@Jontro @Severe Rockets Fan My take on question 4... Spoiler: Spoiler Rey took the Skywalker name not for a slap in the face to Palpatine, but because Ben gave her life which was in part Skywalker blood/life from Leia. Not to mention out of respect of Leia being her Master.
Sure glad I don’t watch any celebrity interview shows or morning network news, because I had no idea Keri Russell was in this movie. Nice surprise. Could tell from her first line. Then her piercing eyes confirmed. Imma in love with Keri Russell. Might rewatch this just for the Blissful scenes.
Definitive ranking of Skywalker series: Empire Strikes Back The Last Jedi The Force Awakens A New Hope Last Skywalker Return of the Jedi Revenge of the Sith Phantom Menace / Attack of the Clones
I agree with your points. One of the things that I liked about TFA was the introduction of characters like Rey, kylo, Poe, Finn, and BB-8. ... But as you pointed out, They've done NOTHING with Finn in the last two movies and very little with Poe. Seriously, I can't think of a single thing Finn has done to contribute to the story in the last two movies. Rose is complete crap and should never have been created in the first place. Sadly, this means that, of the nine Skywalker movies made (which excludes Rogue One and Solo), I would give a "doesn't suck" rank to only the top four. Here's my ranking ... Empire Strikes Back A New Hope Return of the Jedi The Force Awakens Rise of Skywalker Revenge of the Sith Phantom Menace The Last Jedi Attack of the clones
Yeah, my bad. Using tiers is better. 1: ESB, TLJ 2: ANH, TFA 3: RotS, RotJ, TLS 4: PM, AotC There it is. The definitive tiers of the Skywalker series.
Rey, kylo, Poe, Finn, and BB-8 Just reading these names shows how weak the characters and writing has been. Is there one scene in any of the new 3 movies better than Liam Neeson/Ewan McGregor fighting Darth Maul? (Nope)
Dear Lord... Putting Sir Alec Guinness and a truly original (Kurosawa) story in the same galaxy as Fey and Renn merchandising just feels so wrong. I'm just an old lump of coal, but I will take the talents of the original Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones and Harrison Ford Star Wars WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over any of the new ones.
I thought they did q good job as actors. Dialogue at least was far more believable than the prequels.
Is there one character in these last 3 movies that holds up against any of the original creations? Vader/Solo/Yoda/Lando/Luke/Leia/C3P0/R2/Chewy, etc? I mean, it's just an entirely different ballgame we are talking, right? One is iconic, one is macaroni and cheese. I might even argue that Liam Neeson created a far better character with sheer acting talent in Qui-Gon, than ANYONE in the last 3. Fey, Rinn and Kylo feel disposable. Did you really care for any of them? Do you remember how you felt when you were a kid, and Vader killed Obi-Wan in front of Luke? Putting any of these new ones over the OG Star Wars is simply not something I can relate to.
This is called nostalgia. Star Wars was a very new concept at the big screen when it initially released. It's very memorable. Those characters have multiple decades of fanfare to make them the legends they are to say. It's not fair to say that They isn't as iconic as Like just because of technical merits in writing and actor ability. It has s lot to do with nostalgia. I was born well after the original releases so I can't comment on watching those characters the first time on the big screen. The first time I watched star wars on on vhs. It's difficult today to determine whether the kids who watched these sequels today will praise these characters as iconic when they become adults.
I respect that and cannot argue that the Disney-fied Star Wars is not just a merch cash grab. But, I think that by the time Return was made Lucas had already turned SW into primarily a vehicle for $$$ from merch sales. Also, I always felt like Guinness mailed it in. Interviews I've seen of him afterwards certainly made it seem like he thought SW was bizarre, if not dumb.
Star Wars was in the running for Best Picture against PRIME Woody Allen, with Sir Guinness up for Best Supporting Actor. Seems to me like it was pretty damn well received without nostalgia glasses. The most recent Star Wars might not be in the top 100 best movies of this year alone. As The Hobbit is to The Lord of the Rings, The Force Awakens is to A New Hope. The writing, the acting, the magic. Just an entirely different plane of existence, IMO.
I still feel the gutwrenching impact of Alec Guinness's Obi-Wan getting killed by Vader, all these years later. I respect your opinion, but I will happily take Alec Guinness mailing it in over most high-level actors at the peak of their powers, let alone some rookies. The guy was just a towering talent to behold in anything he appeared in.
Yup, just like it is difficult to tell If kids will prefer Thorin Oakenshield to Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, etc. (Not difficult at all. We all know where the quality is...)