Current Events > TLJ ruined my interest in Star Wars for quite some time *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Also I want it clear that I think it's okay that people hated the movie. I made peace with that. Like in the summer of 2018. I'm not here for the difference in opinion on what I thought of TLJ versus what they thought of it.

Nor does this topic have anything to do with the bad faith actors who clearly went too far as a result of the movies. That's its own topic and while I do think there's a correlation, I'm not here to argue that either.

It's the persistence of it, and yes, you've established that it's not just Star Wars, but I'm thinking of CE as it pertains to a small hub of general pop culture, and I may have blinders on, but I just don't think I'm seeing as many, for example, DC movie topics.

And you may have similar blinders when it comes to Star Wars because I'm seeing these topics. They're still there.

Finis-XII posted...

At least they were enjoyable to watch

No they weren't lmao.

goatthief posted...

TLJ sucked but man oh man was the next movie a real stinker.

Both were better than epI and II, so..

Attack of the clones ruined my interest. It never fully recovered.

CyricZ posted...

It's the persistence of it, and yes, you've established that it's not just Star Wars, but I'm thinking of CE as it pertains to a small hub of general pop culture, and I may have blinders on, but I just don't think I'm seeing as many, for example, DC movie topics.

Well there's two kinds of topics. 1 is just whatever is current and 2 is dredging up the same old shit of old movies. TLJ is category 2 and in that regard yeah sure there aren't as many DC topics. People don't complain anywhere near as much about BvS as they do TLJ in 2023. Type 1 though is still around in full force for DC. The Black Adam discussion was crazy for a bit. Then Shazam 2 flopped so I guess not many people saw it so they're obviously not going to talk much about it.

Meanwhile it's been a long time since TRoS. The RJ trilogy seems cancelled even if it wasn't officially announced, and the TV show content has been generally well received, Boba Fett not withstanding so there's nothing new to complain about.

I hated TLJ with a passion so I know what you mean TC. RoS had some good moments and outside some of the stupidness of TLJ, but then added its own stupidness on top of it. I still think TLJ was worse as the damage was done there to the likes of Luke and Finn and Ross couldn't really recover it.

Mandalorian got me back into SW though. I liked Obi-Wan to an extent as well. But Andor is on another level to both and well worth watching. Especially if you liked Rogue One.

There's definitely people who will excuse anything Rian Johnson does by shouting "SUBVERSION!" loud enough to drown out any criticism.

He made Knives Out, which was legit really good, but he's also made movies like TLJ and Glass Onion, where the "SUBVERSION" just meant it was really dumb.

CyricZ posted...

I'm what I would call a "terminal" Star Wars fan. In that no matter what happens with the franchise, I will likely die a Star Wars fan.

I am still a fan I just lost interest. Calm down.
CyricZ posted...

Except pineapple on pizza isn't a toxic or bitter behavior, so I don't know what that analogy was supposed to accomplish.

I don't think it's toxic to not be a fan of a single movie in a long running franchise.

Chill, homie.

BurmesePenguin posted...

No they weren't lmao.

Yes they were lmao.

You're a Final Fantasy XIII shiller so it makes sense.

Final Fantasy XIII shiller? Do you have me confused for someone else? Lol

Didn't read any of the topic but I liked TLJ the most out of the sequel trilogy. TFA felt like carbon copy of A New Hope, and Rise of Skywalker was extremely disappointing. Would've been much better if the dark side of Rey was more of a thing and I still can't get over how "somehow Palpatine returned" was the only explanation

Slayer_22 posted...

I am still a fan I just lost interest. Calm down.

I don't think it's toxic to not be a fan of a single movie in a long running franchise.

Chill, homie.

Not everything's about you.

Consayblue22 posted...

I hated TLJ with a passion so I know what you mean TC. RoS had some good moments and outside some of the stupidness of TLJ, but then added its own stupidness on top of it. I still think TLJ was worse as the damage was done there to the likes of Luke and Finn and Ross couldn't really recover it.

Mandalorian got me back into SW though. I liked Obi-Wan to an extent as well. But Andor is on another level to both and well worth watching. Especially if you liked Rogue One.

The thing is, I didn't specifically blame the actors for it either. In their roles, I think they did good. Not really bad acting, but when the script is shit you can't really fix that with good or decent acting.

I didn't hate Rose or Rey or Kylo or Finn's actors. I hated the material.

CyricZ posted...

Not everything's about you.

Well, obviously, not even saying it is about me, just in general. I'm more worried about you, you need to chill.

Slayer_22 posted...

I've yet to see RoS. Took me playing Fallen Order and watching Mandalorian to be interested in it again.

To this day I can't fathom how bad that movie is. Superman Leia, Luke being a trash written character, SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS.

Bleh.

Not only that, but the years of constant attack from the media lambasting fans for not liking it. I bet they regret not making better movies now that they can only rely on Mark Hamill. Star Wars out to be put on hiatus to let people forget.

xlr_big-coop posted...

Not only that, but the years of constant attack from the media lambasting fans for not liking it. I bet they regret not making better movies now that they can only rely on Mark Hamill. Star Wars out to be put on hiatus to let people forget.

Nobody who liked TLJ was making topics or whinging across the internet about how great it was.

The louder party here is so obviously clear, that this cannot be a serious post.

COVxy posted...

The louder party here is so obviously clear, that this cannot be a serious post.

Yeah, but shout-outs for progressively getting worse every sentence.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

No I'm fine with you sharing this because it's you and I understand where you're coming from, also you make it a point to stress how personal the experience was to you.

One of the issues that I think a lot of folks have is putting too much expectation into the movies.

Like I'm not saying we should prepare for them to suck, but let's be honest, the whole Skywalker saga was never truly high theater or thought provoking introspective pieces.

The Star Wars that I ended up truly getting attached to was when I could read books that were deeper looks into narratives, games that put me in the universe, and even all those reference guides that led me to believe that it was a living breathing galaxy.

Now that it's basically established that the TV shows are getting better attention than the ST did, I hope it gives the higher-ups pause, because the whole idea of "THIS is a Star Wars FILM. It's THE MOST IMPORTANT, so it has to be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE!" clearly didn't pan out, so I feel there needs to be less pressure there.

Less galaxy-shattering spectacle. More compelling stories from the galaxy and something that speaks to the grown-up fans. More room for what the directors and writers want to make, rather than fitting to the formula.

I still want Rogue Squadron, though. In some form. Kennedy said last month they're still bouncing ideas about it, but we'll see.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Exactly. One thing the massive nine-movie series had an obligation to do but refused was have a meaningful result. Like a major change to either society or the galaxy or even the Force. Something that could have been built upon.

I'm overall looking forward to the Rey movie. I liked the character overall. Hope they can figure out some interesting stuff. Like would be neat seeing her try to reopen the Jedi temple of Coruscant or something. Perhaps even have Emperor loyalists who believe she is the heir to his throne.

The thing with Star Wars is that even for decisions I find utterly silly there's still usually an opportunity to salvage it into something interesting. That's what worked about the prequel era.

I liked TLJ but I get why people didn't. What I don't get it is how many of the same people seem to like the Mandalorian, it's so bad I don't get it

Hinakuluiau posted...

I liked TLJ but I get why people didn't. What I don't get it is how many of the same people seem to like the Mandalorian, it's so bad I don't get it

Blasphemy

Hinakuluiau posted...

I liked TLJ but I get why people didn't. What I don't get it is how many of the same people seem to like the Mandalorian, it's so bad I don't get it

I don't dislike it but yeah I think it's really overrated. I find most of it pretty boring. It's like I'm watching a video game that I'd rather play.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Yeah, I'm really into worldbuilding, hence why a movie like Avatar gets my attention(even though the story is simple even my 4 year old can summarize it). If anything, I think Andor is probably the best thing to happen to Star Wars when it comes to storytelling and world building.

Prestoff posted...

Yeah, I'm really into worldbuilding, hence why a movie like Avatar gets my attention(even though the story is simple even my 4 year old can summarize it).

As an aside, for months leading up to Way of Water's release, I joked with my friends that the plot would be "Somehow, army guy returned."

I have never had such an out-of-place laughing fit at a theater in my life.

I like the mix of western and space sci-fi adventure mixed with the dark atmosphere and the lore exploration of one of my favorite cultures in Star Wars(Mandalorians).

MrToothHasYou posted...

Overall I think TLJ does a pretty good job of developing its character arcs and having those arcs drive the plot forward. Each of the principal characters (Luke, Rey, Kylo, Finn, Poe, Rose) has their own character development that gets informed by the plot development, and in turn informs their own actions which then develop the plot further. Roses line about saving what you love is stupid as hell, but her decision to stop Finn from sacrificing himself makes perfect sense in the context of her character arc.

Finn's development was to re hash his last arc, in a stupid way that took away his agency. Rey's development was to lose her individuality and get linked to the Kylo. Hux's development was to tune in to the Drakken from Kim Possible. Poe is development was that he was fucking right and Holdo doomed them all.

The 3 movies are very uneven, but I think everyone knows the last one is just outright bad no matter what anyone's taste regarding TFA or TLJ was. I feel like if there was a single unifying vision instead of Kathleen pinponging the director's seat each film things would have been better.

The shows are even more uneven. Mandolorian seas 1 was fantastic given the time it came out, with season 2 being almost as good and season 3 having strange pacing but never really becoming a bad show. Book of Boba Fett was bad though, and Obi-Wan worse. Then Andor came out of nowhere to be even better than Mando season 1. Ahsoka is up in the air, but I'm not personally a fan of the direction it's taken.

And that's the main issue. A franchise this big it isn't easy to just quit cold turkey. You never know when something amazing will come into the Star Wars IP.

Dabrikishaw15 posted...

Kathleen pinponging the director's seat each film things would have been better.

This was effectively impossible. Kathleen was ordered to have a new Star Wars movie every single year. Disney was trying to make it a new Christmas Tradition at the time. While there could have been a unified direction, there was no way to actually meet the demands of Disney by using just kind director and no time to reject shitty scripts until they got one that worked.

Kathleen is just not to blame here. Truth be told under the circumstances I'm surprised the movies weren't even worse than they were.

Tyranthraxus posted...

This was effectively impossible. Kathleen was ordered to have a new Star Wars movie every single year. Disney was trying to make it a new Christmas Tradition at the time. While there could have been a unified direction, there was no way to actually meet the demands of Disney by using just kind director and no time to reject shitty scripts until they got one that worked.

Kathleen is just not to blame here. Truth be told under the circumstances I'm surprised the movies weren't even worse than they were.

I mean, the best way to do that would have been to write and film all three at the same time, LotR style. Saves time, though may have taken an extra year before episode 7 drops.

Would have been a lot more cohesive, at least. And unlike LotR, they weren't gambling, since they knew they were making all three up front, anyway.

DarkBuster22904 posted...

I mean, the best way to do that would have been to write and film all three at the same time, LotR style. Saves time, though may have taken an extra year before episode 7 drops.

Would have been a lot more cohesive, at least. And unlike LotR, they weren't gambling, since they knew they were making all three up front, anyway.

The thing with LOTR is that Peter Jackson, his team and the producers basically spent years of preparation to get it right.

Star Wars under Disney seems a lot more convoluted and complicated with people coming in and out constantly. Didn't even seem like JJ Abrams wanted to direct either of his movies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Awakens
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/7/9/AACT2jAAEdir.jpg

I'm pretty sure the only Star Wars movie under Disney that actually had a smooth production was The Last Jedi funnily enough. Which is part of the reason Disney were willing to give him his own trilogy.

cjsdowg posted...

Finn's development was to re hash his last arc, in a stupid way that took away his agency. Rey's development was to lose her individuality and get linked to the Kylo. Hux's development was to tune in to the Drakken from Kim Possible. Poe is development was that he was fucking right and Holdo doomed them all.

Amazing. Every word of what you just said is wrong.

MrToothHasYou posted...

Amazing. Every word of what you just said is wrong.

Nope.

Slayer_22 posted...

The thing is, I didn't specifically blame the actors for it either. In their roles, I think they did good. Not really bad acting, but when the script is shit you can't really fix that with good or decent acting.

I didn't hate Rose or Rey or Kylo or Finn's actors. I hated the material.

The actors were absolutely not the problem. It was how they were written. I really liked Finn, Poe and Rey in TFA, and the actors and new additions like Rose and Holdo were acted very well. Rian Johnson just messed up their characterisations big time.

And Luke he pretty much ruined.

Consayblue22 posted...

Holdo

Whomever chose her costume should have been terminated from hollywood

Totk 10/10

greenjeans posted...

Whomever chose her costume should have been terminated from hollywood

I can agree with this. Absolutely not fitting of her position, and the hair...oh my fucking God, the hair.

Consayblue22 posted...

The actors were absolutely not the problem. It was how they were written. I really liked Finn, Poe and Rey in TFA, and the actors and new additions like Rose and Holdo were acted very well. Rian Johnson just messed up their characterisations big time.

And Luke he pretty much ruined.

Loved Poe, Finn, Kylo, and Rey's actors. All good, imho. They just were badly written.

I liked TFA. I had no complaints about that at the time.

TLJ was where it all went wrong. There was actually some bits of it I liked initially, but overall it just felt too weird. It definitely killed any excitement I had for the trilogy after TFA, and as a result I did not watch TRoS at release and instead waited until it was on Disney+.

Speaking of that movie, it's very clearly the worst of the three. By far. It was so bad it made me appreciate TLJ much more.

Overall, it was a disappointing trilogy. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter. Everything else Disney has done with Star Wars has been satisfying. There's no reason to put the films on a pedestal just because that's the medium Star Wars was initially created for.

TLJ is the best star wars movie since empire. Phenomenal in most regards even if flawed.

Slayer_22 posted...

I can agree with this. Absolutely not fitting of her position, and the hair...oh my fucking God, the hair.

Costume designer is Michael Kaplan. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/5/2/AAcjnMAAEd2k.jpg

So yeah its just you. Dudes a certified vet

Pikachuchupika posted...

It does feel like this.

The last jedi is the first star wars film made by a star wars fan.

Rian is YOU. He grew up watching these. Bought the eu books. Had the toys. Everything. He is more of a sw fan than most of you and thzts why he understood the point of Luke

Toonstrack posted...

The last jedi is the first star wars film made by a star wars fan.

Rian is YOU. He grew up watching these. Bought the eu books. Had the toys. Everything. He is more of a sw fan than most of you and thzts why he understood the point of Luke

Nah, I would have made a better plot and I can't write for shit.

Just because he was a fan doesn't mean he understands jack shit about the lore lmao.

Toonstrack posted...

Rian is YOU. He grew up watching these. Bought the eu books. Had the toys. Everything. He is more of a sw fan than most of you and thzts why he understood the point of Luke

lmao. Everything he did shat on the lore, and to an extent, the fans. No fan would have went along with all of that subverting expectations crap. The fans just want a great good vs evil story with light sabers, badass jedi and sith, space battles, good humor and drama, and finally good world building. That's it.

Mandalorian and Obi Wan has been on the right path.

Toonstrack posted...

Costume designer is Michael Kaplan. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/5/2/AAcjnMAAEd2k.jpg

So yeah its just you. Dudes a certified vet

Plenty of vets suck at what they do

Toonstrack posted...

Costume designer is Michael Kaplan.

So yeah its just you. Dudes a certified vet

Did he just have a really bad day or something?

Toonstrack posted...

The last jedi is the first star wars film made by a star wars fan.

Rian is YOU. He grew up watching these. Bought the eu books. Had the toys. Everything. He is more of a sw fan than most of you and thzts why he understood the point of Luke

Evidently not lmao.