Ok. What would fans who hated “The Last Jedi” hate the least?
Let’s get this out of the way.
The Rise of Skywalker was a hot mess.
This is the final film of a trilogy, however, “The Rise of Skywalker“ feels like the sequel to the “The Force Awakens” if “The Last Jedi” didn’t exist.
It feels focused grouped. (Yet they purportedly didn’t use fan screenings) The lousy script by Director JJ Abrams & Chris Terrio, screenwriter of Justice League and Batman V Superman (yikes) featured breakneck pacing, incoherent plotting, lazy coincidences, And was, at times, totally off-the-rails bonkers.
Director Abrams, being the child of two successful Hollywood producers, and getting his college-age son a job writing Spider-Man, the most coveted job at Marvel?
Small wonder why JJ Abrams was so keen to celebrate hereditary power & legacy he wasn’t satisfied to leave Rey’s lineage alone. Which was a huge takeaway from The Last Jedi.
In a big way, Rey’s revealed legacy diminishes her.
In the opening crawl, the film gives you a totally untouched upon premise, and asks you to go with it.
I simply didn’t buy this was their plan from the start.
Screenrant’s hilarious YouTube of the The Rise of Skywalker Pitch meeting below is spot-on.
This is clearly full of spoilers, you should wait to see The Rise of Skywalker before you watch-
I’m no hater. I enjoyed The Force Awakens although it’s cribbed from A New Hope as The Rise of Skywalker Uncomfortably mirrors Return of the Jedi.
But say what you will about the Prequel trilogy. George Lucas knew exactly where he was going before he shot one frame of Episode 1.
Since Disney took over? The franchise is all over the map. It feels more like building the Falcon while flying it. It’s telling when Disney released The Mandalorian on a different day so people don’t stay home when your main continuity film is being released.
I REALLY wanted to love this film.
But I was asked to climb out on a narrative limb from jump street that was clearly unsound.
It was no surprise long before the film ended, that limb would brake.
The closest recent example of this narrative stunt -retconning your own franchise- was Terminator: Dark Fate-
——-(Terminator SPOILER)——-
Killing T2 John Connor in the first ten minutes of the film. basically erased the best film of that franchise.
———End Terminator Spoiler——-
This film is firmly in their wheelhouse. It should have been a slam dunk for them. No brainer.
Instead, they railed on how derivative, disjointed and thoroughly unsatisfying the experience was.
The following savage quotes aren’t even the tip of the iceberg of what they thought.—
“Glorified fetch quests? You have to find a thing, to find another thing?
This might have made an awesome video game. But this is no way to finish a trilogy”
“180 degree turn from “The Last Jedi?”
“Canonical Lucasfilm gatekeepers weren’t involved in the making of this film. And it shows.”
“That’s not how this works! That’s not how any of this works”
”Did they have ANY idea how the films would fit together when they started?”
“A lot of scenes of Leia looking at nothing speaking with no one.”
If you’ve lost 12 year old Star Wars geeks?
Who is this film for?
I trust my sons opinions on films.
I quote him often in my movie reviews and he knows Star Wars inside and out.
It took my sons insight to make me realize how great and nuanced “The Last Jedi” truly was.
I talked about his hot take, at length, in my The Last Jedi review, and the rabid backlash it suffered –
I’m not here to tell you not to see or enjoy The Rise of Skywalker.
I’m not nor will I ever be, that guy who decides who “real” fans are.
Before you angrily comment. Follow your truth. See it. Love it.
I’m no arbiter of taste. It’s up to fans to vote with their feet and cash.
Just because it wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean folks don’t get to make up their own minds.
I was going to give a long rant detailed rant about the myriad of problems and how disappointing TRoS was for me, then I discovered the #thankyourianjohnson hashtag on twitter.
It’s really a great read.
I think hindsight being 20 /20. Many who loathed The Last Jedi might actually find things they appreciate. Or at the very least, reflect on why they feel so strongly about the message in this film.
Particularly, I enjoyed reading the wide variety of takes that fans, in particular female fans have posted retroactively thanking him for his efforts. I posted a few choice ones below.
I recommend anyone feeling like we did – about how Disney decided to cap the Skywalker Saga – to read how Rian’s film though not perfect, resonated with many marginalized fans for reasons I think frankly are missing from The Rise of Skywalker-
However, I’m going to take a page out of Rose Tico’s book-
“That’s how well win, not fighting what we hate, saving what we love…”
#ThankYouRianJohnson for making me into a Star Wars fan. Two years ago, I watched all of the movies for the first time and I made this Twitter account because every frame of The Last Jedi spoke to me. I became broom boy thanks to you 💕 pic.twitter.com/IGLnL0m3xC
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free— Hammie (@balancedpadawan) December 23, 2019
#thankyourianjohnson for giving me a Luke Skywalker who's been through some shit. Being a hero isn't easy and carrying the weight of the future is hard for anyone. Luke loses his way and finds his way back. It's a journey so many with depression fight and it matters.
— Geek Girl "100% #TheWitcher Stan Account" Diva (@geekgirldiva) December 24, 2019
#thankyourianjohnson for making Luke as conflicted and hardened and in need of encouragement—as everyone facing the lifelong pains and struggles of lost loved ones, changed plans, and dying dreams. pic.twitter.com/RmfI0xmOTp
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) December 24, 2019
#thankyourianjohnson for “men are strong only when they show compassion to women and themselves.” Thank you for caring about women’s internal worlds, women’s spirituality. for the image of Ben listening to Rey like she’s a real person. I’m crying writing this, this means so much
— chelsea TROS spoilers blog hours (@northgalis) December 24, 2019
#thankyourianjohnson for, among a whole other bunch of shit, this scene.
you coulda gone immediately with sound but you dropped it out so that we could really experience the amazingness visually & hear ourselves think 'did she really do that?!' pic.twitter.com/Rmgz3ZaMWY
— asia murphy, aCaDeMiC & Kylo Apologist (@am_anatiala) December 23, 2019
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#thankyourianjohnson for telling a story women relate to. I felt so heard, so respected, so seen by TLJ. From Rey, to Rose, to Holdo, to Leia, women were there and they felt real. Tlj made me feel like Star Wars was for me, for women. Thank you @rianjohnson
— palpatine’s artisanal pickled snokes (@remembersolo) December 23, 2019
Thank you @rianjohnson for allowing victims of childhood abuse and neglect to identify with heroes and feel triumphant. Thank you for giving us space to ask ourselves the difficult questions, and for giving us a victory too. #thankyourianjohnson
— Women of the Whills (@WomenOTWhills) December 23, 2019
Thank you, Rian, for giving me the Tico sisters, porgs, and a Star Wars story I love so much. #thankyourianjohnson pic.twitter.com/db9LAZ0XOT
— Laura (@lsirikul) December 24, 2019
Art credit – Screenrant, Twitter, Author