Film Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker [Theories]

[Shane88]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

 

[2 man midfield]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

I'd watch 4, 5, and 6 first and see what you think.

 

[sullydnl]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

Watch them in order of release, I think.

 

[Ubik]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

If you've never seen any, I'd always say start from the originals. The prequels are weird and should be seen in the context of being responses to the originals, rather than genuine prequels. The chronology isn't really that important.

 

[Shane88]

I'd watch 4, 5, and 6 first and see what you think.

Watch them in order of release, I think.

If you've never seen any, I'd always say start from the originals. The prequels are weird and should be seen in the context of being responses to the originals, rather than genuine prequels. The chronology isn't really that important.

Cheers!

 

[RUCK4444]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

Just my opinion but the whole series is dreadful.

Got the box set for Christmas back in the 90’s (obviously there’s a lot more of them now) - watched them all in the summer holidays one after the other, terrible.

Im guessing your not into space / sci-fi a great deal if you haven’t watched them yet?

Never ever got the hype, I think it was ahead of its time when it first came out and then it claimed a hardcore fanbase that passed it on to younger generations.

Each to their own obviously.

 

[Shane88]

Just my opinion but the whole series is dreadful.

Got the box set for Christmas back in the 90’s (obviously there’s a lot more of them now) - watched them all in the summer holidays one after the other, terrible.

Im guessing your not into space / sci-fi a great deal if you haven’t watched them yet?

Never ever got the hype, I think it was ahead of its time when it first came out and then it claimed a hardcore fanbase that passed it on to younger generations.

Each to their own obviously.

Oddly enough I love space/sci-fi but for whatever reason I never took the time to try Star Wars. By the time I got really into sci-fi, I knew there was 6 Star Wars movies with prequels, sequels, animated shows and it just seemed too big to get into so I just didn't bother. But I decided to give them a go now.

 

[Revan]

TLJ
TFA
Rogue One
Solo
ROS

And having just re-watched Attack of the Clones, I can accurately say that film has no redeeming features.

Dooku fighting Kenobi/Skywalker and Yoda was nice, though probably the weakest duels in the prequels (though better than any other duel in the originals and sequels). Though objectively speaking, is a poor movie in most ways (especially when it comes to the dialogues).

Anyway, Disney wise, I would go with:

Rogue One (though in rewatch was not that great)
The Force Awakens (the rewatch was better than R1).
Solo
Rise of Skywalker

The Last Jedi doesn’t make my list. Like the other Disney movies, it is fan fiction for me, but unlike the others, it is very poor fan fiction.

The Mandalorian was nice. Dunno where to put it, and it doesn’t try to have a grand Star Wars story, but it was realized superbly.

 

[RUCK4444]

Oddly enough I love space/sci-fi but for whatever reason I never took the time to try Star Wars. By the time I got really into sci-fi, I knew there was 6 Star Wars movies with prequels, sequels, animated shows and it just seemed too big to get into so I just didn't bother. But I decided to give them a go now.

Ah in that case bud go for it. Hope you enjoy it

 

[Revan]

Watched most of the film at the weekend. Pretty meh. What I found most interesting is that my 7 year old has just watched most of the entire Star Wars canon, obviously knowing nothing about release order or anything like that (apart from the most recent two films). His fave film is actually the Phantom Menace, which is kind of weird (I saw some of it with him when he watched it, still looked bad to me). His top 5 were

Phantom Menace
New Hope
Empire
Revenge of the Sith
Rogue One

He says the three sequel films are his least favourite. He also rates Clone Wars, Rebels & Mandalorian as all being better than the films (he's seen most of them too). Makes me wonder how I'd see the films if I watched them all in a mad 8 week lockdown period for the first time as a kid.

Clone Wars at times is really, really good. It has some garbage episodes (like you would expect from a cartoon show aimed mostly at kids) but it also has some really good ones, and the finale (both the original ending of the season 5, but especially the ending of season 7) were extremely well done. The Rebels for most part was meh, but it also had some really good moments (especially the finale of season 2), and the last 2 season.

Also, The Clone Wars introduces one of the most important (and awesome) Star Wars characters (who played some role in Rebels too), and now she is coming to Mandalorian.

 

[Revan]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, Rogue one and Solo is the correct order. Oh, and watch Mandalorian.

As far as I know, the movies ended after the sixth movie.

 

[DixieDean]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

Watch the movies in release order.

I think the prequels are terrible trash but I would still watch them and see what you think. These days lots of people who grew up with them are online and will let you know that they are misunderstood gems.

The OG trilogy is head and shoulders the best, but I also really enjoy 7 and 8. It's a shame they could not stick the landing with 9.

 

[DixieDean]

Doolu fighting Kenobi/Skywalker and Yoda was nice, though probably the weakest duels in the prequels (though better than any other duel in the originals and sequels). Though objectively speaking, is a poor movie in most ways (especially when it comes to the dialogues).

Anyway, Disney wise, I would go with:

Rogue One (though in rewatch was not that great)
The Force Awakens (the rewatch was better than R1).
Solo
Rise of Skywalker

The Last Jedi doesn’t make my list. Like the other Disney movies, it is fan fiction for me, but unlike the others, it is very poor fan fiction.

The Mandalorian was nice. Dunno where to put it, and it doesn’t try to have a grand Star Wars story, but it was realized superbly.

The Mandalorian is 'fan-fiction' too.

 

[DixieDean]

I watched TESB on Disney plus 4k and it looked fantastic.

 

[Mr Pigeon]

Where does Kylo rank on everyone's charts for Best Characters and Best Force Users?

Reckon he's solidly in second place for Force User under Palpatine. Kicks feck out of Luke in the flashback using that Force Push thingy and he's also a beast with a lightsaber.

He also had the potential to be the best character in the entire series. Not sure how he sits anymore after those last ten minutes where he says bugger all and then just disappears. He doesn't even come back as a ghost at the end ffs.

 

[berbatrick]

He's by some distance the best thing the sequels did.

 

[Revan]

Where does Kylo rank on everyone's charts for Best Characters and Best Force Users?

Reckon he's solidly in second place for Force User under Palpatine. Kicks feck out of Luke in the flashback using that Force Push thingy and he's also a beast with a lightsaber.

He also had the potential to be the best character in the entire series. Not sure how he sits anymore after those last ten minutes where he says bugger all and then just disappears. He doesn't even come back as a ghost at the end ffs.

As a character, probably the best in the sequels.

As a Force user, probably the same level as Anakin in Attack of the Clones. So at a decent level, but would easily lose against any of the big Jedi.

 

[caid]

He's by some distance the best thing the sequels did.

Yeah, not sure i particularly cared for the character but Adam Driver put in a genuinely good performance throughout. If you pulled his scenes out of the last movie you might have something vaguely watchable. Was a bit of a waste

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Dooku fighting Kenobi/Skywalker and Yoda was nice, though probably the weakest duels in the prequels (though better than any other duel in the originals and sequels). Though objectively speaking, is a poor movie in most ways (especially when it comes to the dialogues).

Anyway, Disney wise, I would go with:

Rogue One (though in rewatch was not that great)
The Force Awakens (the rewatch was better than R1).
Solo
Rise of Skywalker

The Last Jedi doesn’t make my list. Like the other Disney movies, it is fan fiction for me, but unlike the others, it is very poor fan fiction.

The Mandalorian was nice. Dunno where to put it, and it doesn’t try to have a grand Star Wars story, but it was realized superbly.

Better then Vader /Obi Wan/Luke? Surely not. The Yoda CGI especially had aged pretty poorly.

 

[Revan]

Better then Vader /Obi Wan/Luke? Surely not. The Yoda CGI especially had aged pretty poorly.

Vader - Obi-Wan was shit. If that would have been released today, it would have been a total meme. Vader-Luke duels are much better, but still poor IMO (bu today's standards). They essentially look like 2 guys who are using swords (well, lightsabers) for the first time in their life. While Kenobi looks every worse than that. He looks like someone who has never seen someone doing sword fighting.

I think that Kenobi vs Anakin is easily the best duel in the entire saga, followed by most of the other prequel duels (Yoda - Palps is great too, but it was more force based to show the contrast between it and Kenobi-Anakin). Anakin - Dooku 2 is also great, as it is Jinn/Kenobi vs Maul (Jinn vs Maul is a bit shit IMO, Jinn almost had a heart attack there).

I think that prequels did many things wrong, but they absolutely nailed the duels IMO. These guys were supposed to be supermen beings with incredibly fast speed (they can block blasters for Gosh sake), and only the prequels gave that feeling. Darth Vader in the original looked cool and scary, but his dueling is poor. Compare it to Rogue One's ending, there, you see what Darth Vader can really do.

 

[caid]

Better then Vader /Obi Wan/Luke? Surely not. The Yoda CGI especially had aged pretty poorly.

Thought the Obi Wan duel was pretty weak as a spectacle. ESB and RotJ do feel kind of underrated though. Having a better story and character helps. Just felt a lot more invested in the characters and drama of the original trilogy.
If i was going to name a duel from that film i'd probably be more inclined to Django Fett - Obi Wan, even if it did last about 30 secs. Neither save Attack of the Clones from being a terrible movie though.

 

[Ubik]

Better then Vader /Obi Wan/Luke? Surely not. The Yoda CGI especially had aged pretty poorly.

CGI Yoda v Christopher Lee's superimposed head. Then in the bit with Anakin and Obi-Wan, there's a stretch of about 10 seconds that just cuts between Anakin and Dooku whirling lights around their head, just before Anakin helpfully holds his arm out to have it lopped off (because super-reflexes). All the while in some dull greenscreen cave that they don't interact with at all. I can forgive bad dialogue, it's the rest of it that drags it down.

 

[berbatrick]

CGI Yoda v Christopher Lee's superimposed head. Then in the bit with Anakin and Obi-Wan, there's a stretch of about 10 seconds that just cuts between Anakin and Dooku whirling lights around their head, just before Anakin helpfully holds his arm out to have it lopped off (because super-reflexes). All the while in some dull greenscreen cave that they don't interact with at all. I can forgive bad dialogue, it's the rest of it that drags it down.

None of the prequel duels do anything for me except Maul with that music and nice setting. The AOTC ones are terrible and I thought the two big ones at the end of ROTS are a farce or a parody, going on endlessly. You could change the background colour and put the same duel in a Matrix movie.

My favourites are Cloud City, for many obvious reasons, the throne room one, also obvious, and Luke's last one in 8, which was one of the few things that lived upto how Yoda describes the force and jedi in 5.

 

[Florida Man]

Interesting context to the politics of Star Wars

 

[berbatrick]

Basically the segments from 3:30 to 5:30 and 23:30 to 24:30 are why I think the duel in 8 is so good:

 

[sullydnl]

Character makes for the best action. The prequels have flashy fight scenes but you might as well be watching a video game for all the investment there is. Plus as with the rest of those films they're infected by a CG weightlessness and ugliness.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Basically the segments from 3:30 to 5:30 and 23:30 to 24:30 are why I think the duel in 8 is so good:

1) that guy has the most grating, boring voice I’ve ever heard, even when cursing he sounds half-asleep, makes Chomsky sounds like a soprano in comparison.

2) the incessant ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own film’ whining, maybe actually he does and Star Wars was only ever a nerd fantasy with ‘laser sword’, instead of boasting different layers of meaning the obsessive fan base have spent years inventing to justify their fandom of a kid’s movie.

 

[Ubik]

None of the prequel duels do anything for me except Maul with that music and nice setting. The AOTC ones are terrible and I thought the two big ones at the end of ROTS are a farce or a parody, going on endlessly. You could change the background colour and put the same duel in a Matrix movie.

My favourites are Cloud City, for many obvious reasons, the throne room one, also obvious, and Luke's last one in 8, which was one of the few things that lived upto how Yoda describes the force and jedi in 5.

Agreed on all of that. Wading through Clone Wars at the moment and they do a better job of making the flippy stuff look less dull and pointless.

 

[berbatrick]

1) that guy has the most grating, boring voice I’ve ever heard, even when cursing he sounds half-asleep, makes Chomsky sounds like a soprano in comparison.

2) the incessant ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own film’ whining, maybe actually he does and Star Wars was only ever a nerd fantasy with ‘laser sword’, instead of boasting different layers of meaning the obsessive fan base have spent years inventing to justify their fandom of a kid’s movie.

1. that's part of his act

2. the prequels weren't even great kids movies

 

[caid]

Confession time - I think the phantom menace was a good star wars movie. I just didn't hate Jar Jar and think its a solid movie otherwise. Few action scenes rescued a weak movie in Revenge of the Sith imo, so id rate the first as the best of the prequels.
Thought the duels at the end of RotS were brilliant but think they'd have been a lot stronger if they cut out the second half of them which were silly.
I loved the end of Last Jedi also for what its worth. Though i find it hard to judge the sequels at the moment because the last movie was so hopelessly bad, it kind of ruined the first two for me.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

2. the prequels weren't even great kids movies

Yes, they weren’t, but if we are being honest out of the 6 made by Lucasfilm, the only one competently made is ESB and it has the least amount of involvement from Lucas, so the idea that there were a larger overarching theme and meaning to these films that Lucas violates in the prequels is just bogus. A bunch of stick wielding space teddy bears beating the galaxy most professionally trained army was always absurd, yet it copped nowhere near as much heat as Darth Jar Jar.

They are what they are, coming of age escapism sci-fi fantasy for kids/teens, envisioned by a nerd. Look at laser sword vs lightsaber for instance, the latter being a fan base invention because it sounds more sophisticated. The sin of the prequels was that they were poorly scripted, poorly directed, poorly acted films, not that ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own films’.

 

[berbatrick]

Yes, they weren’t, but if we are being honest out of the 6 made by Lucasfilm, the only one competently made is ESB and it has the least amount of involvement from Lucas, so the idea that there were a larger overarching theme and meaning to these films that Lucas violates in the prequels is just bogus. A bunch of stick wielding space teddy bears beating the galaxy most professionally trained army was always absurd, yet it copped nowhere near as much heat as Darth Jar Jar.

i think the reviewer's reading of yoda's character from 5, as well as how he and kenobi described the force in the movies, is correct. i think that same readng is used in parts of the sequels, especially the end of ep 8.

im not really talking about the rest of the film (ewoks), rotj is mostly described as the worst of the original three anyway. the throne room scene rescues it.

The sin of the prequels was that they were poorly scripted, poorly directed, poorly acted films, not that ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own films’.

the review agrees with this 100%. he goes on about how lucas has become a lazy filmmaker with total creative control and the availability of cgi, surrounded by yes men, unlike with the originals where he had no easy technology, and other people were around to hold his nonsense in check.
(In)famous quote from one of his reviews in 2010: "JJ Abrams should have directed the prequels, and Lucas should have directed fans to seats in the theatres"
im really surprised you felt he wanted more george.

They are what they are, coming of age escapism sci-fi fantasy for kids/teens, envisioned by a nerd.

sure, but it is possible to do it badly (prequels, most of the sequels) or well (most of the original and bits of the new ones)

 

[Ubik]

i think the reviewer's reading of yoda's character from 5, as well as how he and kenobi described the force in the movies, is correct. i think that same readng is used in parts of the sequels, especially the end of ep 8.

im not really talking about the rest of the film (ewoks), rotj is mostly described as the worst of the original three anyway. the throne room scene rescues it.



the review agrees with this 100%. he goes on about how lucas has become a lazy filmmaker with total creative control and the availability of cgi, surrounded by yes men, unlike with the originals where he had no easy technology, and other people were around to hold his nonsense in check.
(In)famous quote from one of his reviews in 2010: "JJ Abrams should have directed the prequels, and Lucas should have directed fans to seats in the theatres"
im really surprised you felt he wanted more george.




sure, but it is possible to do it badly (prequels, most of the sequels) or well (most of the original and bits of the new ones)

I think this part is a little harsh on him. He pushed that technology for years and years when it would've been easier to cash in earlier without it, and could've farmed the writing and directing out to others given he didn't like doing either. I think his biggest problems were that he got too possessive, as well as the yes-men and his tendency to focus on minutiae and realising stuff he'd envisioned in his head that no-one else really cared about.

Yes, they weren’t, but if we are being honest out of the 6 made by Lucasfilm, the only one competently made is ESB and it has the least amount of involvement from Lucas, so the idea that there were a larger overarching theme and meaning to these films that Lucas violates in the prequels is just bogus. A bunch of stick wielding space teddy bears beating the galaxy most professionally trained army was always absurd, yet it copped nowhere near as much heat as Darth Jar Jar.

They are what they are, coming of age escapism sci-fi fantasy for kids/teens, envisioned by a nerd. Look at laser sword vs lightsaber for instance, the latter being a fan base invention because it sounds more sophisticated. The sin of the prequels was that they were poorly scripted, poorly directed, poorly acted films, not that ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own films’.

Where did you get that from? Obi-Wan says it literally the first time you see one on screen.

The first three are all competently made, the original may look a little hokey today but it was a miracle of production and sound design, casting, scoring and visual effects. Blockbusters are made on a production line these days but it wasn't so straightforward back then.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Yes, they weren’t, but if we are being honest out of the 6 made by Lucasfilm, the only one competently made is ESB and it has the least amount of involvement from Lucas, so the idea that there were a larger overarching theme and meaning to these films that Lucas violates in the prequels is just bogus. A bunch of stick wielding space teddy bears beating the galaxy most professionally trained army was always absurd, yet it copped nowhere near as much heat as Darth Jar Jar.

They are what they are, coming of age escapism sci-fi fantasy for kids/teens, envisioned by a nerd. Look at laser sword vs lightsaber for instance, the latter being a fan base invention because it sounds more sophisticated. The sin of the prequels was that they were poorly scripted, poorly directed, poorly acted films, not that ‘George Lucas doesn’t get his own films’.

I think it's a bit of both. Even going back to the changes he made to the originals like Han shooting first. The prequels are badly written, badly scripted, badly directed and poorly acted for the most part, but at the same time he seemed to be so distracted by selling toys to kids that he forgot the film needs to come first and ended up tonally all over the place. The originals sold tons of toys, but they also came from an era when Robocop, Rambo and Terminator had action figures. I think the success he had with toys lead him to partially believe that's what people wanted.

Although it might be a thing with directors in general. Ridley Scott doesn't seem to have got Alien or Blade Runner if you listen to his musings on Blade Runner, it doesn't really work if Deckard is a replicant yet Scott now insists he is and was all along, despite other people involved claiming he wasn't. Then his Alien prequels are even more of a jump away from what actually worked in Alien. It almost has nothing to do with the original films.

 

[Raoul]

Annie Liebowitz has taken some amazing pics of the Star Wars cast over the years.

Spoiler: 1

Spoiler: 2

 

[Shane88]

Got Disney+ and looking for reasons to keep it so gonna try Star Wars.

I have a surface-level knowledge of the series but should these be watched in order of release or chronologically? I know there are prequels (that aren't regarded too highly?) so would it be better to start with them and get them out of the way?

Watched the first 6. Not blown away but they're very enjoyable.

I preferred the prequels if I'm honest, aside from episode 1, but there wasn't much splitting them. Episode 2 & 3 were probably my favourites. The downfall of Anakin is great even the guy who plays him isn't very good. Will give the new movies a go.

 

[DixieDean]

Watched the first 6. Not blown away but they're very enjoyable.

I preferred the prequels if I'm honest, aside from episode 1, but there wasn't much splitting them. Episode 2 & 3 were probably my favourites. The downfall of Anakin is great even the guy who plays him isn't very good. Will give the new movies a go.

Do you realise liking the prequels more than the OG is a scorching hot take?!

 

[Shane88]

Do you realise liking the prequels more than the OG is a scorching hot take?!

Yeah, I know they're not very well liked or divide opinion at best. I just preferred Vader's origins and the fall of the Jedi in RotS as a story and from a superficial point of view, the lightsaber battles are way better. Old Obi Wan vs Vader in IV may have felt like a big moment but the actual duel was like polite fencing!

 

[DixieDean]

Yeah, I know they're not very well liked or divide opinion at best. I just preferred Vader's origins and the fall of the Jedi in RotS as a story and from a superficial point of view, the lightsaber battles are way better. Old Obi Wan vs Vader in IV may have felt like a big moment but the actual duel was like polite fencing!

I think the lightsaber duel in ANH might be the only flaw in that movie. That and Empire are dam near perfect IMO. ROTJ is a real mixed bag. I hate the Ewoks, but the Luke & Vader stuff is the best SW ever.

 

[caid]

I think the lightsaber duel in ANH might be the only flaw in that movie. That and Empire are dam near perfect IMO. ROTJ is a real mixed bag. I hate the Ewoks, but the Luke & Vader stuff is the best SW ever.

Jabbas palace was pretty great too (the cantina band was rubbish but not in the original)