Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

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Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

If you discuss spoilers, please use the Spoiler tags.

Has anyone else seen it? I've seen it twice and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by MusicallyInspired »

Not even going to bother. I've heard it was painfully average for a Star Wars movie. And that the L3-37 droid is freaking annoying. Regardless, I might have enjoyed it if I bothered to see it, but after TLJ (which has soured for me over time badly since I watched it) I just don't care about Star Wars anymore. Not anything new, anyway.

I'll watch a Kenobi movie with Ewan McGregor if they ever get that off the ground, though.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 5:04 am Not even going to bother. I've heard it was painfully average for a Star Wars movie. And that the L3-37 droid is freaking annoying. Regardless, I might have enjoyed it if I bothered to see it, but after TLJ (which has soured for me over time badly since I watched it) I just don't care about Star Wars anymore. Not anything new, anyway.

I'll watch a Kenobi movie with Ewan McGregor if they ever get that off the ground, though.
Interesting, so the Last Jedi bothered you? Can I ask why?
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

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Suffice it to say I used to defend the direction (except for Canto Bight) because I thought I agreed with the idea of taking Star Wars in a different route. But I just don't. It's not the same old fun heroic feeling anymore. It's incredibly preachy and intent on destroying everything that made Star Wars Star Wars (Rian Johnson even admits to this as his goal). None of the characters were interesting to watch except for Mark Hamill. And they completely screwed his character. I would have forgiven all if he had gotten a decent duel at the end (with his green saber, my favourite). But they didn't even do that. And don't get me started on the Jedi tree/text burning scene with Yoda's "clever" (but useless) wordplay about Rey already having everything she needs (the actual books). They should have just burned the books. Would have been a stronger message. But the story not only undermines Star Wars it undermines itself. I vehemently defending the story but none of my excuses ring true to me. It ruined Star Wars single-handedly. Its record second weekend box office dropoff and Solo's opening weekend complete bomb proves that.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm Suffice it to say I used to defend the direction (except for Canto Bight) because I thought I agreed with the idea of taking Star Wars in a different route. But I just don't. It's not the same old fun heroic feeling anymore.
Interesting. I still find it to be fun, myself (Last Jedi included).
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm It's incredibly preachy and intent on destroying everything that made Star Wars Star Wars (Rian Johnson even admits to this as his goal).
See, I am not seeing the preachy of it?
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm None of the characters were interesting to watch except for Mark Hamill. And they completely screwed his character. I would have forgiven all if he had gotten a decent duel at the end (with his green saber, my favourite). But they didn't even do that.
I didn't mind what they did with Luke. I actually enjoy what his character does. (And thought it was interesting that one of the classics has been brought in and perished thus far, in each movie - Solo in Episode VII, and then Luke in VIII).
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm And don't get me started on the Jedi tree/text burning scene with Yoda's "clever" (but useless) wordplay about Rey already having everything she needs (the actual books). They should have just burned the books. Would have been a stronger message.
I didn't care for the idea of the Ancient Jedi Texts either. But it didn't really break anything for me. Was certainly not even close to the entire Metacholorian thing. I do think, however, she took them because she would be (or should be) the one that restarts the training of the Jedi (and with no actual, real training herself, she'd need a basis to go off of).
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm But the story not only undermines Star Wars it undermines itself. It ruined Star Wars single-handedly.
Last Jedi ruined Star Wars? I'd say the prequels did that. I enjoyed Last Jedi, myself. The only thing I'd ever actually say was a very bad idea, was when Leia got blasted into space - and she survived that and floated back to the ship. Now that part, I strongly disliked. But it didn't ruin the movie for me.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:32 pm Its record second weekend box office dropoff and Solo's opening weekend complete bomb proves that.
I believe the drop off of Solo sales has more to do with the week before that was the block buster, Deadpool 2 (whether you like or not, it broke records in the theater), and then two weeks before that was Avengers: Infinity War (which a lot of people saw repeatedly). I think the slump in sales was due to folks just being wiped out at the movies... I think they should have waited a month or two to release Solo, and not do it so soon after two huge block buster movies.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

Wanted to go back to this... had some thoughts. :)
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 5:04 am I've heard it was painfully average for a Star Wars movie.
Is it random people on the internet or "blog reviews" telling you it's painfully average?
MusicallyInspired wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 5:04 am And that the L3-37 droid is freaking annoying.
It's funny - she didn't bother me. No more than the annoyance of 3PO (and come on, you have to admit he's annoying too!) However, my partner in crime who I podcast with, couldn't stand L3-37... Because of what, in his eyes - she represented. He saw L3 as a means of "social justice." There's a scene (I can't remember it), where Lando says something along the lines of, "Can I get you something?" And she retorts, "Equal rights." Again, I don't remember this (and I saw it twice, but it's not to say it didn't happen). But there is a scene where she is all about liberating the droids - so I am not sure if Maico is just exaggerating his point or not. The things is - and I will use spoiler in case you may want to see it when it comes on HBO or whatever - She doesn't last very long. She ends up getting destroyed.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by MusicallyInspired »

No, not random people. People I know and whose opinions I respect and mostly share most of the time. Someday I'll see it and decide for myself finally. Just not in theaters. I'm just thoroughly uninterested. My excitement is gone and I simply have no drive at the moment.

I don't buy the argument that Solo didn't do well because of other films. Star Wars is supposed to be dominating the box office. This is the first one that not only didn't but absolutely tanked. NO Star Wars movie has ever been a complete failure. Also don't buy the holiday argument that's been used elsewhere. The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens both came out during the Christmas season and did incredibly well.

I don't believe the prequels ruined Star Wars. Each movie still did incredibly well and besides having bad directing and acting was written decently and had a compelling underlying story that was in keeping with previous Star Wars films. Revenge of the Sith did very well. A lot of people call them all garbage, but not Star Wars movie has EVER been as polarizing as The Last Jedi. By far.

The Canto Bight "punch this beautiful city right in the face" and "let's free the space horses 'NOW it's worth it'" anti-capitalism rubbish was incredibly preachy. I'm pretty sure everyone agrees on that, though.

I wanted to like how they handled Luke. I even argued it made sense. But that just doesn't hold up in my mind anymore. Not even Mark Hamill liked it.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

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MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:17 pm No, not random people. People I know and whose opinions I respect and mostly share most of the time.
Then that's a fair assessment. I just know there's a lot of people who were so upset at The Last Jedi (screaming "SJW") that they planned to boycott Solo. Which I thought was a bit silly; because the idea is to boycott Solo and Star Wars movies, until they get the Star Wars movie "they deserve."

Well... if they boycott Solo, how do they know that isn't the Star Wars movie they deserve?

A friend of mine recently saw it (he was also reluctant to see it), and came back saying it's his FAVORITE Star Wars movie. Like I said, I immensely enjoyed it - but to beat out Empire or A New Hope? For me, it wasn't _that_ good. :) But everyone has a different set of tastes.

(He's also a hard core Star Trek person, which other than the movies, I've not been too much of a fan of)
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:17 pm Someday I'll see it and decide for myself finally. Just not in theaters. I'm just thoroughly uninterested. My excitement is gone and I simply have no drive at the moment.
More than understood, sir. :)
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:17 pm I don't buy the argument that Solo didn't do well because of other films. Star Wars is supposed to be dominating the box office. This is the first one that not only didn't but absolutely tanked. NO Star Wars movie has ever been a complete failure. Also don't buy the holiday argument that's been used elsewhere. The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens both came out during the Christmas season and did incredibly well.
I don't think Solo was a complete failure. Sure, it only made 103 million on opening, rather than the 150 million Disney originally projected. But I don't think 103 million opening is a failure.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:17 pm I don't believe the prequels ruined Star Wars.
Them are fighting words. :shock: :lol:
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:17 pm Each movie still did incredibly well and besides having bad directing and acting was written decently and had a compelling underlying story that was in keeping with previous Star Wars films. Revenge of the Sith did very well. A lot of people call them all garbage, but not Star Wars movie has EVER been as polarizing as The Last Jedi. By far.
Hold on a second. So... the Metacholorian thing... single-handedly was the WORSE thing in Star Wars history. Even more annoying that the modern lingo in Phantom Menace of, "I don't care what planet you're from - that had to hurt!" And Jar Jar Binks... you can't complain that L3-37 is annoying... she's in ONE movie... Jar Jar managed to make it through all three movies... And then Obi-Wan being that great Jedi he was, cutting off Anakin's legs - then... leaving him there to burn alive. That's either some SERIOUS Dark Side points or an utter disgrace to his character. And then we have Yoda going from jumping around doing loopy-loops in Episode III to "Oh, damn, I'm dead" eighteen years later? And then, speaking of 18 years later - how did Obi-Wan go from 30 years old to 70 years old in 18 years?
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

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The midichlorian thing was one line in The Phantom Menace (and then mentioned very quickly in ROTS again). George Lucas himself renounced the theory saying "maybe Qui-Gon was wrong." At the end of the day, it's a throwaway line that didn't affect the plot of the prequels at all. TLJ's polarization was about more than a throwaway line. The prequels are divisive but not polarizing. Just the subject of much debate. TLJ is more than a debate.

Also, Solo was projected to do $400 million in the US overall. They were expecting $150M for opening weekend. It also crashed internationally. They spent $250M on the movie. Disney is looking at a $50M - $80M loss overall according to the numbers being thrown out. On a STAR WARS MOVIE. That's a monumental failure. Theaters were half-empty to completely empty everywhere. I was looking at the ticket preorders myself. Nobody went to see it. Someone I know said there were 7 people in the audience when he went opening night.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:16 pm The midichlorian thing was one line in The Phantom Menace (and then mentioned very quickly in ROTS again). George Lucas himself renounced the theory saying "maybe Qui-Gon was wrong."
Lucas can say he was wrong... but Lucas is also the one who put it in the movie... and did the knee-jerk reaction to say Qui-Gon might be wrong because of the fans... and since it was never countered in the movie, it remains canon.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:16 pm At the end of the day, it's a throwaway line that didn't affect the plot of the prequels at all.
Again, if you consider it canon - which you should, since no other movie countered it - it impacts EVERY single Star Wars movie where the Force is mentioned or used.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:16 pm TLJ's polarization was about more than a throwaway line.
You keep saying it was more polarizing but don't say why. :D
MusicallyInspired wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:16 pm Also, Solo was projected to do $400 million in the US overall. They were expecting $150M for opening weekend. It also crashed internationally. They spent $250M on the movie. Disney is looking at a $50M - $80M loss overall according to the numbers being thrown out. On a STAR WARS MOVIE. That's a monumental failure. Theaters were half-empty to completely empty everywhere. I was looking at the ticket preorders myself. Nobody went to see it. Someone I know said there were 7 people in the audience when he went opening night.
I wouldn't say nobody went to see it. I saw it twice - both times, the theaters were full.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

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I did say why. They ruined Luke's character, none of the other characters were compelling, Canto Bight was a preachy prequel-atmosphere-laden waste of an extra 30 minutes to the movie, and Yoda was completely contradictory to himself and the story. That's reason enough. But if you want more, Finn's character has changed zero since TFA (he's still trying to run away and thinks the Rebels have no hope of defeating the FO), he should have died trying to save the Rebels on Crait, the surprise romance between Rose and Finn was completely out of left field and silly, Carrie Poppins, Admiral Purple Hair (least they killed her off). Everyone wanted to see Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. What we got was grumpy old man Skywalker who didn't do a single thing anybody wanted to see. And then they killed him off after showing that he wasn't ever in any real danger which doesn't make any sense dramatically.

Your experience seeing Solo was not typical, it was outlier. The numbers speak for themselves. There's no argument there.

Again, I don't care if it's good. I'm not going to see it. I just don't care.

Midichlorians can be safely ignored. They don't ruin anything. They've never been focused on or mentioned again and the Force has continued the way it has always been before TPM came along.

Also is that REALLY how we wanted to learn how Han got his last name? That was so freaking stupid.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by Tawmis »

MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am They ruined Luke's character
But the prequels didn't ruin Obi-Wan, specifically in Revenge of the Sith?
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am Canto Bight was a preachy prequel-atmosphere-laden waste of an extra 30 minutes to the movie
So... you don't think pretty much all of Star Wars is political? Because even on StarWars.com - they talk about how Emperor Palpatine is symbolic of Adolph Hitler.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am Finn's character has changed zero since TFA (he's still trying to run away and thinks the Rebels have no hope of defeating the FO)
How much did Luke's character change from A New Hope to Empire? Both movies he was a whiny kid. Even when, going against Yoda and Ben's advice, he faced Vader... just a whiny kid. Luke didn't see a change until the third movie. And that's a MAIN character.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am the surprise romance between Rose and Finn was completely out of left field and silly
More surprising and silly than the relationship between Han and Leia in Empire? Because that comes off pretty sudden.

For me, it wasn't a far reach to think that when you see someone risk their lives (with the intent on dying), selflessly, that in that moment, you might be overcome with strong feelings.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am Admiral Purple Hair (least they killed her off).
What didn't you like about her? She was doing what she thought was the right thing. Sure, it's against what Poe (the hero) wanted - but from her view, it was a logical thing to do.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am And then they killed him [Luke] off after showing that he wasn't ever in any real danger which doesn't make any sense dramatically.
Oh, you mean like when they killed Obi-Wan when he wasn't in any danger, fighting Vader?
And how they both did the same trick? The disappear from their robes thing?
I thought that was a nice nod to the Obi-Wan thing.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am Your experience seeing Solo was not typical, it was outlier. The numbers speak for themselves. There's no argument there.
I wasn't arguing - just pointing out that you said nobody went and saw it. And my experience was that statement is incorrect.
MusicallyInspired wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:46 am Again, I don't care if it's good. I'm not going to see it. I just don't care.
I was never trying to convince you to see it. It became more about why you refused to see. :)
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by MusicallyInspired »

Tawmis wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 1:00 pm But the prequels didn't ruin Obi-Wan, specifically in Revenge of the Sith?
Actually, no. I don't have a problem with that. Actually Obi-Wan was the BEST part of the prequels. Him, Maul, and Palpatine.
So... you don't think pretty much all of Star Wars is political? Because even on StarWars.com - they talk about how Emperor Palpatine is symbolic of Adolph Hitler.
Palpatine is an archetype. That's why he works and people buy him as an effective villain because the idea of a Palpatine, or Hitler, or countless other villains in history and fiction is "true." Luke is an archetype. A good story isn't doing something new necessarily as it is taking tried and true archetypes and re-imagining them in interesting ways. That's not the same as re-using tropes, which are means to manipulate archetypes. Even the prequels is based in a "truth" of archetypal frameworks. I don't pretend to understand how to do that but I certainly recognize it. As much as I recognize that TLJ is a confusing mess with no archetypes that are "true" to me. I can kind of buy Kylo's arc but he's just not that compelling. I don't seem him as dangerous, just wild and out of control. Historically, that means he'll fall pretty fast. Palpatine was so in control that it was almost impossible to envision the story ending with his failure. He was truly intimidating and powerful. So, the stakes just aren't there for me and the drama is, therefore, meaningless when it comes to Kylo. I buy his performance, I just don't think he's written particularly well.

And that's true for the entire story in TLJ. Just a mess of meaningless characters who wander around the plot not accomplishing much and I don't care where they're ending up anyway so I'm not invested. It's entertaining in places. The action and effects are great. But it's not a great story. I may prefer gameplay more in adventures than story, but when it comes to movies the story is more important because there is no interaction.
How much did Luke's character change from A New Hope to Empire? Both movies he was a whiny kid. Even when, going against Yoda and Ben's advice, he faced Vader... just a whiny kid. Luke didn't see a change until the third movie. And that's a MAIN character.
Actually, in my mind I've always had 3 distinctly separate mental images of who Luke was between all three movies. He was a whiny kid in ANH, in ESB he's more experienced and you can tell that with the way he talks, but he still lacks discipline. He doesn't flip out at Han for leaving like he did at the end of ANH right before the Death Star battle. And in ROTJ he's just the Jedi Master he's always wanted to be. Calm and collected, experienced, and confident. Still flawed because his arc isn't quite complete (until the end, of course), which still keeps it interesting.

Finn has had zero arc. Prove me wrong. I've seen no difference. He's basically comic relief for the movie and nothing else. The fact that he had a showdown with Phasma feels empty because because it didn't feel like he had any great illuminating and defining moment in the story to really come to that. It just kind of happened because it was in the script. But it didn't earn the audience's suspension of disbelief....at least not me.
More surprising and silly than the relationship between Han and Leia in Empire? Because that comes off pretty sudden.
You've got to be kidding me. The groundwork was laid for their relationship since they first met in ANH. After ANH they could have gone either way, but all the ingredients were there to develop that and that they did. That's the key word: develop. Their relationship grows and develops throughout the ENTIRE MOVIE. In TLJ by comparison, Rose hero worships Finn, then she hates him. Then she's fine with him......then out of nowhere she saves his life and tells him she loves him. What?? Where did that come from?? There was no groundwork laid for that at all. It was LITERALLY out of left field....when she crashed into his speeder to save him LOL. It was garbage plot development. It wasn't development at all. So stupid.
For me, it wasn't a far reach to think that when you see someone risk their lives (with the intent on dying), selflessly, that in that moment, you might be overcome with strong feelings.
It doesn't work that way unless you earn that by dropping AT LEAST breadcrumbs throughout the story. At least it didn't work for me. I'm not talking about expository dialogue, but just ANYTHING to hint that it might be possible. A look after something Finn says earlier on in the story which might give her hope for his character and see him differently. Or vice versa. That's the biggest problem. There was no reason for Finn to be attracted to her at all. In fact, I'm not convinced he's even interested even now. There were zero signs that she was starting to look at him differently. At least she could have maybe said something like because of the way her sister died she honours and respects and is drawn to people who do the same thing. Something. ANYTHING. But not a word. It was probably meant to be implied but their performances and writing didn't relate that at all. It was out of left field and wasn't set up properly. I'm honestly surprised you'd compare that to Han and Leia's relationship in Empire.

Padme and Anakin had the opposite problem. All the development was "there" but it was just horribly horribly written and presented. They weren't bad actors, George was just a terrible director and micro-managing acting coach.
What didn't you like about her? She was doing what she thought was the right thing. Sure, it's against what Poe (the hero) wanted - but from her view, it was a logical thing to do.
There was no reason to keep her plans from the entire crew, let alone him. I get that she was a new character you were meant to dislike her, going against the hero we know (that was my original defense of her) and the whole twist bringing it around, but I just don't buy the reasoning for keeping everyone in the dark. It was ham-fisted. Which makes her character ham-fisted.

Would have been cooler if Admiral Ackbar did the suicide run. As it was, I didn't care if she died or not. I was happy, actually. Stuck up snot...
Oh, you mean like when they killed Obi-Wan when he wasn't in any danger, fighting Vader?
And how they both did the same trick? The disappear from their robes thing?
I thought that was a nice nod to the Obi-Wan thing.
No....no not like when they killed Obi-Wan off at all. Obi-Wan was actually there dueling Vader. In physical danger. And he let himself die. That meant FAR MORE. In TLJ they made you think he was in danger but then gave away that he was completely safe. Then he says "see you around." Great! He's going to stay around for another movie! That's great! What a great twist! Nope. He dies anyway.

Don't get me wrong, it was handled beautifully with the twin suns and the music and everything. It wasn't HOW he died I had a problem with...it was just way too soon. The timing made NO sense. It should have happened in Ep9 after we got to see Luke return as a the Jedi Master we all knew he was still deep inside. But he was completely undermined. It almost felt like he wanted to kill him off so that whoever made Ep9 couldn't do anything with him after the story was out of his hands (because each episode is written by someone different without anybody handling an overarching plot framework). If I didn't know any better I'd think it was malicious.
I wasn't arguing - just pointing out that you said nobody went and saw it. And my experience was that statement is incorrect.
Sigh. I was speaking hyperbolically. ;) Obviously SOME people went to see it. But it was a vast minority. THOSE numbers don't lie. You just saw the movie with one of the more concentrated portions of the minority.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by DeadPoolX »

Okay, I know I'm months late here, but I'd really like to give my two cents.

I loved The Last Jedi. It's not perfect by any means, but I really enjoyed it. Sure, a vocal minority disliked the movie, but it was the same thing with The Empire Strikes Back. At the time of its release, both critics and movie-goers were very upset with it due to its different tone, unresolved ending, and basically the entire story.

It's hard for us to imagine this now as everyone claims that ESB is the "best of the SW films" but we're also seeing it as part of a completed trilogy. Seriously, if you can find professional reviews and comments from 1980 (good luck with that!) in newspapers or magazines, you might be surprised to see how unpopular ESB was with fans and critics who loved A New Hope and expected more of the same.

Plus, perspective can change over time. We have evidence of this now with some very loud YouTubers who bemoan TLJ and yet continually praise the prequels. When someone says that The Phantom Menace was a better movie than The Last Jedi or that Jar-Jar Binks was less annoying than Rose, we're obviously seeing firsthand a case of "time heals all wounds."

As for TLJ and some of the complaints...

The Casino planet was a little silly, but certainly no worse than there being a 1950s-style diner in Episode II. Yes, the message was heavy-handed and I'm sure there was a better way to convey it, but I honestly liked the gray moral areas they were discussing, especially how arms dealers are playing both sides.

Leia floating in space makes sense when you consider that Luke would've likely taught Leia a few things over the years. Remember, she was considered powerful enough to be Obi-Wan and Yoda's second choice if Luke died or turned to the Dark Side. And she didn't "fly in space." All she would've needed was a tiny push with the Force and she'd keep going (because that's how outer space works).

The only reason I somewhat dislike this now is because of Carrie Fisher's death, so Leia dying here would've worked nicely. Better yet, she could've gone on the kamikaze run. Unfortunately, no one knew Fisher would die when she did.

What Luke did really fit his character. He's never been particularly great with a lightsaber. How could he be? What lightsaber training did he get? Obi-Wan had him block blaster shots from a droid and... then nothing until he fought Vader in ESB. This isn't even a case of "well, he probably got some training between ESB and ROTJ" because WHO would've trained him? Who would he have practiced against? All the Jedi were dead or in hiding. Luke doesn't even return to Yoda to finish his training until ROTJ and by then Yoda is dying.

No, swinging a lightsaber doesn't mean he knows how to use it. Han cut open a tauntaun with Luke's lightsaber, but he sure as hell wouldn't have been able to duel with it.

Luke survived his first fight with Vader only because Vader wasn't really trying (it's pretty obvious when you watch ESB that Luke was being tested) and Luke was able to beat Vader in ROTJ only after accessing the Dark Side of the Force. Luke was barely holding his own until Vader taunted him with turning Leia to the Dark Side, and then Luke used his anger to fuel himself. I think Vader was actually surprised, and so was Luke when he realized what he was doing.

Luke's strength in the Force was less about combat and more about manipulation, both of objects and people. He used that to deal with Kylo Ren and gave the Resistance time to escape, which was all he was aiming to do. The people who wanted some crazy, Michael Bay-like combat scene with Luke destroying everything in his path like a Force-powered tornado really, really don't understand his character.

And even if Luke did want to fight Kylo face-to-face, how would he have done that? His X-Wing had been submerged underwater for a long time (in ESB, Yoda raised it out of the swamp immediately after it sank, not years after the fact) and there's no telling how long of a flight it would've been to get there, even with hyperspace speeds.

Even if we assume Luke someone managed to get there in time, there's no way he could've physically handled the attack ordered by Kylo Ren where every vehicle spends several minutes firing everything they have at him. If Luke had actually been there, he would've been toast.

Finally, there's the one complaint that really ticks me off every time I hear it: "Why didn't Admiral Holdo just tell Poe her plans?" Why? Why would she?!

Holdo is an admiral. She is Poe's superior officer. In the military, you DO NOT openly question your commanding officer. Your job is to shut up, say "yes sir!" and follow orders (unless the orders have you committing a war crime, in which case you have to report your CO).

But even if Holdo was going to tell someone, why Poe?

Poe just got demoted for disobeying direct orders (from Leia, no less) and getting all of their bombers destroyed and bomber pilots killed. When Poe first meets Holdo, he pretends he was never demoted (which Holdo calls him out on) and then proceeds to tell her how she should run things. When he doesn't get his way, he throws a temper-tantrum, kicks over a chair, and behaves like a belligerent child!

So no... not only was Holdo justified in NOT telling Poe purely based on the chain of command, but she didn't want to reveal information (she knew there was an info leak on the ship or somewhere in the fleet) to anyone, least of all someone like Poe who'd already shown he couldn't be relied on to follow orders.

Probably the only reason Poe didn't get thrown in the brig for his display of insubordination (or executed for his mutiny later on) was because of how short-staffed the Resistance was. In the real world, Poe would not have been anywhere so lucky.

What's amazing is that later on when Poe tells everyone to "disengage" or "retreat" from their attack run (while on the salt planet) and Finn argues, Poe replies "that's an order!"

Right, so now you expect orders to be followed. How hypocritical.
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Potential Spoilers).

Post by MusicallyInspired »

What Luke did really fit his character.
I stopped reading here. ;) Sorry, I respect your opinion (or that you have one, rather), but I couldn't disagree with you more. I'm not going to go into it all again, though. I've shared my opinion enough on that.

Incidentally, I saw Solo recently at last with my dad and the kids last week. Eh. It was alright. A wonderfully average film. Certainly better than The Last Jedi. But that's not saying much to me. The line explaining how Han got his name was incredibly cringe. Luckily that's the lowest point it reached, I think. I never recognized Han Solo in the entire film. Just some guy who was apparently supposed to be him. Danny Glover was much closer with Lando. I liked it better than I thought I would, though. Which just proves that Solo's abysmal box office numbers were not due to its own quality but rather indicative of a response to TLJ. It was cool how they tied Maul in from Clone Wars and Rebels and used the same voice actor while getting Ray Park under the horns again. It was a little stupid when he ignited his lightsaber on the hologram, though. Ugh.

When Bob Iger announced they were stopping all Star Wars movies because they were "making too many" (that wasn't the reason and he knows it) I was initially sad because I really wanted to see Ewan McGregor back in an Obi-Wan movie. But considering how they've been handling these films so far, I'm ultimately happy they won't get a chance to ruin that. Here's hoping Jon Favreau's live action series "The Mandalorian" will be a lot better. There's also Clone Wars season 7 to look forward to. All other Star Wars hype has been purged from my spirit, though. There's just no going back after what they did. I couldn't care less about the other movies they were planning with the Game of Thrones creators and Rian Johnson's trilogy (I won't be caught within a mile of seeing that).

I don't think anyone's stupid for liking what they like. I tried to like it myself. But I reached a point where I couldn't justify certain elements to myself anymore, and then the rest just unraveled.
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