Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Reactions: SPOILERS

R

RandySavage

Well-Known Member
Saw it.

My gut reaction is not positive - about the same as the other two in this trilogy. Theatre was 85% full at a 7:30pm showing which seemed light to me. Audience seemed to respond to it pretty well, though. Only time I felt any Feeling was when good guy fleet arrival and that owed a lot to the classic musical cue. These characters or their story never really earned attachment or care (for me).

Some aspects I found particularly puzzling/poorly-thought through:
- Force ghosts interacting with physical world (catching lightsaber, raising x-wing). They did this in TLJ and I thought it was poor there, as well.
- Healing with force. As noted above, this feels like rule-breaking as in the Light Speed Kamikaze of the previous movie, and raises questions about why never used earlier.
- Retrofitted Star Destroyers now have the power to blow up planets?!? No Death Star needed. So dumb.
- Hyperspace skipping (sucking Tie Fighters along for the ride). Another dumb concept that damages the more sophisticated ideas previously established by much smarter earlier films ("Jumpin through hyperspace aint like dustin crops, boy!...")
- Kylo and Rey physically interacting despite being light years away (grabbing the necklace).

If I had to sum up this trilogy it would be - contrary to the originals that were created by a guy and his team who had a germ of an idea and hustled with passion to make movies they actually wanted to make - these feel like movies mandated by a corporation, who hired an 'expert' who had no real passion or germ of an idea, then lavished cash on the project and provided a checklist of marketability targets that needed to be hit (i.e., you've got to bring the main characters back, you have to make it as diverse and gender balanced as possible on all sides (50% of the stormtrooper voices should be female), etc.). This is not the recipe for great movie-making.
 
britain

britain

Well-Known Member
J.J. delivered a so-many-boxes-to-check spectacle with enough plot for 6 hours crammed into almost a third of that time ...unfortunately right when The Mandalorian is recalibrating us to savor a more restrained Star Wars adventure.

I should add, I’m hearing some people say they thought J.J.’s directing is good, but his writing was weak. I disagree. I actually think the opposite is true in this case. I think RoS’s SCRIPT managed to thread a lot of tricky needles left over from all the past films in surprisingly effective ways. But the DIRECTION felt so hyper. Hardly a moment to dwell, breathe and comprehend what’s going on. I’d say ideally the RoS script should have been used as is, but directed by Faverau / Feloni.
 
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Screamface

Screamface

Well-Known Member
InnKpr said:
There was definitely a different plan to wrap up this trilogy. Shortly after TFAs release, there was an interview with Andy Serkis surrounding who Supreme Leader Snoke is and where he came from. While Andy couldn't reveal too much detail, he did mention the character has been through quite a lot, is ancient, and knows of the events of Ep. 4-6. There was no indication that he was just some puppet built by Palpatine.
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According to JJ, he was surprised when RJ decided to kill Snoke. He said he actually laughed when he read it in the script.

I suspect JJ adapted his original plan for the trilogy into TROS. Which involved putting the Emperor in the role that Snoke was meant to play.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Screamface said:
According to JJ, he was surprised when RJ decided to kill Snoke. He said he actually laughed when he read it in the script.

I suspect JJ adapted his original plan for the trilogy into TROS. Which involved putting the Emperor in the role that Snoke was meant to play.
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So basically fire the person who allowed this to happen?

Dear Disney: I can be on a flight to San Fran in two hours if you need me to do it for you??
 
Screamface

Screamface

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
So basically fire the person who allowed this to happen?
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Fans have been asking for this to happen for a while now.

I think it comes down to different writers skill sets and experience. JJ has a lot of TV writing experience. RJ does not. JJ knows how to set up stories with the story to continue. When writing an episode of a TV show, you're picking up a story, telling some of it and handing it off to someone else. There are all sorts of considerations when doing this. With a head writer supervising.

I don't think RJ had the right skill set, he treated the film as his own story. Finished it without being able to, or seemingly trying to set up anything for the next writer. He picked up some story threads he was given. Concluded them, told his story and then concluded it. It acts like a final film, not a middle chapter.

Then his boss let him do it. There was no one safeguarding the story. The guy who was writing the follow-up film left over creative differences. Apparently about the direction TLJ was going. JJ says when he started for 9 they were left with absolutely nothing and a 2 year window to write and release it. Until he figured out TLJ didn't get in the way of what he originally intended too much.

Which is why I assume TROS is an altered version of the original trilogies plan.
 
Tony Perkis

Tony Perkis

Well-Known Member
Screamface said:
JJ has a lot of TV writing experience. RJ does not. JJ knows how to set up stories with the story to continue. When writing an episode of a TV show, you're picking up a story, telling some of it and handing it off to someone else. There are all sorts of considerations when doing this. With a head writer supervising.
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This is a joke, right?

Somebody clearly hasn’t watched Lost.
 
Stripes

Stripes

Premium Member
You know what would be a great Star Wars Disney+ series? A series from the Empire’s perspective, perhaps from those raised under the Empire’s spell but becoming disenchanted. Man, that could be amazing. The movies give us a very impersonal taste of Imperial fighters/workers, but a series could go into much more depth and explore some of the more human side.
 
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

Well-Known Member
RandySavage said:
Saw it.

My gut reaction is not positive - about the same as the other two in this trilogy. Theatre was 85% full at a 7:30pm showing which seemed light to me. Audience seemed to respond to it pretty well, though. Only time I felt any Feeling was when good guy fleet arrival and that owed a lot to the classic musical cue. These characters or their story never really earned attachment or care (for me).

Some aspects I found particularly puzzling/poorly-thought through:
- Force ghosts interacting with physical world (catching lightsaber, raising x-wing). They did this in TLJ and I thought it was poor there, as well.
- Healing with force. As noted above, this feels like rule-breaking as in the Light Speed Kamikaze of the previous movie, and raises questions about why never used earlier.
- Retrofitted Star Destroyers now have the power to blow up planets?!? No Death Star needed. So dumb.
- Hyperspace skipping (sucking Tie Fighters along for the ride). Another dumb concept that damages the more sophisticated ideas previously established by much smarter earlier films ("Jumpin through hyperspace aint like dustin crops, boy!...")
- Kylo and Rey physically interacting despite being light years away (grabbing the necklace).

If I had to sum up this trilogy it would be - contrary to the originals that were created by a guy and his team who had a germ of an idea and hustled with passion to make movies they actually wanted to make - these feel like movies mandated by a corporation, who hired an 'expert' who had no real passion or germ of an idea, then lavished cash on the project and provided a checklist of marketability targets that needed to be hit (i.e., you've got to bring the main characters back, you have to make it as diverse and gender balanced as possible on all sides (50% of the stormtrooper voices should be female), etc.). This is not the recipe for great movie-making.
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Damn well said.
 
LSLS

LSLS

Well-Known Member
I think the one critic seems to have summed it up pretty well for most people. "It's fine." I mean there is a very valid argument as to when "it's fine" became acceptable for star wars, but by and large from the people posting here, that seems to be what most are thinking. It's not the greatest, not super amazing, but it's not awful.

I will say, I know rotten tomatoes changed their audience scoring to combat trolls, but it's interesting to see this audience score compared to TLJ.

Fyi, current box office projections are now solidly under $200 mil opening weekend. Just shocking to me.
 
VaderTron

VaderTron

Well-Known Member
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT said:
Gonna say it: Having a FORCE healing power is the stupdiest deus ex machina ever. I didn't like when I saw it in the last episode of the Mandalorian and I LOVE THAT SHOW and I DON'T LIKE IT HERE! No one in the prequels or OT ever used/had that power. Boy should would have come in handy when QUI-GON was dying with a lightsaber hole through his torso. Bet Anakin would have like to used it when he was on mustafar being BBQ'd. Bet Palpy wished it was around after Mace Windu deflected his force lighting back at him and disfigured his face. Bet Luke wish Yoda would have taught it to him so he could grow a new hand back. If only Yoda and Obi could have used it save Padme in child birth. But Mary Sue and Kylo Stupid can use a power no one has ever had before to stop death. So no one can die now . Rey should bring back Leia since she has this power now. death is no longer a problem in the star wars universe due to this stupid idea. JJ is a hack. He had 'KHAN'S MAGIC BLOOD" IN "INTO DARKNESS" to cure death and here he introduces "force healing" a power not even Yoda or Palpatine had. Funny how Kylo could suddenly use it in this movie but he can't use it when fighting Rey in FORCE AWAKENS after Chewie shot him with the bowcaster.
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This is nothing new. Force Heal and Force Drain have been used by other Jedi and Sith in books and games in the Star Wars Universe for years. The problem with many "SW fans" is they are just movie fans. They don't know much about the expanded universe. Then they get all upset when "new" things happen that are not new at all.
 

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