Star Wars Rise of the Skywalker

[VideoGameCritic]

For those who already saw Rise of Skywalker, this sums up the movie in hilarious fashion.

https://youtu.be/b2zZFtq13c4

[newmodelarmy]

Just got back from seeing it. It reminded me of a video game where you are on a fetch quest, that is basically the plot. It wasn't as bad as Last Jedi but that isn't saying much. Of course, it wouldn't be Disney without a few "social justice" moments. Overall it was ok, but honestly my biggest problem is that I just don't care about the characters. Growing up I loved Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia and the entire crew. Honestly, who the hell cares about Rey, Fin and Poe? I thought some of the plot points were interesting but not entirely fleshed out. Last Jedi is the only SW movie I have only seen once, I don't think I will be running out to see Rise of Skywalker again anytime soon. Basically I would rate it "meh", what say you?

[velcrozombie]

The new movie felt like a big-budget, overlong SNL parody. There are isolated scenes that are fun (especially in the first half) but it all just feels so cynical and desperate. I had my issues with The Last Jedi but I've gained new respect for that film after seeing this dumpster fire.

Personal Rankings (incomplete, since I still haven't watched Solo)
1. ESB
2. ANH
3. RotJ (even with the Ewok stuff the opening and ending are great)
4. TFA
5. Rogue One (In many ways I prefer this to TFA but I have to admit that I didn't have as much fun watching it, largely because I only liked a handful of the characters)
6. TLJ (I struggle with this one the most - I can see it possibly moving higher in the future)
7. RotS (2005) (Not a very good movie overall, but at least it gains momentum as it goes and Palpatine's actor is wonderfully hammy)
8. TPM (Taken on its own, there are fun moments and of course Darth Maul - it's substantially better than the bottom two)
9. RotS (2019) (acronym is painfully accurate this time)
10. AotC (not the worst film I've seen in a theater, but maybe the most miserable experience I've had watching a film in one)

[Stalvern]

9. RotS (2019) (acronym is painfully accurate this time)

It actually is quite inaccurate.

[VideoGameCritic]

Just got back from seeing it. It reminded me of a video game where you are on a fetch quest, that is basically the plot. It wasn't as bad as Last Jedi but that isn't saying much. Of course, it wouldn't be Disney without a few "social justice" moments. Overall it was ok, but honestly my biggest problem is that I just don't care about the characters. Growing up I loved Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia and the entire crew. Honestly, who the hell cares about Rey, Fin and Poe? I thought some of the plot points were interesting but not entirely fleshed out. Last Jedi is the only SW movie I have only seen once, I don't think I will be running out to see Rise of Skywalker again anytime soon. Basically I would rate it "meh", what say you?

Agreed. Rey seemed to check the box for "strong female" character, but what else did she offer? She really didn't seem to have any faults or weaknesses to speak of. Losing her family? That business with her family was just one big confusing mess that changed from film to film.

Kylo Renn was wasted. They should have made him a dark, mysterious character. He was such a badass when he first showed up with that cool mask. Not only did he not wear it for most of the first film, but he destroyed it in the second. Then he fixed it but still didn't really wear it. He turned out to be pretty wishy washy.

[velcrozombie]

9. RotS (2019) (acronym is painfully accurate this time)

It actually is quite inaccurate.

Ah, I'll take the L on this - it was a cringe comment anyway.

[VideoGameCritic]

So I watched this again the other night and it wasn't all that bad. Using subtitles helped because I didn't miss any of the dialog.
There was a good bit of humor in it, and the director (Abrams) probably did the best he could to wrap everything up.

A few things I really liked:
- the huge waves on that one planet
- Poe's girlfriend
- that cone-shaped droid
- how Kylo Ren could figure out where Rey was

A few I did not:
- having Luke and Han reappear for no reason
- cheesy sinking into dirt scene
- the way they handled the whole Leia thing

[Cafeman]

So I watched this again the other night and it wasn't all that bad. Using subtitles helped because I didn't miss any of the dialog.
There was a good bit of humor in it, and the director (Abrams) probably did the best he could to wrap everything up.

That's a positive point of view. I try to be positive about what they give us. However, I go back-n-forth and it takes time before I'm sure how I like a SW film these days. I enjoyed seeing the film at the theater twice, but on BD rewatch (twice) I'm getting more critical of some things. My biggest disappointment is how mismanaged the overall story arc of this Sequel Trilogy became, with the tug-of-war of different writers and directors. At this point my grading of the 3 newer trilogy films is ... Ep7 > Ep8 > Ep9. I really like a lot of Ep8 TLJ now, except most of the Casino Planet stuff.

For Ep9 TRoS , my nitpicks include:
- Force healing foreshadowing with tunnels/snake scene
- Not enough Ben Solo. I wish he'd have turned earlier and there was a better team-up battle with Rey at the end. The way Adam played Ben was an entirely different character from Kylo Ren. He should have survived too!
- Palpatine. I love watching Ian M. play him but ... c'mon he died in Ep6. It seems like the retconniest of retcons that he somehow survived. I'd have accepted it more had the film explained it more and if there had been even a HINT of it in Ep7 or 8.


Side note ... is anyone else starting to view the Prequel Trilogy in a more favorable light, especially since The Clone Wars animated show fleshed-out Anakin and that time period so well?

[VideoGameCritic]

I find it very difficult to believe Palpatine was planned the entire time. I think it's more likely that they were in damage control mode after Last Jedi, and this was a desperate, last ditch effort to get the old fans back on board and make things right again.

And yeah, the prequels are looking better all the time.

[newmodelarmy]

I can't bring myself to watch this again. I thought the movie along with TLJ were garbage and that is putting it mildly. I hate what Disney did to Star Wars, turning it into one of their tools to deliver one SJW message after another. I have no problem with movies trying to deliver certain messages one way or the other, that has been around forever, however, it seems so out of place in Star Wars.

As for the prequels...nothing can polish that turd. I caught the end of the Phantom Menace last night with my wife and daughter, it was hilarious. We had a great time bashing the stupid plot, terrible CGI and overall bad acting. Then we watched the beginning of Attack of the Clones but I turned it off before all remnants of my childhood were destroyed.

Personally, I think there are only a handful of good Star Wars movies:

Episode IV, V, VII and Rogue One.

Personally, I always hated Return of the Jedi but it is obviously much better than the prequels, VIII and IX. Solo was ok but no urge to watch that one again either.