Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I thought Rogue One was brilliant. Actually managed to improve thr 1977 original. Solo had a messed up producing but was better than expected, the force awakens was pretty decent, copied the originals top much but set things up nicely only for rian johnson to have a massive turd on its potential with the last jedi. Honestly that script was worse than anything lucas had ever written

I think Rogue One is hands down better than all the franchise names except A New Hope. Maybe the first 1/3 of The Force Awakens is okay. Solo was okay too -- better than most of the franchise.

I've always thought Empire vastly overrated and cannot understand why most prefer it to the original. I'll take a few things from Return -- the forest chase, Leia in a bikini and "It's a trap!" plus a pretty evil emperor. The prequels have effectively nothing redeeming about them. I like Rey and Fin as characters and the tortured Darth Vader Light idea is interesting but the fucking pompsity of the language, the utterly inane planet killer, Luke the hero exiling himself or whatever . . . ugh.

Anyway the franchise should never be forgiven for Jar Jar Binks ever unless there is a 20 minute short made that covers his death.

A New Hope was great not just because we all like good v evil and lasers are cool, but because Luke and Han and many of the other characters spoke and acted like real, actual people, not like Charlton Heston as Moses or King Arthur.

I'd say Starship Troopers is better sci fi than all the Star Wars flicks save ANH and RO.

 

[BimboBob]

Star Wars.
Empire.
Return.


Everything else is just frippery.

 

[Pell]

I'm expecting it to be pretty bad. I'll watch though, more out of a sense of obligation.

 

[City_Sean]

I agree with the consensus. For me Rogue One was excellent, the Force Awakens was good but the Last Jedi was the biggest load of shite I've ever seen.

I couldn't believe how bad that film was, it completely ruined my excitement for future stuff. I can't believe they've given Rian Johnson another trilogy.

 

[Ballet-on-ice]

Shouldn't the force awakens be renamed the mediclorians awakens.

 

[liamctid]

I enjoyed Force Awakens, but I really didn't like Rogue One - there was no character in it that I liked - and it put me off going to see The Last Jedi. And then I saw the reviews of that and I've never bothered with it, but I guess I'll have to watch it for this last one to make sense?

 

[7evens]

I enjoyed Force Awakens, but I really didn't like Rogue One - there was no character in it that I liked - and it put me off going to see The Last Jedi. And then I saw the reviews of that and I've never bothered with it, but I guess I'll have to watch it for this last one to make sense?

Yep. Definitely.

To be fair, it was a critical and commercial success. 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1 average rating, it made more than £1bn at the box office. But it does a lot of reflective work on the franchise as a whole, and that's pissed off a few die hards with popular YouTube channels. Rian Johnson clearly sat there while writing the script and asked himself, "What has Star Wars become?" and "Is Star Wars' current form necessarily a good thing?" His approach was to take a serious look at what happened to the franchise in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and use The Last Jedi to analyse it - the extended universe lore, the fan theories, the misplaced iconography, all of it. That's why it pissed off the die hards: the film was about their behaviour as much as it was about the Skywalkers, Chewbacca, etc.

Personally, I thought the direction The Last Jedi took was exactly what the franchise needed. That's why The Last Jedi is my favourite of the whole lot, equal with The Empire Strikes Back. I enjoyed The Force Awakens a lot but The Last Jedi was always going to be a decisive fork in the road for the saga, and it needed an outsider coming in with fresh eyes to deconstruct it from within, all while holding up the weight and expectations of the institution it's become. That's a hell of an achievement on a storytelling level, and the fact that it's the most beautiful film of the entire franchise to set eyes on, it just gives it an extra nudge. It's not perfect (no Star Wars film is), but it was the Star Wars film we needed rather than we one we wanted. I'd set aside an evening before December and watch it in a double bill with The Force Awakens.

 

[Machiavelli]

Couple of trailers are out there now. Might as well get this going.







Really looking forward to this now. The Last Jedi was terrific and arguably the best entry to the franchise for a dozen reasons. It actually made me a fan of the entire saga from A New Hope right through the present day, as imperfect as it's been along the way, when previously I'd been a fan but relatively cool on the whole thing. It made me want to do a whole podcast about the entire saga with some friends of mine.

This'll be the last film of its kind for quite a while, so let the theories and anticipation begin.

Please don’t post a link to that podcast on here.

Cheers.

 

[7evens]

Please don’t post a link to that podcast on here.

Cheers.

I really wasn't planning on it. We have a small following of about 50 people which is mainly just our families and friends, and that's how we want to keep it. We make the show for them and ourselves and nobody else. :)

 

[Machiavelli]

I really wasn't planning on it. We have a small following of about 50 people which is mainly just our families and friends, and that's how we want to keep it. We make the show for them and ourselves and nobody else. :)

Phew

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I enjoyed Force Awakens, but I really didn't like Rogue One - there was no character in it that I liked - and it put me off going to see The Last Jedi. And then I saw the reviews of that and I've never bothered with it, but I guess I'll have to watch it for this last one to make sense?

I think that's why I liked Rogue One so much -- it was more a study of what you give up -- in your future, and within yourself -- to be a part of a revolution that brings about positive change. It's a pretty difficult and conflicted existence, full of sacrifice of self, with "heroism" only being something that will be accorded to you after you're dead, with precious few moments to be personally happy. Effectively every character in the story is knee-deep in the muck. We only know about the eventual successful outcome of their self-sacrifice because we know the back story.

 

[quiet_riot]

I think that's why I liked Rogue One so much -- it was more a study of what you give up -- in your future, and within yourself -- to be a part of a revolution that brings about positive change. It's a pretty difficult and conflicted existence, full of sacrifice of self, with "heroism" only being something that will be accorded to you after you're dead, with precious few moments to be personally happy. Effectively every character in the story is knee-deep in the muck. We only know about the eventual successful outcome of their self-sacrifice because we know the back story.

You over thought it too much. It was a 2 hour setup to the new CGI bit of Vader that someone had done.

 

[7evens]

Phew

What are you being a dickhead for?

 

[mccity]

Spoiler

Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father

 

[Machiavelli]

What are you being a dickhead for?

 

[TCIB]

Rogue One was the best Star Wars film imo. I don't think camp humour belongs in a film with such stakes. You can have humour certainly, i mean the droid in Rogue One was funny af. There needs to be a certain tone though. The "droid rights" stuff was a weak attempt mixing humour with social politics as an example in tlj. I like gritty films with Rogue One giving me my grit fix. You get the right amount of character development and arcs. There is urgent and immediate threat throughout the film with Vader being shown as the super powerful unstoppable entity who rightly scares the shit out of everyone who is not him. I won't lie i was giddy as a pig in shit when he appeared at the end and fucked them all up.

I was very impressed with the end, if Jyn Urso kissed Cassian it would have shit on so much it aimed to achieve. It felt like a real universe, i felt like there were big fuck off battles happening all over the galaxy, it felt more real than any other film. I was sick of pristine palaces, i wanted people crawling in mud towards certain death.

 

[Manc in London]

I got to like TLJ the more I watched it. Yes, it is not 100% perfect but no Star Wars film is. I think some may have a greater appreciation of TLJ following the release of xi. After all, TLJ was, essentially, part 2 of a 3-part serial.

The concern I have with the Rise of Skywalker is that because it is the end of the saga, and we appeared far away from the end, based on the conclusion of TLJ, it may fall into the same trap as Revenge of the Sith by trying to tie-up too many loose ends.

My guess is that the film will contain a reveal along the lines of Palpatine being the creator of the Skywalker family.

Those who mock The Phantom Menace, I ask you to name a better kids, sci-fi film about a trade dispute?

 

[TCIB]

On a slight side note, Rey looks hot as fuck as a Sith lord.

 

[7evens]

The "droid rights" stuff was a weak attempt mixing humour with social politics as an example in tlj.

That was Solo.

 

[billymumphrey]

You over thought it too much. It was a 2 hour setup to the new CGI bit of Vader that someone had done.

Agree 100%. Rogue One was them just hitting the Fan Service dial to max. It was a woeful film.