Star Wars Expanded Universe Thread

[jcf817]

The Last Jedi had parts to it that seem like they were just thrown in there just to kill time! Finn going to the casino to pick up a bit character that out of the blue sells him out...that entire part of the film was a waste of time! Sure...killing Luke off was bold...but that movie was boring! Especially the big battle at the end. The Luke part of the battle was cool...but that was it...

I agree that the Canto Bight storyline was not necessary, and it's my least favorite part of the movie, but I disagree wholeheartedly with the rest of your comment. And that's fine with me, but there is A LOT of toxicity from SW "fans" regarding The Last Jedi that is just simply stupid.

 

[Clonehomer]

Grogu was the best part of the movie.
And Star Wars has always been for kids.

I think the last part is my issue. Yes, the original trilogy was “for kids”. But it didn’t have all of the cutesy characters to get the young kids in (and sell merch at themeparks). The comedy from the original came from Solo’s quips. They didn’t need a Jar Jar or Porgs or even Grogu.

But also, my generation that grew up on the original Star Wars wanted the franchise to grow with them. Outside of Andor and Rogue One, it really hasn’t. And that’s fine to focus on a different, more profitable demographic in young children. But it just isn’t for me and it’s been disappointing.

 

[cyfanatic]

I agree that the Canto Bight storyline was not necessary, and it's my least favorite part of the movie, but I disagree wholeheartedly with the rest of your comment. And that's fine with me, but there is A LOT of toxicity from SW "fans" regarding The Last Jedi that is just simply stupid.

Yeah...I get what you are saying and the "hate" thrown that way is over the top. I just didn't enjoy the movie as I hoped to...I enjoyed it more than episodes 1 and 2 but for some reason it didn't click for me.

 

[NorthCyd]

The comedy from the original came from Solo’s quips. They didn’t need a Jar Jar or Porgs or even Grogu.

Jawas and Ewoks? The series has pretty much always relied on cute aliens and droids for comic relief, and some of the newer characters provide plenty of comedy. Finns role was mostly comedic it seems. I'm not going to argue it was done as effectively as Han Solo and Harrison Ford, but there was a lot of humor from the main characters.

 

[jcf817]

I think the last part is my issue. Yes, the original trilogy was “for kids”. But it didn’t have all of the cutesy characters to get the young kids in (and sell merch at themeparks). The comedy from the original came from Solo’s quips. They didn’t need a Jar Jar or Porgs or even Grogu.

But also, my generation that grew up on the original Star Wars wanted the franchise to grow with them. Outside of Andor and Rogue One, it really hasn’t. And that’s fine to focus on a different, more profitable demographic in young children. But it just isn’t for me and it’s been disappointing.

I'm not sure I agree. Licensing and merchandise made Lucas far more money than the movies did.
Also, if you ask the generation that grew up with the prequel trilogy, those movies ARE Star Wars to them.
I'm generally someone that takes IP content as it is rather than what I want it to be (The Rise of Skywalker completely excluded...what a piece of trash that movie is), so perhaps my perspective isn't common.

 

[Clonehomer]

I'm not sure I agree. Licensing and merchandise made Lucas far more money than the movies did.
Also, if you ask the generation that grew up with the prequel trilogy, those movies ARE Star Wars to them.
I'm generally someone that takes IP content as it is rather than what I want it to be (The Rise of Skywalker completely excluded...what a piece of trash that movie is), so perhaps my perspective isn't common.

But the movies were not made for the purpose to sell merch. They famously were not prepared for the demand of the toys. It just feels like the characters in the Disney movies had the first priority of sales and themepark attractions and the role in the movies are secondary.

But again, it’s more of a matter that I’m not really in the demographic they are looking for anymore. It’s fine. I’ll just sit here waiting for another Andor type series or movie and ignore most of the rest.

 

[jcf817]

But the movies were not made for the purpose to sell merch. They famously were not prepared for the demand of the toys. It just feels like the characters in the Disney movies had the first priority of sales and themepark attractions and the role in the movies are secondary.

But again, it’s more of a matter that I’m not really in the demographic they are looking for anymore. It’s fine. I’ll just sit here waiting for another Andor type series or movie and ignore most of the rest.

Have you watched the animated series? They're ostensibly for children, but the character development, lore and universe expansion are off the charts.

 

[Clonehomer]

Have you watched the animated series? They're ostensibly for children, but the character development, lore and universe expansion are off the charts.

I’ve tried from the start. Just haven’t kept my attention. I found a list of important episodes to watch prior to Ashoka, but that’s all I’ve really watched.

 

[houjix]

Jawas and Ewoks? The series has pretty much always relied on cute aliens and droids for comic relief, and some of the newer characters provide plenty of comedy. Finns role was mostly comedic it seems. I'm not going to argue it was done as effectively as Han Solo and Harrison Ford, but there was a lot of humor from the main characters.

There certainly is a balance in adding comedy and cutesy without going overboard, but at times they have ventured too close to slapstick and that is what draws ire from longtime fans. There's occasional things that even young me would probably go "what are we doing here?"

 

[NorthCyd]

There certainly is a balance in adding comedy and cutesy without going overboard, but at times they have ventured too close to slapstick and that is what draws ire from longtime fans. There's occasional things that even young me would probably go "what are we doing here?"

The funny thing is if you go back and look at reviews of Jedi you see a lot of the same complaints that you see for modern Star Wars movies. Too silly and kid friendly, rehashed plot devices, etc.

 

[cyfanatic]

The funny thing is if you go back and look at reviews of Jedi you see a lot of the same complaints that you see for modern Star Wars movies. Too silly and kid friendly, rehashed plot devices, etc.

I can see this...and I grew up loving the the originals. But...it is kind of odd that the Empire tried to build the Death Star again...and the ewoks always were a bit cheesy to me! That said...I loved those movies!

 

[NorthCyd]

I can see this...and I grew up loving the the originals. But...it is kind of odd that the Empire tried to build the Death Star again...and the ewoks always were a bit cheesy to me! That said...I loved those movies!

Objectively Empire is a better movie, but Jedi will always be my favorite. I was 4 when it came out in theaters and I still remember that experience. I vividly remember my mom telling me we were going to see the new Star Wars today and I lost my ****. We went to Riverhills in Des Moines to see it and it will probably always be my favorite movie experience. People can slam the kids stuff, but it makes fans for life.

 

[houjix]

I agree that the Canto Bight storyline was not necessary, and it's my least favorite part of the movie, but I disagree wholeheartedly with the rest of your comment. And that's fine with me, but there is A LOT of toxicity from SW "fans" regarding The Last Jedi that is just simply stupid.

I think TLJ deserves plenty of the criticism it got. The Canto Bight side quest, the contrived car chase in space, the completely avoidable situations if people would just take two seconds to explain their reasoning (also a bit of a meta commentary on the entire story team at Lucasfilm at the time) just led to a big mess for much of the film. There were elements I enjoyed like the Siege on Crait and the throne room battle. And I didn't even bump up all that hard against Luke's ending, but you sure have to wade through some dreck to get to those good bits.

RoS was a course correcting mess that gave us space horses. If they released a new movie tomorrow that started with that RoS being a fevered Force dream by Rey, I doubt there is more than a soul or two on this planet that would care about its erasure.

 

[jcf817]

I think TLJ deserves plenty of the criticism it got. The Canto Bight side quest, the contrived car chase in space, the completely avoidable situations if people would just take two seconds to explain their reasoning (also a bit of a meta commentary on the entire story team at Lucasfilm at the time) just led to a big mess for much of the film. There were elements I enjoyed like the Siege on Crait and the throne room battle. And I didn't even bump up all that hard against Luke's ending, but you sure have to wade through some dreck to get to those good bits.

RoS was a course correcting mess that gave us space horses. If they released a new movie tomorrow that started with that RoS being a fevered Force dream by Rey, I doubt there is more than a soul or two on this planet that would care about its erasure.

Weren't the space horses in the Canto Bight side quest in TLJ? I've blocked most of RoS from my mind. I understand the criticism of TLJ, but it took chances, particularly regarding The Force, that were novel in the film series (perhaps they had existed elsewhere), such as the idea that The Force could "belong" to anybody (e.g. Broom Boy). Everything that made TLJ interesting (also the stuff that made the fanboys hate it) was abandoned. Instead of Rey being an "anybody", which was set up beautifully by TLJ, she was somehow a descendant of Palapatine? Good grief. And now the Skywalker name is part of the Palapatine genetic line? Double good grief.

 

[houjix]

Weren't the space horses in the Canto Bight side quest in TLJ? I've blocked most of RoS from my mind. I understand the criticism of TLJ, but it took chances, particularly regarding The Force, that were novel in the film series (perhaps they had existed elsewhere), such as the idea that The Force could "belong" to anybody (e.g. Broom Boy). Everything that made TLJ interesting (also the stuff that made the fanboys hate it) was abandoned. Instead of Rey being an "anybody", which was set up beautifully by TLJ, she was somehow a descendant of Palapatine? Good grief. And now the Skywalker name is part of the Palapatine genetic line? Double good grief.

Canto Bight had some form of horse racing, which made sense since it was a gambling resort. The space horses in RoS was them literally riding horses on the surface of a Star Destroyer during the final battle.

The lore swings Rian Johnson took I didn't have too many issues with. The Force stuff in TLJ was mostly fine, it was most the stuff around it that was poorly executed. The most egregious thing was time.

Setting it in the immediate aftermath of the TFA gave zero time for offscreen (or ancillary material) character growth. And then basically having a running fuel clock put them on a hurried pace making the side quests all that more egregious. There were 3 years in universe time between ANH and ESB and around 6 months between ESB and RotJ, and often days and weeks during the films themselves. Characters changing and evolving made sense and felt more natural. Cramming a season of 24 into two hours just doesn't work on a galactic scale. And it certainly stretches the credulity of this relatively new Force user getting that strong that quickly. That was one of the biggest gripes I and others had.

Tying everything back to Palpatine/Skywalker in RoS was pretty dumb. It's a big damn galaxy. I love the OT heroes, but there's plenty of room for everyone not be directly tied to them.

 

[jcf817]

Canto Bight had some form of horse racing, which made sense since it was a gambling resort. The space horses in RoS was them literally riding horses on the surface of a Star Destroyer during the final battle.

The lore swings Rian Johnson took I didn't have too many issues with. The Force stuff in TLJ was mostly fine, it was most the stuff around it that was poorly executed. The most egregious thing was time.

Setting it in the immediate aftermath of the TFA gave zero time for offscreen (or ancillary material) character growth. And then basically having a running fuel clock put them on a hurried pace making the side quests all that more egregious. There were 3 years in universe time between ANH and ESB and around 6 months between ESB and RotJ, and often days and weeks during the films themselves. Characters changing and evolving made sense and felt more natural. Cramming a season of 24 into two hours just doesn't work on a galactic scale. And it certainly stretches the credulity of this relatively new Force user getting that strong that quickly. That was one of the biggest gripes I and others had.

Tying everything back to Palpatine/Skywalker in RoS was pretty dumb. It's a big damn galaxy. I love the OT heroes, but there's plenty of room for everyone not be directly tied to them.

I absolutely, 100%, did not remember the horses. I had to look it up. They were in the planet's atmosphere, best I can tell, not space, not that it makes it any better.

 

[houjix]

I absolutely, 100%, did not remember the horses. I had to look it up. They were in the planet's atmosphere, best I can tell, not space, not that it makes it any better.

Yes, not actually space horses, but that's how we referred to them.

 

[Gorm]

Unfortunately the sequel trilogy is just another product of the era Hollywood was going through when they were produced.

 

[BryceC]

Unfortunately the sequel trilogy is just another product of the era Hollywood was going through when they were produced.

I like the sequel trilogy a lot. Force Awakens and TLJ I thought were really good. I’ve seen both many times. RoS I’ve seen one time, opening day in the theater and memory holed a lot of it.

 

[harimad]

And that's fine with me, but there is A LOT of toxicity from SW "fans" regarding The Last Jedi that is j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶p̶i̶d̶ completely justified.