Star Wars Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker, available on home video

[peter]

6 hours ago, JB0 said:

Well, we can't flamebait over Mac7 anymore, and we gotta let our rage out SOMEWHERE!

WTF, we can't make fun of M7 anymore?  When did this happen?

 

[Dynaman]

13 minutes ago, peter said:

WTF, we can't make fun of M7 anymore?  When did this happen?

 

We really shouldn't beat M7 to death - the anime itself did that so thoroughly...

[CoryHolmes]

So I have to be positive, eh?

 

Well the best thing I have to say about Rise of Skywalker, and the sequels in general, is that it really makes me appreciate what Lucas did with the prequels all the more.  While the finished product wasn't very polished, at least the prequels had a solid story arc, original ideas, and the benefits of a strong vision coming from one person.

 

The sequels are just a jumbled mess of conflicting ideas and tastes.  

[sh9000]

I still love this.

[mikeszekely]

36 minutes ago, CoryHolmes said:

So I have to be positive, eh?

 

Well the best thing I have to say about Rise of Skywalker, and the sequels in general, is that it really makes me appreciate what Lucas did with the prequels all the more.  While the finished product wasn't very polished, at least the prequels had a solid story arc, original ideas, and the benefits of a strong vision coming from one person.

 

The sequels are just a jumbled mess of conflicting ideas and tastes.  

A friend of mine and I had this discussion.  The prequels weren't great, but they did expand the Star Wars universe.  Lucas was great at world-building.  And no matter how bad they were, since they came from the guy who created Star Wars in the first place they were authentic.

Abrams' films are extremely unoriginal and come across as basically fan fiction, and Johnson's film seemed to come across as a statement that Star Wars needed to move in new directions without actually offering any.  And as a trilogy they more or less told the exact same story as the original trilogy.

[pengbuzz]

I think at this point, it's going to be up to all of us to "move" the Star Wars world, whatever version, trilogy or universe we prefer, in the directions we want in our minds, hearts, "personal canon" and stories we tell. To each their own, and while I dislike the prequel and sequel trilogies, that doesn't mean others cannot like them.

On that note: my friends and I years ago had a Star Wars RPG campaign going (West End Games' D6 system), and we created characters for that that pulled from the EU as well as the prequel and original stuff. Now that our GM ("Game Master" for those who don't speak RPG) is getting back into it, he likes stuff from all the versions and is planning on incorporating the best from them into his own storylines. We devised our own characters for it, and well, for us, "canon" is pretty much what we agree it to be.

It also led me to build my own lightsaber hilt out of actual metal (whenever I get back on my feet, I plan a light-up set of blades as well):

[Dynaman]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

And no matter how bad they were, since they came from the guy who created Star Wars in the first place they were authentic.

 

My how times have changed.  Lucas was (rightly!) accused of ripping off everyone and every genre under the sun in making his Star Wars films.  

[anime52k8]

2 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

So I have to be positive, eh?

you don't have to be anything. It would be nice if you didn't have to constantly trash things other people enjoy until they feel like crap for ever having dared to like it. but who am I to talk, I'm just an idiot who likes garbage, right?

[CoryHolmes]

56 minutes ago, anime52k8 said:

you don't have to be anything. It would be nice if you didn't have to constantly trash things other people enjoy until they feel like crap for ever having dared to like it. but who am I to talk, I'm just an idiot who likes garbage, right?

An idiot?  Naw, you're not an idiot.  Questionable taste in films and media, perhaps, but not an idiot.  But then again, I like Robotech so who am I to judge things like that?  

 

I think deep down, my attitude towards the sequels is one of extreme disappointment.  They could have been so good, with a new slate of characters and new settings and new ideas... and what I saw was one piece of horrible fanfic after another.

2 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

We devised our own characters for it, and well, for us, "canon" is pretty much what we agree it to be.

I'm exactly the same way!  I think that's part of the reason I like Robotech so much, is that my brother and our friends spent so many weekends playing the RPG and making up our own plots.  The cartoon itself is best left in memory 

[Mog]

3 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I think at this point, it's going to be up to all of us to "move" the Star Wars world, whatever version, trilogy or universe we prefer, in the directions we want in our minds, hearts, "personal canon" and stories we tell. To each their own, and while I dislike the prequel and sequel trilogies, that doesn't mean others cannot like them.

This!  

There’s still a lot of other Star Wars stuff out there to enjoy, both past releases and future projects.

[Thom]

Despite the fact that they messed up royally by not have a cohesive story arc overseen by a dedicated individual or two, the sequels were still fun with some great characters. After TLJ I think it's almost a miracle that JJ managed to make a final entry that was actually fulfilling and a nice send-off. In fact, it's end actually felt like more of a new beginning for me. ANH began with Luke looking at the twin suns over Tattoine and TRoS ended with Rey also looking off into the future. I would like to see another series of movies following her character, though perhaps not in JJ's hands...

[Lolicon]

Just saw it. It was as stupid as The Last Jedi, just in different ways.

The high audience score on Rotten Tomatoes only validates to me what one reviewer said years ago: Star Wars fans want to keep seeing the same thing, just reconfigured differently.

Which describes The Rise of Skywalker perfectly.

[sh9000]

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

The high audience score on Rotten Tomatoes only validates to me what one reviewer said years ago: Star Wars fans want to keep seeing the same thing, just reconfigured differently.

Isn't that the basis for another sci-fi franchise: TransFormers?

[azrael]

4 hours ago, anime52k8 said:

I'm just an idiot who likes garbage,

Preserving this for posterity.

11 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

Isn't that the basis for another sci-fi franchise: TransFormers?

Or the Terminator-franchise.

[505thAirborne]

Anyone else watch this? Not to scruffy for a Fan Film. 

[CoryHolmes]

So what's the Star Wars Story film coming out next year?  I haven't heard of anything.

[mikeszekely]

4 minutes ago, CoryHolmes said:

So what's the Star Wars Story film coming out next year?  I haven't heard of anything.

Seems that between the backlash surrounding The Last Jedi and Solo turning into a bit of a flop Disney's plans for the next theatrical Star Wars film are in flux.  A ton of stuff has been announced for Disney+, including a second season of The Mandalorian, 12 more episodes of The Clone Wars, a live-action show about Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor, and a live-action show about Casian Andor and K-2S0 set before Rogue One (with Alan Tudyk returning as the voice of K-2S0.  But, AFAIK, the only thing we know about the next Star Wars film to hit theaters is that Disney set a date: December 16th, 2022, and that it'll probably be the first part of a new trilogy since Disney's also booked December 20th, 2024, and December 18th 2026.

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, 505thAirborne said:

Anyone else watch this? Not to scruffy for a Fan Film. 

REALLY well done; Disney could take some pointers from this production.

[jenius]

Just saw TRoS and I thought it was the best installment of the new three which I guess is damning with faint praise. Yes, some of it was clunky, some stuff was ham-fisted, some stuff was straight up dumb, but it was entertaining. It's hard for me to make a list because, as a kid, I loved RotJ but it's pretty awful as an adult. So I'd probably rank it above TRoS but it honestly should be similar or worse. TPM is the low point for me, even lower than TLJ, and when one stops to ponder how awesome TPM should have been, and the squandered opportunity it represents, it is just sad. I would probably put TLJ on par with AotC and RotS for a tie of movies I really don't want to watch again. 

[kajnrig]

Last night while discussing the movie, my brother said that he ranks TPM as the worst in the franchise because it has Jar Jar Binks in it. And I've noticed that lots of people rank RotJ among the lower rung of movies citing the presence of Ewoks. And that got me wondering... Why?

They're certainly not the worst aspects of their respective movies. They're a bit silly, a bit cartoonish, but it's not as if excising them would suddenly "save" their respective movies. Are Star Wars fans just allergic to childhood or something? I know that's a bit reductive, but still...

Anyway, saw the movie. It was exactly what I expected it to be, which is to say that everything that happened was expected. This film did not even try to surprise me in any way, which is... fine... I suppose. It's a film that exists, that leaves you feeling as little afterwards as you felt before.

People have already noted that this is basically two films rolled into one. While I am so glad for TLJ existing, I will say that this trilogy would have at least been internally tonally consistent (if completely uninteresting) if it had followed a single JJ Abrams "creative" vision. But I also would have preferred if this last film were directed by a third person entirely (I think it was Colin Treverrow?) to what we ultimately got here.

(Also boy it was Return of the Jedi as hell, isn't it. How VERY Return of the Jedi it was.)

[kalvasflam]

Disney needs to just tie everything together.   The series has to be watched with the movies or nothing will make sense, then the rides have to have periodic content changes to give extra color to the movies.  That way, people are sucked into an ecosystem.  Then make sure people never want to leave the walled gardens, kind of like Apple.

[jenius]

2 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Last night while discussing the movie, my brother said that he ranks TPM as the worst in the franchise because it has Jar Jar Binks in it. And I've noticed that lots of people rank RotJ among the lower rung of movies citing the presence of Ewoks. And that got me wondering... Why?

They're certainly not the worst aspects of their respective movies. They're a bit silly, a bit cartoonish, but it's not as if excising them would suddenly "save" their respective movies. Are Star Wars fans just allergic to childhood or something? I know that's a bit reductive, but still...

Anyway, saw the movie. It was exactly what I expected it to be, which is to say that everything that happened was expected. This film did not even try to surprise me in any way, which is... fine... I suppose. It's a film that exists, that leaves you feeling as little afterwards as you felt before.

People have already noted that this is basically two films rolled into one. While I am so glad for TLJ existing, I will say that this trilogy would have at least been internally tonally consistent (if completely uninteresting) if it had followed a single JJ Abrams "creative" vision. But I also would have preferred if this last film were directed by a third person entirely (I think it was Colin Treverrow?) to what we ultimately got here.

(Also boy it was Return of the Jedi as hell, isn't it. How VERY Return of the Jedi it was.)

TPM is awful start to finish. No explanation for what makes Naboo valuable, super speed Jedi, incompetent villains, unlikable characters, awful acting, everything having to do with Anakin is cringeworthy, like it does almost nothing right. If it weren't star wars it would have been laughed out of theaters.

RotJ is much better than that but it still has a non sensical first act and a final act that over relies on shih tzus. Still, fond memories of it.

[renegadeleader1]

7 minutes ago, jenius said:

No explanation for what makes Naboo valuable,

This was actually explained in the opening crawl.

[jenius]

14 minutes ago, renegadeleader1 said:

This was actually explained in the opening crawl.

Oh great, what did you get from that crawl? Naboo is important because... It is being taxed?

[mcfly50]

TPM was awesome. I needed a solid 3 more hours of Galactic Senate CSPAN.

Come to think of it, I would probably watch that if it did exist. 

[Bolt]

3 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Last night while discussing the movie, my brother said that he ranks TPM as the worst in the franchise because it has Jar Jar Binks in it. And I've noticed that lots of people rank RotJ among the lower rung of movies citing the presence of Ewoks. And that got me wondering... Why?

Because it wasn't a gritty war drama with Destroids

My first lightsaber build circa 2011 . Running an Igniter driver with an RGBW LED. 9  separate saber types (9 separate main blade colors) with each one having about 10 sound fonts per saber type. Each saber has programmed flash on clash colors separate from the main blade color,etc. i had endless fun designing and building and color programming.

 

[renegadeleader1]

18 minutes ago, jenius said:

Oh great, what did you get from that crawl? Naboo is important because... It is being taxed?

No.

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. 
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

 It's pretty simple they were blockading Naboo to make an example and force an end to the tax dispute in their favor. That's all you really need to know to set the table for the film.

[pengbuzz]

6 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Because it wasn't a gritty war drama with Destroids

My first lightsaber build circa 2011 . Running an Igniter driver with an RGBW LED. 9  separate saber types (9 separate main blade colors) with each one having about 10 sound fonts per saber type. Each saber has programmed flash on clash colors separate from the main blade color,etc. i had endless fun designing and building and color programming.

 

Nice build!

[jenius]

31 minutes ago, renegadeleader1 said:

No.

 

 

 It's pretty simple they were blockading Naboo to make an example and force an end to the tax dispute in their favor. That's all you really need to know to set the table for the film.

For all the negativity in this thread, saying "the scrawl says it's important so just go with it" seems curious. We see no negative repercussions from the blockade. It's a planetary macguffin. 

[azrael]

5 minutes ago, jenius said:

For all the negativity in this thread, saying "the scrawl says it's important so just go with it" seems curious. We see no negative repercussions from the blockade. It's a planetary macguffin. 

Hence the Senate scene and the whole We-need-to-capture-the-Queen-plot. The Trade Federation blocked all comms from Naboo so the Senate had no idea what was happening. If the Trade Federation got the Naboo to sign a pact, it would make The Federation's blockade legit (and make it appear Naboo was agreeing with the blockade). The Senate only saw it as a blockade, not an invasion. The Federation then wanted it tied up in committee and the courts just to cock-block the Senate.

[kalvasflam]

55 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Because it wasn't a gritty war drama with Destroids

My first lightsaber build circa 2011 . Running an Igniter driver with an RGBW LED. 9  separate saber types (9 separate main blade colors) with each one having about 10 sound fonts per saber type. Each saber has programmed flash on clash colors separate from the main blade color,etc. i had endless fun designing and building and color programming.

 

Rey would be really happy to see you so devoted to assembling things that made her...  happy.

[jenius]

7 minutes ago, azrael said:

Hence the Senate scene and the whole We-need-to-capture-the-Queen-plot. The Trade Federation blocked all comms from Naboo so the Senate had no idea what was happening. If the Trade Federation got the Naboo to sign a pact, it would make The Federation's blockade legit (and make it appear Naboo was agreeing with the blockade). The Senate only saw it as a blockade, not an invasion. The Federation then wanted it tied up in committee and the courts just to cock-block the Senate.

But why Naboo? Resources? Why not any other planet? They don't even bother establishing any significance. The blockade doesn't seem to have any negative impact. The audience is told 'just go with it' and that's... Ya know... Fine... Not great writing though.

[Bolt]

8 minutes ago, kalvasflam said:

Rey would be really happy to see you so devoted to assembling things that made her...  happy.

I find  her saber to be a bit unsightly and crude. It has a more KOTOR look. And so, looks out of place.Obviously she used parts from her staff..

Leia's lightsaber, on the other hand, is beautiful..

[Bolt]

3 minutes ago, jenius said:

But why Naboo? Resources? Why not any other planet? They don't even bother establishing any significance. The blockade doesn't seem to have any negative impact. The audience is told 'just go with it' and that's... Ya know... Fine... Not great writing though.

My take on that was Palpatine's Connection. He was the representative of Naboo and had the most advantageous position to pull strings on that planet for his ultimate end game..