Thanks. Me likey!
Finally a man with reason, I thought I was the only one who initially saw the AT-ATs and thought
‘Oh no, it’s the second film in the new trilogy, and they’re copying ESB’
This does not bode well for the franchise.
Walkers were use or in the background in ESB, ROTJ, TFA, AotC, and were all over the place in The Clone Wars and Rebels. Do you complain about tanks being used in both WWI and WWII?
Exactly. If you’re going to have a pitched surface battle in the Star Wars universe, you’re going to have walkers. It’s how things work.
I think a key difference is the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren. I don’t think it’s as simple as good vs. evil and that’s what makes it interesting. It’s definitely going to have a different storyline than ESB.
There are also wrecks of AT-ATs on Jaku in The Force Awakens. Rey’s desert home is made from the remains of a walker’s leg and foot.
I have an issue with AT-AT walkers being used almost for the *exact same scene *which was the Battle of Hoth in ESB. They’re lined up the same and seem to be attacking a rebel base on another what appears to be white sand planet as though inverting the climate will blind us to the fact it’s a complete rip off.
Plus, we can already reasonably guess at a few parallels between eps. V and VIII—main character trained in the force by reclusive (and reluctant) master on remote planet, shocking reveal of mysterious parentage of main character—so I’m just hoping that the novel features of this installment aren’t exhausted by the reveal of the capital ship of the First Order that’s many times bigger than the Executor was in ESB, and a march on a rebel base with Walkers that are again much bigger than those of ESB, and on a desert planet this time. Bigger doesn’t mean better—Starkiller base was what I liked least about ep. VII.
But it’s always better to go into a movie with some pessimism and be pleasantly surprised…
Just want to mention both AT-ATs and AT-STs were used in Rogue One
Please watch the review of Rogue One. It highlights my pessimism of this 2nd installment.
I’ve seen that review and all of the Half-in-the-Bags. I don’t have Rogue One concerns about Episode VIII. Mike liked Episode VII even though his Plinkett review was less kind about the franchise as a whole.
I agree, I liked episode VII as well, but to paraphrase Rich Evans (Guy in the hat in previous link) If they keep pandering to past references, and don’t do something different it will get old very fast.
I think Rian Johnson did something different, but I suppose we’ll find out real soon.
We also know that unlike Rogue One, Episode VIII:
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Had almost no interference from Disney. Rian Johnson has repeatedly stated he had full control. “As much as on any other project” were his words, I think. I don’t think he’s lying, I think the movie is good enough that Disney let him make it.
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It has been in the can at least a month. No last minute tinkering needed. Rogue One was a work in progress until very late.
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No re-shoots filmed by another director and re-written by someone else. Rian Johnson wrote, shot, and managed his own pickup shooting. A very good sign.
Despite Disney’s screwing with Gareth Edwards movie seeming infuriating, it was probably necessary. I have no idea what his original cut was like, but I bet Disney(Kennedy) was wise to re-work parts of it.
And she was probably right to fire the guys in charge of the Han Solo movie. We’ll never know. Rumors are Ron Howard re-shot a ton of it, more than what they originally planned.
Anyway, the Last Jedi sounds like a movie everyone is confident in. And not fake bluster, actual confidence.
We find out soon.
Everyone involved in the movie keep saying they were surprised at the twists and turns the movie takes. So far the trailers all have familiar elements that we could equate to the original trilogy (AT-ATs and Jedi training, disguises and infiltration, huge space battles, etc), but it’s possible that’s a smokescreen to make you think you’re getting one thing but it’s actually quite another.
I sure hope so.
A nice *NYT *interview with the cast: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/movies/last-jedi-star-wars.html
Did anyone else see these Star Wars poll numbers? I find them shocking and dispiriting in so many ways. In particular, these three findings:
(1) Return of the Jedi has as high an approval rating as The Empire Strikes Back. Nooooo! (cue Vader shaking his fist at the heavens)
(2) The original Star Wars movie (“A New Hope”, supposedly, according to the Lucas retcon) was the second-least likely to have been seen by respondants, ahead of only Rogue One, while The Empire Strikes Back was the most-seen. Huh? How is this possible? Is this response based on confusion around the name, maybe?
(3) Jar Jar Binks and Emperor Palpatine have higher approval ratings than Wedge Antilles. :dubious:
The mind boggles.
The fact that they gave Rian a blank check and the keys to create a completely new Star Wars trilogy based solely on the end product of Last Jedi-- not based on box office success, but the actual story/direction/creativity of it-- gives me hope that this movie will be everything I dream of and more. I feel a bit like a 10-year-old version of myself right about now.
This is the Rotten Tomatoes problem. It could be that literally everyone likes Empire more than Jedi, but you still get these results.
It screens tonight for the first time according to Mark Hamill’s twitter feed.
Beware of spoilers starting tomorrow. Sure, people are told not to tell. But they usually sneak spoilers out, anyway.