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At least it's a SW show which addresses that Jedi are quite a creepy idea and can't be as infallible and perfect as they seem to promote themselves, that was good. I don't see why everything in this universe seems to revolve around being trained to fight people.
Typically in Star Wars it’s very basic good vs evil, but this show really muddies the waters in showing both Jedi and Sith having their own issues. Master Sol makes a ton of horrible decisions and has no redemption because he’s too blinded by his own righteousness. Osha’s turn is more an inevitability because Sol not only killed her mother but dug a hole for himself by lying to her. Funnily, her turn to the dark side makes more sense than Anakin’s but that’s more of an indictment on the prequels than anything else.
Sure, that's fine if they want to go for that, but I think they failed to make me care for anyone involved. Especially with Mae maybe or maybe not being evil- I just lost track. And if I'm not caring about anyone then there aren't any stakes. Nothing feels tragic.
Yeah I liked that bit. Quite surprising to get David Harewood in just for that scene, maybe they're planning to have him back if they make more.
I guess a problem was that I couldn't see how Sol could have ever thought anything he was doing was the right thing. It wasn't clear why they wanted to take the children away, why he wanted one of them(?!), why they all got their terrifying laser swords out, what importance this 'vergence' has on anything... I just couldn't really sympathise or understand why most of them were acting as they did. And with tragic stories you need to understand.
Ha! Yes that's not hard.
Really Kylo Ren is everything Anakin should have been: actually believably tortured and, y'know, well-acted.
I guess her turn sort of makes sense, but to be honest I couldn't entirely follow where she was emotionally.
It’s weird to say, I actually didn’t “care” for the individual characters, but I did like the dynamics. I like that when the Jedi call the coven a “cult” it’s supposed to be ironic because truthfully the Jedi might as well be a cult as well. And when they have an opportunity to be truthful and transparent when it actually matters they fall on the side of bureaucracy as if they’re doomed to fall. And they even blame one of their dead masters for crimes he didn’t commit just to cover up!
I do think a better version of this show would have been like four or five episodes total. My biggest issue is that there’s a ton of padding. Ep 4 is only 27 mins before end credits! They might as well have trimmed that episode down and combine it with Ep 5 as the lead up to the big fight. The two flashback episodes should have just been one condensed episode. Then there’s the first two episodes, which should have been a single feature length episode.
But I get it. A true properly paced show would have meant Disney couldn’t string along subscribers beyond one subscription period. It’s an issue with a lot of these Disney+ shows. They’re not willing to fork out for ten full hour long episodes like HBO.
As far as the movies go, for some reason I've been thinking of The Phantom Menace a bit lately. It's my least favorite of the first six, largely because of its awful pacing. I just really wish that film had been better...
I have no idea what Bazil the tracker was doing, I guess he did what the script needed him to do.
Bazil may as well have been a Sith Lord with his random inexplicable behavior.
I actually didn't mind this series for most of the way (although I was concerned about the total lack of stakes) but that last episode seemed on another level of weakness. Storytelling isn't about presenting me with a load of events, you have to give me reasons to care and be invested too: there has to be, y'know: a point.
I read it as him realizing Sol was losing his objectivity in his pursuit, so he sabotaged the ship before Sol would inadvertently crash the ship, as that’s exactly what happened to Mae.
I guess that would make sense, but I didn't see anything in there to suggest that; we're having to fill in blanks. Did you read him as doing that while you were watching it or in retrospect? If we'd seen him looking at a monitor which warned of some calamity or something which Sol was ignoring, that might help to tell the story if that's what they intended. But as I say, I genuinely don't know what the makers' intentions were with this episode, and I'm not trying to be obtuse or anything.
It does make me want to visit a time period where the Jedi were still principled and aspirational, probably before they became adjacent with the government of the Republic.
So from that my guess is that it's not supposed to be a tragedy of Osha falling to the dark side, but more a portrayal of how the Jedi aren't all good and the Sith aren't all bad. But if that is the intention it's very muddled.
The only character I would be interested in seeing again would be Qimir as he has an interesting presence and seems to have some depth. Nobody else is interesting to me.
To be fair most of the cast got killed off lol. That leaves a lot of room for more characters to enter the stage.
Interesting that you found the Jedi to be creepy. There has definitely been a change in how the Jedi are portrayed in more recent films and shows.
Luke was bitter and very much against teaching others in TLJ. That was not the Luke I grew up with and it took some getting used to a positive, hopeful hero being a disillusioned and bitter man.
I am not sure where that will leave the movie centered around Rey. She has claimed the Skywalker name and it would seem she will be teaching new people. Will we see her rename the Jedi to something else?
The days of white hatted heroes and black hatted villains seem to be long gone so I guess that is why we have introduced these Jedi who don't always do the right thing.
The announcements from D23 look like a mixed bag. Not sure the Mandalorian movie will be as well received now as it would have been a few years ago when the show was a hot property. It will all come down to the writing. To say the Acolyte was unevenly written is an understatement.
Yes, I agree with most of your opinions both @mtm and @thedove Star Wars definitely can make people have interesting viewpoints! It sounds like the depressed Luke was something GL was always planning for. Rey might be taking away what SW fans thought should be (perhaps rightfully including Mark Hamill himself) his storyline. But, everyone on the crew side said Episode 8 should be a shocker. It worked in some ways and less in others.
As for the Rey movie, I'm a bit surprised (and nervous) about D23 not announcing more SW material. I know that I'm one the few people who like Rey and in particular Daisy Ridley, and I'm looking forward to her movie, as long as JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof (who I know helped write parts of the movie, and I'm happy that he was not so quietly to leave) are involved. There are better writers out for SW. I'm happy that it will not (hopefully) go back to the past. Although, I hope Luke, and other Jedi make appearances as Force Ghosts.
I haven't seen the Acolyte yet, and I really don't want to. Not just because of your reviews. It just doesn't look right to me, in more ways than one. I think SW works better as movies, books and videogames mostly for me, honestly. It takes A LOT for me to get into a TV series nowadays, The Mandalorian is a rare exception to this for me. Obi-Wan and Boba Fett should have been movies, in particular if they don't get 2nd seasons.
Speaking of The Mandalorian movie, I'm happy that it is filming. I wish more would have been revealed, but I trust Jon Favreau directing. He is more hit than miss, thankfully. I hope we get more news soon. At least the cast list. I still am hoping that Patty Jenkins will write and direct Rogue Squadron, I trust her and think the idea truly has the potential to honor the past while moving forward in ideas and the era after the sequels. I hope that Taika Waititi keeps his trademark humor down on his movie, and I'm still curious what he does. As for Shawn Levy, I'm happy he's trying something different: https://insidethemagic.net/2024/08/from-deadpool-to-dagobah-shawn-levy-talks-new-star-wars-film-zg1/
Dawn of the Jedi does hold promise as it seems that it has been on Lucasfilm's production for a while. James Mangold and Beau Williom are talented, as is David S. Goyer who wrote a draft. We'll see what happens with Lando and Rian Johnson's trilogy. I'll generally give SW a chance as much as James Bond.
Also, happy 80th birthday to the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid. He would have made a great Bond villain.
The hope in ROTJ was that Luke would reject that approach. That he would start a new order that doesn’t shun emotions and attachments. That moment where he tosses the lightsaber aside and refuses to give into the emperor because he believed there was still good in his father should have been an indicator of change.
But then THE MANDALORIAN/BOBA FETT shows reintroduce him as a creepy Jedi like from the prequels, giving Grogu the ultimatum of either giving up his “attachment” to Mando or train as a Jedi. What the hell?! That is absolute BS after what we saw of him in ROTJ where he risked everything to save his father. That just makes him a hypocrite, and all he’s doing is rebuilding a flawed order from the prequels rather than starting a new Jedi Order of his own.
I agree with you. Rey will probably get a similar story arc. In general, SW is like Bond for me: most ideas are good. It’s how they are executed. I’m generally happy with Disney SW movies, and I can’t wait for more. At least TMAG is filming, with more projects to be developed soon. Also, it sounds like we’re going to see more Rey on the screen, according to rumors. I’m ok with that, as long as Daisy Ridley (who was recently diagnosed with Grave’s disease), is still playing her.
Also, Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron movie was supposed to be released December 2023. So they weee truly working on it. So it might be a bit longer in development than we realize. They wouldn’t have scheduled that date if they weren’t satisfied. This is all just me thinking. But some things are unqine to ignore. In particular, there will be no Wonder Woman 3. I wish Lucasfilm the best of success, they are the Star Wars equivalent of EON!
Weren't they creepy right from Return of the Jedi? Luke turns up at the beginning of that all dressed in black and being serious and scary, and as Python says, he basically rejects that by the end of the film. Then the prequels showed them to be a sinister mind-controlling police force who carry only weapons which will maim people for life at best. I think they're a really unpleasant idea and if there was one good thing about Acolyte it was that it leant into that a bit.
That Skeleton Crew thing is a Spielberg 80s film mixed with Star Wars is it? I feel like we've had enough Amblin pastiches with suburban kids on BMXs over the years now (and Hover BMXs count! :) ).
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/patty-jenkins-star-wars-rogue-squadron-1235852540/
At least it's in development and she is working on the script. Interesting to see what comes of it.
Yes, it is unique. As George Lucas said to describe Star Wars in one word himself: Unpredictable.
A pre-Special Edition interview.
For the first time I ignored all the logical issues and there are a lot and just went with the film as a cinematic experience,
TROS technically is very good and I love the score and sound design it is amazing listening in Dolby Atmos. I am surprised I never bought this score I only have TFA score from this trilogy, I think for many years TLJ really did put me in a negative frame of mind with Star Wars.
TROS is so far beyond the likes of the god awful rubbish we get now like The Acolyte, at this stage I would welcome JJ return to do another film because he kind of gets it, there are some good visual story telling moments in this film.
Every time Billy Dee was on screen I had a broad smile especially when co piloting the Falcon with Chewie, I also find Babu Frik hilarious. That was a really good watch, the film has gone up in my honest opinion.
The Emperor chewing up the scenery is always fun, I do like the crazier elements in this film.
I am so happy to find a fellow TROS fan.
It almost makes up for TLJ lol, those two films really are binary opposites I find TLJ joyless and at least TROS is fun has heart and feels like Star Wars.
The only scene in TLJ I actually thought it resembled Star Wars is when the Falcon showed up briefly on the planet Crait mainly down to Williams excellent theme from the original movie..
I also agree re: TLJ. Yes, it's more original (in a way, although it's really just a riff on everything we've done before too) but it's also leaden and where TFA had a lovely, light breezy wit and sense of fun, TLJ all feels forced and unfunny. It just bores me: Star Wars should be in space, not on one boring island in Ireland.
TROS is a fun breezy film in terms of execution, but it’s creatively lazy in such a way it’s kind of terrible, which is why it sits right at the bottom of the OT and ST films for me, yet well above the prequels because at least has a pulse.