Star Wars Episode IX

[jesmu84]

We still holding off spoilers? I’ve got some issues too.

My bad.

Should we be spoiler free for a time period?

I refused to enter the thread from Thursday until I saw it so I wouldn't catch any

[🏀]

My bad.

Should we be spoiler free for a time period?

I refused to enter the thread from Thursday until I saw it so I wouldn't catch any

Could start another thread possibly, I think that was past protocol. Doesn’t bother me...

[Vander Blue Man Group]

TLJ does not echo Empire at all in my opinion and even if it does in tone, the tone isn't the problem at all. The non-Luke plot of TLJ is entirely dependent on Poe being a moron, Finn being blind to anything but the need to protect Rey(who they cleverly made it clear in TFA she wasn't a damsel in distress), and Holdo needing to put Poe in his place......all while the Resistance hangs in the balance. Wut? And don't even get me started on the Holdo Maneuver.

Meanwhile, with the Rey plot, they turn the ultimate hero in the series(Luke) into a whiney, self absorbed dude who someone turns Vader from the dark side and stands up to the Emperor, but hes ready to murder his own nephew because he seems to be harboring some emo thoughts. I don't need Luke to be some warrior knight, but I sure as hell don't need him hiding away when the universe is falling apart around him.

One other note, I think they made a huge mistake setting TLJ immediately following TFA, especially for the Rey character. I love Rey but my only issue with her is she never really earned her force abilities...i mean she went from having no idea she had force powers to 7 days later she can lift and entire landslide and hold it steady with no issue.

This is a Rian Johnson quote in regards to Luke and someone commenting on how his character arc in TLJ didn’t make sense:

“I understand that point of view but I completely disagree with it. In fact I think it disrespects the character of Luke by treating him not as a true mythic hero overcoming recurring wounds & flaws, but as a video game character who has achieved a binary, permanent power-up.”

Makes a lot of sense to me. Nor did Luke feel whiney or emo to me. It’s quite possible that a hero can still have a moment of weakness that leads to something catastrophic where they question themself and completely withdraw or retreat.

[Uncle Rico]

TLJ does not echo Empire at all in my opinion and even if it does in tone, the tone isn't the problem at all. The non-Luke plot of TLJ is entirely dependent on Poe being a moron, Finn being blind to anything but the need to protect Rey(who they cleverly made it clear in TFA she wasn't a damsel in distress), and Holdo needing to put Poe in his place......all while the Resistance hangs in the balance. Wut? And don't even get me started on the Holdo Maneuver.

Meanwhile, with the Rey plot, they turn the ultimate hero in the series(Luke) into a whiney, self absorbed dude who someone turns Vader from the dark side and stands up to the Emperor, but hes ready to murder his own nephew because he seems to be harboring some emo thoughts. I don't need Luke to be some warrior knight, but I sure as hell don't need him hiding away when the universe is falling apart around him.

One other note, I think they made a huge mistake setting TLJ immediately following TFA, especially for the Rey character. I love Rey but my only issue with her is she never really earned her force abilities...i mean she went from having no idea she had force powers to 7 days later she can lift and entire landslide and hold it steady with no issue.

The burden of being Luke Skywalker and failing his nephew is enough to lead him into exile.  Also, the history of the Jedi as the universes peace keepers wasn’t exactly sterling.  It also opened the possibilities of other force sensitives to stand up and take the mantle of fighting the First Order instead of relying solely on the Skywalkers.

In the end, Luke’s sacrifice was to be the inspiration to spark the universe into action and the scene in the stables with the kids playing with “action figures” of Luke fighting the First Order with his laser sword to allow the resistance to escape cemented the legacy of Luke, like kids of the 80’s playing with action figures and imagining themselves defeating the Empire.

I understand your arguments but I think the character arc of Luke fit who Luke was. 

[MU82]

Luke really had great influence on the galaxy in Corvette Summer!

[tower912]

It was fine.  Eye candy.   May watch it again to look for things I missed the first time.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Headed to see tonight!

[Benny B]

Quote from: Benny B on April 18, 2016, 02:05:03 PM
I just saw the movie for the first time last week, and I'm not going through 7 pages of discussion, but I at least want to be on record as saying that Rey is essentially going to end up being the reincarnation of either Anakin (or maybe Schmi or Anakin's father).

Paraphrasing Maz here: "No one in your past is coming back for you.  But there's still one who may."  Implication: Your ancestry is gone, but not your descendants.

Not to mention... remember how everyone was blown away by Vader's (Anakin's) "No. I am your father"... think about the mind explosions next year if/when Luke says to Rey, "No. You are my father.  Search your feelings, you know it to be true."



My apologies if someone beat me to it, in which case, at least there's more than one genius here

God damn JJ Abrams.  Fu@king things up for everyone.

[Galway Eagle]

Lots of stuff annoyed me. I'm unhappy with it and glad it's over

[MU82]

I just saw #9 last week. And for the hell of it, I went back and watched #7 and #8 the last few days. It was only the second time I had watched each (saw them in the theater when each came out).

Liked TFA a lot. And I didn't dislike TLJ at all. Lots of goofy stuff, and there definitely were things I didn't like in each movie, but I thought they were solid escapist entertainment. Way, way better than I remember having liked the 1-2-3 trilogy; and of course not as much as I liked 4-5-6.

I wasn't going to go watch TROS again in the theater ... but now I'm kinda curious having just rewatched 7 and 8. Maybe next week ...

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Lots of stuff annoyed me. I'm unhappy with it and glad it's over

Agreed.  JJ Abrams use of corny humor doesn't fit the Star Wars model and makes it look less serious, contrived, and too "Will Smith".  Of course, this model is borrowed from the Avengers movies but isn't executed as well (humor model for blockbusters these days).  To me, JJ Abrams diluted the Star Wars story, making it less serious, which happens to appeal to more people.  The simplicity is easier to translate across language barriers so it can garner a bigger box office overseas.  In order to repair the story, you need to go into the characters more.  Character depth is where it's at these days, especially with the best writing being on cable, netflix, etc.  What I never understood was why JJ Abrams was tapped to do Star Wars.  His claim to fame is the Lost series.  It seems to me, Abrams would have been better equipped to do a series like the Mandalorian.  Regardless, Disney wants something that the average fan can relate to in order to pile box office numbers.  Disney will always go with creative control over the material and keep it "safe".  Numerous directors have been fired due to their battles with corporate due to "issues".   For a company once prided on creativity, it is now one that shuns it in order to protect profit.  As far as the future of Star Wars goes...... I've got a bad feeling about this

[jesmu84]

Agreed.  JJ Abrams use of corny humor doesn't fit the Star Wars model and makes it look less serious, contrived, and too "Will Smith".  Of course, this model is borrowed from the Avengers movies but isn't executed as well (humor model for blockbusters these days).  To me, JJ Abrams diluted the Star Wars story, making it less serious, which happens to appeal to more people.  The simplicity is easier to translate across language barriers so it can garner a bigger box office overseas.  In order to repair the story, you need to go into the characters more.  Character depth is where it's at these days, especially with the best writing being on cable, netflix, etc.  What I never understood was why JJ Abrams was tapped to do Star Wars.  His claim to fame is the Lost series.  It seems to me, Abrams would have been better equipped to do a series like the Mandalorian.  Regardless, Disney wants something that the average fan can relate to in order to pile box office numbers.  Disney will always go with creative control over the material and keep it "safe".  Numerous directors have been fired due to their battles with corporate due to "issues".   For a company once prided on creativity, it is now one that shuns it in order to protect profit.  As far as the future of Star Wars goes...... I've got a bad feeling about this

I agree with you regarding Disney using too much studio influence in the star wars movies.

I disagree on corny humor. Look at droids and Han in the OT.

I don't have a good feeling about star wars movies. But if the Mandalorian is any indication, the TV aspect looks to be very good. Thus far, Disney is giving more freedom to the directors/writers there.

[🏀]

Getting the Directors Cut Rise of Skywalker on D+ will be interesting

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Getting the Directors Cut Rise of Skywalker on D+ will be interesting

I assume you're referring to the rumored Lucas cut that scored an 88 with test audiences while the Abrams cut was somewhere around 18%?

[mu03eng]

I assume you're referring to the rumored Lucas cut that scored an 88 with test audiences while the Abrams cut was somewhere around 18%?

#FakeNews

There was no GL cut, and I highly doubt there was a JJ cut (as described on Reddit). There is no doubting there are creative problems within Lucasfilm (which is one of the reasons that Kennedy has got to go) but this whole idea that there are magical cuts that Disney is conspiring to not release that would solve all their problems fails Occam's Razor and is, frankly, dumb.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

#FakeNews

There was no GL cut, and I highly doubt there was a JJ cut (as described on Reddit). There is no doubting there are creative problems within Lucasfilm (which is one of the reasons that Kennedy has got to go) but this whole idea that there are magical cuts that Disney is conspiring to not release that would solve all their problems fails Occam's Razor and is, frankly, dumb.

I saw a story over the weekend that JJ shot a lot of extra scenes that did not make the movie and I think people are assuming there is a Director's Cut.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Finally saw it, somehow managed to avoid all spoilers for it.

I enjoyed it, as others said it was just a lot of fun and I LOVED how the last scene mirrors the first scene of the OT.

That stupid kiss though, that was terrible...I felt more of a romantic connection between Finn and Poe than those two.