In a particularly memorable scene in Kevin Smith’s Clerks 2, one of the lead characters, Randal, crudely dismisses the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He claims the movie is solely just characters walking for essentially three movies, “Even the trees walked in that movie,” Randal claims. At first, the character of Randal seems ignorant to the intricacies of Peter Jackson’s hobbit-stricken movies, however after further examination, Randal’s interpretation manifests to be dead-on. It leads to a basic conclusion that shouldn’t even need to be argued. Star Wars is the only real trilogy, and is clearly better than Lord of the Rings.  

    First, let us examine the two main abnormal “sources of power” in the two separate trilogies. In the Star Wars series they have the force, an almighty energy that, according to Wookiepedia, if used in a good manner, or for the “light side”, can be aligned with “compassion, courage, healing, and benevolence.” Also, it can be used to move things at your will, which not only is a cool party trick to woo the ladies, but also comes in handy in many near-death situations. On the other hand, the dark powers of the ring aren’t going to be on the left index finger of a woman any time soon. The ring is too powerful for its own good, it can be used to rule over anything, and for that reason it ends up corrupting anyone who gets their hands on it, regardless of the bearer’s original good intentions. Try to tell me that Frodo won’t suffer some adverse post-traumatic syndrome because of the effects of the ring. In the end, like most things, the two main sources of power and energy in the trilogies can be summed up using an analogy involving construction workers: think of the force as a really cool multi-tool electric screwdriver that fulfills all your needs, you can turn it off when you want. Sure every once in a while someone will use the electric screwdriver as a weapon or cause self-harm, but for the most part the tool is really cool, and the ladies love it. Whereas the ring is more like an out of control jack hammer that you can never turn off and brutally murders people and will end up taking you out too unless you can find the plug after walking for a really long time.

    Last, another very important aspect of the movies to consider is the characters that fill them. I will admit that the Lord of the Rings characters have more of an “edge” to them; they are hairier, creepier, and overall a more abstract and intriguing bunch. But how effective is that when you are trying to tell a story? Star Wars has characters you can relate to. Although many of the main ones ending up acting in a fairly cliché manner, George Lucas’s message is better conveyed because an audience can relate to them. Everyone can relate to Luke, a young man trying to find his place in the world while being extremely attracted to his twin sister. And everyone knows the Anakin Skywalker in their school, that one guy with a huge ego in your class who scoffs at your slow learning pace proclaiming, “It’s so easy,” even though he’s the only who gets it and he knows that. The general effect of these relatable features of each character is that the audience is more receptive to George Lucas’s message, and in the end, aside from being entertained, isn’t that what it’s all about?

    Obviously there are many more parts of each of these two trilogies that would need to be looked at to make a real judgment about which one is “better”; some of which Lord of the Rings would prosper, but generally Star Wars would be ruled king. Yet, despite what I think, this issue will probably never be resolved. People will still go back and forth on message boards around the world, and in the end the power lays with the individual. It is up to you to choose which one you think is better. On that note, I will go out with what you probably just realized was coming, “May the force be with you.”