Star Wars Episode IX

[Tiplodocus]

I saw it front row of IMAX while in the middle of a stinking cold so am really looking forward to a rewatch where I can see the whole screen.

Tiny Tips other observation was that it felt like two films squeezed into one. Maybe FORCE AWAKENS  and this were the trilogy JJ had in his head and he just went with his original ideas in half the running time.  I can imagine the actual opening scenes with  [spoiler]Palpatine[/spoiler] might have been a good cliffhanger.

I did cringe at this trilogy version of "From a certain point of view..."

I'd have added [spoiler]a spaceship full of Porg to the final battle though.[/spoiler] Tell me that wouldn't have got it an extra star in most reviews.

[TordelBack]

Yeah, not enough [spoiler]porgs[/spoiler] was an issue: I'd assumed [spoiler]the Falcon would still be infested[/spoiler]. I was also hoping for some reference to/re-connection with L3.

All the Threepio stuff was surprisingly great, though, and I like D-O and Babu Frik a lot.

[shaolin_monkey]

Also, this popped up, which helps make sense of The Rise of Skywalker script and plot decisions:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b2zZFtq13c4

[TordelBack]

Also, this popped up, which helps make sense of The Rise of Skywalker script and plot decisions:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b2zZFtq13c4

Well that was fecking moronic. Not only vapid and irritatingly presented, but factually incorrect and ignoring some key points (in particular things in TFA that do now line up with elements in RoS). And after 2 years of listening to the same smug gobdaws wishing TLJ was erased from history, I'm not going to start listening to them whining about elements from TLJ being dropped.

[shaolin_monkey]

I'm flummoxed that people think it is in any way a cohesive, well written, and enjoyable film. It's a mess!

Even my partner on leaving the screening commented "who the fuck gave amphetamines to the chimps who wrote that dogshit?" which summed up perfectly the turmoil going on in my head.

I quite liked Force Awakens. I very much enjoyed The Last Jedi, particularly Luke's story arc. Rogue One was just brilliant, and Solo was a cracking sci-fi heist movie.

But this one is utter bollocks.

[TordelBack]

I don't think anyone is denying that it's utter bollocks! I just think it's very enjoyable bollocks, with some decent and quite emotional payoffs. And doing that call-response style of narrative mockery on YouTube works for the plot of almost any action movie, hence vapid.

They already tried a well-written SW movie, 'everybody' hated it. This one is more like The (Brendan Fraser) Mummy, with a few clever ideas and some kewl looking fights. There are at least two major story elements I'd change completely, at least one main character has no arc of any kind (despite being handed the seeds of a great one) and some slightly ropey character CGI in places, but as an OTT splurge that tied off some plot threads and landed a few emotional punches, it worked for me.

[shaolin_monkey]

All the 'emotional impact' bits just seemed like one last opportunity to shoehorn in some fan appeasement to me, therefore killing (for me at least) any emotional engagement.

Colour me totally bemused. Ah well, people like what they like I suppose. Horses for courses etc.

Keeping my feelings for the film corralled to this 'safe space', as there's a lot of bizarre love for this film out there, and I don't want to piss on anyone's social media parade.

[TordelBack]

Very sensible approach! Ah look, I get why it wouldn't float your boat - it was touch-and-go for me at the start, I was very put out by the bizarre Fortnite-crossover crawl and while excited by all the new stuff (I like new stuff) we saw in the first 5 minutes,  I was taken aback by the breathless pace. But I soon crumbled in the face of deft handling of Leia, the Threepio stuff and the general warmth of it all, and once on board the whole thing carried me along through its utter daftness just fine. Even though I groaned  in near despair at the Big Revelation, I think it worked well in the kind of film it was.

The criticism that the plot amounts a series of video game maguffin quests is valid, but it's also an effective way to send the whole gang off on light-hearted bonding adventures in the midst of events that are not light-hearted at all. This was the big element missing from TLJ (which I much preferred), and it was a good call to do it here - albeit at a stupidly accelerated rate.

Despite my positive reaction, it's probably my least favourite of the Sequels (although that may change on subsequent viewings), but this has been true of the third film of each trilogy, so maybe I just don't like endings. Or maybe the Sequels have just been way better than I was expecting.

[blackmocco]

Yeah, even with dampened expectations going in, this was a fucking slog to get through. Only my workmates stopped me from leaving halfway through out of sheer boredom. Was hoping I'd at least be entertained but I'm pretty sure I hated every single moment of it bar [spoiler]the last five minutes with Rey on Tatooine burying the sabres.[/spoiler] But as all that imagery is just cut and paste from a better movie - JJ's only shtick - they can even stick that up their hole.

Abrams is a terrible storyteller. Just utterly appalling. Bigger's always better with this guy and by the time 400,000 star destroyers were rising out of the giant icecube [spoiler]where they've apparently spent thirty years just sitting around scratching their arses for no reason whatsoever,[/spoiler] I felt like my brain was bleeding. I don't expect high art from a SW movie, I get it, but just a little logic, a little genuine thought being applied would have helped me out rather than just zipping from one elaborate set-piece to another. 2 and a half straight hours of "wait, what?" doesn't cut it.

Just glad it's all over. Now they need to put it to bed for a few years and let someone new take a crack at it. Probably NOT what Disney were hoping for as a response. Their own fault. It's either arrogant or clueless (most likely a mixture of both) to assume these movies were good to go without any sort of plan or arc and frankly, if they're not going to put the effort in, then why should I? You get what you give.

[Mardroid]

Just saw it. I found the start a bit of a rushed slog - which is a complete contradiction in terms, I know, but that's how it felt. I.e there's a big [spoiler]rushed explanation of something[/spoiler], and my emotional response was boredom, or something close akin. ([spoiler]although I suppose it could be argued to be brave that they introduced the returned Palpatine straight away, considering you'd expect that to be a big thing at the end... although that was already spoiled, to be fair [/spoiler]But then I got caught up in it quickly.

Some stuff could have used some explanation, and didn't make much sense, but I loved it. Part of me feels slightly embarrassed that I loved it - it does get quite sentimental near the end - but my reaction was to feel touched rather than disgusted. Maybe I'm just a big girls blouse/big boy's shirt*.

I wish they'd done more with [spoiler] The Knights of Den. I  hoped they'd be those students who followed Ben after he attacked Luke and fled, but in the end they just seemed to be Ren's personal squad, and cannon fodder. That does raise the question, what did happen to those other students? Maybe they're all dead now or they never actually turned to the dark side and just split up.[/spoiler] I guess it's not that important for the main story.

*Thought I'd add that in case the former phrase is deemed sexist.

[radiator]

Not an out and out travesty but definitely on the underwhelming side. Story was laughably mechanical a to b maguffin chasing and often borderline gibberish. I was mildly entertained throughout, but never once emotionally engaged, and agree that there were no real standout, memorable set-pieces.

The pacing of the film overall (but especially the first 40 minutes or so) is frantic to the point of bewilderment - the storytelling is so choppy and there's so much cross-talk that it feels like we're watching The Goonies or something, and dialogue from one scene and location awkwardly bleeds into the next, as if the script can't keep up with the editing.

You have to just basically switch your brain off and accept that you're watching a saturday morning cartoon level script that was filmed with a $250m budget and just enjoy the spectacle I guess.

There's no way I'm getting worked up about it though - I'm so mentally checked out of this series at this point that I'm genuinely still chuckling away to myself at just how bald-faced some of the nonsensical reveals, resolutions and Last Jedi retcons were, and I was able to enjoy it for what it was.

Definitely time for a rethink of the whole thing I think, perhaps taking a cue from the more deliberate, focused and overall more classical stylings of The Mandalorian.

[broodblik]

The whole storyline felt like a lot of stitch-together stories.  There is no cohesion with the previous parts of the trilogy. Each part felt like the current director/writer was trying to undo what the previous director/writer did. Most of the script felt forced by the actors especially the original trilogy cast. I always say a good actor can carry a weak story but not the reverse. Buy still for all this I enjoyed the movie.

[radiator]

The story is so convoluted that it makes The Force Awakens seem like an exercise in narrative economy by contrast. It really is quite something. The funniest parts are when character arcs are set up and resolved within a single scene, or how certain narrative problems get resolved. Lost the wayfinder? Good job there was a backup stashed in the spaceship you flew here in! What luck! It's one giant shrug in screenplay form. Really quite remarkable.

[TordelBack]

Re: the [spoiler]second wayfinder, of course it was in Kylo Ren's ship, he found and use it in the prologue, how else was he getting to and from from Exagul? OTOH, this isn't the ship he was using, that one crashed on Passana...
[/spoiler]

[Bolt-01]

I took all the Bolt sprogs as well as my sister in law and my two nephews to see it yesterday, and have to say that it was a hoot. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but then I also enjoy the X-men films at the cinema too.

I knew there was something 'off' with the plot when I laughed innappropriately at the apparent death of a major character.

I also think that: [spoiler]When Leia lay down and force spoke to Kylo, she became him. It was said in the film that Leia stopped her training when she forsaw that the end of her path lead to the death of her son, so when she spoke to him in the ruin of the Death star she actually merged with him and that is why he changed his character and why they both 'ghosted' at the same time.[/spoiler]

I reckon Poe was attracted to the space-lady whose never I never caught because of the helmet. We've all seen how attached he is to the droid...

Oh, and I love that Pepe the prawn from the Muppets has found a new job.