Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, December 20, 2019) Movie • Page 250

Oof, that Boyega quote is not a good look. Between that and Daisy's comments on privilege, it's been a bad week for this cast.

 

This is so awesome.

 

People see a bitter old isolated hermit who throws his lightsaber before saying a word and write him off. Awful way to be open-minded.

Things people miss about Luke in TLJ:
- He isolated himself because he thought he let himself down based on everything he learned
- He didn't attack his nephew, he nearly did...but he was debating it internally which is very clear prior to Kylo waking up
- Yoda reminded Luke that things don't have to be the way the Jedi Order set it out to be, and Luke can forge his own path
- It's still an arc of redemption, as Luke saw what the most important thing was in the moment, and that was helping the Resistance, still, without physically fighting
- The force ghost moment meant his task was done, he'd broken free of expectations and done what he thought was right, not by the Jedi Order, but by those fighting for good

A perfect Luke Skywalker imo.

 

I think it’s funny that there’s people who think Rian ruined Luke and J.J. wouldn’t have, but like J.J. had an entire movie to prevent that from happening if he wanted and chose to stick him at the end for 5 seconds.

 

Bad. It turned out bad.

 

Good - Being able to give younger fans a more modern version of “Star Wars” that’s diverse and expands the lore. They can have a version of this universe that they claim as their’s.

Bad - Toxic fandom. I’m not a fan of either Solo or Rogue One. I think they’re both messes resulting from Disney tinkering with them, but both have some bright spots. The most purist “Star Wars” thing I can say is that I miss the Fox fanfare too. I hate Disney and think they’re bad for movies and how they’ve changed moviegoers’ viewing havitd to just see the safest thing. Anyway, that got way off base.

 

I’m sorry I’m dying.

 

The pod race being as long as it is would be more forgivable if it meant that we didn’t get Anakin flying around in space and blowing up the trade federation ship.

 

The podrace is so bad, and it feels like it goes on so much longer than 25 minutes. But also, it gave us this gloriousness:



So I'm torn.

 

This game alone justifies anything bad about TPM

 

The only thing I can think about every time I see Jake Loyd is his personal downfall, and everything that contributed to it all.

I hope he’s better now and in a positive headspace.

 

Yeah it's incredibly satisfying, I should have done this years ago. Can't wait to do it again in a few months when I have TROS and the TV shows as part of it


Also, Empire is still the best movie overall but I know that's far from a controversial opinion

 

People really in here saying they hate that their favorite character didn’t shit on their arc? I am exhausted from the idiocy.

 

Y'know, I really appreciate the simple honesty of this post. More self aware than most TLJ critics, lol. The number of times my brother has, even recently, emphasized how REAL fans know how WRONG it was is just... exhausting.

I will say, though, the sentiment in your original post was kinda misguided, mostly because JJ had way more to do w/ you not getting Luke in action than Rian did. There wouldn't have been a narratively fulfilling way to do that in TLJ after what TFA established. Kinda like how TFA is also why we'll never get another Luke-Han-Leia scene. I feel like, years from now, the fan base will come to see most of their cricisms of TLJ having more to do w/ TFA. *shrug*

 

least is definitely the opinions and quotes of people associated with making the movies

 

Also, the podrace was good, actually, & you will not change my mind.

Though, that tweet does certainly illustrate how much people in mainstream nerd culture struggle w/ stories driven by theme more than plot.

 

us not getting a Luke/Han/Leia scene will always be the one thing I look back wishing we had. no matter how much I end up loving this trilogy and looking fondly back at it, that'll be the one thing where I'm like... if only haha.

 

I was thinking last night about the amount of deaths in this series that seemingly happen for no given reason and it’s actually kind of funny. Vader, Obi Wan, Padme, Luke, Yoda.
Vader = took mask off?
Obi Wan = disappeared into force?
Padme = broken heart (lol)
Luke = used up a lot of energy, HP low
Yoda = old age

 

Vader - said he was going to die regardless of the mask being on (presumably because of the amount of force lighting affecting his suit which I assume has been keeping him alive since Mustafar?)
Kenobi - yeah, I can’t explain this
Padme - again, can’t explain because they specify that it’s a broken heart
Luke - the using too much energy was explained earlier in the movie, so I’ll let it slide
Yoda - old age is a good enough explanation for me.

 

Favorite: great characters, images, sounds, music (except rogue one, i wanna spit it out my ears), great movie magic, adam driver, adam driver, adam driver, adam driver, bb8

Unfave: the stop-start slow motion chase of TLJ isn’t very lively storytelling for me. Kinda peters along with no tension. When I think about great chase movies like Stagecoach, Duel, North By Northwest, Terminator...other good examples i cant think of now...i love the idea of a space chase story, but this one came out kinda sluggish.

I heard an interview w Rian Johnson about writing Knives Out and his love for the shape of mysteries was inspiring. He has incredible understanding and agility with that mode of storytelling. I could listen to him all day. Where was that dexterity fer the star war bub???

On the other hand do any Star Wars have good pacing?

 

The Vader one is strange because they play up how bad he is wheezing before he gets zapped. I like your idea that it just fries the suit though.

 

Luke literally threw his lightsaber away and chose not to kill his father in RotJ. I feel like people forget that.

 

I always took it as Vader died because the dark side kept him alive so once he returned back to the light he began to die.

 

Finished Return of the Jedi. It really is great, despite its flaws. The opening act feels disconnected plot-wise from the rest of the movie (which is fine because you have to pick up the Han cliffhanger), but it's a good old fashion adventure. And it reinforces a central theme of the film which is saving the ones you love... (interesting!) I do have to try and not think about Luke's plan to rescue Han though because it is absolute batshit nonsense. The whole sequence is just fun though, even in the slower parts.

The second act drags a little, but I love the Yoda scene and a slow middle builds to one hell of a finale. Plus the speeder chase absolutely holds up to this day.

Oh yea, and Ewoks are fucking great. I don't care. They add some much-needed cuteness and fun to the dark space battle and throne room tones. While these areI always go into this one thinking I'm going to be annoyed by them killing storm troopers with sticks, but outside of their initial surprise attack, they get absolutely wrecked. If Chewy doesn't still a Walker, there'd be a moon full of dead Ewoks.

And everything with Luke/Vader/Palpatine is perfect. The final minute of Vader & Luke's duel is my favorite of the OT and possibly the series. That wide pan of Luke going apeshit with William's swelling score is the definition of captivating.

My biggest gripe with the film is while Han & Leia absolutely serve the plot, they don't have much to do character-wise, but I suppose they are fully realized characters after ANH and Empire. Most of the acting here is great, but there are a few lines where it's like, did they not have a better take available? One nitpick, and I'm stealing this from someone else who brought it up elsewhere, is I wish Vader said "Tell your sister I'm sorry" or "I love her" instead of "You were right". It's absolutely not a huge deal and in no way takes anything away from the movie, but it would have been nice to hear him apologize for the pain he caused Leia in some way. It's possible he didn't know it was Leia who was his daughter.

This was my first time rewatching with the machete order. I enjoy this version much more than chronological. The prequels can be rough, but I enjoy the story flow in this order. Plus, you don't have to start with them this way which makes it easier to get back into it after time away. Highly recommend.