SW Episode IX

[diablochris6]

My biggest problems with TLJ:

- What a waste of time with Rey going down into the hole on the island and seeing the mirrors of herself! Ripoff of Luke's experience in the swamps with him inside Vader's role
- WTH was with Leah floating through space??!! So, the force is able to make you a spaceman too??
- Snoke being so easily fooled and killed?? A master of the force cannot see that someone is hiding something? Really??

These 3 things in particular ruined that movie for me 

Those things didn't bother me too much.
-The revelation in the midst of the dark side is something that Anakin faced as well in the Clone Wars cartoon. Luke's and Rey's experiences were different. Luke faces his fear of what he could become, Rey faces her fear that she is alone and alienated from her past. Anakin faced his fear of what he will become.
-Jedi Plo Koon was out in space for a bit in the Clone Wars cartoon, but it wasn't clear if it was because of the Force or because he was an alien of some sort.
-Even masters can be blinded by their own arrogance.

Things that took me out of the moment:
- Admiral Ackbar dies kind of offscreen. Bridge explosion and one line of dialogue about it. He deserved more.
- Dropping bombs in space? Laser fire arching in space? I can handle laser swords, but there are limits to suspending physics.
- The casino scene was too long.
-I believe this is the first Star Wars film with a flashback. I wish that they just let the actors show emotion and have a camera focus on them while they reminisce. Hamill and Driver could have sold that material old-school Star Wars style.

[juansolo]

Surprised no one has mentioned the biggest tonal shift that happened in TLJ. Turning the personification of hope, a man who brought his own father, a genocidal tyrant, back to the light, into a moping arsehole. The actual hero of the Star Wars universe. Yeah, let's subvert that, because it's edgy! What they came up with was because he was (creepily) watching his son-in-laws dreams and he caught a whiff of dark-side. Now I don't know about you, but I've had some pretty messed up dreams in my times, it certainly hasn't made me evil. Luke's reaction, murder him. Never has a film maker so totally missed the point of the franchise they're making a film for.

Superleia was just stupid and a waste of what would have been a much more poignant scene for Ren in terms of narrative if she'd actually died.

There were good ideas there. The inference and unexplored subtext of the galactic elite and Benicio Del Toro's ACTUAL rogue character both profiteering from the war from different perspectives. Both understandable and relatable reactions to the conflict. Both heavily in the grey areas of morality. Man, there was some promise there, instead we got a lama race.

I liked Kylo and Rey, but again, if you're gonna subvert, subvert. I'd have liked to have seen that go somewhere other than the easy option they took. Luke was a dick, the universe owes you nothing, Kylo made a really bloody tempting offer. Had they killed Leia and Rey had gone with Kylo I think we could have gone somewhere really interesting with things. So you'd essentially have three factions at play, the rebels, the order and the Jedi, with the interference of the elite and other factions as possibilities. Sadly it's just going to be plucky rebels vs eeeeevil empire sorry, order. Kylo=big bad, Rey=Hero. I suppose that's all people want.

...and more fan service. Gotta keep those old fans interested... Who's left... Lando! Get Billy Dee Williams on the phone!

[EBK]

Superleia was just stupid and a waste of what would have been a much more poignant scene for Ren in terms of narrative if she'd actually died.

I was going to write a brief defense of TLJ (something about how Luke losing control of his emotions and recognizing the immediate danger of such a path freaked him the fuck out... blah... blah... etc.), but you just shut me up right there.    There was definitely some bad writing involved, which should not be defended with a strained attempt to pull higher meaning out of it.   

[matmosphere]

Defending the Luke stuff, all of the best post ROTJ books and comics for years explored Luke being drawn to the dark side. Dark Empire probably being the best. I don't know that they way the did it in the movie was great, maybe they shouldn't have bothered unless they were going to allow the movie to be more about him.

Superleia was just stupid and a waste of what would have been a much more poignant scene for Ren in terms of narrative if she'd actually died.

Until I saw it a second time I had some how convinced myself that Kyle REN saved Leia because he didn't want her to die. I would have believed he could have made some force shield and floated her to safety but don't buy that her would be dead by then body could have done it for her. Would have made the movie and Kylo better. I don't really like Kylo.

I agree a lot with Chris. That first scene with bombers in space and a call waiting joke (WTF!? Seriously) was poorly thought out. Space battles in these have always been lasers and bigger lasers. No mob don't make sense in zero gravity, or a vacuum for that mater.

[Muadzin]

Jar Jar Abrams has never EVER made a good movie. Or series. All he's good at is serving up a warm turd. One that looks nice and shiny, but scratch away the veneer and all you're left with is still a turd. The idea that Jar Jar could fix the mess that was TLJ is absurd, when has he EVER managed to bring something to a good and satisfactory conclusion? So now Rey, the biggest Mary Sue in cinema history, a Mary Sue so big not even the worst fanfiction could have written her who has now jumped the Tie Fighter, who has defeated Kilo Ren twice without effort, is going to take on Kilo Ren again for a 3rd time? And this is supposed to be exciting?

Jar Jar Abrams is a snake oil salesman. He's a con artist. Getting excited over this new movie is like ordering fake parts from China for two times in a row, and now ordering a 3rd time in the hope that this time the MN3005's will be legit? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times in a row? How big of a SW fanboy do you have to be before accepting that all they are doing is beating a dead horse. Three times in a row.

[EBK]

...before accepting that all they are doing is beating a dead horse. Three times in a row.

There was a certain poetic quality to your comment that was spoiled only when you said "horse" instead of "tauntaun".   

At any rate, I haven't seen a SW movie in the theater since episode 2, so I will probably wait on this one hitting Netflix as well.  I'll watch it, but long after everyone else has already decided whether it is any good or not. 

[Aentons]

Jar Jar Abrams has never EVER made a good movie. Or series. All he's good at is serving up a warm turd. One that looks nice and shiny, but scratch away the veneer and all you're left with is still a turd. The idea that Jar Jar could fix the mess that was TLJ is absurd, when has he EVER managed to bring something to a good and satisfactory conclusion? So now Rey, the biggest Mary Sue in cinema history, a Mary Sue so big not even the worst fanfiction could have written her who has now jumped the Tie Fighter, who has defeated Kilo Ren twice without effort, is going to take on Kilo Ren again for a 3rd time? And this is supposed to be exciting?

Jar Jar Abrams is a snake oil salesman. He's a con artist. Getting excited over this new movie is like ordering fake parts from China for two times in a row, and now ordering a 3rd time in the hope that this time the MN3005's will be legit? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times in a row? How big of a SW fanboy do you have to be before accepting that all they are doing is beating a dead horse. Three times in a row.

That is exactly how I feel... JJ is the worst ruiner ever. Anything he's involved in has the same bad result. After building up Lost for years and then handing out the greatest let down in the history of the screen... he should have never worked again... Much less be handed Star Wars and Star Trek.

At any rate, I haven't seen a SW movie in the theater since episode 2, so I will probably wait on this one hitting Netflix as well.  I'll watch it, but long after everyone else has already decided whether it is any good or not. 

It won't be on Netflix, it'll be on Disney+

[EBK]

It won't be on Netflix, it'll be on Disney+

I guess I won't worry about it then since I'll never see it. 

[madbean]

Hopefully they'll pull it together for a strong finish. I thought TLJ was kind of a pile of crap.

Now...single player Star Wars games for PC? I'm all in. We're finally getting one, too!

[dan.schumaker]

I knew that Lando would be in the new one, but I guess all along I was imagining his scene to go like this:

Lando and Kylo Ren meet up
Lando: "Kylo, your mother was a hell of a general, and a better lover"
Kylo Ren slices Lando in two
End scene

[madbean]

Okay I changed my mind. I saw some of the sneak peek footage of The Mandalorian and it looks bad ass. Much better than the recent movies.

[Leevibe]

Okay I changed my mind. I saw some of the sneak peek footage of The Mandalorian and it looks bad ass. Much better than the recent movies.

DUDE! Don't post. You're at 8888 posts. That's 8 times more than 1111.

[Muadzin]

Okay I changed my mind. I saw some of the sneak peek footage of The Mandalorian and it looks bad ass. Much better than the recent movies.

From what I've gathered the people behind making The Mandalorian do seem to give a crap about Star Wars. With Jon Favreau being a huge original trilogy nut, and the other guy having worked with Lucas during the prequels. Methinks when you're personally invested into the story there's a higher chance of success compared to when you're a hack whose only interest in the story is as a cash cow and to push an agenda.

Then again there are also stories abound of fans who became involved with their beloved franchise and who used it push through their view of what the franchise was and should be. The term ascended fanboy being coined for people like that.