Tony’s got issues. And needs to get them out. Spoiler alert — his issues are Star Wars. But we also talk some other movies, and a bit about cool YouTube stuff to watch. So it’s pretty okay. Enjoy!
QUESTIONS:
What YouTube channels or shows do you watch regularly? –Jas
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************* Star Wars Spoilers Ahead ****************
My thoughts on the final Star Wars trilogy are so all over the place that I honestly don’t know what to make of them. I enjoyed RoS but only in a very vapid way – there was no subtlety or depth to it and it felt like a big action piece. Not really surprising given it was J.J. Abrams, after all this is the guy that turned Star Trek into a stupid action franchise (seriously Into Darkness still makes me angry).
In terms of the new trilogy my order would be Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker and then Force Awakens. I thought that Force Awakens was pretty bad and just lacked any originality. I’d actually have been happier if they’d just called it a reboot of A New Hope. Last Jedi had issues but not nearly on the scale of the Abrams films.
In terms of pacing/styling they really did mimic the originals – Empire Strikes Back has completely different stakes, pacing and tone from New Hope and Return of the Jedi, just like Last Jedi did. I am frustrated that they seemingly didn’t have an overall plan for the trilogy, it all felt like they were making them one movie at a time despite the fact they knew there would be a full trilogy and could have planned the arcs out from the get go.
I thought that what Finn was trying to tell Rey was that he was force sensitive but I can’t work out why they added those lines in if they weren’t going to resolve it. Did they cut a scene? Finn was definitely underused and should have had a much stronger arc throughout the three films.
I actually liked the whole reveal of Rey being a Palpatine – the core Star Wars movies have always been built around the idea of family lines and destiny/fate. While I understand the desire to move away from the central Skywalker lineage I think that is where the expanded material stands out. It takes that core and shows the rest of the universe. In terms of this movie I’d have actually gone further and have had Rey also succumbing to her injuries, ending both lines and the cycle they’d been locked in. From a mass market appeal I can see why they didn’t thought.