were… ehhh…
We saw what happened with the prequel trilogy without those collaborators to rein him in and add actual human emotion. It’s not good, but it’s uncharitable to lump the original (again, unmodified) trilogy in with them.
The sequels were just completely incoherent.
Part of the problem is the unmodified originals have been effectively disappeared for an entire generation, so people who watch the “original trilogy” on disc or Disney+ are actually watching the atrocious CGI versions. It really does make a difference, in my opinion.
I think you might have meant “epithet,” but since that is specifically about a word or phrase, “caricature” is probably the closest match.
The original, unmodified trilogy was a pretty archetypal hero’s journey for Luke (or rather, a series of journeys within the larger character journey). It was well done, reasonably cohesive, and had strong themes, owing in no small part to Gary Kurtz (producer for the first two movies), Marcia Lucas (editor on the first and third movies and uncredited contributing editor on the second), and Irvin Kershner (director for the second movie).
It began to fall off the rails a bit in the final movie when Lucas asserted more control, resulting in Kurtz’s departure, but ultimately in my judgment it stuck the thematic landing.
The rest were… ehhh…
We saw what happened with the prequel trilogy without those collaborators to rein him in and add actual human emotion. It’s not good, but it’s uncharitable to lump the original (again, unmodified) trilogy in with them.
The sequels were just completely incoherent.
Part of the problem is the unmodified originals have been effectively disappeared for an entire generation, so people who watch the “original trilogy” on disc or Disney+ are actually watching the atrocious CGI versions. It really does make a difference, in my opinion.