Will Episode IX be the best of the trilogy?

Personally, I was surprised there wasn't more, or a "hold my beer" .... "joke" in a thread that directly asks about the quality of IX in association both with TLJ and TFA. At some point we'll simply have to learn to either talk about the difference of opinion, or ignore it. You can't stop how someone feels about a certain product, nor stop them in stating their opinion, especially if done rather tamely like this one. In short, the thread addresses all fans, it speaks to quality of product, an opinion which varies greatly among fans, so inserting ones opinion of TLJ or the ST as a whole is relevant.

Personally, I see the restraint in those who dislike TLJ as a positive. Maybe a "imo" would have helped, but nothing in what he said implied statement of fact, especially considering the whole point of the thread is based purely on speculation.

 

A lot of people who have restrained from commenting about the films are holding back to wait and see how the whole trilogy finishes up before getting involved in the larger discussion. We just happen to be more eager to discuss.

 

IX will make or break the trilogy for me. It needs to do the following things:

1. Re-establish Luke as one of the best Jedis in the saga next to Obi Wan, and keep the story heavily anchored around the Skywalker bloodline (or even the Kenobis if they go that way)
2. Knock Rey down power-wise, at least initially in the film. Make her human and relatable to us. I'm completely fine with her being The Chosen One.. but please make her more likeable, interesting and consistent. Her behavior in The Last Jedi was all over the place.
3. Give all existing characters from the the PT/OT/ST a huge chunk of importance. No more new characters like Rose.. that didn't work and it isn't worth risking. There are so many good characters we have to play with. This is the finale, and it needs to be focused on arcs which go all the way back to the prequels. Not just the originals but the prequels.
4. The visual aesthetic needs to be spot on for set design, ships and so on.. they really need to bring in George and get his blessing for everything on the visual side of things. Nobody understands how Star Wars should look more than George Lucas.
5. It needs to match TFA's production values at the very least. No rushed CGI, and lots of practical effects where they can work.

That's about it, and i'm 70% certain JJ will pull it off.

Lets not forget he had roughly a month to come up with the plot for Episode 7.. and it was the toughest directing job of all time. He was in a David Fincher/Alien 3 scenario and gave us a pretty solid first episode (imo)

 

I'm not talking about ability, i'm talking about morals and ethics.. i.e. making amends for all those years he ignored his friends' situations.

 

No, of course not. You can't predict how good art will be based by looking for patterns. It will either be good, bad or mediocre... RotS has nothing to do with it.

 

That's literally what he did by giving his life and achieving perfect union with the Force. Episode 9 will spend exactly zero time reaffirming Luke's sense of ethics and morality because that was the whole point of his arc in TLJ.

 

Episode IX will have to do a lot of backpedaling to undo TLJ, and they aren't going to be able to pull it off 100%, so it won't be the best film in the trilogy. I think in the end TFA will end up being the best of the three, and it will take decades for TLJ to gain any sort of positive reputation.

 

I agree with you. TFA was a HUGE hit for me - so I thought this trilogy would hit me like the OT's did, but once TLJ hit, the floor fell out.

I can only hope IX reinvigorates this Series from, what I feel, was a huge disappointment in TLJ.

 

Yeah TLJ felt like the prequels where TFA felt like the originals.

 

See I enjoyed the PT to a degree. When they came out I was a kid and loved them, but grew out of them as I became an adult. I couldn't even fully finish TLJ - it took me 7 different tries to finally finish it. I would gladly watch the PT on repeat before I watch TLJ again.

 

In a few years TLJ will get the of soft reappraisal the prequels are getting now. I was there when the prequels first came out: you were not considered a true Star Wars fan if you liked any of them.

I’m sure the generation before felt the same way about ROTJ, and would rather watch that film on repeat than any minute of the first two prequels. Everything is cyclical when it comes to Star Wars.

I don’t know how episode IX will turn out, but I would be surprised if it ended up redeeming TLJ.

 

Yup, I remember those days. We'll see though. The fact we have this line in the sand of being a "true fan" is ridiculous. If you like it, love, or hate it - it's still Star Wars - a series that has changed Science Fiction and Fantasy for the better and changed the Cinema World. Gotta give it credit where credit is due.

 

The door is wide open for it to be.

TFA was an entertaining rehash of ANH but failed to break much new ground.

TLJ. theoretically was the opposite breaking new ground ( though I personally saw it mostly as a hodgepodge of ESB and ROTJ with some less than inspired original content ) but was extremely shall we say controversial

If JJ can find a middle ground while satisfactorily concluding these trilogies I think it can easily be the best.

 

It’s not JJ’s fault that TFA and TLJ feel like completely different movies in completely different genres instead of actual sequels to each other.

Whenever the franchise tries to go in a new direction, fans get upset and the next installment plays it safe. But this time Abrams has the task of not only restoring the status quo but responding to a film that was essentially a middle finger against him as a filmmaker.

 

I certainly want this film to be the best, but after the awfulness of "The Last Jedi", its not the toughest job in the world.

 

Maybe but TFA will be the movie with the best ending

But I think the trilogy will still have plot holes as why Rey is so powerful without Jedi training? or why does Luke leave a map if he does not want to be found? or why Luke abandons his friends and tries to kill his nephew?

No matter what they do in 9 those mistakes will continue there until a novel or animated show justify these things