Star Wars Episode IX

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Saw the teaser trailer some time ago, apparently Lando and Palpatine are back. After failure of The Last Jedi as a movie on the whole (I liked some jokes in it but as a movie on the whole.... not so much)... not sure yet what to expect, it could be the best thing ever, mediocre or complete failure tried to save by having beloved (or love to hate) characters back. I don't mind them being back, in fact, I asked throughout watching The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi: "Where is Lando?" but I hope the movie doesn't rely solely on nostalgia value and tries to instead make a good or at the very least enjoyable film.

[relm1]

I think it will be good and agree with you The Last Jedi was a story telling failure.  JJ Abrams is back and knows this will be the last ride with the original characters and is a sentimentalist, so I expect good things. 

[Mirror Image]

I have retract my previous comments about The Last Jedi. I think it's worse than The Phantom Menace, which is saying A LOT. My interest in Star Wars is based solely off the original 'trilogy' (particularly the theatrical versions). Disney has only produced one film worth a watch and that's Rogue One. I thought this was a very well-done standalone film. Solo I thought was dreadful and just not very interesting with some casting problems. I have little hope that this newest installment is going to be any good as the only new character that I thought had potential was Kylo Ren, but since the story arc for him ended up being disappointing and left me unsatisfied, I have no use for any of the other characters and think they're all underdeveloped and I lack any kind of empathy for them the way I felt for Luke, Solo, and Darth Vader. I'm sorry Lucas, but you made a mistake selling your legacy to a company whose main motive is to make money and not actually produce inspired storytelling. I think Lucas regrets selling it, too.

[Rinaldo]

I loved The Last Jedi and still rank it among the best episodes, right after the originals. Solo was okay-ish at times, so was Rogue One but both failed to engage me in any meaningful way. TLJ, on the other hand, is just so much fun right from the start, and for me, it works brilliantly (except for the boring casino chase scene).

That said, I'm wondering how they're gonna wrap this up. I thoroughly enjoyed Johnson's iconoclasm – the throne room scene in TLJ is one of my favourite in the whole franchise – and would hate to see Abrams & co. backpedalling on that. If they're bringing back the Emperor, here's hoping it's done in a creative way and not just 'oh, it was you all along'.

I'm sorry Lucas, but you made a mistake selling your legacy to a company whose main motive is to make money and not actually produce inspired storytelling.

I heartily disagree. Lucas' empire became a moneymaking behemoth a long, long time before Disney.

[relm1]

I loved The Last Jedi and still rank it among the best episodes, right after the originals. Solo was okay-ish at times, so was Rogue One but both failed to engage me in any meaningful way. TLJ, on the other hand, is just so much fun right from the start, and for me, it works brilliantly (except for the boring casino chase scene).

That said, I'm wondering how they're gonna wrap this up. I thoroughly enjoyed Johnson's iconoclasm – the throne room scene in TLJ is one of my favourite in the whole franchise – and would hate to see Abrams & co. backpedalling on that. If they're bringing back the Emperor, here's hoping it's done in a creative way and not just 'oh, it was you all along'.

I heartily disagree. Lucas' empire became a moneymaking behemoth a long, long time before Disney.

But you can't defend it as a story.  I'll assume your love of that film is based on an emotional reaction.  It's an offensively poor story (coming from a huge Star Wars fan). 

[greg]

The Last Jedi was... okay. But since Star Wars movies are above average, that's not really a favorable assessment from me.

[Mirror Image]

But you can't defend it as a story.  I'll assume your love of that film is based on an emotional reaction.  It's an offensively poor story (coming from a huge Star Wars fan).

+1 One of the most important aspects of the original trilogy was the narrative. This new trilogy doesn't have one.

[greg]

+1 One of the most important aspects of the original trilogy was the narrative. This new trilogy doesn't have one.

Is "stop the bad guy" not enough of a narrative? 

[Rinaldo]

But you can't defend it as a story.

+1 One of the most important aspects of the original trilogy was the narrative. This new trilogy doesn't have one.

Interesting. I find TLJ on par with the originals and thought the themes it explored (the nature of the Force, the concept of a 'chosen one'..) were done very well withing the framework of its story.

I'll assume your love of that film is based on an emotional reaction.

Of course - it's Star Wars, not Bergman.

[Mirror Image]

Interesting. I find TLJ on par with the originals and thought the themes it explored (the nature of the Force, the concept of a 'chosen one'..) were done very well withing the framework of its story.

I think the initial shock of The Last Jedi caused me to give it a thumbs up, but when I attempted to watch it a second-time, I simply couldn't get through it. I can handle The Force Awakens and accept it as a good introduction to this new trilogy even though it does borrow too much from A New Hope. Where The Last Jedi fails, for me, is the set up from The Force Awakens seems to be nothing more than a distant memory. The characters haven't developed at all. All of sudden Rey is a badass Jedi, which is a problem I had with her in The Force Awakens, too (besides the huge 'Death Star'-like planet destroyer, which was stupid). The character of Finn is completely useless and unimaginative. I have yet to figure out why he even matters. Supreme Leader Snoke was a joke as he was killed off way too early after the huge build-up of this character in the first film. Now we know absolutely nothing about the character and who exactly he was (great writing Rian Johnson...NOT!). Captain Phasma had real potential, but was another waste and throwaway character that had no relevance to anything. We find out that Rey's parents were nobodies, which, again, was a missed opportunity to somehow link her to the Jedi. Poe Dameron? Who cares! As I mentioned earlier, Kylo Ren was the only character that I felt was actually interesting and showed some kind of conflict. Anyway, I thought The Last Jedi was a poor attempt at trying to shock audiences, but the end result was a film without a heart and, most of all, a strong narrative.

[Mirror Image]

The trailer for this new film seems to be an attempt for Disney to capitalize on the nostalgia factor. To be quite honest, I think the trailer looks like crap. My only wish is that Disney will actually capitalize on something that would be prudent, which would be releasing HD remasters of the original theatrical releases of Episodes IV - VI. Now that would be an exciting proposition.

[Rinaldo]

Supreme Leader Snoke was a joke as he was killed off way too early after the huge build-up of this character in the first film. Now we know absolutely nothing about the character and who exactly he was (great writing Rian Johnson...NOT!).

What exactly did we know about the Emperor in the originals? Back then, he's a similar unknown as Snoke, just an uber-powerful guy who runs the galaxy. And Snoke's slicing was a bold move IMO - I love how it caught everyone off guard, both the character and the audience.

Captain Phasma had real potential, but was another waste and throwaway character that had no relevance to anything.

Two words: Boba Fett

We find out that Rey's parents were nobodies, which, again, was a missed opportunity to somehow link her to the Jedi.

But that's the point of the whole episode! You don't have to be a 'chosen one' to embrace the Force.

I get that you didn't click with the characters, but I disagree about them 'not developing at all'. Even Finn has an arc now, going from someone who wants to run to someone sacrificing himself for the greater good.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

And Snoke's slicing was a bold move IMO - I love how it caught everyone off guard, both the character and the audience

While your other points are valid enough, on this one I have to comment. The slicing of Snoke was as predictable as it could possibly be. Not to Rey, naturally, but to me, yes. And I doubt I was the only one who saw where that crappy build-up was going. 

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

My main regret is I will never watch this movie and the meaning of "the slicing of Snoke" will forever be a mystery to me. 

[Mirror Image]

What exactly did we know about the Emperor in the originals? Back then, he's a similar unknown as Snoke, just an uber-powerful guy who runs the galaxy. And Snoke's slicing was a bold move IMO - I love how it caught everyone off guard, both the character and the audience.

Two words: Boba Fett

But that's the point of the whole episode! You don't have to be a 'chosen one' to embrace the Force.

I get that you didn't click with the characters, but I disagree about them 'not developing at all'. Even Finn has an arc now, going from someone who wants to run to someone sacrificing himself for the greater good.

Some good points, but I still lack empathy for any of the main characters with the exception of Kylo Ren in this new trilogy. This I don't see changing at all. My point about the development of the main characters mainly Rey and Finn is that the change wasn't organic and seemed unnatural to me. I don't know whether to blame the writer, the actors, or both. Any way you want to shape it, I wasn't impressed and watching these train wrecks reminds of why I love the original trilogy so much: the story, the characters, the action, the drama, etc. Everything was all there in spades. This new trilogy has been one large fragmented mess.

[Mirror Image]

While your other points are valid enough, on this one I have to comment. The slicing of Snoke was as predictable as it could possibly be. Not to Rey, naturally, but to me, yes. And I doubt I was the only one who saw where that crappy build-up was going. 

Predictable, yes and ultimately a shitty thing to do given the massive build-up Snoke had in the previous film. Rian Johnson has single-handedly ruined this new trilogy for me. As I said, I liked The Force Awakens, but now I'm starting to look at it as the only one of this new trilogy that's worth watching again.

[71 dB]

I try to ignore other people as much as possible when it comes to opinions about Star Wars.

Back when the Prequel Trilogy came out I cared about what other people say and I did debate online AGGRESSIVELY so that some people called my activity phenomenal and I got a reputation of a crazy Prequel Trilogy/Lucas defender. I literally couldn't tolerate the fact that people hated Jar Jar. This was emotional and did understand it was most silly and crazy so I started to practice ignoring opinions of other people about Star Wars. I had to do it to have peace of mind and not going insane. I Started to say to myself that it doesn't matter what other people think. The only thing that matters is what I think myself. I like the movies I like and that's it. Opinions of other people do not change that. I had the same issue with Elgar, but as you know I don't care anymore.

Nowadays I kind of hate online discussion of Star Wars. Now in the Disney/Trump era even SJW is included in Star Wars discussion! So many besser-wissers whining cynically about how movie-makers can't evoke certain exact emotions in movie-goers. Only a movie you find good can be important to you. I have seen a lot of movies I don't find good. I move on instead of whining years later.

So, I feel like it's meaningless to talk about what I think about episode IX. What do you do with that information? Maybe I tell what I thought about it when I have seen it. All I say is it wouldn't be a giant loss for me if Disney stopped making Star Wars movies, but I have all of them on Blu-ray. 

[Mirror Image]

I try to ignore other people as much as possible when it comes to opinions about Star Wars.

Back when the Prequel Trilogy came out I cared about what other people say and I did debate online AGGRESSIVELY so that some people called my activity phenomenal and I got a rebutation of a crazy Prequel Trilogy/Lucas defender. I literally couldn't tolerate the fact that people hated Jar Jar. This was emotional and did understand it was most silly and crazy so I started to practice ignoring opinions of other people about Star Wars. I had to do it to have peace of mind and not going insane. I Started to say to myself that it doesn't matter what other people think. The only thing that matters is what I think myself. I like the movies I like and that's it. Opinions of other people do not change that. I had the same issue with Elgar, but as you know I don't care anymore.

Nowadays I kind of hate online discussion of Star Wars. Now in the Disney/Trump era even SJW is included in Star Wars discussion! So many besser-wissers whining cynically about how movie-makers can't evoke certain exact emotions in movie-goers. Only a movie you find good can be important to you. I have seen a lot of movies I don't find good. I move on instead of whining years later.

So, I feel like it's meaningless to talk about what I think about episode IX. What do you do with that information? Maybe I tell what I thought about it when I have seen it. All I say is it wouldn't be a giant loss for me if Disney stopped making Star Wars movies, but I have all of them on Blu-ray. 

Why point out the obvious, 71 dB? If people's opinions don't matter one iota to you, then you wouldn't be here. You find it to be an important thing to spout off your opinion, but then you say something like 'other people's opinions don't matter'. Well, they do indeed matter and we're all entitled to them. It's called discussion because, without it, art won't live and continue to thrive.

[71 dB]

Why point out the obvious, 71 dB? If people's opinions don't matter one iota to you, then you wouldn't be here. You find it to be an important thing to spout off your opinion, but then you say something like 'other people's opinions don't matter'. Well, they do indeed matter and we're all entitled to them. It's called discussion because, without it, art won't live and continue to thrive.

You can ignore my opinion. I don't mind. In fact I think you should. Only care about your own opinion.
I haven't read this thread almost at all. Why bother? Your opinion (about Star Wars) doesn't matter to me and I don't comment on those opinions.

[Mirror Image]

You can ignore my opinion. I don't mind. In fact I think you should. Only care about your own opinion.
I haven't read this thread almost at all. Why bother? Your opinion (about Star Wars) doesn't matter to me and I don't comment on those opinions.

If it doesn't matter to you, then why comment? That's my point. You want to be heard, but you don't want to acknowledge or consider others' opinions? What a load of crap, 71 dB. Why even post on GMG if you don't want to engage in conversation with someone?