Star Wars episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker

[BryceC]

I agree with all of this with the caveat that Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are still 100x more unwatchable than any of the four new movies under Disney. They are just horrible movies with horrible scripts and some of the most poorly written dialogue in any major motion picture. I recently tried to rewatch them to give the "you only hate them because you didn't grow up with them" crowd a chance...well I didn't grow up with the 5 Disney movies/series and I like the worst of them 100x more than those first two movies.

Revenge of the Sith is more akin to The Last Jedi or Solo in that it's flawed but can still be an enjoyable watch. The Force Awakens is a brilliant remake that won't admit it's a remake. The Mandalorian and Rogue One are great.

My kids absolutely are bored by Phantom Menace. They just straight up don't like it.

 

[Sigmapolis]

My kids absolutely are bored by Phantom Menace. They just straight up don't like it.

Your kids are good judges of character.

Even the podracing sequence -- a direct lift from Ben-Hur -- was somehow boring.

I would have never thought a racing/chase sequence in a Star Wars movie would not work somehow, but that one proved me wrong.

Side note --

I went to Ben-Hur for the first time earlier this year.

If there was ever a legendary sequence in film history that stands up to its reputation, then the chariot race sequence in that thing is it.

 

[Triggermv]

I wish Lumpy and Itchy were in The Return of the Jedi.

Please no

 

[Triggermv]

My kids absolutely are bored by Phantom Menace. They just straight up don't like it.

I loved Phantom Menace as a kid, especially the pod race sequence. I think I was at the right age at the right time. The pod-racing made for a great N64 game too, and that was the point in my life where ancillary stuff really played its part somewhat in my theater experience as well.

 

[HFCS]

The prequels are just bad.

Revenge of the Sith actually has a plot and some interesting evolution of the characters and the world, but it should have been split into two movies. Lucas screwed around for two movies and then got to the good stuff in the last film and didn't have the time to really develop it properly. The CGI still looks really bad in Sith, too.

If there was a movie that would never need a remake, it was Ghostbusters, err, A New Hope. The "soft remake" or redoing a previous film but within the same universe of the first film, pretending an incredible amount of plot points, characterizations, and settings would just replay themselves again coincidentally, makes my blood boil. The point of these movies is supposed to be escapism, fantasy, and world-building.

Constantly reminding me that I'm watching a movie by showing me stuff from previous, better movies that I like more is the exact opposite from doing that.

Rogue One was a solid action film. It is easily the fourth-best Star Wars film ever made after the original three. Haven't seen The Mandalorian.



I am a defender of The Return of the Jedi, and you make good points, but I said earlier that it maybe wraps things up "too" nicely. Nobody really sacrifices themselves along the way except for, well, Vader. It is nice that everybody has a happy ending, but at the same time, it lacks a little emotional punch without sacrificing a character.

The most emotional moment in the whole of The Lord of the Rings (the book and the movies) is the death of Boromir. It has nothing like that, unfortunately.

Lando and the falcon not making it out would have been a gut punch.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Please no

Please yes. Almost time for my annual viewing.

Lando and the falcon not making it out would have been a gut punch.

Yeah, it needed a gut punch. That would have been a great one.

Han dying to bring down the shield would have been one, too.

 

[HFCS]

I loved Phantom Menace as a kid, especially the pod race sequence. I think I was at the right age at the right time. The pod-racing made for a great N64 game too, and that was the point in my life where ancillary stuff really played its part somewhat in my theater experience as well.

Had you watched the original movies or was it all brand new?

I was a junior at ISU fwiw and one of those kids and teens that never dropped the obsession through about a 7 year lull where there were virtually no collectibles or content. From about 89 to 94 a kid with a paper route or part time job could afford to collect all Star Wars merch which is hard to imagine now.

 

[Triggermv]

Had you watched the original movies or was it all brand new?

I was a junior at ISU fwiw and one of those kids and teens that never dropped the obsession through about a 7 year lull where there were virtually no collectibles or content. From about 89 to 94 a kid with a paper route or part time job could afford to collect all Star Wars merch which is hard to imagine now.

I was an eighth grader at the time and absolutely adored the original trilogy at that point. I'd say I probably was introduced to the original trilogy around the 3rd grade. By the Phantom Menace, I too owned a ton of merchandise and loved any Star Wars video game that was out there at the time.

 

[Sigmapolis]

You know what the Prequels really needed?

Harrison Ford to be an uncredited screenwriter again.

George: *mumbling* "Okay Harrison, here's the new script for the movie."

Harrison: "George, did you even read this? This is complete ****. There is no ******* way I am reading one line of this hot garbage until you fix it."

George: *as his typical non-confrontational self* "...okay Harrison I'll work on it." *goes out to find a competent screenwriter to clean it up for him*

Not 100% sure it was only Harrison Ford calling Lucas on his BS during the first three movies, but he would definitely be one who would do it.

Nobody seemed to be doing that for Lucas in the 90s.

 

[Triggermv]

You know what the Prequels really needed?

Harrison Ford to be an uncredited screenwriter again.

George: *mumbling* "Okay Harrison, here's the new script for the movie."

Harrison: "George, did you even read this? This is complete ****. There is no ******* way I am reading one line of this hot garbage until you fix it."

George: *as his typical non-confrontational self* "...okay Harrison I'll work on it." *goes out to find a competent screenwriter to clean it up for him*

Not 100% sure it was only Harrison Ford calling Lucas on his BS during the first three movies, but he would definitely be one who would do it.

Nobody seemed to be doing that for Lucas in the 90s.

Dialogue was never George's specialty for sure

 

[Sigmapolis]

Suderman nukes The Rise of Skywalker from orbit...

https://reason.com/2019/12/19/the-r...or-j-j-abrams-to-be-impeached-from-star-wars/

"You may fire when ready."

 

[Triggermv]

The following is Kristian Harloff's review from "Rise of Skywalker" who is probably the #1 guy I trust for reviews of all things Star Wars related. To me, he tends to have the best non-biased pulse on the Star Wars audience as well.

 

[VeloClone]

You know what the Prequels really needed?

Harrison Ford to be an uncredited screenwriter again.

George: *mumbling* "Okay Harrison, here's the new script for the movie."

Harrison: "George, did you even read this? This is complete ****. There is no ******* way I am reading one line of this hot garbage until you fix it."

George: *as his typical non-confrontational self* "...okay Harrison I'll work on it." *goes out to find a competent screenwriter to clean it up for him*

Not 100% sure it was only Harrison Ford calling Lucas on his BS during the first three movies, but he would definitely be one who would do it.

Nobody seemed to be doing that for Lucas in the 90s.

Alec Guinness was not a fan of the dialogue and he pushed for a lot of changes.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Alec Guinness was not a fan of the dialogue and he pushed for a lot of changes.

Some of the lines he made a luminary like Natalie Portman read... shudders.

 

[NorthCyd]

 

[tman24]

I am going at 6:30. This day is taking forever, plus trying to stay off social media.

 

[Fitzy]

 

[Triggermv]

Is it 7 pm yet???

 

[tman24]

 

[weR138]

I agree with everything here accept for the take on Jedi. It's much closer to the original two films than people give it credit for.

There have always been obsessed nerds. For a long stretch those obsessed nerds had to pick at something Star Wars so they picked the Ewoks. If you take out the Ewoks RotJ is maybe the darkest movie given how terrifying the Emperor was upon first viewing and also the Jabba's palace stuff was pretty dark but in a fun way. Yoda passing away and Obi Wan's ghost squaring things away with Luke wasn't exactly light and cheerful either.

Yeah, I think I came off kinda harsh. I love Jedi and in the context of the nine Skywalker films you're right, it is closer to the original than I give it credit for.