Current Events > Controversial Opinion - I liked episode 8 more than 9 *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

8 (to me) took some risks and really portrayed both Luke and Ben in really interesting ways.

Ben showed how broken he really was. He never wanted to be a Sith, and most of all he does not want to be controlled. Throughout the film we see that he wants a partner in Rey. He desperately wants someone around him he can trust as an equal, not a master, father, etc. He also shows his love for his mother that he knows has done nothing wrong. His character turns to becoming the ruler himself, despite again not REALLY wanting that... he just wanted to make his own decisions. Ultimately he wanted a partner in Rey. Great work there.

Luke showed what the legacy of the Jedi he knew was. In the face of failure, you abandon the world and await a new generation. Yes, in some ways everyone wanted Luke to be better than his training, but if Anakin could not overcome it, why would Luke? He is jaded, depressed, and I feel ultimately knew what he was doing was wrong, but fear (much like Obi-Wan and Yoda before him) leads him to isolation. His final encounter with Ben is fucking AWESOME, and those two performances are why the film works for me despite all the other crap going on.

Episode 9 feels so devoid of soul and attempting so hard to repeat other stories told in the film universe that is feels really lazy. Don't get me wrong, Star Wars is always fine... but I'd rather the film have moments of crap and brilliance over it being just lazy, predictable, and so afraid of negative criticism it just repeats what the other films have done.

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I loved 8 and fuckin hated 9

I don't think this is a controversial opinion

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8 was great because it gave Rey some personality. But at the cost of Finn's.


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MICHALECOLE posted...

I loved 8 and fuckin hated 9

Same.

I agree with TC's point about the conflict in Ben but even if he did decide that he didn't want to be a Sith (or at the very least, trained by Snoke) he still had a thirst for power. After defeating the Knights of Ren with Rey and getting turned down by her, he still led the offensive on his own mother and the rebellion.

This movie expands on Ren being a child, immature and conflicted by his leaning into the dark side. It also expands on Luke being fearful and obsessive of losing Ren to the dark side that he's the one that gives Ren the push. It makes Ren appear more human but not any more likeable imo. His recklessness and tantrums really puts how Anakin handled the pressures of being torn between light and dark into perspective. The romance between Rey and Ren feels extremely stilted but not nearly as much as it does in episode 9.

I also loved the finale and Luke's battle with Ren. I'm pretty sure it's my favorite Star Wars movie.


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Flashbacks shouldn't exist in Star Wars. It was always linear storytelling until TLJ ruined it (TFA cheated with a vision but all this stuff should've been its own movie).

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I don't think that's controversial at all.

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Mr Hangman posted...

They were both so incredibly bad that I can't really complain how anyone ranks one relative to the other.

This except throw 7 into the mix.

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