So…Star Wars
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haha no not necessarily - my point is the world has changed since 1977-1983 (and indeed 1999-2005) and they had the opportunity to do better with all the budget and top end writers and filmmakers they could ever need - Star Wars isn’t inherently badly written
You’d think, but the toxic fans who complained when the series dared not to make the film they saw from 77, were given far more of a voice than their number deserved.
oh yeah - the fans will be the thing that will kill their beloved franchise - and they are the reason we have the slavishly focus tested and checklist appeasement film that is RoS
I saw the movie last night, and sadly I was quite disappointed. There were moments I really enjoyed, but as a whole I found that the film didn’t really stick together. Here are some of my preliminary (spoiler-free) thoughts:
- The whole thing felt rushed, from the setup (which came out of nowhere) to the progression of the plot (it felt like we went from one plot point to the next without rhyme or reason, like the film was constantly jumping to get to the next thing)
- On that note, I wish the film had more time to breathe, both so we can embrace the characters and their struggles (I don’t think we had a chance to do that) and so we can digest the plot (which sometimes moved a bit too quickly in the first half for me to follow)
- Rian Johnson knows how to get good performances out of the cast. The acting and directing here felt a step down from the previous movie (which I had LOVED since I saw it two years ago)
- The action never really wowed me (I had the same complaint about Solo)
- I wish the movie had spelled out some of the resolutions to its mysteries. In typical JJ Abrams fashion, he set up a whole host of mysteries and intriguing plot threads, but when it came down to providing a satisfactory conclusion… he was incapable
- The Leia stuff is not going to age well. I appreciate them using the little footage they had, but it didn’t really work for me
- Other than a few moments towards the end, I never felt much tension or suspense
- At least two or three characters from the previous two films got sidelined in this one. I wish JJ gave them more to do
- Much of this movie felt like pandering to the fan backlash after TLJ, from big reveals to plot points to a better-than-it-should-have-been group camaraderie between Rey, Poe, and Finn
- For all of the complaints against Rian Johnson “introducing new force powers” (something the series has been doing constantly basically since its inception), this movie did this so much more so. I am honestly fine with this (again, the series has been doing it from the get-go) but PLEASE, people, let’s not hold Rian accountable for things JJ does to a greater degree.
All in all, I LOVED the direction Rian Johnson took the franchise with TLJ, and I felt like this film was a poor attempt at remedying something which did not need fixing in the first place.
I am seriously happy for secretagentfan and others who loved this movie, but to me it felt more like a glorified piece of fan fiction than a real movie. It’s almost as if Kathleen greenlit every wild idea JJ had because “it’s JJ, what could go wrong?”
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I have since read a lot of the negative reviews on Rise of Skywalker, a chore I avoided not only before viewing it but also before writing my own review. They noticed a lot of things that I did and captured its general feel. But some reactions are based on people’s personal identifications with characters and their arcs that perhaps were not served well in this movie. But it’s great that there’s even that connection at all. For me, it’s Luke’s disillusionment with everything he spent his whole life believing in leading to his self-exile. While that is somewhat undone in TROS, it doesn’t take away from my connection to TLJ. Yes, there are some gaping plot holes, but wondering how there were resources and time to build a thousand star destroyers takes away from the iconic awe of its spectacle.
I’d still rank this movie fourth overall, behind Episodes V, IV, and Rogue One. RoTJ and TFA rehash too much of A New Hope to rank higher whereas Skywalker does at least explore some new plot lines despite its reactive pandering, which we knew we were getting the moment JJ was re-signed. And going to a Sith temple (as shown in the trailers) was kind of cool. Only Expanded Universe, now Legends novels, explored that before.
Any creative choice was going to disappoint some, and there were bound to be unhappy fans no matter what. While Star Wars is technical wizardry of the highest art form, its story telling is corporate to the greatest common denominator. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
LAST JEDI gets better every time I see it. And RISE OF SKYWALKER makes it look like CITIZEN KANE!
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I couldn’t have said it better myself. I also hate that all SW fans seem to get classified as either blindly loyal fanboys or haters that will destroy the franchise. There is gray area. TROS is simply an incoherent film.
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Incoherent? I only saw coherence. Also, I think that Marvel is allowed every contrivance, repetitiveness and fanservice Star Wars is getting blamed for.
It might be due to the saga being conceived as a stop and go-narrative over 42 years. Imagine the Marvel movies appearing over that time span.
And really, was the last Avengers film anything but contrived? I had fun watching it. But the narrative had to contort itself to undo the ending of part one. Slap Johnson‘s name on 1 and Abrams‘ name on 2 - fans would probably react the same way as with Star Wars.
Just watched TROS (the moment that the title comes in to play brought tears to my eyes)
I agree, wholeheartedly, with @secretagentfan
It’s a brilliant film, no matter which era brought you here, and which film you loved, theres something here for you. Despite what others say, there is no retconning of TLJ, it just makes use of what Johnson brought, and states character points he added for those who didnt get it.
I came to this series through episode 1, aged 9, and this film gave me the same joy I had then, in particular one moment - that I wont say, but people who have seen both 9 and 1, know what I mean.
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I’ll elaborate at a later point, but I’d give TROS a 7/10. It’s fine, but I do think it needed more time to breathe in parts given the jumping around it does. But Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley are absolutely fantastic, and shine in every scene they’re in. All in all, the critics slammed the film way too hard.
I would add Oscar Isaac giving a charismatic performance, funny and charming.
And I would also predict that this trilogy will be reevaluated in a decade, just like the prequels and - heck - even the originals.
By the way, I wonder whether NO TIME TO DIE will also have to brace for a rather hostile reaction, with critics and internet attention seekers blaming the film for giving “too much fan service”, “trying too much too hard”, being “too afraid to try something new”, having “plot holes” etc.
While the trailer seems to have gotten a rather positive response I bet many people are rooting for Bond to fail. Even on the film score message board of filmscoremonthly the majority (of that minority) is already highly critical, citing all the production woes as proof.
I love filmscoremonthly! Forgot they had a website, I used to get the newsletter. Thanks, secretagentfan! 
Adam Driver gave us the Anikan Hayden Christensen couldn’t. And finally, there’s some chemistry in Star Wars. People I know who’ve seen it, enjoy it. My feeling is that it’s the best of the sequel trilogy, and the best third installment of a Star Wars trilogy. That being said, it doesn’t have standout moments like Last Jedi and Revenge of the Sith did. But as a whole, I think it works better. I’m seeing it again Monday because there is a lot to unpack.
I took my son to see Spies in Disguise this morning. Think of an animated Bond spoof for kids, complete with pre-credits sequence, Bond-like main titles, Q lab scene, plus gadgets and action galore.
Of course, the “James Bond” character (voiced by Will Smith) is black, at least until a completely bizarre plot twist that I didn’t know was coming.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
I’ve decided to rewatch Star Wars in the Machete order. If you don’t know what this is, it’s a way to watch the saga in an order that makes more narrative sense than release or episodic order. Basically, you watch New Hope and Empire as two movies about Luke, then Clones and Sith as two about Anakin, then Return of the Jedi to tie the two narratives together. It’s amazing how fluid most of it still is, and strengthens the conclusion and character development in Episode VI.
I felt a stronger sense of Anakin’s and Obi-Wan’s friendship this time, as well as noticing new parallels–e.g. Yoda falling from a structure in the sky after losing to the Emperor only to be rescued by a friend’s flying vehicle ala Luke in Empire. Further, while Obi-Wan beats Anakin because he has “the high ground”, simultaneously the Emperor is above Yoda while they battle in the Senate, literally destroying the institution of democracy. After losing, Yoda says he must go into exile and when we next see him in Jedi, there he is in exile on Dagobah. And his sense of loss is much more poignant as we’ve now witnessed the tragic events he’s talked about.
This time Hayden Christensen’s performance didn’t irk me as much. His whining kind of echoes Luke’s from Ep IV, and I actually felt sympathy for him this time. Everybody manipulates him for his powers, taking him away from his only family. The Jedi Council consistently withhold info from him while Palpatine is the only one that gives him unconditional support. Of course, the tragedy is Palps is lying and manipulating him all along, and Anakin can’t see it until the end of Episode VI. You see the traits of Padme passed on through Leia. Another parallel–while Anakin is “reborn” as Vader, these scenes are intercut with Padme giving birth. She dies with “medically nothing wrong with her” because she lost the will to live, while Anakin forges on in a burned, deformed, mechanical body. It gives more resonance when he tells Luke “that name no longer has meaning for me.” Even the Special Edition’s insertion of “No!” seemed fitting this time as Vader says them both times the Emperor takes away his family connections, but only just realizing that the second time.
In 2005, Revenge of the Sith’s political inclinations would seem to date the movie, but in 2019 its politics about the death of liberty seemed even more timely. Is loyalty to the Republic loyalty to democracy or to its chancellor? Now, with Rise of Skywalker, it gives Palpatine motive to either have offspring or set up clones of himself (something that happens in the Expanded Universe) as Vader’s body is not a desirable vessel to jump into for immortality. Presumably, this is the only way for the Sith to achieve this as they appear to not be able to become Force ghosts (only Qui-Gon figured that out, passing it on to just Jedi spirits.)
To finish this out, I’m continuing on in a modified Machete order with:
Solo (elaborates on Han’s and Lando’s friendship nicely following that in Jedi)
TFA (more Han and Millenium Falcon)
TLJ (where Luke makes first mention of prequels, leading me into … )
Episode I–The Phantom Menace (see how it works as Palpatine origin story)
The Rise of Skywalker (bookend of said story)
Rogue One (because its ending leads full circle back into where it all started)
Finally, Eps II, III and V all end with characters gazing at sunsets (albeit one at a galaxy’s stars from space) echoing Luke’s binary sunset moment, while IV and VI’s last shots are focused on our three heroes. Calls to mind “Always looking to the future, never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.”
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So, George Lucas knew exactly what he was doing but audiences could not detect that because they weren‘t spoonfed everything by a simpler order of movies.
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An audience member acted as script editor…
Solo, Phantom Menace, and random Star Wars thoughts:
Probably the worst two films in the franchise. For a while I thought Attack of the Clones was the worst due to its dialogue and bad acting, but no. Phantom beats it hands down for that ignominious honor. Still, it has some pioneering special effects, a great light saber battle (albeit the only one with no concurrent dialog), and a decent battle at the end. As a children’s movie, it mostly works as there’s either Jar Jar or young Anakin onscreen to entertain the youngling viewers. But as a Star Wars movie … ugh.
Some odd parallels:
“No!” Obi-Wan screams this as Qui-Gon meets his end, echoing/foreshadowing Vader’s subsequent "No!"s in Episodes III and VI.
Anakin calls Qui-Gon’s lightsaber a “lazer sword” when he first sees it, just as Luke will eight episodes later.
Qui-Gon’s funeral is nearly the same as Anakin’s on Endor’s moon.
There appears to be a cloner on the Jedi Council? No explanation of who Sifo-Dyas is who orders the Kaminoans to create the clone army though.
I didn’t realize how much Palpatine had to alter his plan due to Amidala’s interference. She demonstrates more tactical intelligence setting up the final battle than anybody on her team.
He clearly thinks she’s a pushover, and despite him becoming Chancellor, he still has to find a new apprentice and orchestrate another way to start a war utilizing the Trade Federation. He’s definitely playing a long game.
Lucas obviously meant a pod racing parallel with Anakin in the Trade Federation ship, but it is also similar to the death star’s “canyon” in a New Hope.
Darth Maul’s light saber handle looks a lot like Rey’s at the end of Rise of Skywalker.
This pairing is sort of a Darth Maul double feature, viewed out of order, but it still works as Solo teases the character and Phantom gives a little bit more, but not much, background. Seems falling into endless tubes isn’t enough to kill a Sith. Another parallel foreshadowing Palps’ eventual return?
Dominic West, Sofia Coppola, and Keira Knightly are all part of the Naboo crew in this film! Warwick Davis is one of Jabba’s sidekicks, and is in Solo as well as Rogue One. I think that’s four SW character cameos along with his Ewok appearances.
Still not sure why Lucas had Anakin create C3PO. It seems with each Star Wars film his twists got weaker and more desperate. Also weird that the Jedi are guardians of justice, but seem fine leaving Schmi Skywalker behind as a slave after using the Force to cheat on the chance cube so Qui-Gon can take Anakin instead.
Solo Han Solo just seems really dumb in this one. Q’ira runs circles around him, and so does Dryden Voss and Tobias Beckett until the last switch where Han finally learns to put something up his sleeve. Donald Glover is welcome as Lando (can we get Lando: A Star Wars Story please?) but he’s kind of a jerk to Han, and only seems to care for his droid L3. But Han learns to be ruthless at the end (shooting first too!), yet Alden Ehrenreich can’t seem to pull this particular character arc off.
Strange Octopussy connection: in Revenge of the Sith on Kashyyk, the Wookies make a Tarzan yell. Only noticed this because subtitles spelled it out.
When Luke crafts his light saber in RotJ, it’s green honoring Yoda and Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan’s is blue. I wonder if Maz Kanata also has Obi-Wan’s lost lightsaber from Naboo (Maul kicks it down the tube vent shaft), and Luke’s which is tossed away on Death Star 2.0 when he won’t turn. Presumably Mace Windu’s purple light saber dropped onto the streets of Coruscant as well.
The opera scene in Revenge of the Sith had Palpatine implying he created Anakin via the midi-chlorians trick he from Darth Plagues the Wise. But then later Palpatine admits he hasn’t learned the secret to cheat death (“only one has”) but he and Anakin will figure it out. This after he says only he has the power to save Padme. He’s just manipulating Anakin all along. Lucasfilm has said this theory is not canon and, after viewing Phantom I’m inclined to agree. The events of Phantom alter Palpatine’s plans. It doesn’t appear he intended to lose Darth Maul as an apprentice (versus what happens to Dooku.) So it would seem he sets his sights on Anakin as his eventual apprentice knowing that he’s a threat to bring balance to the Force as the Chosen One. It would seem “balance” means no Sith, as opposed to … balance.
Something completely different: I‘m rediscovering the genius of Gene Wilder recently and discovered that in SILVER STREAK there is one giant killer on a train… Richard Kiel!
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