Does anybody ENJOY Star Wars anymore?

[Ollie 1,059]

it’s probably been close to 20 years since I’ve watched any of the OT or prequels. some of that I credit to my decline in being as interested in cinema as I used to be.

 

I enjoyed the original trilogy until Lucas screwed it up by completely disregarding them and adding all these unnecessary changes to them that frankly ruined them. 

 

The prequels are just boring. In the hands of a more competent director who had some control they would have been excellent. I feel bad for the actors but the chemistry that made the OT compelling was sadly missing. Anakin’s fall from grace is not really that interesting.

 

The Disney trilogy started off with a bang, yes we’ve seen it before. But the chemistry between all the characters was real, which I credit to having Lawrence Kasdan work on the script as well as great casting by JJ Abrams. 

But the next two films drug the series down. I prefer TROS, even though it’s filled with faults, because it does away with all the unnecessary characters added to TLJ and focuses on the core cast from TFA. 

 

Rogue One may be the best of the Disney films. I’ve watched all of the Disney + live action series. But never was vested in the various cartoon series. 
 

I still love & listen to the OT scores, the prequels not as much and outside of Rogue One and TFA, really don’t find too much to enjoy from the Sequel series.

 

I have quite a few Star Wars Funko pops, Hallmark Ornaments, t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, all my original Kenner figures and some other collectibles so yeah I enjoy it still.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

Here in Canada there's a channel called "Showcase" that runs a Star Wars marathon a couple times a year, and I usually end up watching the OT and Rogue One. The others I'll leave on in the background while getting work done, which summarizes how I feel about them.

 

Like Ollie, I still enjoy some of the Star Wars merch, but I'm not waiting with bated breath for the next movie like I used to.

[Tom 4,664]

3 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I've not seen any of the telly shows, but I enjoy the O.T., and I enjoy the P.T. I like THE LAST JEDI, I tolerate THE FORCE AWAKENS, and I am physically sick at the thought of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

Well, at least Daisy wears a veil.  

[karelm 2,914]

Absolutely!  I recently did an AI upscale of Star Wars A New Hope and it really makes it feel more modern.  It's crazy how great that film was given its age and how many times I've watched it.  It can still feel fresh.  What is surprising to me is that the prequel trilogy doesn't feel as bad as I recall.  The sequel trilogy, has fundamental story flaws but who knows what I'll think in 20 years.  Maybe they'll make a sequel to the sequel trilogy that will make the sequel trilogy feel like a masterpiece. 

[Datameister 2,044]

I am probably less interested in new additions to the Star Wars canon than ever before. Ever since 2015, there's just been too much Star Wars too often.

 

Still love a lot of the older stuff (and even some of the newer stuff), although it occupies less space in my world than it used to.

[Andy 4,138]

I still love Star Wars.  The 9 Skywalker films are where it’s at for me.  Everything else is extra.  The TV shows have been on a general decline, such that I think they should rest it and go back to the cinema. 
 

There really is nothing like the anticipation of a new Saga movie where you don’t know what will happen and you read the crawl for the first time. 
 

I know the Sequels get hate, but they’re the only stories going forward instead of shrinking the Galaxy and filling in timeline gaps. Every other project is a prequel, and the stakes never feel as high. 

[TheAvengerButton 175]

I love everything Star Wars. It doens't take much for me to enjoy them, they've always been silly and fun films. Hell, the original film has a first third that is about two robots in a desert but people think that's a pinnacle of cinema over some of the other stuff in the Saga? Weird priorities. I'll take it all. I've heard every criticism across the board but these films are still enjoyable to me.

 

And The Rise of Skywalker is my favorite film in the Sage behind Return of the Jedi. Top three films for me are Return, Rise, and Revenge of the Sith. All thirds. Go figure.

 

Rebels is good, Clone Wars is good, I've had a great time with Mandolorian, Ahsoka is the absolute tits. Also, Kevin Kiner, Ludwig Goransson and Gordy Haab are successfully carrying on John Williams' spirit.

[JTN 2,030]

4 hours ago, karelm said:

I recently did an AI upscale of Star Wars A New Hope

Care to elaborate? 

3 hours ago, TheAvengerButton said:

I love everything Star Wars. It doens't take much for me to enjoy them, they've always been silly and fun films. Hell, the original film has a first third that is about two robots in a desert but people think that's a pinnacle of cinema over some of the other stuff in the Saga? Weird priorities. I'll take it all. I've heard every criticism across the board but these films are still enjoyable to me.

 

And The Rise of Skywalker is my favorite film in the Sage behind Return of the Jedi. Top three films for me are Return, Rise, and Revenge of the Sith. All thirds. Go figure.

 

Rebels is good, Clone Wars is good, I've had a great time with Mandolorian, Ahsoka is the absolute tits. Also, Kevin Kiner, Ludwig Goransson and Gordy Haab are successfully carrying on John Williams' spirit.

May I ask how old you are?

[GerateWohl 4,370]

I said it somewhere else. In the meantime when I watch new Star Wars content it is accompanied by a feeling like "What are they going to fuck up this time?". That is not really what I call enjoying something.

In addition, Star Wars is made for cinema experience. But the TV shows are ok, I think?

 

I mean, I like the animated series like Clone Wars, Rebels and even Resistance. But for me that was always kind of enjoyable legends. I don't really feel well with this in the meantime mixup of the animated stories with the live action stories, which started with Darth Maul in Solo. I found it better, when the two worlds were separated and handled as different universes.

 

But now comes the worst part. The music. Kiners work is ok but is quite rough compared to the sophisticated music that Williams wrote, but it works as kind of emulation. I didn't really like, what Göransson setup with The Mandalorian. And let's not talk about Boba Fett. Andor was a catastrophy regarding music and that is mildly put. The worst piece of Star Wars music, that I ever heard. Sorry.

That is probably my biggest issue.

 

But apart from that, as a movie Rise of Skywalker was probably the worst thing that was done to the Saga ever. JJ Abrams managed to top the first holiday special. And that wasn't easy. Despite that, love the score.

 

Still looking forward to the upcoming movies.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

I like Star Wars more than Star Trek.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

8 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I like Star Wars more than Star Trek.

Me too. But still I would say, I enjoyed watching Picard more than watching Andor.

[Schilkeman 964]

I loved each of the first six films the first time I watched them, and I still love them. Changes or no changes, I don't really care. I like them all.

 

I knew something was up about half way through VII, and it's been pretty much downhill from there for me. It took me a while to warm up to TCW, but I consider it essential, now. I have a few legends books I'm fond of and that's about it.

 

As I've said before, I think Star Trek ran into problems the minute it started looking backward instead of forward. I still need to see Strange New Worlds, but Discovery, Picard, and the god-awful Abrams films are a kind of trash representative of the care classic franchises are given these days.

[iamleyeti 114]

13 hours ago, Holko said:

TROS, Boba and Obi completely destroyed my interest in anything new and SW, except for Andor. Though I'm happy to say I still enjoyed the OT immensely when I watched the theatrical restorations again not that long ago.

Same.

After the first hour of The Force Awakens I was already seeing it wasn't for me anymore. Then the rest… I liked Solo, I loved Andor, and I think the Jedi games are really good. But the rest is not for me anymore.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,542]

10 hours ago, JTW said:

I see what you mean, but I disagree. The Force Awakens may have better visual effects, but lacks the heart and soul of STAR WARS. And I believe and hope that a smart kid can tell the difference. 

 

Agreed. The O.T has two things that the S.T. certainly does not: a sense of wonder, and genuine imagination.

[TolkienSS 407]

I stay away from any Star Wars TV show or side movie like Solo.

So, I enjoy the Star Wars mainline films (sequels lesser so obviously) still, because I stay the f away from all the Disney desperate money grabbing shite.

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Rogue One was decent, in fairness. Haven't seen any of the shows (don't want to subscribe to Disney+ ... I know there are other ways, but can't really be arsed with those either).  

[Naïve Old Fart 9,542]

Ohh, er. I forgot about ROGUE ONE.

It's not as good as THE LAST JEDI, but it stamps all over the bollocks of THE FORCE AWAKENS, and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

[Brónach 1,302]

I loved Screecher's Reach

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

10 hours ago, Andy said:

I know the Sequels get hate, but they’re the only stories going forward instead of shrinking the Galaxy and filling in timeline gaps. Every other project is a prequel, and the stakes never feel as high. 

We knew the outcome of 'Rogue One' going in, and knew the Death Star plans would get into rebel hands, but the stakes still felt high and I was riveted right until that poor guy passed them through the door before getting impaled by Vader. I think it's all in the execution of the story.

 

The Force Awakens felt like a slick, fandangled remake of A New Hope with yet another Death Star-type threat...and I guess J.J. didn't succeed in making me feel any sense of urgency or dread, cuz I just watched passively as the Resistance blew it up.

 

Been there, seen that. And it was done much better in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi.

 

I still feel the excitement of the final trench run, and the attack on Death Star II's superstructure, with the Falcon barely escaping incineration. It still has me cheering like these two...

 

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

15 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

Lol

 

well it is not lucas fault anymore…

 

btw, i dont enjoy star wars as i used to be. Only the favreau and filony works get some interest…

[Tallguy 3,398]

29 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

The Force Awakens felt like a slick, fandangled remake of A New Hope with yet another Death Star-type threat...and I guess J.J. didn't succeed in making me feel any sense of urgency or dread, cuz I just watched passively as the Resistance blew it up.

 

IMHO the thing that sinks TFA is re-doing the Planet Killer. I don't like the mish mash of Resistance / Rebellion / First Order / What is going ON with these people? but that's just me being a fanboy. The new characters generally work (especially Rey and Finn), Ford does a credible job.

 

They could have gotten away with almost everything bad and had people focusing entirely on the good and even avoided the (mostly inaccurate) charge of "It's just a remake of Star Wars" if they hadn't just re-done the Death Star. Preventing a Leia / Luke / Han reunion, the mystery box crap that we know he had no plans for? All would have been OK. But... Death Star. Even worse: BIGGER Death Star!

 

Funny, the only film out of 11 where I vaguely care about or can even identify the pilots in a space battle is still Star Wars. With a runner up for Empire and Rogue One. Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens aren't even in the running.

 

6 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Me too. But still I would say, I enjoyed watching Picard more than watching Andor.

 

You need to get that looked at.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

the mystery box crap that we know he had no plans for

"A good question, for another time." 😂

 

 

 

[GerateWohl 4,370]

45 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

IMHO the thing that sinks TFA is re-doing the Planet Killer. I don't like the mish mash of Resistance / Rebellion / First Order / What is going ON with these people? but that's just me being a fanboy. The new characters generally work (especially Rey and Finn), Ford does a credible job.

 

They could have gotten away with almost everything bad and had people focusing entirely on the good and even avoided the (mostly inaccurate) charge of "It's just a remake of Star Wars" if they hadn't just re-done the Death Star. Preventing a Leia / Luke / Han reunion, the mystery box crap that we know he had no plans for? All would have been OK. But... Death Star. Even worse: BIGGER Death Star!

This.

And the thing, that makes no sense at all in this star killer thing, the empire was based on the republic and owned its infratsrructure and resources. So, the could affort to build a death star. First Order is just a military organization, much smaller than the army of the empire. How could they possibly build an even bigger planet killer than the empire. If you think about it, it makes no sense at all. And death star is a strategy that failed twice. Why do it a third time? It is terribly stupid.

It only got topped by these star destroyers in TROS with these star killer penises.

 

52 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

You need to get that looked at.

I know. 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

3 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

First Order is just a military organization, much smaller than the army of the empire. How could they possibly build an even bigger planet killer than the empire.

It may be best not to overthink Star Wars... 😄

 

 

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

48 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

This.

And the thing, that makes no sense at all in this star killer thing, the empire was based on the republic and owned its infratsrructure and resources. So, the could affort to build a death star. First Order is just a military organization, much smaller than the army of the empire. How could they possibly build an even bigger planet killer than the empire. If you think about it, it makes no sense at all. And death star is a strategy that failed twice. Why do it a third time? It is terribly stupid.

Apparently it was an Empire work in progress that the remnants just continued (see: Jedi Fallen Order Ilum)

[Brónach 1,302]

redoing the death star was lame the second time. and the third time. and the fourth time.

[Chen G. 3,949]

Yes.

[Brónach 1,302]

i will now exit the star wars threads to never return!

[GerateWohl 4,370]

12 minutes ago, Brónach said:

i will now exit the star wars threads to never return!

Brave but foolish. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,542]

39 minutes ago, Brónach said:

i will now exit the star wars threads to never return!

 

It might be difficult to secure your release.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Star Wars enjoys me.

[Andy 4,138]

Usually fictional universes hit their peak when they are getting established, before they get too bloated or repetitious.

 

Star Trek is an exception to this, which seems to have a template that allows for limitless storytelling and deeper character connections.  Not that they stick every landing, but it's easier to wipe the slate clean between episodes or series.

[Bellosh 3,419]

7 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

I stay away from any Star Wars TV show or side movie like Solo.

So, I enjoy the Star Wars mainline films (sequels lesser so obviously) still, because I stay the f away from all the Disney desperate money grabbing shite.

 

pretty much the same here. although i genuinely liked the characters/actors in the sequels, it's too bad the plots/arcs were butt cheeks.

 

score wise: i also only care for the mainline films --- including the sequel trilogy.

 

i'll prob never watch TROS, but it's prob a permanent top 5 star wars score for me.

[HunterTech 994]

1 hour ago, Brónach said:

i will now exit the star wars threads to never return!

 

Given this forum, you might want to leave altogether to avoid the SW tangents too 

[Romão 2,274]

I adore the Original Trilogy, I kinda have a soft spot for prequels, despite their ineptitude. I enjoyed TFA up until Han Solo shows up (the movie takes an absolute nose dive at that point), I like most of TLJ quite a bit. 

 

And that's it. Everything else I either dislike or totally ignore

 

But it's always been mostly about JW's music and the movies were simply the backdrop that justified its existence. There's no point to any of it without JW's involvement.

[karelm 2,914]

On 25/09/2023 at 10:34 PM, JTW said:

Care to elaborate? 

Basically this.  

 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

27 minutes ago, karelm said:

 

 

 

"Original 480p"... this is the 2020 4K version. 

[LB Makes Stuff 240]

What an awful master that 2020 version was 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

1 minute ago, LB Makes Stuff said:

What an awful master that 2020 version was 🙄🙄🙄🙄

 

Still a step up from the old 2011 (technically 2004) versions (wrong colors, an entire reel incorrectly scanned for ROTJ, etc.)

[Faleel 5,355]

Yup. (The thread title, not Manakin's post)

[enderdrag64 624]

3 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

Still a step up from the old 2011 (technically 2004) versions (wrong colors, an entire reel incorrectly scanned for ROTJ, etc.)

Incorrectly?

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

1 hour ago, enderdrag64 said:

Incorrectly?

 

Yeah, it's slightly out of focus. Also if you look closely there's some weird pixelation going on too, almost like they used an LCD screen as a backlight or something.

 

[bollemanneke 3,349]

I've never enjoyed it. Alternate between finding it okay, accepting it and disliking it.

[TheAvengerButton 175]

On 26/09/2023 at 12:34 AM, JTW said:

May I ask how old you are?

 

I am 33--old enough to have watched the original Star Wars movies as they were originally released without changes, although the Special Edition theatrical releases would shortly follow. Being a young fan in the '90s was glorious. The Nintendo 64 would come out just shortly after that and I'd scoop up Star Wars Rogue Squadron and Shadows of the Empire, which remains one of my favorite games.*

 

*And I have a huge soft spot for McNeely's soundtrack. Still some of my absolute favorite Star Wars music outside of the films.

[1977 1,743]

On 26/09/2023 at 8:38 AM, GerateWohl said:

I enjoyed watching Picard more than watching Andor.

 

Indeed. I gave up on Andor around the time he got arrested on that Monaco planet thing. I'm not really even a TNG fan but I was grinning from ear to ear with parts of Picard S3.

 

Disney Wars has lost me now. I stopped watching Ahsoka after her ridiculous space walk lightsaber stand off and cancelled D+ shortly afterwards. Mando seems to have peaked. I enjoyed BoBF more than most but that appears to have been a one off. Obi-Wan...well let's not go there. Not interested in SW animation. The Acolyte sounds truly dreadful. Nothing mentioned regarding the future films interests me. I would love to own the Prequels and the OT in 3D but that does not seem likely. I'm intrigued to see what fan editor AdyWan comes up with for RotJ: Revisited. Expanded scores....I've given up hope.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

8 minutes ago, TheAvengerButton said:

And I have a huge soft spot for McNeely's soundtrack. Still some of my absolute favorite Star Wars music outside of the films.

Yeah, fond memories of the whole "Shadows of the Empire" mini-event in '96. The music was a definite highlight. McNeely did a very admirable job and it deserves more attention. We needn't call it a "soft spot" or "guilty pleasure" for liking it. And kudos to a guy who worked a waltz into Star Wars!

[Tallguy 3,398]

12 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

Indeed. I gave up on Andor around the time he got arrested on that Monaco planet thing.

 

!!!!

 

YOU BAILED BEFORE THE BEST PART!!! (And after IMHO a very good part.)

[Chen G. 3,949]

I did watch Andor at the time, and thought it was very good, but I can see people falling out of favour with it. It was strangely episodic.

[Brónach 1,302]

episodic is good, the problem is that it's still star wars

[1977 1,743]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

YOU BAILED BEFORE THE BEST PART!!! (And after IMHO a very good part.)

 

I just didn't feel like Star Wars to me.