Thoughts and Opinions on TROS' Story

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but TRoS felt more Indiana Jones to me than it did Star Wars. That is not a criticism, just an observation... a thing that I found interesting. Variation is good.

It's not just the treasure hunt aspect of the story, but several character moments as well as the planet hopping story felt distinctively Indy. To me at least, it's almost as if TFA was a love letter to ANH, then TRoS was a love letter to Raiders of the Lost Ark, or something

Anyone else picking up on that?

 

I’m going to be incredibly blunt given the nature of your post.

Some people should probably keep their opinions to themselves.

Film enjoyment is subjective. Ranking of the films does not equate to dislike of films.

 

The fact of the matter is that this film could have been much better. They were in such a rush to answer questions that were not addressed in TLJ and halfheartedly attempted to do that. They were throwing out quick answers left and right that came off as just shallow and unfulfilling in the end.

 

Thanks for the comments.
In my younger years (after ROTJ but before TPM) I used to bury myself in the EU with as many of the books and comics I could get my hands on as it was the only way to get more of my favourite universe and I didn't want to miss out on any of it. In those days I would probably been on par with a lot of the current fandom (if adjusted for inflation) in my knowledge of all things Star Wars.
One of my favourite character developments in the mid 90's was for Bobs Fett, the story of the journeyman protector Jaster Mareel and how he became the famous Bounty Hunter was one of the of the best I'd read. I loved it.
Then AOTC happened.
In the space of 2 hours, a large chunk of 'in universe' history as I had known it was wiped out, I was devastated.
I would complain about it to anyone who would listen but of course in those days before t'internet and forums, no one else I knew really cared.
That was the point when I realised that despite being a life long fan and thinking of it as something I was part of, at the end of the day I was just visiting and what I wanted to happen or what I thought about it didn't really matter.
So from that point on, I stopped analysing everything, took everything at face value and just enjoyed the ride as and when it came along.

Sorry to go off topic but thought I'd explain my views from the earlier post.

 

I remember writing in a thread that I was worried that Palpatine didn't have a purpose in the story. And I was actually not dissapointed. I didn't want Rey Palpatine, but at least it makes him very integrated in the plot. The line about the dark side being a path to unnatural powers from ROTS was actually enough of an explanation for his return for me too.

The story of TROS itself isn't the strongest in the saga, but I would say it gets the job done. The best element in it is still the characters, just like the rest of the ST in my opinion.

 

I've still only had the chance to watch the film once, so im gonna wait till I see it a second time before i really review it properly.

But initial thoughts were its a bonkers mess, but a really fun mess.

 

I agree. First off, many viewers probably were not even aware that his hut door was an x-wing part. And 2nd, we only got a long shot of the x-wing through rough water. It could easily be explained that what appeared to be severe damage could have just been seaweed and other ocean growth on the ship. It was a cool moment that takes nothing away from the previous film. Rian Johnson moved Kylo's face scar in TLJ... no one had a major issue with that.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 29, 2019, Original Post Date: Dec 29, 2019 ---

Snoke didn't have the map either, but said he was gonna go there after reading Rey's mind and obliterate the entire island. Perhaps Rey's memory of the exact coordinates is very accurate. Either way, it's Star Wars. Swords made of light that can melt rock but don't melt their own hilts, and laser cannons that can destroy entire planets are just the tip of the iceberg in a universe that makes no sense, but we love it anyway. New force abilities and navigating a star chart should be the least of our "critical" worries. People really need to stop complaining about things being unrealistic in a fantasy movie. Lol

 

This film needs 3 or 4 viewings to really digest it all. The pacing slows down and the character moments are more satisfying.

On a different note, both JJ and RJ had difficult starting points after TFA. RJ had to deal with the cliffhanger with Luke, which is why there was no time jump. JJ had to deal with a handful of Resistance and no overarching villain. Not an easy task but both managed to put it together.

 

Everyone of the big 4 is doing something important in this movie.Lando and Chewie are putting together a fleet.Luke gives
Rey the most important advice and lifts the x-wing.Leia calls out to Ben and as i believe creates the vision of Han.this is great and i liked it very much.
The emperor is truly fearsome and i love Reys last stand against him much.it was a wise decision and the only one which makes sense to bring him back.
Rey is my new favourite.i love how goodhearted and friendly a person she is.she is a beautiful human being and a perfect Jedi and a legend.I am in awe of Rey and her abilities.Now she is one of if not the greatest Jedi ever and i cant wait to see what she will do in the future and what her padawans will be and which enemies of the dark side she will face in the future.i confess that from now on Rey Skywalker is my new favourite character alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.I love TROS.9/10 movie.

 

I enjoyed it. 8/10. D-0 become one of my favourite Characters, good to see BB8 and Porgs appeared. Enjoyed seeing my favorite characters.

Surprice to see Han Solo show up and knew Luke Skywalker will apppeared. Kylo Ren has join the Light Side don't think he would just like his grand father Darth Vader.

Finn and Poe should be done more being heroes than need more help from Rey.

Knew Palpatine will be in the movie , hearing his laugh from the trailer.

Enjoyed the final battle.

Knew Chewie haven't die cos there was another ship.

Sorry this isn't great, this what I think.

 

Palpatine being back is actually OK as it was also done before in the EU in a similar way.

What I really think it doesn’t work well in the movie is “ I made Snoke” and “ I have been all the voices inside your head”. My impression is that the original game plan was different. Maybe Snoke was meant to be someone similar to how Palpatine was characterized in Episode IX, i. e. a cloned body containing the life essence of all the Sith before him. But then RJ made Snoke a generic nobody and killed him off.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 30, 2019, Original Post Date: Dec 30, 2019 ---

Finn could have been one of the most interesting original additions to the SW universe: a stormtrooper who becomes a deserter, ultimately finds out he is force sensitive and teams up with other former stormtroopers to fight the First Order. That is the Finn story we should have gotten ( or which should have begun to be developed) in Episode VIII, but RJ had other plans and gave us Rose Tico , Canto Bight and other inconsequential filler stories instead.

In the end, JJ did give us in Episode IX a glimpse of what Finn’s story could have been and Finn ultimately becomes an important part of the Battle of Exegol as he uses the force to find the transmitting tower ( the force theme playing in the background makes that clear) and then blows up the capital ship with the help of fellow rebel stormtrooper Jannah , without which the Resistance would not have won the day.

But , because it all had to be crammed in one movie ( as TLJ was just a waste), it was rushed and lost in the middle of more important/ central storylines as the Rey/Ben/Palpatine arch.

 

I thought so too. And not just Raiders. The whole Jordan setting recalled Last Crusade. Ajan Kloss is jungle-y in a way not unlike what we see early in Raiders, and the Sith "arena" and Palpatine's ritual suggest some Temple of Doom inspiration. This is a part of why this movie made me so happy, as the "mystical adventure" vibe suits SW very well and I was hoping for a return to myth and adventure after the rather sober(ing) direction of TLJ.

 

If anyone has seen Scanners, this reminded me a little of the ending of that film (incidentally one of my favorite endings ever). Ben has transferred his essence to Rey, i.e. he is in her now. She is a Skywalker in a very real sense.

Absolutely was thinking the same thing. Also, kind of a Goonies feel at multiple times.

 

I took that as being on purpose since everything in this trilogy has ran on reversals of the past trilogies.

Cheers,
Jayson

 

I'm sure others have noticed, but

TFA:
"these are your first steps" (facing the First Order)

End of TFA/TLJ:
Rey literally climbs and descends many steps, on Ahch-To.

TRoS:
"these are your final steps" (facing the Final Order)

You're a poet, Obi-Wan.

 

The two phrases were said by McGregor right? Did we hear Old Ben Kenobi saying something in this trilogy?

 

They might've did the "don't be afraid" thing that Alec Guinness says. I.e that cutting of the "af" and the "d" in afraid sounds like Rey.

 

The film’s story is not bad in itself , but it should have been developed over two movies at least. In other words, there should have been an alternative Episode 8 where the context for Palpatine’s return is developed and Snoke is revealed to be a puppet , most likely dying in the process at the end. Kylo Ren leaving for Exegol to meet he emperor in person ( after being handed the wayfinder) should have happened at the very end of Episode 8 also.

Other subplots from Episode 9 such as Finn finding out that he is force sensitive and meeting Company 77 could also have been in Episode 8 instead of Rose, Canto Bight, AJ and other useless noise introduced by RJ. I think we could still have had something like the Battle of Crait but as part of a very different overall story.

Fixing Luke’s arc remains the biggest challenge though for an alternate Episodes 8-9 sequence. We know Episode 9 introduced a retcon of Leia and, more surprisingly, Luke knowing about Rey Palpatine. In hindsight, that would have made Luke’s reluctance to train Rey more believable , but how to deal with Luke’s demise , which Is still necessary for Episode 9, would be a problem.

 

Or JJ/Terrio could have just come up with a better story that worked with everything that had already been done. They could have taken another year. Star Wars movies used to be in 3-year intervals, so it's not unprecedented.. But if they weren't able to reconcile the previous two films with what they were writing, a good writer would adapt, instead of cramming a story they liked into a space it didn't fit.