It is Anthony Daniels in the suit, and I can’t speak for body shape, having only seen the trailers. But I can tell you about the movement - the reason is because they’ve done a lot of work rebuilding the suit this time, and it’s apparently the easiest to move in and most comfortable suit yet. For example, you’ll notice he points a lot more than 3po used to, because this is the first time the costume has had properly functioning hands.
Anthony Daniels needs to learn how to act like C3PO.
1 Like
After a night of sleep and a morning to think about the movie more, it’s not fine. There is good stuff in the movie, but it’s weighed down by the importantness of other movies.
Or maybe: all the good parts in this movie, I liked because they relied on previous movies. And all the parts I didn’t like in this movie, I didn’t like them because they relied too much on stuff from previous movies. And the rest of the stuff I didn’t like was just bad scripting and story material.
Oh well.
1 Like
Still processing the movie, also trying to avoid spoilers.
There’s nothing in the movie that “breaks the universe”. Once of my concern about The Last Jedi was if you could adapt the Holdo maneuver into essentially a weapon of mass destruction against Star Destroyer sized ships. In my interactions on twitter I found out that it wasn’t feasible.
To clarify “breaking the universe” I put up JJ’s Star Trek movies. At the end of the first, they invent the ability to transport across the galaxy. At the end of the second Trek movie they discover a way to cure… Death.
It I have criticisms of TROS it’s the Dark and Flashy bit at the end were a little too dark and flashy at the end to the point of distraction.
However this is JJ, and the only person I’ve ever heard of loving the Telegraph more was Samuel Morse.
I’m satisfied with the final* Star Wars movie.
There are a few things that I could have done without. A few things that I appreciated.
Most of my complaints have more to do with the way certain shots where cut than anything else. Like the last 6 films these movies feel like they’re moving so fast between each scene there’s no time to breathe. I noticed multiple times where the jump cuts skipped what I would normally consider the end of a scene. You’re left with the impression of more than there actually was there.
The more I think about this movie, the more I really don’t like it. In an effort to course correct from what Rian Johnson set up, JJ Abrams nearly flipped the car over to try and get things back on track in a way that I don’t think will satisfy anyone. (Unless you hate The Last Jedi that much)
It’s just top-to-bottom horrible ideas to stick with that now push this trilogy in a very regressive direction. First half is very macguffiny and very exposition heavy. There are great moments that don’t earn their emotions. He introduced more questions than answering what was set up throughout the whole trilogy. It also has particularly fast and bizarre pacing and I’ve heard this was planned to be three hours. So the plot feels at it’s most loose and maddening while the character acts feel very weak.
To me it is easily the worst of the new Disney era of Star Wars.
1 Like
You can really tell that is was meant to be a longer movie.
But there’s a problem with having so many macguffins, so many that they make a chain. That’s because they make a chain, you can’t edit any of them out!
So you need to find the planet to find the ship to find the knife, then find the person to find the technician to find the translation, then find place to find the scene to find the place to find the compartment to find the pyramid… to find the planet to ACTUALLY MOVE THE PLOT FORWARD.
And so when you have to cut 40 minutes from the movie, you can’t break that chain, or else the entire movie doesn’t make sense.
So instead, you have to cut character moments. You have to cut the ends of scenes. You have to cut all the building blocks that actually sustain the emotional weight of the movie.
Meanwhile, every step of the macguffin chain remains.
Also there was something in the “hidden realms” which needed explaining, but must have been cut for time. Like what’s all that red stuff? Why do they fly through so easy? Do all the Star Destroyers have to fly back through the red stuff?
Even during the movie I was thinking all this, so that’s a bad sign. Normally it’s stuff I think later, but to me it felt overly cut.
I won’t watch this movie again, not unless there is a 3 hour cut that puts back the actual meat of the story.
That is interesting. Lord of the Rings did very well with its extended editions. Looking back, now I’m wondering why other nerdy movies since then haven’t followed up with that same model. Star Wars movies especially are ripe for extended editions. Same for all those superhero movies I don’t watch.
It doesn’t help that as the heroes go through a very sloggy macguffin quest, the villains are so far ahead with planning and controlling so much. Plus this film is really bad when it comes to sacrifices and false deaths that don’t genuinely add up to anything? Or go “No, it’s actually fine” constantly within the film.
If The Last Jedi questioned the idea that maybe the Jedi/Sith are bad; The Rise of Skywalker generally makes me not want to ever see a Sith/Jedi story ever again. Especially when this movie made the Jedi even more super-special; but also highlighted more of the power imbalance that’s so blatant and pulpy from the story’s inception.
EDIT: I know the prequels also tried to criticize the Jedi, but in a very poorly developed way. Like the movies being very poorly made and poorly executed is why all the ideas presented never quite pay off.
Okay, now that I’m actually posting about this movie, here’s my theory:
Episode 4, 5, 6 was Luke’s Trilogy. No question.
Then Episodes 1, 2, 3 were very much Anakin’s Trilogy. But Anakin’s story didn’t end with episode 3, so episode 6 also became the ending point of the full Anakin saga. It doesn’t mean the original movies weren’t still 100% Luke’s story, but there was another layer on top.
But now 7, 8, 9? Whose story is this? I guess Rey, but it doesn’t tie in to the previous movies with any real weight, except some previous character are now supporting characters in her story. It’s kinda Ren’s story, but he has exactly the same story as Anakin, even down to his final act.
So it turns out this movie makes all 9 movies, not the Skywalker Saga, but the Palpatine Saga. He was there right from the end, all the way through. The Empire starts with him, and the First/Last Order ends with him.
Anakin was created by Palpatine controlling the midichlorians to create the virgin birth of Anakin. He’s Anakin’s godfather. Then Anakin is Luke and Leia’s father, and Leia is Ren’s mother, and Palpatine is also Rey’s grandfather.
It all comes back to him. The only reason Luke comes out of retirement is to train Palpatine’s line. The only reason The First Order is working is due to him.
But, for me, and for all real reasons based on the first two trilogies, his story ended at the same time as Anakin’s and Luke’s story. If he didn’t die then, what was the point?
Episodes 1 though 9 are the Palpatine Saga. Come at me.
2 Likes
Speaking of the mcguffins, who makes a freaking dagger like that? Like, what? Why would anyone ever sit down and be like, “hey I need to remember where this thing is, so I’ll make a dagger that’s a map, it’ll be cool!” I can’t fathom the mental process that would lead to that item being created.
The entire plot and ending was completely unearned. Sure it was a bit less rough around the edge than TLJ, but at least that movie was trying to say something. This movie was just pure pandering. Also, JJ must fucking hate Rian Johnson.
1 Like
https://twitter.com/dansolomon/status/1207816810919276544
Why did this happen? Here’s the thread.
1 Like
I agree with Luke on basically every point. But for me the ultimate issue is the pacing. The movie never stops to breathe, it reminds me of kid’s shows where every plot is action action action without pausing to explain until it gets to the one lesson you need to learn. But in this case, the only lesson is that friendship is magic.
1 Like
Oh yeah. I was never bored. I was just disappointed with how much time was being spent changing locations. What happened to the time when each Star Wars movie had three planets/main locations each?
Tatooine, Death Star, Yavin.
Hoth, Dagobar, Bespin.
Tatooine, Endor, Death Star 2.
Naboo, Tatooine, Coruscant.
Coruscant, Kamino, Geonosis
Coruscant, Utapau, Mustafar
You won’t recognize all the names, but they can be summed up with snow planet, forest planet, swamp planet, city planet, volcano planet, water planet, cave planet, etc.
Then the sequel trilogy has:
Desert planet so indistinguishable from Tatooine that everyone thought it was Tatooine from the trailer.
Another desert planet so indistinguishable from the desert planet in Rogue One that it was filmed in the same location. I’ve been to Wadi Rum in Jordan, so its super recognizable!
Various planets so boring I can’t describe them in one world.
And the final confrontation in this last movie happens on a place so boring it’s literally an empty flat plain with a floating brick. What the hell? Why leave out one of the most defining aspects of Star Wars in the final climax of the final movie?
Oh well.
I am overall frustrated by TROS. It did two things that I absolutely hate (no spoilers yet) and they weren’t necessary at all to tell this story.
And I honestly think it was sloppily edited and felt incoherent. The final act is kind of fun but badly paced and put together.
I can tell this movie was hacked to bits many times. It shows.
Well well well.
1 Like