Well important to those who didn’t like it that is. To those of us who didn’t, obviously not. The prequels are not good movies, story intention or otherwise.
Man, this concept is so alien to me. I can’t believe people watch movies this way.
And I know what story skeleton you’re talking about too. I actually watched Episode 2 a second time after I saw it in theaters. I watched it on DVD with the commentary track on, where George Lucas actually goes into detail on what he was thinking, and why he did various scenes. Honestly, knowing what he was going for made the movie worse for me. Did you know he wasn’t going for comedy and awkwardness in the Padme/Anakin scenes on that one planet? He actually meant for that montage to show that they fell in love with each other.
There were a lot of scenes like that in the movie, where I found out what he was actually going for, and I don’t know how you can separate what he was going for with the story skeleton vs what we actually end up seeing and feeling based on what ended up on film. Ugh.
Now, I kind of agree with you on Force Awakens, which is why I’m really sad that JJ Abrams gets the reins again. But I really loved so many moments in the Last Jedi. I agree that the film is sort of hemmed in between two Abrams movies, and needs to start at a certain point because of an Abrams movie, and it needs to end at a certain point because of an upcoming Abrams movie, but I love where it teases you during the ride. This movie could have been so bold, so different, and it almost is. And that’s fascinating to me. It was exciting, it was adventurous in a way only Empire Strikes Back was, I felt, but it couldn’t go too far, because in the end, it needed to end up where it did for Abrams to take over again.
Now, maybe it’s the creators just messing with us, but your entire “needed to start and end where it did for…” is apparently wrong, because these movies weren’t written as a trilogy. It didn’t need to start where it did, and it didn’t need to end where it did.
Yes, and that’s the filmmaking incompetence Fishbreath was referring to. But the underlying story of Palpatine’s rise to power, the Clone Wars, the fall of the Jedi, the rise of the Empire, etc., had potential to be a good story in the right hands.
I get that. But it wasn’t in the right hands. And the filmmaking incompetence meant that it wasn’t a good story. It just had the potential to be a good story. The actual films were terrible. In both Episode 2 and 3, I felt so removed from the characters and so they weren’t even exciting enough to make the action scenes worth caring about. In Last Jedi, I cared a lot, and so the action scenes all had me leaning forward, literally at the end of my seat sometimes. In my book, that’s much better storytelling than “well, it had the potential to be a good story in the right hands”.
I work with a few guys, we all know if they like a film to avoid it like the plague. If they hate it, probably worth watching.
:o)
See: the animated Clone Wars series as done by Dave Filloni.
Which is proof of Disney and Kennedy’s poor stewardship of the franchise. You can’t build to a conclusion that’s not there.
I almost feel sorry for JJ having to follow up on a dead-end like TLJ. Which childhood film can he draw on as inspiration for that hot mess?
Well, as consolation, we’re both still Song of Ice and Fire fans. :) Maybe we can agree with each other’s tastes in books instead.
Heh, there is that. Or maybe we both have bad taste in books too? :)
Clearly you do. I mean when the plot is basically “Oh you like this character? STAB STAB KILL KILL ARRRGGGGHHHH” “Hey lets have a wedding! STAB STAB KILL KILL ARRRGGGGHHHH” Oh and zombies but not because theyre COLD ZOMBIES! Yay!
Well then I guess you do have bad taste in books. ;)
ps: apparently I have bad taste in books as well!
Ok, I’m hooked.
Death Wish + Enter the Dragon
My money is on Episode IX basically being Days of Heaven in space.
An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge
I’m not a fan of LTJ and I have issues with TFA if I think about it, but I think you’re being unfair.
Because the OT also wasn’t done as a trilogy. Marvel doesn’t really do movies as trilogies either. SW is being done as most movies are done, I might not like it, but I doubt writing it all at the same time as a single three movie story would make me liking it any better…
Yoda doing 5 meter backflips wasn’t that great a thing either.
And it showed. As the final entry of the OT, it was . . . adequate.
As an old friend who watched Clones with me for the first time after glancing over, my facial expression looked as if I’d just bitten into a turd sandwich. He said it was the same look I said when Gandalf and Saruman went WWE on each other with their staffs.