The Rise of Skywalker Star Wars IX The Rise of Skywalker (JJ Abrams 2019)

[Chen G. 3,949]

Movie is still at 58% "Rotten" (average rating 6.2). Damn!

 

That's gotta hurt.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He he he...

[Chen G. 3,949]

I think its terribly sad. I never want movies to be derided: I want them to be good. Shame.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Oh I agree. And I really enjoyed it in the cinema. I plan to watch it again once I've learned the score a bit. 

 

But I enjoyed it...condescendingly.

[Edmilson 7,429]

Were your sessions crowded?

 

Mine was, and wasn't the only one, the mall was crowded with people waiting the next sessions - a lot of them with Star Wars shirts. Also, a lot of people are talking about wanting to see the movie, including people who don't go to theaters very often. My co-workers, for example, are not cinephiles, and probably don't know the difference about Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy and Sequel Trilogy, why Rey and Finn weren't on Rogue One or what is a Sith or a Jedi, but they want to see it anyway. For them, it looks like a fun space adventure movie with special effects.

 

So yeah, I think it's going to do just fine (i.e.: lots and lots of money) at the BO.

[Chen G. 3,949]

Oh, its going to make lots of money, that was always a given.

 

I don't even care for Rotten Tomatoe scores. Its just that its a steep drop from the previous two films in that regard.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Still early days. It will probably go up after the weekend 

[Chen G. 3,949]

If anything, I see it going downhill.

 

@Mattris oh Mattris, where art thou, Mattris?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes!

 

Where's your Messiah now?

[Chen G. 3,949]

[Balahkay 627]

16 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Were your sessions crowded?

 

Mine was, and wasn't the only one, the mall was crowded with people waiting the next sessions - a lot of them with Star Wars shirts. Also, a lot of people are talking about wanting to see the movie, including people who don't go to theaters very often. My co-workers, for example, are not cinephiles, and probably don't know the difference about Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy and Sequel Trilogy, why Rey and Finn weren't on Rogue One or what is a Sith or a Jedi, but they want to see it anyway. For them, it looks like a fun space adventure movie with special effects.

 

So yeah, I think it's going to do just fine (i.e.: lots and lots of money) at the BO.

 

My theater was half full... first showing in IMAX 3D.  But they screwed up and played the 2D verison of the movie instead of the 3D verison so everyone got a free ticket as we were leaving.  They also turned on the theater lights a few minutes before the end credits started.

 

[Edmilson 7,429]

3 minutes ago, Balahkay said:

They also turned on the theater lights a few minutes before the end credits started.

 

I hate when that happens, it completely takes you out of the movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Three quarters full, in a fairly small room. The very first showing of the new Star Wars film in my area.

 

I figured many had booked for the 3D/Atmos showing in the larger theatre later that night though.

[Balahkay 627]

44 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

 

I hate when that happens, it completely takes you out of the movie.

 

Fortunately, I was already out of it at that point.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You did not stay for the Williams end credits music?

 

Ban him!

[Chen G. 3,949]

It’s opening strong; but not as strong as either two previous entries:

 

https://themediatimes.com/skywalkers-rise-to-40-million-at-the-box-office-on-thursday/

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No chance of it getting anywhere near TFA, let alone Endgame!

 

Marvel wins!

[Jay 37,346]

I'll post more detailed thoughts in the spoiler-allowed thread in a bit.

 

Completely spoiler free, what I'll say is this film is pretty disappointing.  I don't necessarily think they did the worst job in crafting a story to end the trilogy and tie together the various plot threads left open from the first two films, but the final product suffers from what feels like a lack of confidence in the storytelling.  It feels like this film was scripted and shot to be a much longer experience, perhaps around a 3 hour finale, and then it was just extremely whittled down and down and down and down to the final cut.  You can tell from watching when entire scenes are gone, and almost every scene that remains is presented in such an incredibly fast-paced mode it becomes very hard to keep up or care at all about what's happening.  The film never slows down to breathe at all, which a film telling this particular story absolutely should do at times.

Maybe it made sense to make the first film after a decade off be pretty fast paced and just try to leave everyone feeling happy their franchise is back and hoping for more, but the final chapter should not be constructed like that.  The film tries to make the threat the good guys have to fight against the biggest most scary threat ever, but so little screen time is given to actually making that threat seem real it all ends up just meaning nothing.  Alternatively, that element not mattering that much so that it lets you focus on character development could be an angle to take that works, but even that is almost non-existent here.  The film is filled with very good actors doing their best job, but it all means nothing when the storytelling to make it all mean something just isn't there.

 

There are certainly a bunch of cool moments throughout, and it's not like you don't get your money's worth from the experience and spectacle of it all, but there's really nothing here to be worth spending time pondering on later or anything.  It's just another poorly made summer blockbuster that doesn't really mean anything.

 

 

The score, however, is a masterpiece. John Williams knocked it out of the park.  If for nothing else, if you are a fan of John Williams, you need to go out to the cinema and experience this grand score of him on the big screen.  Sitting in the theater listening to his go through the biggest themes as the end credits rolled on what is probably his final Star Wars score was a sublime and reflective experience.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

My guess is production difficulties were a big factor. The original writer/director was sacked, Carrie Fisher, who was probably gonna play a big role in the film died, and they had to completely rewrite the film. 

 

They probably should have delayed it for a year. 

[Romão 2,274]

Carrie Fisher died almost two years before they started shooting this one. They had plenty of time to address that.

 

But I agree, the movie should've been delayed (and probably had brought a much better writer than Terrio to help ou)

[Will 2,215]

I agree with @Jay's thoughts. Saw this last night - some good segments but the conflict wasn't set up very well, everything happened too fast, and the dark side scenes (e.g. at the very beginning) were boring and didn't seem to move the story along that much. I enjoyed all the parts where the entire crew and/or the Resistance was together on a journey, but the final battle, for example, wasn't great. 

[Balahkay 627]

38 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

You did not stay for the Williams end credits music?

 

Ban him!

 

I stayed for the end credits but my mind had checked out of the movie by the time the credits rolled.

[Chen G. 3,949]

28 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

My guess is production difficulties were a big factor. The original writer/director was sacked, Carrie Fisher, who was probably gonna play a big role in the film died, and they had to completely rewrite the film. 

 

Would you also say that the filmmakers desire to produce a genuine conclusion to the entire saga was too much for the film's plot to handle?

 

That was my biggest fear for this movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes, and its completely unnecessary.

Its something they didn't have to do at all.

They made things even harder for themselves.

[Edmilson 7,429]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

The score, however, is a masterpiece. John Williams knocked it out of the park.  If for nothing else, if you are a fan of John Williams, you need to go out to the cinema and experience this grand score of him on the big screen.  Sitting in the theater listening to his go through the biggest themes as the end credits rolled on what is probably his final Star Wars score was a sublime and reflective experience.

 

Halfway through the movie, I decided I would stop caring about the crappy story and shitty screenplay and just listen to Williams' score. It was a fun way to experience his music on the IMAX's loud speakers, while the screen projected some images of space, aliens, spaceships, explosions, stuff like that.

[Jurassic Shark 12,053]

1 hour ago, Chen G. said:

 

Would you also say that the filmmakers desire to produce a genuine conclusion to the entire saga was too much for the film's plot to handle?

 

That was my biggest fear for this movie.

 

You shouldn't have insisted on finality then!

 

 

1 hour ago, Balahkay said:

 

I stayed for the end credits but my mind had checked out of the movie by the time the credits rolled.

 

You were one with the force. The force of boredom.

 

1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

They probably should have delayed it for a year. 

 

Yeah, it's a mystery why they didn't delay this one and Solo. It's not like Disney couldn't have afforded it! Well, it's not really a mystery. It's clear that money is so much more important than art in these cases - I guess Disney have set themselves a goal to get back what they paid to Lucas as quickly as possible.

[Arpy 4,145]

Everyone blaming Abrams, but man, it has to be Terrio. He's a disaster. A terrioist.

[Edmilson 7,429]

Indeed. This guy co-wrote the similarly shitty Batman v Superman and Justice League. Any sane minded executive studio would keep him as far from blockbusters as possible... On the other hand, Akiva Goldsman still received jobs after writing Batman and Robin. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzmann only have crap on their resumees (various Transformers, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Ender's Game, the 2017 Mummy movie with Tom Cruise), and still get to work on major franchises and TV shows.

 

To be fair to Terrio, all of his disasters he co-wrote with someone (BvS with David Goyer, JL with Whedon and TROS with Abrams). The only movie he wrote by himself, Argo, granted him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. So, maybe, just leave the guy alone?

[Arpy 4,145]

I always have to wonder if two really is better than one when writing a film.

[HunterTech 989]

Terrio would've been solo for the original cut of JL, but even then Whedon contributed separately from him in the theatrical cut. So it's more a mess from having to mesh two different sets of material.

I should also say that Goldsman did win an Oscar for a film (A Beautiful Mind), so either these guys rarely get to flex their writing skills, or the awards are simply just crappy at their choices.

[Ii2 210]

To be honest, I expected some more from the film.  Especially considering that it is the end of the saga.

[Arpy 4,145]

Yes, it felt like a lot was cut down or not explored in a satisfying way.

[TheUlyssesian 2,477]

12 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Indeed. This guy co-wrote the similarly shitty Batman v Superman and Justice League. Any sane minded executive studio would keep him as far from blockbusters as possible... On the other hand, Akiva Goldsman still received jobs after writing Batman and Robin. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzmann only have crap on their resumees (various Transformers, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Ender's Game, the 2017 Mummy movie with Tom Cruise), and still get to work on major franchises and TV shows.

 

To be fair to Terrio, all of his disasters he co-wrote with someone (BvS with David Goyer, JL with Whedon and TROS with Abrams). The only movie he wrote by himself, Argo, granted him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. So, maybe, just leave the guy alone?

 

How about this - I think Argo's screenplay is garbage.

 

The man has only written trash - whether it won an oscar or not.

[Quintus 5,399]

19 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Movie is still at 58% "Rotten" (average rating 6.2). Damn!

 

That's gotta hurt.

 

Actually, this score on that site piques my interest in the film a bit. Mixed reviews are so much more reliable than resoundingly positive ones (which are rarely useful at all), I've found. The amount of 50-70% RT movies I've watched and thoroughly enjoyed is quite surprising, or it used to be. That's why I generally take no notice of aggregate sites.

 

I might take my lad to see this over Xmas.

[Chen G. 3,949]

Again, I couldn’t give a sh*t for Rotten Tomato scores (I mean, Braveheart at 77%?! as if!). I’m just looking at it as the film failing to meet the standards of its own predecessors.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah, but let the producers and people who hold onto the word of every RT result out there (Alexcremers) worry about that.

 

55 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

 

How about this - I think Argo's screenplay is garbage.

 

I thought the script was very good. But perhaps snappy, sharp yet well measured dialogue isn't for everyone. I bought the movie after seeing it, impressed that I was with it. I mean, there aren't that many light-hearted political movies out there.

[Jurassic Shark 12,053]

44 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

How about this - I think Argo's screenplay is garbage.

 

 

What are you - Iranian? 

 

[TheUlyssesian 2,477]

25 minutes ago, Quintus said:

Yeah, but let the producers and people who hold onto the word of every RT result out there (Alexcremers) worry about that.

 

 

I thought the script was very good. But perhaps snappy, sharp yet well measured dialogue isn't for everyone. I bought the movie after seeing it, impressed that I was with it. I mean, there aren't that many light-hearted political movies out there.

 

I found it incredibly corny and "hollywood" - a totally ridiculous movie.

[Quintus 5,399]

I mean, it was literally set in Hollywood and Hollywood producers were central to the story.

 

Was you expecting fucking Narnia or something?

[Arpy 4,145]

3 hours ago, Quintus said:

Yeah, but let the producers and people who hold onto the word of every RT result out there (Alexcremers) worry about that.

 

 

I thought the script was very good. But perhaps snappy, sharp yet well measured dialogue isn't for everyone. I bought the movie after seeing it, impressed that I was with it. I mean, there aren't that many light-hearted political movies out there.

Argo was great! I think perhaps Terrio's problems lie within these huge franchise films where multiple story threads are being juggled left, right and centre. 

 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Batman v Superman had a pretty good script

[John 2,032]

1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

Batman v Superman had a pretty good script

No. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Very misunderstood film

[John 2,032]

It is one of the most baffling written and executed big-budget blockbusters in recent memory.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It has ambition!

[John 2,032]

So did the prequels. But that doesn't make them good!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Maybe not. But i prefer ambitious films that are flawed over films that play it safe and have nothing new to say.

 

Right @Alexcremers?

[Chen G. 3,949]

If that notion helps you find some merit in that film, then good for you.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

 

Excellent and meaningful scene.

[Chen G. 3,949]

The film has its bright spots, for sure. Can't say that on the whole its any good, though.

 

But I still think its worthwhile to point out its successes, so by all means...