An unmitigated disaster of a film, possibly the worst in the
entire series and yes, that includes the prequels. Some of the worst filmmaking
I’ve ever seen, dreadful in almost every single way imaginable. After two viewings,
and probably a third to come (oh, the joy of family obligations) it just keeps
getting worse somehow.
Summary: It’s some unspecified time after the events of The Last Jedi. The Emperor returns! McGuffins abound! A dizzying series of cuts and edits ensues.
For all it’s many faults, The Last Jedi was at least a well-made film (design, cinematography, editing, etc.). TRoS establishes that Rian Johnson is a vastly superior filmmaker when compared to JJ Abrams, who is less a hack than a hack-and-slasher. The opening act of TRoS is terrible, a bewildering series of cuts that leaves you numb. There’s hardly a moment when a shot remains on screen long enough to establish what you’re looking at before you’re yanked away to something else. It’s almost as though Abrams knew he was producing crap but thought that enough razzle dazzle would hide the fact.
TRoS proves once and for all that there was no plan for this “trilogy.” They called it that because they thought that’s what the fans wanted. All they proved was that Bob Lee “The Nailer” Swagger is correct when he says, “Any plan is better than no plan.” Without a plan, each film lurched from one direction to another. TLJ utterly destroyed every thread left at the end of The Force Awakens, and Abrams returns the favor by utterly destroying even the tenuous threads Johnson kinda-sorta-in-a-way left at the end of TLJ. It feels petty, small, and insulting to the audience.
If Producer Kathleen Kennedy had any real support for what Johnson did to the franchise, she would have insisted Abrams attempt to deal with the ruins TLJ left behind. Alas, that would have required genuine imagination and creativity, talents Abrams sorely lacks. What he’s “good” at is taking the work of others, washing away their fingerprints, filing off the serial numbers, slapping on a new coat of paint, and saying, “Behold my shiny new thing!”
Please don’t interpret any of this as my liking TLJ. TLJ is a horrible film. That said, it would have been interesting to see where TRoS might have gone if it had explored that Rey comes from nothing, that a little kid evinces force powers, what all that means in the Star Wars universe, and how the Rebellion starts over again from a mere dozen or so survivors of the Resistance. That might have been something worth seeing.
Alas, no. Rey (Daisy Ridley) remains an overpowered goddess that I just could not care less about. Finn (John Boyega) is forever a wasted potential, Poe (Oscar Isaac ) a squandered wreck. BB-8 persists in getting too much screen time, while R2D2 is little more than a data recorder, and he’s not very good at that according to C-3PO. And because there aren’t enough ‘droids, let’s toss in that little one-wheel thing for no reason whatsoever. Kylo “Don’t call me Ben” Ren (Adam Driver) is the most interesting character in the entire film, possibly in all three of the Disney Star Ways films, and if the ending had gone in a different direction, he might have made it work. Again, this would have required imagination and a willingness to take a risk or two, which means it was never, ever going to happen.
The only wonderful thing to come out of this is John Williams. No, it’s not his best work but it’s amazing to think that a single composer has handled all the music for this series for over four decades. Williams not only has an amazing collection of musical themes to work with, he managed to make all of the music sound consistent from film to film, year to year, decade to decade. It’s amazing and let’s just never mind those spin-off films; they don’t count.
This is immensely frustrating. I was 22 when Star Wars debuted. I’ve seen every subsequent film on its opening weekend. It’s not that I’m an amazing, hard-core SW fan, but I enjoyed all the films. That includes the prequels, for all their faults, because there was always an over-arching feeling that they were heading somewhere and not just bumping around in the dark. Here, the sole intent seemed to be to dismantle all the work of the original films and to lump all their glory onto Rey.
I raised my kids on these films. One of my best moments ever was watching my grandson see that revelation of Vader as Luke’s father, reliving that moment through his eyes. And now I’ve seen him watch TRoS and heard his father, my son, say at the end, “Well, that was terrible.” He didn’t say that at the end of TLJ or any other SW film, no matter how good or how bad. No, that was saved for the ostensible end of the Skywalker Saga. Feh!
Brilliant, Ms Kennedy. Wonderful, Mr. Abrams. You didn’t destroy my childhood because I was an adult when I first watched Star Wars. You haven’t ruined the earlier films; I still have them on tape, disc, and digital. You’ve simply demonstrated a supreme lack of talent, a rejection of imagination, a refusal to take a chance and demonstrate even the smallest bit of faith in the fans. You could have given them something new, something worthy of their love and support.
Instead you murdered the franchise. You destroyed the originals, you disrespected the lore, you assassinated beloved characters, you ignored the prequels, and you crapped on each of your own films in turn. Your films will endure only in memory as terrible warnings, things to be avoided, sights best left unseen. They have contributed nothing. They deserve to be forgotten.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go watch The Phantom Menace to wash this debacle from my eyes.
Summary: It’s some unspecified time after the events of The Last Jedi. The Emperor returns! McGuffins abound! A dizzying series of cuts and edits ensues.
For all it’s many faults, The Last Jedi was at least a well-made film (design, cinematography, editing, etc.). TRoS establishes that Rian Johnson is a vastly superior filmmaker when compared to JJ Abrams, who is less a hack than a hack-and-slasher. The opening act of TRoS is terrible, a bewildering series of cuts that leaves you numb. There’s hardly a moment when a shot remains on screen long enough to establish what you’re looking at before you’re yanked away to something else. It’s almost as though Abrams knew he was producing crap but thought that enough razzle dazzle would hide the fact.
TRoS proves once and for all that there was no plan for this “trilogy.” They called it that because they thought that’s what the fans wanted. All they proved was that Bob Lee “The Nailer” Swagger is correct when he says, “Any plan is better than no plan.” Without a plan, each film lurched from one direction to another. TLJ utterly destroyed every thread left at the end of The Force Awakens, and Abrams returns the favor by utterly destroying even the tenuous threads Johnson kinda-sorta-in-a-way left at the end of TLJ. It feels petty, small, and insulting to the audience.
If Producer Kathleen Kennedy had any real support for what Johnson did to the franchise, she would have insisted Abrams attempt to deal with the ruins TLJ left behind. Alas, that would have required genuine imagination and creativity, talents Abrams sorely lacks. What he’s “good” at is taking the work of others, washing away their fingerprints, filing off the serial numbers, slapping on a new coat of paint, and saying, “Behold my shiny new thing!”
Please don’t interpret any of this as my liking TLJ. TLJ is a horrible film. That said, it would have been interesting to see where TRoS might have gone if it had explored that Rey comes from nothing, that a little kid evinces force powers, what all that means in the Star Wars universe, and how the Rebellion starts over again from a mere dozen or so survivors of the Resistance. That might have been something worth seeing.
Alas, no. Rey (Daisy Ridley) remains an overpowered goddess that I just could not care less about. Finn (John Boyega) is forever a wasted potential, Poe (Oscar Isaac ) a squandered wreck. BB-8 persists in getting too much screen time, while R2D2 is little more than a data recorder, and he’s not very good at that according to C-3PO. And because there aren’t enough ‘droids, let’s toss in that little one-wheel thing for no reason whatsoever. Kylo “Don’t call me Ben” Ren (Adam Driver) is the most interesting character in the entire film, possibly in all three of the Disney Star Ways films, and if the ending had gone in a different direction, he might have made it work. Again, this would have required imagination and a willingness to take a risk or two, which means it was never, ever going to happen.
The only wonderful thing to come out of this is John Williams. No, it’s not his best work but it’s amazing to think that a single composer has handled all the music for this series for over four decades. Williams not only has an amazing collection of musical themes to work with, he managed to make all of the music sound consistent from film to film, year to year, decade to decade. It’s amazing and let’s just never mind those spin-off films; they don’t count.
This is immensely frustrating. I was 22 when Star Wars debuted. I’ve seen every subsequent film on its opening weekend. It’s not that I’m an amazing, hard-core SW fan, but I enjoyed all the films. That includes the prequels, for all their faults, because there was always an over-arching feeling that they were heading somewhere and not just bumping around in the dark. Here, the sole intent seemed to be to dismantle all the work of the original films and to lump all their glory onto Rey.
I raised my kids on these films. One of my best moments ever was watching my grandson see that revelation of Vader as Luke’s father, reliving that moment through his eyes. And now I’ve seen him watch TRoS and heard his father, my son, say at the end, “Well, that was terrible.” He didn’t say that at the end of TLJ or any other SW film, no matter how good or how bad. No, that was saved for the ostensible end of the Skywalker Saga. Feh!
Brilliant, Ms Kennedy. Wonderful, Mr. Abrams. You didn’t destroy my childhood because I was an adult when I first watched Star Wars. You haven’t ruined the earlier films; I still have them on tape, disc, and digital. You’ve simply demonstrated a supreme lack of talent, a rejection of imagination, a refusal to take a chance and demonstrate even the smallest bit of faith in the fans. You could have given them something new, something worthy of their love and support.
Instead you murdered the franchise. You destroyed the originals, you disrespected the lore, you assassinated beloved characters, you ignored the prequels, and you crapped on each of your own films in turn. Your films will endure only in memory as terrible warnings, things to be avoided, sights best left unseen. They have contributed nothing. They deserve to be forgotten.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go watch The Phantom Menace to wash this debacle from my eyes.
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