I might still go see it just because, but I must confess that I have become quite down on Star Wars in its new incarnation under Disney... It feels like something is missing, does anyone else feel the same way?
It’S been lousy thus far, but Ian McDiarmid did manage to save the prequel trilogy by cackling and purring his way through Episode III as he transformed from Chancellor Palpatine into the Emperor and transformed Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, so his presence is enough to make me want to see this. Supreme leader Snoke was the lamest villain possible, whereas in the first film at least, Kylo Ren was creepy and frightening. But the Starkiller Weapon and its boring destruction was itself anticlimactic, and couldn’t possibly function as depicted (in contrast to the Hypermatter Reactor on the Death Star, which is presumably more powerful than a matter/antimatter reaction or a contained singularity, both of which produce 100% mass to energy conversion, but this energy is of course invariably partially lost due to inefficiencies). The Death Star was actually spectacularly overpowered; I expect it could destroy a solar system with a more massive star than our own by inducing a supernova condition, but at risk to itself). But this overpowered design made it so impressive and dramatic. Why crack a planet in two with an antimatter bomb when you can instead use a beam weapon to vaporize most of it? Fortunately we did get some Death Star goodness in Rogue One, with the delightful feud between the prancing, campy Director Krennic and the digitally reanimated Grand Moff Tarkin, who alas lacked the charm of Peter Cushing (who was a very devout Christian by the way, albeit one frustrated by the poor pastoral care his Church of England vicar gave him when his wife died and he began to pine away, which is something we should take to heart, the need to preach the Gospel of Resurrection and provide personal pastoral counseling with great love and grace the consolation of the bereaved). Returning to a galaxy moderately remote and at some indeterminate point in the past (it would amuse me if it turned out to be Andromeda, 3,000 years ago), I was hoping it would turn out that Snoke was microscopic, owing to the gigantic projections of him, but instead he turned out to be a boring chap in an effeminate dress who got killed with an obvious Jedi sleight of hand. And that was really dull. I also agreed with Mark Hamill’s criticism of how his character was written, although I did enjoy his confrontation with Kylo Ren. The Solo film was also something of a turkey, despite a few good moments.
I'll see it to know what the pop culture is up to. I heard they're bringing Palpatine back to try to save the storyline
I am planning on going to see it. I'll have a good conversation with my wife about it and then we will pick it apart. I could criticize the previous movies, but only want to do so within the complete context. Just my feeling. I do like seeing other people's opinions though. On the wider SW stuff, Rebels was quite good. It may start slow, but ends very well, and brings back some classic movie and novel characters, complete with their actual actors to voice them.
Well, he did save the Prequels. And he did come back from the dead in Dark Empire. And there was subtle hinting at this possibility even when the first film came out; I have read that in a book or video game or somesuch Palpatine had a secret “observatory” on Jakku from which his backup plan if he were killed would be set in motion, which involved for unknown reasons. but doubtless involving fleet of Star Destroyers of the classic design appearing from the unknown in the trailer, the complete destruction of most of the Imperial Military. Presumably a revived Palpatine would not want a power struggle with the inevitable remnant factions of his old military, as described in the EU if memory from my 11th year serves, but would instead prefer the galaxy as weak as possible, as demilitarized as it was before the Clone Wars. I remain incensed though that Iger did massively take Lucas for a ride by hinting the sequels would be based on his story treatments, when in fact they were not, so preusmably we will never hear of the most ornate inner level of the Lucas cosmology involving the Whills and their use of the midichlorians to use human beings as vehicles for some nefarious reason involving their food supply. Which sounds nightmarish and thrilling; its not classic Star Wars, but it would have made all the wacky parts of the Prequel trilogy less wacky, if well executed.
I actively dislike the Rebel Alliance. A little known fact, although it is in the DVD commentary for Episode IV, is that George Lucas modelled them on the Viet Cong, and the Empire on the US military (he admitted this himself in his own voice...) Tarkin on the other hand always struck me as the very picture of resolute leadership and team-building (who else could check Vader’s anger?) and one cannot help but admire the dashing gallantry and self-sacrifice of Captain Needa (who was nonetheless also incompetent, but who did willingly go to his death for this fault, which is commendable in a military man, rather like Major Andre, the liason of Benedict Arnold caught as a spy in the American War for Independence from Great Britain).
There has formed a subculture around the idea that "the Empire did nothing wrong". You're in that, aren't you?
Oh, I think he definitely is. George was good at building worlds but much better when letting others flesh them out, in my opinion. Rebels did use a lot of MacQuarrie's designs and aesthetic, which makes it fun. It also did a fine job bringing in "names" to goose the plots along - Leia, Tarkin, Vader, Palpatine, Thrawn (which makes him 100% Canon now), with Vader and Palps voices by JEJ and McDiarmid.
No, definitely not, because they got defeated, and deservedly so. The Emperor was a lunatic sorcerer with a serious self-induced skin condition who entrusted the security of the Death Star and later what we can assume was one of his most important task forces to a madman in a life-support suit with an exposed on/off switch, who strangled good officers for no reason (in a deleted scene from Return of the Empire, he begins to choke Commander Jerjerrod, who had of course accomplished the herculean task of making the second death star operational). Is it too much to ask for a Galactic Emperor to be competent? I want someone to see someone like Leto II, not Shaddam IV-but-with-superpowers.* But the Empire was better than the Rebel Alliance and the Jedi, who were a morally bankrupt cult. If only Palpatine and Vader could have been assasinated and replaced by a cunning, terrible, yet just ruler, like, say, Caesar Augustus, or his most successful successor, the Optimate Emperor Trajan, that would have been splendid. But no, I can’t say Emperor Palpatine was right. Special Order 66 would have been morally justified only had it not involved the horrific murders at the Temple, and indeed, had Palpatine and Vader killed each other in a suicide pact, perhaps by leaping through the shattered window of his apartment, following giving it, because the nature of the Jedi and Sith religions is equally diabolical. *Actually strictly speaking Shaddam IV was Emperor of the Known Universe, which was intergalactic and made Palpatine’s fiefdom look like the Principality of Liechtenstein - in which I have spent some time, by the way (charming country, fantastic art museum; alas I have not been to Monaco and frankly it seems a little vulgar to me) - in comparison. And Leto II Atreides additionally claimed to be the sole deity of this universe, and enforced this perspective with an army of fanatical priestess-soldier-amazon types. Disagreeable fellow, that Leto II, but the chap knew what he was doing, even orchestrating his death in precise detail. Of course having exact knowledge and perfectly accurate knowledge of the past of the entire human race, and all possible future outcomes attainable from his perspective, something not omniscient, but handy nonetheless, would tend to boost ones competence, so perhaps I am holding old Darth Sid to too high a standard. But perhaps not, given his tendency to cackle about how “everything is proceeding as I had forseen it.” As Dirty Harry twice said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
I'm not holding out much hope for ROS but I'll still go see it. I may even be going to the world premier with the 501st Legion. I'm still waiting for the final list to come down so fingers crossed. My real hope for the franchise is the Mandalorian, other live action or animated series and more one off "stories". TCW and Rebels were both great and so was Rogue One and Solo was pretty good. I'm really hoping the bad story telling ends with the new trilogy.
I saw is opening day. The Rise of Skywalker was the weakest in the Sequel Trilogy IMHO. I actually liked The Last Jedi, Luke’s behavior mirrored what slavuc monks known as Jesus Fools do (see The Island). So often the Jedi say, “beware of the dark side,” (Yoda, ESB) but Luke made the Light Side alluring by trying to dissuade Rey from becoming a Jedi, this is a technique Jesus Fools use, they challenge and act like devil’s advocate to illicit devotion in lay people. The Force Awakens was very good, had the right balance of awe and humor. Rogue One was a masterpiece, especially the ending. Solo was a bore, and uncecesaey IMHO.