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

[DisneyFanaticUK]

I watched it last night after a long day of work, I'm going to watch it again with my brother and dad tomorrow and hopefully I'll be in a better postion to provide a clear assessment, but here is a quick scribble of thoughts:

I didn't absolutely hate TROS, but the good parts of the movie were great and the bad parts of the movie were a bit insulting both as a life-long Star Wars fan and as a normal movie-going consumer.

Its a shame that Lucasfilm have scared off real acting talent like John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Issacs, because I was really invested in their characters this time around. Killing off Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was a mind-boggling move, I don't care if Adam Driver wants nothing to do with Star Wars, the smart thing to do was to put the character on the "narrative bus" and have him enter into exile elsewhere away from the other characters/ main plot going forward. Then in 5-10 or 15 years you could have a freshly re-cast, older Ben Solo come back into the story and continue the Skywalker legacy.

I have mixed feelings about the "Rey Skywalker" reveal, on one hand, I appreciate the fact that the character has finally found an identity, but the whole "choosing one's family" thing is stupid considering;
i) At its heart, Star Wars is a family drama,
ii) Since 1977, Star Wars has been solely centered on the biological Skywalker bloodline,
iii) Everything we've been told about the force leads us to believe that one's ability to fully master it/ be very powerful depends on genetics
iv) Everything we've seen in the movie/ comics/ books/ video games in both new canon and legends proves that who your parents are actually really matters in the Star Wars galaxy.

The inherent narrative inconsistencies drive me nuts, to be honest

Another thing I can't wrap my head around is that Palpatine directly told Rey that if she killed him, he would possess her body/ become part of her. Are we to believe in the aftermath of her victory that in the next trilogy Rey will turn to the dark side?

Finally, what is is clear, is that The Last Jedi (or perhaps the Sequel Trilogy as a whole) really was a disaster both at the time, and in hind-sight. Star Wars is a multi-media franchise and it is my favorite form of escapism. In fact, its more than that, its a geniune cultural icon but the extent that Disney/Lucasfilm have mishandled it in all aspects from movies, games and books worries me. What if this movie performs poorly at the Box Office? What's the implication of this? Do they put the movie franchise on ice? What does that mean for Galaxy's Edge?

I think Disney need to do a bit of soul searching now, the next movies aren't due out until 2023, but they really need to hit it out of the park now before Star Wars begins to fade anyway into cultural irrelevance.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Finally, what is is clear, is that The Last Jedi (or perhaps the Sequel Trilogy as a whole) really was a disaster both at the time, and in hind-sight. Star Wars is a multi-media franchise and it is my favorite form of escapism. In fact, its more than that, its a geniune cultural icon but the extent that Disney/Lucasfilm have mishandled it in all aspects from movies, games and books worries me. What if this movie performs poorly at the Box Office? What's the implication of this? Do they put the movie franchise on ice? What does that mean for Galaxy's Edge?

I think Disney need to do a bit of soul searching now, the next movies aren't due out until 2023, but they really need to hit it out of the park now before Star Wars begins to fade anyway into cultural irrelevance.

This...better than I could ever do...captures the essence of why Star Wars has become so divisive/such a chore for the old fans.

We can’t just enjoy the damn thing...because it hasn’t been good enough. Or really close.

Complete misread of the appeal, patronizing a very astute fanbase, and creative decisions based solely on marketing that can’t be justified has really bogged it down.

 

[Nordic4tKnight]

Finally, what is is clear, is that The Last Jedi (or perhaps the Sequel Trilogy as a whole) really was a disaster both at the time, and in hind-sight. Star Wars is a multi-media franchise and it is my favorite form of escapism. In fact, its more than that, its a geniune cultural icon but the extent that Disney/Lucasfilm have mishandled it in all aspects from movies, games and books worries me. What if this movie performs poorly at the Box Office? What's the implication of this? Do they put the movie franchise on ice? What does that mean for Galaxy's Edge?

I think Disney need to do a bit of soul searching now, the next movies aren't due out until 2023, but they really need to hit it out of the park now before Star Wars begins to fade anyway into cultural irrelevance.

Honestly Marvel has passed Star Wars in terms of cultural reverence. Luckily Disney also owns Marvel.

 

[MisterPenguin]

So the hateful pro-all things Disney faction is gonna start the pseudo-patronizing “gee...it only made a billion...sorry, 5 angry fan boys”

Wow. A hater calling his critics "haters."

Now, where have we seen the tactic of calling your opponents the very thing you are guilty of?

Unbelievable.

 

[danlb_2000]

I really enjoyed the movie, was it perfect, no, but I think they made the best movie they could considering what they were left to work with after The Last Jedi. I was very concerned that they would go over board with the fan service to over compensate and was happy that they didn't, I would have even been ok with a little more. I like what they did with the main characters, I think this movie showed the strongest performances for Kylo, Finn and Poe.

 

[Mike S]

I watched it last night after a long day of work, I'm going to watch it again with my brother and dad tomorrow and hopefully I'll be in a better postion to provide a clear assessment, but here is a quick scribble of thoughts:

I didn't absolutely hate TROS, but the good parts of the movie were great and the bad parts of the movie were a bit insulting both as a life-long Star Wars fan and as a normal movie-going consumer.

Its a shame that Lucasfilm have scared off real acting talent like John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Issacs, because I was really invested in their characters this time around. Killing off Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was a mind-boggling move, I don't care if Adam Driver wants nothing to do with Star Wars, the smart thing to do was to put the character on the "narrative bus" and have him enter into exile elsewhere away from the other characters/ main plot going forward. Then in 5-10 or 15 years you could have a freshly re-cast, older Ben Solo come back into the story and continue the Skywalker legacy.

I have mixed feelings about the "Rey Skywalker" reveal, on one hand, I appreciate the fact that the character has finally found an identity, but the whole "choosing one's family" thing is stupid considering;
i) At its heart, Star Wars is a family drama,
ii) Since 1977, Star Wars has been solely centered on the biological Skywalker bloodline,
iii) Everything we've been told about the force leads us to believe that one's ability to fully master it/ be very powerful depends on genetics
iv) Everything we've seen in the movie/ comics/ books/ video games in both new canon and legends proves that who your parents are actually really matters in the Star Wars galaxy.

The inherent narrative inconsistencies drive me nuts, to be honest

Another thing I can't wrap my head around is that Palpatine directly told Rey that if she killed him, he would possess her body/ become part of her. Are we to believe in the aftermath of her victory that in the next trilogy Rey will turn to the dark side?

Finally, what is is clear, is that The Last Jedi (or perhaps the Sequel Trilogy as a whole) really was a disaster both at the time, and in hind-sight. Star Wars is a multi-media franchise and it is my favorite form of escapism. In fact, its more than that, its a geniune cultural icon but the extent that Disney/Lucasfilm have mishandled it in all aspects from movies, games and books worries me. What if this movie performs poorly at the Box Office? What's the implication of this? Do they put the movie franchise on ice? What does that mean for Galaxy's Edge?

I think Disney need to do a bit of soul searching now, the next movies aren't due out until 2023, but they really need to hit it out of the park now before Star Wars begins to fade anyway into cultural irrelevance.

For Galaxy’s Edge it could mean the rumored Original Trilogy overlay for Rise of the Resistance from marni, a well known and trusted insider here. Really hope that one comes true even though the ride is still great.

I really enjoyed the movie, was it perfect, no, but I think they made the best movie they could considering what they were left to work with after The Last Jedi. I was very concerned that they would go over board with the fan service to over compensate and was happy that they didn't, I would have even been ok with a little more. I like what they did with the main characters, I think this movie showed the strongest performances for Kylo, Finn and Poe.

The fan service did seem pretty heavy handed to me but maybe that’s because I was specifically looking out for it. For Kylo, Finn, and Poe it’s too little too late for me. Our main heroes should’ve been all together from the beginning in TFA. They shouldn’t have waited for the last movie. Kylo also needed to be a more intimidating villain for his final turn back to the light to have more meaning.

 

[DisneyFanaticUK]

Honestly Marvel has passed Star Wars in terms of cultural reverence. Luckily Disney also owns Marvel.

The MCU is more relevant than the Sequel Trilogy, that much is clear at this point. But that in of itself is a damning indictment of Lucasfilm, they had the world at their feet in 2012 when they announced the new movies, they had almost unlimited fan hype and almost unlimited money... and they squandered it.

I know that human incompetence knows no bounds, but Lucasfilm really takes the cake with this one. Instead of creating a worthy successor to the OT and PT they created... two "good" (TFA and TROS- with a number of qualifications) and an absolute dumpster fire of a movie. Although, on balance, I can recognize that TLJ was at least a visually nice dumpster fire.

This isn't a middling franchise like Alien, Terminator or Battlestar Galactica we are talking about here, its Star Wars, they should've done better with what they had.

I trust that Disney will crack down on Lucasfilm, they have to.

This...better than I could ever do...captures the essence of why Star Wars has become so divisive/such a chore for the old fans.

We can’t just enjoy the damn thing...because it hasn’t been good enough. Or really close.

Complete misread of the appeal, patronizing a very astute fanbase, and creative decisions based solely on marketing that can’t be justified has really bogged it down.

I'm not even an "old fan", I'm in my mid 20's and I grew up with the prequels (which I actually quite like, to be honest). I was extremely hyped for this trilogy, but its been disappointing to say the least.

I would classify myself as a "casual-hardcore" fan, you wont find me editing Wookiepedia articles at 3am or buying every single new bit of merchandise that comes out, but I'm exactly in that sort of demographic that Lucasfilm need to maintain- I've spent a fair amount of my own disposable income on Star Wars. All I want is a couple of movies set in space, with lightsabers, the force and cool spaceships, that shouldn't be hard to do.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Wow. A hater calling his critics "haters."

Now, where have we seen the tactic of calling your opponents the very thing you are guilty of?

Unbelievable.

So that’s where you were going, huh?

Mouse to the cheese - no pun intended.


Or...here’s a thought...you could not do it?
Crazy concept.

I’ll remind you about our little fireside chats about the last Johnson? Where you and Kaze amongst others compare it to empire and pointed to a box office chart as a “success”...ignoring the deeper analytics of how it dropped 37% in take and flatlined at the box office in 3 weeks?

What happened? Honestly...let’s just call what’s happened for what’s happened?

Hater doesn’t describe what I am. Which is a huge Star Wars fan that has wanted them to make good Star Wars. That’s all...not tough.
But it hasn’t happened...I won’t do the laughable “at least they made something...”faux credit.

I’ll say the same thing I do about wdw: DO BETTER.

And I’ll be here with the cash.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm not even an "old fan", I'm in my mid 20's and I grew up with the prequels (which I actually quite like, to be honest). I was extremely hyped for this trilogy, but its been disappointing to say the least.

I would classify myself as a "casual-hardcore" fan, you wont find me editing Wookiepedia articles at 3am or buying every single new bit of merchandise that comes out, but I'm exactly in that sort of demographic that Lucasfilm need to maintain- I've spent a fair amount of my own disposable income on Star Wars. All I want is a couple of movies set in space, with lightsabers, the force and cool spaceships, that shouldn't be hard to do.

Based on your comments...your more of a hardcore Star Wars fan than you realize

You know...I can’t agree with you more and I asked the question the other day:
Are the prequels better than the sequels?

I mean...the cgi and atrocious writing/directing are of course incomprehensible...and sealed its fate long ago...

But to your comments above...I think the answer is an emphatic “yes” to my question.

At least the prequels attempted to be a “Star Wars” on scale.

The sequel trilogy was pathetically small in scale...they had nothing “grand”
About it.

Apparently until JJ went comic book and had all hell break loose yesterday without reason or coherency...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I really enjoyed the movie, was it perfect, no, but I think they made the best movie they could considering what they were left to work with after The Last Jedi. I was very concerned that they would go over board with the fan service to over compensate and was happy that they didn't, I would have even been ok with a little more. I like what they did with the main characters, I think this movie showed the strongest performances for Kylo, Finn and Poe.

So you thought it the best bandaid possible after Kennedy’s Boy lit the dumpster on fire? More or less

 

[Mike S]

Something I didn’t touch on yet:

Vader’s sacrifice means absolutely nothing now. There isn’t even an explanation for how or why Palpatine is still alive. Also when you look back, there shouldn’t be any wreckage of the second Death Star like what’s seen in the movie. The thing was at least 90% vaporized.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Something I didn’t touch on yet:

Vader’s sacrifice means absolutely nothing now. There isn’t even an explanation for how or why Palpatine is still alive. Also when you look back, there shouldn’t be any wreckage of the second Death Star like what’s seen in the movie. The thing was at least 90% vaporized.

That’s already kicked around in the angerdom and it’s the kinda thing that’s never going away...

Basically...they invalidated the entire first 6 movies by making his arc pointless. He didn’t save his son...he didn’t defeat evil...nothing.

And most importantly: didn’t bring balance to the force.

And here’s a question: where did the helmet come from in episode 7? Did we get anything explaining who was poking around on Endor and didn’t realize what’s up?

Was chief chirpa drunk off forest berry wine again?

 

[Mike S]

That’s already kicked around in the angerdom and it’s the kinda thing that’s never going away...

Basically...they invalidated the entire first 6 movies by making his arc pointless. He didn’t save his son...he didn’t defeat evil...nothing.

And here’s a question: where did the helmet come from in episode 7? Did we get anything explaining who was poking around on Endor and didn’t realize what’s up?

Was chief chirpa drunk off forest berry wine again?

Heck, we still don’t know how Maz got Anakin’s Lightsaber from Bespin! Or why she’s important at all as anything other than a plot device.

 

[flynnibus]

Something I didn’t touch on yet:

Vader’s sacrifice means absolutely nothing now. There isn’t even an explanation for how or why Palpatine is still alive. Also when you look back, there shouldn’t be any wreckage of the second Death Star like what’s seen in the movie. The thing was at least 90% vaporized.

Go look at the space shuttle explosion and then go read about how much they found of the vehicle.

 

[Mike S]

Go look at the space shuttle explosion and then go read about how much they found of the vehicle.

Don’t need to as here’s the first Death Star as well.

Nothing was left.

Oh and don’t even get me started on the oh so convenient Sith Dagger perfectly designed to match the wreckage. Imagine if in all those years it just shifted ever so slightly in that raging ocean

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Go look at the space shuttle explosion and then go read about how much they found of the vehicle.

Wait...you’re not actually going here, huh?

The challenger?
The orbiter was blown clear of the LFT...it was just three miles up from the ground cameras...


Wait...what am I doing?...nevermind

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I’m not trying to convert anyone dude. This is a review thread is it not? Does there need to be a safe space version for those who can’t handle the criticism? It’s called a discussion. I’m not trying to bad mouth anyone that liked it.

Discussion is great. There's good and bad in any movie. The comment from Timmay that resonates is the "Over and over and over" part.

There's at least one person who appears to spend every waking minute of his life complaining about Star Wars in these threads again and again and again. It really crosses from even "get a life" territory to an unhealthy compulsiveness.

 

[flynnibus]

Things i cant get my head around...

- why cant they figure out how to do nods to older stuff without being so cheezy? “I got a bad feeling...” has been ruined by this triology
- how does 20 something rey... has mid twenties something parents.. from a dude who was already like 65 when leia is like 50... and is the daughter of someone who was like 8 when palpatine was like 65. Id love to see the “hard numbers” on this...
- scale loses all its value when you over do it (see fleet sizes)
- first half of the movie is “hey we just got here... “ 5 second later “ok, we now have to go here..” repeat
- how does leia know about the spawn of the emperor but no one else does? Luke and lando chase down the killer but nothing is tied to rey... but they know about her? All pretty convoluted
- yet another planet killer? Yawnnnnnn
- life force... just a cheezy trapdoor for writing if they keep using it so much
- why does leia suddenly die? Was she sick in the prior scene?


I call it a star wars smorgasbord. Will take a lot of time to digest. I do like the high level line they took in the end... and palepetine... but for fs... the number of “come on...” moments you cant even count anymore.

 

[jt04]

Maybe we will get a 4 hour "director's cut" on Disney+ that addresses pacing, plot holes, character development. Thinking one possibility is JJ was forced to leave an hour or so in the editing room.

Possible?

 

[flynnibus]

Don’t need to as here’s the first Death Star as well.

Nothing was left.

Look... we know it was special effects of the time... but my point is the same. Dont look at big explosion to mean vaporized... even in reality (let along space fantasy) thats not how it goes.