Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Review

[@Technoid10]

I think my main problem with the new Star Wars movies is they just don’t feel like a trilogy. It feels like it’s all over the place with no direct continuity with each other. At least with the prequel‘s while you can argue they are boring at times, they were A single vision that followed through to the end, especially with episode 3 being the homerun of the series. For me the Disney Star Wars movies are definitely entertaining at time but I don’t think it was a success personally. There was a lot they could’ve done but instead they tried to do different things and hiring different directors when one man had a vision already they should’ve just let that man helm the films (JJ). In the end it kind of does suck that they had to end the Star Wars saga like this especially with a story arc this big spanning 40 years. These films could have been so much more and the rise of Skywalker should have been so much bigger than what we got. And looking at the behind the scenes drama now surfacing (keep in mind they are rumors) now shows this film may have been set up to fail With so much medaling from the studio. But in the end this is what we got and theirs nothing else we can do about it.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Technoid When you try to please everyone, you please no one. Focus on making a compelling story and the rest will follow.

[@DemonBoy3223]

You can hear about the behind-the-scenes stuff going on within Lucasfilm on the YT channel Midnight's Edge. Apparently the Lucasfilm story group only liked Rian Johnson and hated J.J., Colin Trevorrow, and even Lucas. This must be why Rian was allowed creative freedom on _The Last Jedi._

[@crazyjaysphere7500]

I agree with you that the lack of a cohesive vision proved to be a major failure of the disney films but I do not believe jj had a vision and was merely passing the baton to what he hoped would carry out something which would please the fans

[@ForceMaximus84]

Crazy Jay Sphere I don’t think he did either. He literally went the safe route of rehash and hoped others would figure it out.

[@CommieApe]

The prequels fail on almost every level as a movie. They fail at being Star Wars movies as well thinking lightsabers and disgusting CGI is what made Empire great. The sequels are a fucking mess but they have themes, characterization and a comprehensive plot.

[@RonMar]

I saw ESB in a theater multiple times during first run and do not recall any negative reviews or reactions. In my experience and recollection, this movie was universally praised by both professional critics and fans. I This revisionist history is quite surprising to me.

[@JohnDoe-nf7cs]

Ron Mar I can’t speak for audience reactions at the time, but contemporary reviews were indeed mixed. You can still look them up today. The NYT review immediately comes to mind. The reception tab under the film’s Wikipedia page will provide more insight and references.

[@anthonymartensen3164]

It may have some truth to it, I've heard it a lot.

[@RGC-gn2nm]

Ron Mar agreed. The ESB was and is still considered the best of all six George Lucas movies.

[@UncleVoodoo]

I remember when ESB was released and I keep hearing this too but I don't recall any negative reaction either.

[@anthroparion]

I think it was Rian Johnson making excuses for his pos effort. Disney SW is a disaster.

[@jimofthenorth8090]

The lack of an overarching narrative for this trilogy is it's major flaw. Throughout all 3 I was more invested in Kylo than any of the other characters and when I saw the title Rise of the Skywalker I was really hopeful that they would see the correct way and have him redeem himself and become the titular Skywalker, but no, Disney wimped out and went with boring Rey instead.

[@failedcomedian6394]

jim Jennings I agree 100%. Kylo was the best part of the new trilogy and Adam driver was awesome throughout all three movies. I heard somewhere *SPOILERS* That an original ending plan was for Ben solo to go to tatooine and live at Luke’s old farm instead of Rey. I would’ve preferred that, as kylo was the last Skywalker not Rey.

[@stephenmclaughlin3328]

Its major flaw is disney. They dont understand star wars at all.

[@albertthepeacock8020]

I respectfully disagree Disney put Star Wars in a better place

[@stephenmclaughlin3328]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@stephenmclaughlin3328]

Your trolling me ryt?

[@rodster6campingprepper]

The prequels at least did something different and felt like a world 30 years removed from the originals. The disney trilogy just reset everything to how it was at the start of new hope. Rather than evolving the world they went backwards!

[@PyreOwnuge]

rodster6 is right and Kevin is just a moron.

[@Johnadams20760]

Kevin, you are talking as though you feel your opnion is final and yo uare superior to everyone. shall we just all bow down before you ?

[@Imaxxacre1]

The Disney trilogy was flawed, but even The Last Jedi was nowhere near as bad as parts 1 or 2 of the prequels. New ideas alone aren't enough to make movies good, as the new ideas in the prequels were mostly presented poorly. They also had shockingly clunky dialogue and virtually no sense of surprise or subtlety.

[@Syklonus]

@ If you think that the prequels are the worst movies ever then you've obviously not seen a lot of films.

[@rodster6campingprepper]

I'd rather see something flawed but different than something competent but just a repeat of a movie that already exists in the franchise. Especially as that repeat was inferior featuring less interesting characters. it makes it pointless to watch as I knew what was going to happen at every moment.

[@DaylightDigital]

When Hux turns directly to camera and says, "I'm the spy!!!" I checked out. That was the straw that broke the camel's back lol

[@RyuEnGamer]

TBH, Hux was just a mid-tier bum on screen. It would've been interesting if he challenged Kylo for the tite of Supreme Leader.

[@jim405]

ant 'NY Oh my god yes! He fights Kylo Ren with a Riot Baton and gets his ass kicked or injects himself with 80,000 metchlorians and dies horribly because he’s our bumbling villain.

[@phexus]

I checked out at the light speed skipping right at the beginning.

[@samuelbarber4154]

Well, it had been well established that he wanted Kylo to lose, and what better way to do that then to funnel info to the enemy.

[@DaylightDigital]

@@samuelbarber4154 It's not what was done, it's HOW is was done. The audience should be able to put 2 and 2 together, and even so the spy status is explicitly mentioned upon his being shot. It's just sloppy IMO

[@-NateTheGreat]

Palpatine was a great guy just misunderstood. He created thousands of jobs. Provided good benefits including dental and health, 401k and Rey murdered him to death.

[@Tacom4ster]

Late Stage Capitalism ruined Star Wars. Also the Prequels was an Anarchist critique of American politics. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYuxdZSngN-UbrM

[@leegsy]

Kevin Smith is right. Luke is a Nazi poster boy and he and his CLAN of rebels go out and kill thousands of people on the Death Star. Darth Vader, the blackest brother in the galaxy brother, is hated because of who he is and what he does, but then before he dies he takes off his mask and it turns out he's white and suddenly all is forgiven? Boycott Star Wars! Lucas is a racist!

[@Tacom4ster]

@@leegsy that's my favorite Kevin Smith movie

[@craftpaint1644]

And the Palpatien Head to Toe Burns Hospital

[@DuggieDug111]

I agree. I would vote for him next term if he comes back to life. Plus he's gonna get me laid by grabbing jedi hoes by the pussy

[@jonathancampbell5231]

Negative Reviews for TESB- "The film is fine and well-made; I just didn't like it and would have preferred something more like the first movie." Negative reviews for TLJ- "This film is utter garbage that takes a giant dump on Star Wars characters and lore and shows that Lucasfilm have no f*cking clue what they are doing." Lucasfilm- "You know, people didn't like The Empire Strikes Back when it came out either..."

[@k1productions87]

You are also forgetting that today anything that isn't 100% excellent is seen as garbage, whereas back then people were allowed to just enjoy things without being judged for it. Empire Strikes Back had the advantage of being made in 1980. If it were made today (even exactly as it appeared back then, shot for shot, line for line) it would have negative reviews galore simply because everyone seemingly HAS TO be negative about EVERYTHING.

[@GroovyQ-qv9yk]

@@k1productions87 And ESB is the perfect Star Wars movie, people would still bitch.

[@elephant_888]

wespozo - I agreed with both points!

[@GroovyQ-qv9yk]

@Klausbärbel Fömm how?

[@k1productions87]

@Klausbärbel Fömm The same BS anyone who doesn't follow your narrative says. "Waah, you don't agree with me, you must be a shill" think whatever you want, your opinion means less than nothing to me, just as the negative reviews of the time SHOULD mean nothing to you. But apparently the mere possibility that anyone said anything bad about your perfect movie somehow shatters your perfect little image of it. I bet you think the moon landings were fake too huh?

[@jdraven0890]

I'm not surprised that it's entertaining - JJ is really good at making a surface level visual spectacle, stringing together scenes he thought would look cool and that he wanted to film. Unfortunately, if you dare to stop and think about the logic of the writing and plot behind it, or care about Canon established by previous films...

[@voodoochile333]

BB Wolf Like a certain M Bay

[@codekhalil6437]

@wespozo he's a professional reviewer. Pretty sure he sees it for what it is.

[@bullrun2772]

Never really ruined it gosh people

[@vorpalmortal]

This trilogy was so bad i was actually rooting for Darth Sidious.

[@whoknew2273]

Spoilers : Even he sucked used the same force lighting turned on himself he never learns no matter how many times he been cloned

[@sharpaycutie2]

🤣🤣

[@fredrikhansson2017]

😊😊

[@fredrikhansson2017]

😊

[@fredrikhansson2017]

😊

[@les4767]

Nobody hated "The Empire Strikes Back" when it came out. I was there, I'd remember if they were.

[@Sniper_Cat_71]

Same here.

[@k1productions87]

Social Media did not exist back then. You had to actively seek out publications that showed the reviews in order to even know they were there, but they WERE there. Further, back then people were allowed to just enjoy things without being judged for it. You are also comparing fans to critics. Fans may have all loved it, but critics didn't always agree. How many times have you looked back at a review Siskel and Ebert made of a movie that is considered a timeless classic today,... only to see that at least one of them (if not both of them) disliked it? Even weirder when they liked something we thought was awful (Home Alone 3 comes to mind). To be honest, S&E were really the only source for movie reviews most people even HAD at the time. The negativity did exist, it just wasn't pushed to the forefront like every ounce of negativity on everything has to be today. It is a different time we live in, and we need to stop looking at the past through present-day filters.

[@les4767]

@@k1productions87 Perhaps it would've been more accurate to say that unlike today, where the Star Wars fandom is split right down the middle with half loving and half despising the last 2 films, if a Star Wars fan back in 1980 had disliked "The Empire Strikes Back," it was a hundredth of a hundredth of a hundredth percent of Star Wars fans. We were pretty unified universally on loving the original trilogy when it was premiering.

[@k1productions87]

@@les4767 He was also speaking of reviews, not fanbase. The fans could have all loved it, but that doesn't mean the critics did too. Again I make the Siskel and Ebert comparison, disliking movies that are considered timeless classics today. And back then, that was the only access to movie reviews most people even HAD.

[@les4767]

@@k1productions87 I realize that. However, unlike today, not many people gave credence to the critics of the day when they "didn't get" films that ended up being classics. We paid more attention to word of mouth and going to the films to make our own opinions on them. Granted, movie tickets were far more affordable back then, and home theater wasn't yet a thing to challenge the experience. In fact, back then, we barely even had cable tv channels, and network was just 3: ABC, NBC and CBS....oh and PBS tossed in as an afterthought.

[@sig5750]

Like Rich Evans said in the RLM review: *"Empire Strikes Back is the lynch pin that is holding all of this together"* And it's what damned Star Wars in the end. You can see every following movie still living under its shadow and unable to become something great on its own, from both the prequel to the sequel trilogy. The Skywalkers' story was done with; instead of forging a new path, they once more relied on the old conventions. Every entry that came after Empire is worse than what came before it (with the exception of RotS perhaps), and it's amazing that such a consistently below average product has sustained this much momentum for over 40 years.

[@blitzwing5439]

I'm sorry but the editing was not good. The pacing was all over the place. Scenes weren't allowed to breathe because we had to rush to get to the next macguffin. Say what you want about the Last Jedi, but at least the film took its time with the story and didn't feel like a jumbled mess, like this film did. Rian Johnson challenged JJ Abrams to think outside the box with this film, instead he went the safe route and copied 6's ending.

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

I lost you as soon as you said TLJ wasn't a jumbled mess....

[@jefmontagne6698]

@@DanieleMulas-up7np it wasn't, you could follow the plot easily compared to TROS

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@@jefmontagne6698 HAHAHAHAHAHA Sure, a worthless subplot about saving space horses, reducing Luke to an attempted murderer and grumpy asshole, re-enforcing Rey's Mary Sue status by shoehorning her to the forefront without any trial, same for Kylo Ren, who is an even bigger joke than before. And of course, Poe versus Admiral Gender Studies. The fact that you even admit TLJ is useless says it all.

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@Zero Cool Ohhh Look at that, someone who needs validation by praising a shitshow movie.

[@blitzwing5439]

@@DanieleMulas-up7np To each their own I guess. I had an easy time following 8's story, I knew what was happening at any given time. This film on the other hand felt like there was too much going on at once. JJ's frantic pacing keeps the plot moving along at the brisk speed, but when you stop to think about what's actually happening, the conveniences and leaps in logic become apparent. 9 needed to take it's time with things but it was too preoccupied with getting to the finish line and negating the ending to episode 6

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

"The lightsaber duels were a step up as well" *citation needed man

[@jeffmiles4356]

wespozo lol the prequel duels are over choreographed and used really as nothing more than to entertain kids. The only fight with actual depth and emotion is anakin vs obi wan. I enjoy most of them but they’re all flash and zero substance

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

I for one thought the disappearing knife to keep poor in-over-her-head Rey Sue alive in TLJ was incredibly professional and in no way ruined any stakes. 🙄

[@jeffmiles4356]

Outside the Target Demographic I’ll take that one instance over the prequels many unbelievable lightsaber interactions. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of all of them outside of Attack of the Clones but they can hardly be taken seriously

[@SFNDMK]

@@jeffmiles4356 I'd take them over the shallow and empty duels in the sequels. In fact the sequence if obi vs Maul has enough emotion, and depth than the entirety of the sequel duels.

[@seanbaugh3239]

Everyone knows that Vader vs Luke in Empire is the best lightsaber duel of the entire series all others are number 2 or less than that. *"NUFF SAID"*

[@jarodpace7246]

I swear. Every review and retrospective you do makes me want to watch it and then watch it again with new eyes. You are truly a master of your craft.

[@bath_cat3314]

It's refreshing to hear an actual objective review

[@HindiRapGuru]

Very respectful and polite review but you know what...F STAR WARS! #StarWarsIsDead

[@k1productions87]

Lets be perfectly honest here, Star Wars hasn't been legitimately good since 1980.

[@cartoonjerk]

Your intro and soundtrack gives all movies a very epic feel to them. Keep this up! Your reviews are very aesthetically pleasing.

[@bytejourneycodes]

Rogue one also my favorite from the new ones

[@rewolvi]

Agreed, not the best star wars storey but the best of the new disney movies

[@tongwuhao7490]

Nobody could have saved this trilogy from TLJ, let's be fair

[@steevrawjers]

Marius Koen me too The key phrase is "from the new ones"

[@steevrawjers]

Kasper Thomsen true

[@CasperEgas]

Mine too

[@GeahkBurchill]

Oliver, I’m disappointed to hear you participating in this popular revisionism of Empire Strikes Backs reception. This is a myth, perpetuated by defenders of the Last Jedi which simply *is not true.* there was *nothing* like the reception to The Last Jedi in terms of mixed reaction. Not even close. The fact that a *tiny* handful is disquieted reviews of the time exist has been blown completely out of proportion, for seemingly wholly expedient reasons. As someone old enough to have been there, and to remember the reactions, to have read fan magazines at the time, the reception was *OVERWHELMINGLY* positive, with negative reactions so rare that my friend group was entirely unaware of them. This entire myth seems to hinge on about five written reviews, but I can tell you, they would have been contrarian for the time. The positivity for Empire was undeniable and no negativity really set in until the controversial Ewoks.

[@k1productions87]

"negative review" is not the same as "people calling it garbage" which seems to be the assumption. Remember, social media didn't exist back then, so the only way one would have even seen most reviews was to actively seek out publications where they were printed... and most people didn't do that. Most people's only exposure to movie reviews was Siskel and Ebert,... and how many times have they disliked something that is considered a timeless classic today? More times than I can certainly count. Negative reviews of Empire Strikes Back DID exist, no matter how much you wish they didn't. And many who gave it negative reviews at the time changed their mind later. It is like people today who claim that there was never any negativity toward Star Trek the Next Generation and Discovery is the only Star Trek show to ever get negativity from the fanbase. Granted, the volume of hate against TNG in its early seasons was far greater than Empire Strikes Back, but to claim it did not exist just because its beloved now or even overwhelmingly positive at the time IS the revisionist history. Or otherwise known as "history is written by the victors" Acknowledging there was some negative criticism at the time DOES NOT mean anyone is calling it a bad movie. It is mere acknowledgement of facts. Facts that still exist when you actually look for them, instead of burying your head under the sand. Its like Archaeology (to quote another film trilogy of the time) - it is the search for FACT, not Truth. Truth is the movie was great and most negative reviews were wrong. FACT is the negative reviews still existed, whether you agree with them or not

[@davidgeisler9885]

The mixed reception was partly driven by the dark tone and the ending with things unresolved which was not normal movie practice at the time. George actually intentionally toned down the “adult” / dark elements of the ESB when making ROTJ. This lead to to what some see as the beginning of the rot as the target audience was firmly reset to the kids (ewoks, no love triangle, Vader way less menacing etc).

[@johnweber4577]

To my understanding critics were more mixed than they were with the original, but evidence would point to the fact that the audience themselves loved it. Garnering it winning the People’s Choice Award for the favorite film of 1980 and two theatrical re-releases within two yeasts. In that sense it is the opposite of The Last Jedi which critics loved near unanimously at the time but polarized the general audience.

[@Automatonable]

I usually like your reviews, but I very much disagree here. While the prequels had many problems, and I wasn't too into them when they first came out, upon rewatch I truly appreciate how packed with imagination and world-building they are. Despite their clunkiness, they were signature Star Wars in many more ways than the latest trilogy. These new movies are nothing but uninspired and dull, things Star Wars definitely should not be. I get you enjoyed them, but I'm certain in 10-15 years you won't be as fond of them as you are right now. As a reviewer, I would've expected you to be a bit more objective, but it feels like you got swept away by the Disney marketing machine.

[@johnweber4577]

Indeed. The ST only feels more like the OT in superficial ways to me. If we’re talking in terms of the OT’s unbridled imagination, mythic grandeur and tapping into classic cinema the PT in spite of any problems it might have clearly outclasses the ST in my opinion.

[@porcu12345]

Entertaining movie but WAY too many "Gotcha!" moments where they do something daring and interesting with the plot and then completely reverse it within the next 10 minutes. If you've seen the movie, you know exactly what i'm talking about. It happens like 3 times. Spoilers of those 3 events below: 1. Chewies "Death". Man, how great would it have been if Rey actually killed Chewie? Now that's a true driver to the dark side. The movie could have explored the grief and self-hatred of killing her friend and it would have made the whole Empress Palpatine story believable, giving the Emperor something to use to manipulate her during the closing act. 2. C3PO's "Memory Wipe". Finally something useful for C3PO to do that doesn't involve being the butt of every joke. They give him an emotional send off and then immediately make fun of it and restore his memory 10 minutes later. What a waste. 3. Rey's "Death". In an act that might have lessened the "mary sue" arguments, Rey would have sacrificed herself to defeat the Emperor, and Kylo Ren would have risen as Ben Solo to continue the Jedi/Skywalker legacy. Disney doesn't have the balls to kill off the main female lead though, because too many 12 year old girls would have been upset.

[@Vaultboy101]

So not only did they negate all the sacrifices made by characters in the George Lucas films, they do the same to their own movies. Disney's cinema is milquetoast crap and seeing as they practically own entertainment media, things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better.

[@fka_the_body1542]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@samuelbarber4154]

Well I agree with you on most of it, but come on some original trilogy characters have got to be left standing, what do you want to just bulldoze everyone? Wait, now I think about it, Chewie is only living person from TOS left, oh and Lando. But yeah, they hyped up the C-3PO red eye death thing and it turned out it was just a more dangerous Google Translator.

[@bullrun2772]

Lol most of those moments are not that bad

[@porcu12345]

@@bullrun2772 Yes they are. The movie is hot trash and is ageing about as well as rotten flesh.

[@skywalking3293]

Actually the Empire Strikes Back was generally praised when it came out, most people thought it was the best sequel aver made apart from The Godfather Part II. I’m not sure why some people now think Empire was disliked in 1980

[@iloveyourgyatttt]

Empire had mixed reviews upon initial release. Do check out Mike Klimo’s insight on the matter,if you haven’t already.

[@bullrun2772]

Nope

[@jackwilkinson4911]

The Phantom Menace was actually the first Star Wars I ever remember seeing, and because of that, I actually love the prequels, as they were my first experience with the whole saga. First I watched The Phantom Menace, than Attack Of The Clones, than the Original Trilogy and finally Revenge Of The Sith and so on

[@davidthomas3826]

It is bullshit that Empire Strikes Back was met with disapproval. The critics loved it and fans could not wait for the next installment. The only criticism I remember is that people thought C3PO was too bitchy in that film

[@garinsparks7041]

It's the truth though. Look at the numbers. Even after the 97 rererelease it's still the lowest grossing of them all. When it came out it wasn't liked at all. I loved it, I was 7

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

On the contrary, The Empire Strikes Back was met with mixed reviews when it first came out though it should be noted that it was for a entirely different reason that was separate from the Prequel & Sequel Trilogy’s response. The reason why people had mixed opinions for that film was because of its downbeat nature and cliff hanger ending as many people at the time weren’t used to a movie where essentially the villains win and the good guys lose (Much like Infinity War). Now people praise it for its drama and tight script writing opposed to the most recent Trilogy’s reception which has been mostly criticized for its safe nature, messy writing, and lack of a cohesive plan to carry the narrative.

[@jstrmereel]

@Mr. Slim Somebody with some sense on the Internet; am I dreaming?

[@davidthomas3826]

@@Jackal_El_Lobo34 The cliffhanger ending came as a surprise for audiences. And seeing Luke beaten by Darth Vader was shocking. Back then, scriptwriters and directors knew how to subvert expectations without resorting to stupid gimmicks. ESB might not have had the glow that ANH had but audiences did like it. I remember critics liking it, I enjoyed, and so did friends and relatives. But one thing I do know for sure is that ESB was more widely anticipated and welcomed than the Rise of Skywalker

[@deidryt9944]

@@garinsparks7041 I'm not sure why you think pointing towards gross is the best way to determine if people liked a movie or not. So much goes into if people decide to go see a movie or not... especially for a relatively new property.

[@superbeedge]

Empire did NOT split critic or fan opinion. This is simply factually false and has been demonstrated to be false with data on positive / negative reviews.

[@johnjay6370]

Empire is one of THE BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME....THE PROOF IS.....WE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT.....

[@bayratfilms4922]

That's what I thought as I listened to his review

[@bayratfilms4922]

@@johnjay6370 and Disney tried to remake it twice...

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

On the contrary, The Empire Strikes Back was met with mixed reviews from critics and audiences when it first came out though it should be noted that it was for a entirely different reason that was separate from the Prequel & Sequel Trilogy’s response. The reason why people had mixed opinions for that film was because of its downbeat nature and cliff hanger ending as many people at the time weren’t used to a movie where essentially the villains win and the good guys lose (Much like Infinity War). Now people praise it for its drama and tight script writing opposed to the most recent Trilogy’s reception which has been mostly criticized for its safe nature, messy writing, and lack of a cohesive plan to carry the narrative.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

CtrlALlTerrorS Never said that people hated it nor called it bad. I’m just pointing out that some people were split on it at the time compared to now where a great majority like it for good reason.

[@thomasc.5219]

Idk what it is Oliver but the way you say things is just my favorite. Your voice and cadence are just great. I love your reviews and retrospectives, easily one of favorite my favorite things to listen to on KZbin. You are underrated as hell. You do amazing work. Look forward to all your future works.

[@thebuttonfactory2306]

Rise was a bomb. I sat in the theater shaking my head. Abrams is a director of photography. Out of his depth as main director. The movie looked great but it was devoid of feeling. Empire was mixed because it ended on a somber note. But it was a great film. Lucas made four lousy films after that. And Disney’s Trilogy will be forgotten. The only good film is Rogue One.

[@anthonylaudati]

SPOILERS -- Excellent review, Oliver, spot on. I liked Rise of Skywalker even more with a second viewing. A couple of quibbles -- why does Palpatine tell Kylo Ren to kill Rey when she is in, in fact, his granddaughter and wants her to inherit his throne? The Jedi's power to heal is troublesome; why not use it all the time then? How come Obi-Wan didn't use it to heal Qui-Gon? One last thing, I would have LOVED IT if Rey were using Luke's green lightsaber throughout the movie instead of the blue one, which was redundant. After all, the blue lightsaber was ripped apart at the end of The Last Jedi. Presumably, it was repaired, but it was never truly Luke's lightsaber anyway. It was his father Anakin's. At the end of the film, Rey buries Luke's green lightsaber along with Leia's. Then she produces her own, yellow lightsaber, signifying that she is now her own person, just as Luke did by building his green lightsaber.

[@bayratfilms4922]

Whyyyyyyy are you comparing this film with ESB...or ROTJ....I grew up with all three films. This Disney Trilogy is a shallow rehashed reboot...from not not Deathsta,r to not not Hoth, now all three films have Deathstar, not not Tatooine, to now outright ripping the Emperor from his grave to prop up this movie...all the while disgracing Luke's journey by making Rey the chosen one all along...utter crapfest

[@Syklonus]

He's comparing the media/fan response, not the actual films.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

I think your taking what Oliver said out of context.

[@samuelbarber4154]

I don't remember the chosen one thing. Yeah she was a Marey Sue and Palpatine's granddaughter but they didn't say: "Rey you're the chosen one."

[@samuelbarber4154]

wespozo AAAGGGGGGHHHHHH! DIFFERENT OPINIONS, IT MUST BE FROM AN ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE!

[@jayh3969]

It’s no longer the “Skywalker Saga”, it’s the “Palpatine Saga”

[@red_menace1829]

You kinda have a point, its just so convoluted now, the skywalker ending was to the point, a start middle and finish, and even with the flaws it moved forward while still taking a few steps back here and there. This saga is start, plateau, go back to the start, stop a little bit, then restart and finish the whole race. Idk if that made sense but dammit this movie sure didnt.

[@whoknew2273]

Its the Redux Saga with lesser interesting characters to please no one

[@eastbaymauiboy]

The most frustrating part about this new Trilogy, is the fact that they didn't learn from the failures of the Prequels, in order to build three cohesive movies with a solid story that respected all of the original characters. They certainly had enough time and access to the world's best people in the biz. I don't know if I'll ever understand how they got it so wrong with practically endless resources and a huge foundation from which to build

[@johnjay6370]

It took GL 2 movies to get ot right with ROTS...Didney thought they could do better and boy were they wrong...

[@Arsaws]

This is because Disney put political messages as their top priority in making these movies.

[@tsopmocful1958]

I certainly know that I would be quickly sacked if I did such a bad job at work.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Because time is money and they needed to make that 4 billion back, so “Put it out! Fans won’t know the difference! They’re stupid! Money, Money, Money, Money, Money!”

[@k1productions87]

Actually they learned one thing from the prequels,... having actors properly acting, with some at least serviceable dialog, and having actual SETS to perform on is important. Every single one of those Lucas had forgotten. Whether you enjoy the story or not, it at least isn't embarrassing to be seen watching like the prequels were

[@orinanime]

@ 1:34 "who was never killed at the hands of Darth Vader" Wrong. He died. He came back. Just like in the old EU. Life essence transference through a Clone. He acknowledges that he died in the movie. How do people miss that?

[@k1productions87]

"was never killed" means his entire being was not destroyed. Even if his body is destroyed, the fact he still exists in some form means he was never actually killed. "Life" includes your essence, does it not?

[@orinanime]

@@k1productions87 Not necessarily. Sci-fi Fantasy weirdness and all that. Death can be impermanent. Essences can reform. "Life... uh... finds a way"

[@k1productions87]

@@orinanime Just like "what I told you was true, from a certain point of view" What Oliver said was indeed true... from a certain point of view :P

[@orinanime]

@@k1productions87 "it's an old" reference "but it checks out"

[@jjstraka1982]

If it was a clone why in the hell does it look exactly like his old body by decayed by the ravages of time?? Yeah, they are TRYING to imply it was cloning (expecting your average moviegoer to be familiar with a 20 year old comic series) but it's all essentially an easter egg hunt for hardcore fans. Your average moviegoer will have no fucking idea why this guy is still alive. And for good reason.

[@StickNik]

Honestly, plot of prequels does more for me than most of the acting/composition of the sequels. The dialogue for the most part never stood out as bad. Probably having watched them as a kid I was fine with it knowing it takes place in a completely different world, and that has stuck to this day.

[@vikramkachroo8844]

This review imo is spot on. I watched it because it's Star Wars and it was entertaining, but the whole trilogy feels like a missed opportunity

[@Germaniac77]

It boggles my mind that some people prefer the sequels over the prequels. I guess they will realize how bad the sequels are in time. The sequels are a mess without a plan. Fanservice and nostalgia do not make a good movie. The sequels will age horribly. Heck, just look st TFA now. Nobody gives a sh*t sbout the Falcon flying around or Han showing up now. Those callbacks only work for a short time IX was a hunt for McGuffins. The Sithdagger made absolutley no sense. Why would anyone create such a dagger or those wayfinders (same shit as the stupid map to Luke Skywalker from TFA). And Rey just happens to stand in the right spot for the dagger to work ... and the Deathstarwreckage does not deteriorate for some reason so that the dagger still works ... and whoever made the dagger thought it was a fine idea to leave the wayfinder behind for someone else who found the dagger ??? Where did Palpatine get the star destroyers and the staff of those ships from? "A good question, for another time", eh??? Just like TFA the plot is full of stupid plot conveniences: They happen to fall in the quicksand which leads to the tunnels to the dagger, they happen to find Lando, they happen to find Peos friend, Ren´s Stardestroyer happens to be understaffed so that they can easily get on it and walk through the ship. IX is better than the Last Jedi and the holiday special. It may be on par with Battle for Endor (which shat all over the superior Caravan of Courage) but the entire Suckquels are nowhere near the originals or the prequels (in my opinion, of cousre).

[@k1productions87]

The only thing the prequels had going for it was the story. Everything else was a mess. For me it comes down to, which would I rather be SEEN watching. I can't see much in the sequels that I feel I have to look over my shoulder to see if anyone is watching me watching it over fear of embarrassment,... but with the Prequels, that is just about every 5 minutes or less of the films. The production is a jumbled mess, the dialog is awful, the acting is atrocious. At least with the sequels, we have actors doing decent acting, delivering some at least serviceable dialog, and shot well among impressive set design and visuals rather than CGI overload with actors who have no clue how to act against green screen (looking at you Hayden). In the end, I only really look for three things out of Star Wars 1) impressive space battles 2) storm troopers being used as blaster fodder 3) The Force being used as MAGIC ... The Prequels barely delivered on any of that. Even including the opening of Revenge of the Sith,... the battle was just in the background and I spent the whole time yelling at the screen "Cameraman, pull BACK so I can SEE what's HAPPENING!!!" At least in Episode II we got Slave 1 vs. Jedi Starfighter,... but that is definitely not enough to save that movie. Honestly I have no real desire to sit through ANY of the movies again (Prequel or Sequel) except Rogue One. Hell... I don't even enjoy sitting through Return of the Jedi. My interest in Star Wars has come down to which clips from these movies do I like, and there are way WAY more of them in the sequels than there are in the Prequels, and thats without having even seen Episode IX yet. Lets be perfectly honest here, we expect far too much out of Star Wars. Not only (as Oliver said) anything other than 100% perfection is seen as garbage by too many people, but Star Wars has not had a legitimately great film since 1980 (Empire Strikes Back for those who are counting. Rogue One I'd call just "good"). Take any major scene out of the original Star Wars or Empire and you'd still have a great film without it. Take the Battle of Endor out of Return of the Jedi... and you got NOTHING. And I'm really only counting the non-Ewok segments in that.

[@stevehewitt9140]

@@k1productions87 I concur wholeheartedly

[@Germaniac77]

@@k1productions87 The Sequels with it´s "yo momma"-jokes, stupid plot conveniences, casino planets with space-horses, characters like Maz Kanat and Holdo (who are clearly INSANE if you look at the character motivations), Rose Tico, milk-drinking Luke lame ass space bombers, senseless space-maps and daggers and (most of all) zero world building do not embarrass you??? I take 100´s Jar Jar over that crap from Lastg Jedi and Force Awakens again. Yeah, The sequels have good special effectgs (Wwhich is expected). Sure, the Holdo-maneuver looked great but do we really need to debate how stupid it was and destroyed Star Wars lore? I wxcpect more than good special-effects from Star Wars (Story, and characters mainly) Bad acting in the prequels? Yeah, Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ewan Mc Gregor, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman etc.. the prequels are really remembered for bad acting ([/sarcasm]). What do we have i the sequels: John Boyega is overacting and"whooing" through the movies like Ric Flair, Daisy Ridley is just good at crying and smiling, Andy Serkis Snoke-portrayal was cringeworthy etc. A lot of other characters (including Luke, Leia, Holdo and Rose Tico) are also annoying, but that is not mainly the fault of the actors but the fault of the screenwriter who wrote crappy dialouge and crappy characters . I challange anyone to make a watchable fan-edit out of Last Jedi ... it is impossible, there is nothing good left in this mess.

[@xPanDaemonx]

the prequels was lifeless green screen cgi poorly acted garbage. The sequels at least had more craft to them, but damn these sequels could certainly have been a lot more if Disney allowed the production to take more time and edits

[@jjstraka1982]

Where do you want to begin?? The prequels are at least SUPPOSED to be largely a love story between Anakin and Padme and no two characters have ever had less chemistry in cinema history. Any scene with General Grivevous. Some of the worst dialogue you will ever hear. The ONLY thing that saved the prequel trilogy from permanent irrelevance was the Duel of the Fates in Episode 1 and Ian McDiarmid's scenery chewing in Episode 3. And maybe the pod race depending on the day of the week.

[@scottewing2031]

Great analysis - great selection of shots for the edit. You're one of the best internet reviewers, Oliver!

[@DubbleTwice]

When it did slow down, it gave me a chance to realize I had no idea what was happening.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

I’ll be honest I had a lot of problems with Palpatines return and master plan similarly to my disdain for SKYNET’s plan in Terminator Salvation. It was so clumsily handled like bad fan fiction and it made me wonder if this was really the same baddy who’s displayed charming machiavellianism in the past films.

[@Syklonus]

I thought there was nothing wrong with ian McDiarmid's performance in the film. He was as great in the role as he's always been, but the reason for the character even being there was phenomenally stupid and shallow. I was down with the idea of him returning, but there was no intrigue, mo mystery, and no reason for his return. He was just there all of a sudden when there could have been a great sub plot to reveal the mystery of his return, but they went and fucked it.

[@davidgeisler9885]

Syklone no I thought it was good keeping it a surprise until the last movie. It needed to be that Kylo thought he was in charge and have no awareness of who was really pulling the strings, in my opinion. That’s why Snoke was offed so early. He was inconsequential but only the Emperor knew it.

[@JmanRising]

I genuinely believe the sequel trilogy shouldn’t of been made. I didn’t like the Force Awakens when it came out and don’t even get me started on Last Jedi. And this is coming from someone who is a fan of the prequels. Long story short, I don’t care about Star Wars anymore as long as George Lucas is not involved.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Jman Rising Same. Disney listening to them and dumbing down the storytelling while trashing the OT characters in an undignified way makes me wish Lucas either didn’t listen or made sure it was in the contract that VII-IX would not be made without him.

[@JmanRising]

ForceMaximus84 How anyone considered Jar Jar Abrams a upgrade from George Lucas I will never understand. It’s funny how the ones who hated the prequels the most became shills of the Force Awakens when it came out. Without a doubt this sequel trilogy is not going to age well.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Amir Mustafaa These movies make the Prequels cohesive and thought out, which they were. They’ll have to publish at least a dozen shows, books and comics just to justify the oddball decisions made by Abrams, Johnson and the writers, something the Prequels didn’t have to do nearly as much, if at all. Even without the Clone Wars series, the Prequels still work structurally. Not so much with this trilogy.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Amir Mustafaa But considering the current generation are feeding off KZbin, Twitch and Vine, your probably right. I weep for the future.

[@JmanRising]

Amir Mustafaa The problem with the sequel trilogy though is that the expanded universe exists, no matter how much Disney wants to pretend it doesn’t. Disney could have used the best ideas from the expanded universe to make better sequels but they didn’t. Will the sequel trilogy be remembered fondly by some? Sure. But not as much as the prequels are now. Unlike the sequel trilogy, the prequels tried to do something new. You didn’t have to grow up with the prequels to see that.

[@markgrehan3726]

Rian Johnson, Kathleen Turner, the lack of planning out the story arc is what killed this trilogy, I think J.J has a plan for the story a soft reboot and then bringing in new things (The Knights of Ren, etc.) but Rian went "Nope" and overturned the cart for a really stupid script which ruined Luke and had the New Order acting like they had the I.Q of a slightly stunned four-year-old. All we wanted was a good well thought out script hell if the old characters die fine as long as it made sense.

[@davidgeisler9885]

Mark Grehan Rian was handed these cards - Luke intentionally in hiding, a New Order suddenly weaponised and blowing up planets, no new Jedi other than Luke in existence. Then Rian goes and expands on why there are no new Jedi and why Luke is hiding and all hell breaks loose with some fans. I think there was an explanation that Kylo killed student Jedi in training. But regardless clearly it seems intended from the start that Rey was to be the only real hope and Luke had kind of bailed out of the fight.

[@davidgeisler9885]

Also to me the story hangs together fine. The emperor not really dead and still pulling strings behind the scenes. A new republic not yet unified and militarised ripe to be overthrown. The Jedi clearly not rebuilding. What part of the “story arc” is actually missing? It’s becoming something that’s trendy to say but I just don’t get it.

[@RandomJtv]

First and foremost, Rian Johnson didn't ruin shit. J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio backed themselves into a corner with The Rise of Skywalker by choosing to walk back so much of what The Last Jedi did and play course-correction, instead of just playing the cards they were dealt and working the story out from there. Also, Luke was not ruined. I thought his character was spot-on. Him being the way he was made complete sense because his arc mirrored Yoda's.

[@stephenmalovski313]

Haha, Kathleen Kennedy!

[@ontologicallysteve7765]

Had no idea that Kathleen Turner was the one behind the death of Star Wars. Much like the Emperor, she must've been hiding in the shadows, pulling the strings...cuz I didn't know about any of this. Stupid bitch. Thanks KZbin comment section

[@brettu5052]

My thoughts exactly. The film has serious flaws, but I was still entertained. It was better than TLJ, which I hated. This trilogy would have been better if Abrams had directed all three movies. Regardless if the story would have been good or bad, at least the continuity would have better.

[@MikeyC314]

A summery that echoes my sentiments almost exactly. Nice to see someone review a picture and not go crazy in one direction or the other but instead take a balanced and nuanced view. Great work Oliver.

[@villesanti1]

I have to disagree. The prequels, with all their flaws, were more entertaining and made more sense that the sequel trilogy.

[@niallreid7664]

@Zero Cool To be fair, that's not exactly what hes saying. I agree though.

[@mramos1126]

From a certain point of view, the prequels were good

[@jamstonjulian6947]

It's still fucking horrible to watch. Different shades of awful.

[@jackgill6519]

The prequels have a consistent story that makes sense, and much higher stakes action than the sequels which is a big achievement considering the fact that we know how they are going to end

[@TheArtkaw]

The prequels are utter garbage, the acting, screenplay, all of it.

[@BLUEDELUCA]

This attempt to drag Empire Strikes Back down because The Last Jedi is hated is obnoxious.

[@CarlosCMTF]

After I've seen this new trilogy I feel like I'd much prefer (BY FAR!) to watch Attack of the Clones than any of the sequel movies.

[@MrM-u3h]

I don't get the hate for Attack of the Clones. It best captures the spirit of the OT. Not as silly as Menace but not as dark as Revenge. Only the romace scenes are cringy and they're like 5 percent of the film.

[@petercarpio389]

I think Attack of The Clones was the best film from the Prequels, and that’s a very unpopular opinion. But I stand by that statement now and forever.

[@willr.5583]

Even The Eworks TV movies are better than this Disney trilogy mess, with all the technology in film making today, why it's so trash ?! The political agenda in hollywood is the problem.

[@uhuhuh1966]

Sorry, the terrible romance is AT LEAST 40% of that film, and the clones V robots battle at the end is a numbing eye sore, also yoda fighting with a lightsaber should NEVER have happened and that entire Dooku fight scene was atrocious. Also everything with Christensen was embarrassing.

[@CarlosCMTF]

@@uhuhuh1966 Still better than the pretentiousness of The Last Jedi....

[@Roper122]

No Oliver wrong. Saying critics and fans weren't happy with Empire Strikes back is just flat out wrong. Empire was the first direct sequel to the surprise biggest box office hit of all time, sure some critics were ready to see it fail. But you can find negative reviews of even the first Star Wars. And while fans were shocked and had questions, a few random letters to Starlog does not constitute a backlash of fans against Empire. It is just a rewriting of history to say " critics and fans weren't happy with Empire " and it's often pushed in defence of Disney. You're better than that. Oh and the prequels are still better than this rubbish.

[@shunksounds]

no, the score wasn't good, and in no way due to Williams skills. it was trying hopelessly to wrap around last minute edits, the classic themes stood out but anything new didn't have any chance to hit home. the sith vocal stuff sounded interesting but due to the relentless pacing didn't impact.

[@bullrun2772]

Really it was good

[@raymondgiuliano3998]

There’s a HUGE difference between a movie SPLITTING the fans into separate (and mutually hostile) camps (e.g., The Last Jedi); and a movie that leaves the same fans melancholy, wistful, and unfulfilled, but excited for the next installment (i.e., The Empire Strikes Back). To suggest that EMPIRE divided fans in the same ferocious and incurable way that The Last Jedi did (and continues to do) is, at best, a gross display of ignorance. At worst, it’s intellectually dishonest and full-blown propaganda. Tighten up, dude.

[@Bit2brain]

Raymond Giuliano Yep. Revisionist history parroted by Rian Johnson. That Wikipedia entry for Empire always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. The NY Times review cited and a few other reviewers when compared to the hundreds of positive reviews are supposed to prove the film as mixed to negative? That always seemed agenda driven and incredibly misleading. bleedingfool.com/blogs/the-everyone-hated-empire-strike-back-too-myth-gets-eviscerated/

[@k1productions87]

Apples to oranges. Rabid fanbases as we know them today simply didn't exist in the same way back then. Not only that, there was no social media to throw every little criticism in your face. Add to that the fact that back then one was allowed to just enjoy things, rather than being judged for it and treated like they weren't a true fan for having the audacity to enjoy it. Every singe new generation, older fans want to point fingers and say "its worse than ever" conveniently forgetting the same damned thing happening every generation previous. Star Trek suffered the same thing, with people today completely ignoring all the massive hate that The Next Generation had gotten in its first seasons. Some of them being the ones who complained, only to turn around and say "What? I never had anything bad to say, I supported it from the very beginning" in true hypocrite style. Also, he only said that the criticism existed, he didn't say it was the same as if it was a direct 1 to 1 correlation, which is the conclusion you seem to be drawing. The point was, it was not seen as a perfect Star Wars film at the time, like it is today. And just like with Star Trek, you have people switching their narrative, acting like they never had a bad thing to say back then. To deny such criticism ever existed just because it is beloved now is what is intellectually dishonest and full-blown propaganda.

[@raymondgiuliano3998]

K1productions Of course, criticism ALWAYS exists; for ANY work of art. In ANY time or place. And some artistic expressions (of one sort or another) that are rejected (or even reviled) in their own time come to be revered generations hence (example: some of Beethoven’s greatest and now famous and beloved compositions were deemed lackluster-and even vulgar-upon their initial release). But what’s being IMPLIED in the original post is that “The Empire Strikes Back” generated the same level of deep division (among fans, at least) as “The Last Jedi” did. I’m sorry . . . it self-evidently did no such thing. If the OP’s proposition is that the mere presentation of a work of art (to the public) incurs criticism, then you’ll get no argument from me. Although you’ll excuse me for quickly adding that what he has stated is something so painfully and fundamentally OBVIOUS that it’s the equivalent of saying nothing at all. As my dad used to say to us when we were young and dumb (and trying to mislead and bullshit him): “Boys, don’t piss down Daddy’s backside and tell him it’s raining.”

[@k1productions87]

@@raymondgiuliano3998 That wasn't implied in the least. All that was said was that there was criticism, it wasn't universally loved by all as revisionists would have you believe. its also the fault of the time we live in, where ANY crticism means "its garbage" while any positive impressions mean "sell out" or "shill". There is no middle ground anymore.

[@raymondgiuliano3998]

K1productions If what the OP is saying may be fairly translated thus: “Guys, back in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back was released and generated praise and criticism.” If THAT’S what’s essentially being stated, then, yeah, I agree. Only someone disconnected from reality would actually argue with such a broad assertion of truth. Again, it’s such a self-evidently OBVIOUS thing (about ANY work of art) that I don’t see why it even needs to be said (or written) out loud. It’s like saying, “Y’know, if you take a shower, you’re gonna get wet.”

[@DarkLightGaming117]

Why did they go with the writer of Batman V Superman for this movie I have no idea. But yeah, overall it was a underwhelming retread of a trilogy.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

Dark Light Gaming Yeah I also noticed that too. I don’t know why they even integrated Chris Terrio, the same guy behind Batman v Surpman. It’s like that Disney didn’t even pay attention the reception of that DC film. While this films problems can definitely be faulted on a lack of cohesive planning from the get-go, his involvement in TROS likely didn’t help.

[@Tacom4ster]

Argo was a great movie

[@mrmacross]

I'd went into the archives of old reviews, and I really didn't see many negative ones for Empire Strikes Back, or at least relative to the number of positive ones. Movie reviewing wasn't the cottage industry then as it is today, but I am pretty skeptical about Rian Rian Johnson's claims about poor reception for ESB.

[@edwardelric603]

He’s full of crap

[@davidcunningham9282]

this movie epitomises corporate trash

[@TheArtkaw]

The prequels were that, sure. Merchandise everwhere to please children.

[@shinyblack620]

Totally false

[@LinkMarioSamus]

Yeah it's clear these new Star Wars movies were made primarily to serve as "event" films to grab the attention of people who only watch a few movies in theaters every year and would be more likely to choose something they're familiar with.

[@Tacom4ster]

Late Stage Capitalism has ruined Star Wars

[@Tacom4ster]

@@TheArtkaw which undermine the anarchist themes of the Prequels kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYuxdZSngN-UbrM

[@seeingeyegod]

I'm really happy to hear you don't hate this. I haven't seen it yet but have been kind of worried that I will hate it. I respect your judgement though after seeing so many of your reviews so I'm encouraged now that this movie will be enjoyable.

[@marcelo78]

I agree with almost everything. Except that, even though they're that great, I still enjoy watching the prequels. I have no desire to watch this mess made by Disney ever again.

[@k1productions87]

To be honest, the only thing the prequels had going for them was narrative. If you want to watch an overall story, it works. But the problem is,... actually watching through it is the problem. So much muddled mess, so much horrible dialog, so much god awful acting,... its like every other minute I had to look over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching me watching it. The story may not be any good with the Sequels, but at least scene to scene, its not embarrassing to be seen watching. The actors are at least acting, the production value is impressive, and the action on screen is at least exciting. If you're watching all alone with your headphones on, I guess that is one thing. But,... I don't like being alone all the time, I'd rather be more sociable and sharing with others. The only sharing I get with the prequels is the rare occurrence when we're just making fun of it,... and there is a LOT to make fun of. ... and I don't want to BE in that position with something like Star Wars. But that is what its creator turned it into.

[@k1productions87]

@@dffndjdjd See, Lucas is a wonderful worldbuilder and storyteller... so long as he's telling it as a story. But he has no clue how to direct actors (nor even pick the right ones. Ewan McGregor was a fortunate happenstance, as he really came into his own in episode 3 and showed how good he really was), nor write decent dialog. You can have the best story in the world,... but if I feel embarrassed watching the actors performance and the words they are saying, I cannot enjoy the film. I'd rather watch a poor movie with decent acting than a good story with horrible/wooden acting and clearly clumsy and awkward performance (some actors just have no clue how to act against green screen)

[@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226]

Amen!

[@kibagami74]

I just disagree with the notion that any serious number of fans were unhappy with Empire Strikes Back when it was released, I watched it in theaters as a kid, everyone loved it, all the kids at school loved it. It was universally loved, hype af as we say these days. If some professional reviewers gave it mixed reviews, that because they're pretentious snobs that were paid to be that way.

[@kibagami74]

Also, I point out I never heard criticism about ESB until Last Jedi came out, it's just revisionist history to fit a modern agenda. Most critics loved Last Jedi, their opinions suck anyway. I just know fans loved ESB from day one and it was the combo of Star Wars and then ESB that sent Star Wars into the stratosphere of popularity.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

I’ve been wondering if this Sequel Trilogy can be saved by reversional editing because when I watched both TLJ and TROS, I kinda felt that logical scenes were missing. I personally don’t think Disney is smart enough do this and there’s likely no more scenes left in the cutting room floor thats suddenly going to make these movies better but if there were I wonder if it would improve the quality. They can call it a special edition but that’s just hopeful thinking and I doubt that will ever happen.

[@Blackadder75]

If they release any available extra scenes, fans will make better edits. they always do.

[@Syklonus]

I thought the same thing, but they fucked it early by killing off Solo in the first film. Didn't care enough about the new characters yet to want to know what happened next, and I was only in it to see Han, Luke,. and Leia together again - which we never got. No amount of editing can save that (or re-write Luke in a better way).

[@gordongecko1975]

Finally a fair & objective review about RISE OF SKYWALKER and the Sequel Trilogy. Everyone else on KZbin is literally screaming *Worst-Film-ever-Watch-my-Click-bait-review!!!*. Thanks Oliver Harper. Subscribed!

[@MacReady1980]

Sorry, you thought the prequels had poor scripts, yet ROTS is fine? This film makes no sense at all! How is that good script writing?

[@DJ_Macphisto]

@@cosmozapallo4530 Star Wars is better when Lucas comes up with a plan, has partial creative control and an outline of how things are going to go, and a different, more competent person directing the movies.

[@Jackal_El_Lobo34]

Vincent Brancatisano and Joe Zapallo, you both lost me when you suggested that if someone didn’t like the prequels than they are automatically a biased Star Wars purist.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Super Super Some did, but most gave Disney the benefit of a doubt until the movies came out. TFA was a borderline carbon copy of ANH with a few things introduced but not explained with each movie getting progressively worse while trashing the OT characters in the process. Now the fanbase is splintered even further while the stories get dumber.

[@MacReady1980]

@@cosmozapallo4530 I actually really enjoy the guys from Red Letter Media, even if their hatred of the prequels is so overblown it's not funny. They're overly critical almost to a point it seems they are disingenuous about it, if that makes sense? Anyway, people are free to hate the prequels, I don't particularly care all that much. But saying George Lucas needed to have someone to come in and direct his films to make them better doesn't say much when the best Star Wars film is A New Hope!!!

[@MacReady1980]

Joe Zapallo I do like the RLM guys. I don’t agree with their prequels reviews. They shit on them FAR too much but that’s ok. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. George Lucas gets far too much hate as well. He conceived and directed the original Star Wars. People like RLM believe it was a terrible film until George Lucas’ ex wife edited the film into a coherent state. That is just total bullshit. I can’t understand how people hate George Lucas so much! I loved his take on the prequels. People wanted the original trilogy all over again. Well, they got it with these sequels and look how they turned out!!! In most fans eyes, they’re worse than the prequels and that gives me a little satisfaction especially considering the makers of these sequel films were some of the people who hated the prequels and made these films to fix the Star Wars films!

[@km099]

This channel produces the best reviews on KZbin by far, keep it up!

[@neilmarktaylor4386]

The original films pretty much had the same writer in GL and LC the trouble with this trilogy as the last Jedi had a different writer and of course JJ was not the original director and writer for rise of skywalker

[@davidgeisler9885]

Neil mark Taylor Gary Kurtz the producer of ep 4 and 5 quit before ROTJ due to creative differences over the direction of that film. It’s rose coloured glasses to think the original trilogy was all planned from the start and ended up as planned. Far from it. In particular George felt ESB had gone too “adult” and so intentionally dialled up the kiddy element for ROTJ. These long trilogy movie productions always are making up things up as they go along to some extent.

[@anasevi9456]

Give me Lucas levels of camp over the souless sith of a director J.J Abrams is any day of the week. The problem with his movies going back to the Star Trek 2009 reboot is they feel more like overwrought lightshows with less concern for plot than a pornography, not really like movies. Even the non stop madness of Mad Max Fury Road kept viewers plot focused better.

[@txmoney]

I’ve totally lost interest in this franchise since the disgraceful, TLJ (and to a lesser degree, TFA)...other than the entertainment value of hatred toward the Disney trilogy to date. I will not pay to see this. My only interest now is how this film performs at the box office. The box office will tell the tale....and it’s not looking good.

[@wwb16]

You sure of the box office? Its doing well. But true not as well as TFA?

[@yourmomsstalk3r]

Cry more!

[@wwb16]

@@Blizofoz45 did you see knives out?!

[@davidgeisler9885]

txmoney $600m already

[@captainrednek9301]

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It’s an 8/10 for me. I didn’t like the Death Star wreckage, that station was obliterated in RotJ. The first act was a bit dry, but overall it’s a really good movie.

[@craiggallagher4461]

This is the first saga movie I did not go to see at the cinemas, wish I could have done the same for TLJ... Also I don't believe the criticism against TESB was anywhere in the region of what TLJ and the Disney Trilogy at large has received yet it is often used as an excuse for any criticism against TLJ yet this does not negate said criticism. I can understand a number of actual movie critics were negative or overly critical about TESB but I don't think it had a massive issue with many fans like TLJ does.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Craig Gallagher ESB subverted expectations, but the difference between this and TLJ it actually paid off for the story. What Rian did felt more like a kid trashing someone else’s toys just to do it. Having said that, this trilogy kind of feels that way in the end.

[@ForceMaximus84]

Marcelo Zuniga Agreed, but good movies are still good movies. This new trilogy pails to what came before.

[@k1productions87]

@@ForceMaximus84 "good movies are still good movies" - remember that every time critics like Siskel and Ebert talk about how much they disliked movies that are considered classics today and are beloved by nearly everyone including you and me.

[@ForceMaximus84]

K1productions They loved the OT and Ebert was mixed about the Prequels. If he were alive to see this trilogy, he’d say what a lot of people are saying about this trilogy and would probably mention that it isn’t as successful without Lucas, which a lot of us are saying. In the end, it’s all subjective. Make of it what you will.

[@k1productions87]

@@ForceMaximus84 I disagree with the "isn't as successful without Lucas" part, as Lucas did some pretty significant harm with the Prequels. But then,... Lucas is only a worldbuilder, he is an idea man, he is not (nor should he ever be) a Director, as he has no clue how to direct actors or write dialog. He needed to surround himself with talented people, rather than yes-men. Today it is a similar problem, but in a different degree. Instead of one person doing everything and being surrounded with yes-men, the corporate suits throw everything into the lap of one person and MAKES everyone around him be yes-men. As for Siskel and Ebert, I was talking about other movies besides Star Wars. Ones that are almost universally loved, yet they seemed to dislike for some bizarre reason. That's not even mentioning when one of them really loves something that is horrible. The look on Siskel's face when Ebert said he liked Home Alone 3 was priceless :P

[@TedShatner10]

The Empire Strikes Back was a smash hit back in its day, but did have suprisingly mixed reviews, and The Last Jedi was a critical hit (but divided an ossified fandom).

[@bodasactra]

Disney's Unplanned Trilogy: The Rise Of Reasons

[@steevrawjers]

bodasactra the rise of a huge pile of crap that just won't flush

[@anthonylaudati]

Oliver, I wish you would review THE LAST JEDI. In my opinion, Rian Johnson completely derailed the saga.

[@TMS5100]

Fans weren't happy with ESB? What kind of nonsense is that? I saw it first hand in the theaters in 1980 - fans absolutely loved it.

[@adesertsojourner8015]

I still maintain the last Jedi wasn’t as original as critics made out. Apart from subverting or inverting a few expectations (Luke’s pessimism and Rey’s parents), it essentially follows the major plot points of ESB: rebel base evacuates from imperial attack, imperial pursuit through space, would-be Jedi travels to secret world to be trained by master, rebels travel to affluent city and are betrayed, would-be Jedi’s parentage reveal, rebel speeders launch ground defence against imperial walkers and are defeated, rebels escape to regroup

[@johnweber4577]

I’d argue that most of its major themes that its fans like to call groundbreaking already showed up somewhere in the first six movies, albeit in less meta and in your face ways.

[@Bit2brain]

That comment at 50 seconds is what Rian and his apologists kept putting out there about Empire and as someone who saw it back then, I call bullshit. Yeah, you can go back and cherry pick a NY Times article here and there that gave a negative review that fits this narrative but the idea that the reception for that film was anywhere near as mixed and decisive as TLJ from both critics and fans alike, is really stretching the truth. One could do that with any film, including Joker. ROTJ obviously did not receive as glowing reviews overall but people generally feel that it at least stuck the landing at the end and was not considered divisive.

[@gordondavis6168]

The myth going around that people hated Empire Strikes Back is a myth and lie. I was 13 when empire came out, and both fans and critics loved it. It was on the cover of time, and it was re-released for a couple of years. Disney Star Wars films will never be re-released. Empire ended with a great cliff hanger; Disney Star Wars films ended with a thud. The toys from empire FLEW off the shelves; yoda, boba fett, the other bounty hunters, imperial walkers, etc. So Rian Johnson and others don’t get to rewrite history by saying that Empire was not well received.

[@ericrmccormick]

The Disney Star Wars trilogy was not Star Wars !

[@Imperishableskynet18]

I don't buy that Rey Skywalker has been invulnerable the entire Trilogy, Her Journey is essentially one of survival and self discovery, to quote JJ Abrams, Rey is essentially and consistently put in the worst situations possible and forced to survive, this works because that is how She was introduced, people use the fact that She is a Prodigy (A Youthful Protagonist granted with Great Power) in an attempt to over look this, while to the contrary, that is exactly the point! That is the function of the Character.

[@J.Panxer]

Seriously, friend...you...are...a...diplomat; but yes, Rogue One was the "best" we got out of the new grid of films. Well done.

[@GooniesGirl]

I agree about Rogue One. I saw it twice in the theater and will watch multiple times in the future. I saw the writing on the wall and stopped after The Force Awakens.🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@J.Panxer]

@@GooniesGirl watched ep IV last night, and even Rogue 1 got so much wrong about its own story, and was a train wreck on its own; but it's the "best" Disney was able to do out of the new films.

[@codekhalil6437]

@@J.Panxer Agreed. Rogue 1 gets way too much love and it's messy. I would have enjoyed it more if John Williams did the score I feel.

[@filmaru8556]

Rogue One was half ass. The battle of Scariff was good and Darth Vader's scene was amazing but the rest meant nothing

[@J.Panxer]

@@filmaru8556 Copy that. My biggest gripes were that there were no stakes. We KNOW the plans get off to the rebels...AND the plans were TRANSMITTED to the blockade runner in a different system en route to Alderaan...not h a n d e d to cgi Carry Fisher. But, it's the "best" disney could do.

[@greghowardbell]

I’m old enough to remember a LOT of people hating ROTJ and the prequels were nearly universally reviled. Now ROTJ is Holy Gospel. AOTC was actual garbage, no defending that one. The new movie was pretty good, and certainly way more fun than the last one.

[@charlesrichardson4032]

Dear god empire was loved from day one I lived it you couldn't get a seat in the theater back then all summer for two months the only theater in Louisville Kentucky there was any good had a line wrapped around the building trying to get in to see Empire during its first showings for weeks

[@davidgeisler9885]

Charles Richardson yes but the critics were mixed in their reviews that’s all. TLJ made $1.3b that’s massive! Bums on seats were no issue with that movie either. TESB made $0.5b which when you adjust for inflation would be a bit short on TLJ.

[@JaredFong595]

Yay I finally found a KZbin review that shares my thoughts. It's a huge mess of a movie, but a likable one.

[@remove_marko]

No fucking way the sequels are better than the prequels

[@evildoctortaco]

This is definitely the most fair review I’ve seen of it so far. I agree with pretty much every part of it, felt the same way.

[@Nitrobotti]

I strongly disagree. This new trilogy doesn't feel like Star Wars at all. I will rewatch the originals and prequels many more times but these sequels never again!

[@jessethelopez]

I hear that a lot, that the new trilogy doesn’t “feel” like Star Wars. What is it about the originals (and apparently the prequels) that “feels” like Star Wars? Is it a tangible thing or just a feeling you get when watching the movie?

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@@jessethelopez What kind of stupid question is that ? The Disney trilogy doesn't feel like Star Wars because the characters, themes and imagery are just empty, meaningless rehashes of the OT without actual creativity, ingenuity or any worthwhile content. You can't just have *pRaCTiCaL eFfEcTs* and then have a shittier remake of ANH that disrespects the old cast, while giving nothing new of value.

[@Nitrobotti]

@@DanieleMulas-up7np Great comment!

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@Zero Cool I find it hilarious that you assume people love AoTC or Jar Jar and Midichlorians unapologetically, when it's the intriguing overall arching story plus the amazing supplemental material like TCW that draws people. You may take your hateboner out of your rear now.

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@@Nitrobotti Thank you

[@RoaryUK]

TESB did NOT split the fan Base at any time or in any way, only the media was split for a time, but even they have all found favour over the years. But, as expected, it appears this new Disney SW has given rise to those media bashers to raise their ugly heads, and do whatever they can to defend these bad movies by trashing what made SW great in the first place.

[@davidgeisler9885]

RoaryUK there wasn’t any outlet for a fan base to have a say as such as we see these days. Best anyone could do it write a letter to the editor of a newspaper.

[@RoaryUK]

@@davidgeisler9885 There have always been outlets for Star Wars. Comics, movie mags and even the media had polls through which people were able to see a consensus. True, it wasn't anything like on the scale of today, but people's opinions have always been there for others to see one way or another.

[@RoaryUK]

@wespozo No thanks! Hello Greedo is one of many Disney shills that just happens to like the OT but thinks his opinion on anything SW actually matters.

[@mods-qo4pr]

Adam Driver has been the star of the three films for me. Imagine if Lucas has cast someone with similar abilities as Anakin. The prequels would have been so much better!

[@brutusjudas5842]

Zero Cool , I hear what you’re saying but let’s not get carried away.

[@rikudoubapeck]

Hayden Christensen is a good actor. His portrayal is deliberate in universe and/or on Lucas' part as a director. He isn't like Ben in the sense that he was taught to be emotionally stunted. He is purposefully awkward and uncomfortable considering his background and his position

[@knowgo411]

@@brutusjudas5842 Exactly..i agree I don't see how throwing tempure tantrums in almost every scene makes for great acting?!? & that's not to take away his acting ability but in this trilogy other than the original actor's i.e. Han,Leia,Luke I hardly saw any one performance that stuck out in the flims due the lack of plot/script..which is a shame cause I felt the New characters presented actually had poteinal but just fell flat of that poteinal...i blame Disney & Director's & whoever they had writing that garbage smmh

[@Syklonus]

For all George Lucas' love of tinkering and replacing things, the one voice that really needed replaced with something less whiny was Hayden's in the prequels.

[@harrypothead42024]

When the property owner deem something as, no longer Canon, that doesn't mean it can't be used, or won't be used, it just means it doesn't have to be used with the constraints or lore of which it was originally brought in. Extra material whether it be video games comic books or The not well written paperback novels, can be used however the property owner decides they can be used.

[@cryogeneric]

Nailed it. I had almost the same feeling about this film and about the prequels. The Rise of Skywalker is definitely not a terrible movie. For all it's flaws (which it has), I'd say it still does a lot right. And for much of that "wrong", it seems like JJ trying to fix the awkward direction that Johnson took the trilogy in. There is a great sense of missed opportunity, too. I liked who Rey was in the film, but trilogy needed to be heading that direction the whole time. And Kylo and his arc, to me, was the best aspect of this new trilogy. That, too, could have been explored the whole time if they had just planned this plot from the start. I'm guessing Snoke would taken Palpatine role had JJ done all three films, but we'll never know.

[@ferretchief]

No doubt this movie has issues but I really enjoyed it. It's a shame it seems disconnected to The Last Jedi (which I also like very much). So glad to hear Oliver mentioned the reactions to the original trilogy. Star Wars has never been a stranger to negative reviews.

[@vasilgevezov3424]

I specifically looked through Empire reviews because of how Rian johnson panned it and said people hated it on release. I found no such evidence at all, with everyone pretty much saying they loved it. I do not know why people took what Rian said as fact and believed him, when he clearly was making excuses for his own movie. This is even more evident because he never accepted any criticism about 8 and just insulted fans (I am talking fair criticism, not blatant hate).

[@jonathancampbell5231]

To be fair, Rian Johnson didn't make up the rumours that Empire was hated when it came out; that story had been around long before he came on the scene and might have been Georges' excuse for the prequels.

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

PALPATINE WAS KILLED BY VADER. He was taught how to cheat death/reincarnate by his master, Darth Plagueis, as explained to Anakin in Episode III: ROTS. Kylo even asks Palpatine: "How did you survive?" And Palpatine replies: "I didn't."

[@NobleWarrior]

The most annoying thing about the film is finn shouting woooaaahhh 3 times. Each one was cringe. Ralley though the palpatine plot literally made me laugh out loud in the cinema. Its a bad film but it had its moments.

[@dasc0yne]

I'm happy you share with me the uncommon opinion that Rogue One might be the best and most satisfying Star Wars movie in decades.

[@JoJoJoker]

The Mandalorian is the way. This is not the way. I have spoken.

[@maxdembo2029]

Joel D the mandalorian is average as well

[@anthroparion]

agreed. it is very meh. fans are so desperate to latch on to something better than Disney's last few efforts, they are over compensating on the quality of mando. i think it is a 1.5x speed watch and I doubt anyone will rrwatch because there just isn't any meat on the bone

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

Meh, The Mandalorian is just empty fluff. It still reeks of OT nostalgia pandering and it just makes me miss the EU even more.

[@markthetopfabricator6047]

Yes, The Mandalorian is great it's one of the best Star Wars things ever and better then all of this fimls but a due like TFA, Rogue One and Solo (a little).

[@DanieleMulas-up7np]

@@markthetopfabricator6047 Barely. It's still OT imagery rehashing, and it's too slow and meandering for my tastes. Doesn't help how it reminds me of the more wholesome EU....

[@cloudtx]

I rate Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith higher than any of the sequel trilogy movies. Specially Revenge of the Sith which stands leagues above anything in the sequel trilogy.

[@DoncoEntAgain]

I like your reviews a lot, but I don't think it's right to compare the responses that Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi got back in the 80's to the debates surrounding the new trilogy. Discourse these days is so much more toxic and personal; I don't think anyone was called a racist or a feminazi for their opinion on Episode 5 back in the day.

[@loope9421]

The Rise of Skywalker felt like an anime to me lol.People coming back to life,bad guys turning good at the last minute.Bad guys get redeemed at the end even though they massacred planets...Power of friendship wins in the end and teased romantic relationships that went nowhere!

[@vykuntapufangtxpreet9546]

This Trilogy Is Basically A Big Middle Finger To George Lucas.

[@bikingchupei2447]

are you guys downvoting oliver's review or the movie itself?

[@thesenate3881]

im very tired of the rian johnson theory that ESB wasnt well received, thats completely false my guy. actually look back at those reviews and even new segments. i can link you if youd like bc there too much evidence to back my point, i simply cannot type it all

[@Bit2brain]

Just commented the same thing. Ruin gave himself a bs excuse and people just ran with it.

[@Kenshiro3rd]

The Senate it was true. Also kinda hard to link to stuff that predates the WWW. Much of this stuff is only in hardcopy or archived on micro film/fiche, as far as I am aware.

[@Bit2brain]

Anyone can cherry pick a NY Times article here or there and say, “See! Even Empire got lousy reviews and was divisive!” That’s nothing but confirmation bias. Even Joker has the random bad review. Are we going to judge the film decades from now by those low scores from a handful of critics? Another key element is that Empire never divided the fanbase either.

[@Kenshiro3rd]

Bit2Brain and anyone can pic some random obscure publication that praised it. Which would be equal amounts confirmation bias. The point was that at the time Empire actually got a mixed and often negative reaction originally as opposed to the original's almost universal praise.

[@Bit2brain]

Kenneth Eaton Why would anyone need to cherry pick a positive review when we are talking about bad reviews only? Besides, no need to resort to a random publication to prove it was well received because it’s so super easy to find original reviews from 1980 that are positive. That Empire got all these bad and mixed reviews is nothing more than an apologist excuse by Rian for the reception of his film. It wasn’t enough to dump on Luke; he also had to retcon Empire reviews.

[@RobVerdone]

The prequels were way better than the sequels. If Luke would have had a quick fight scene at the end of 7 TFA (ala yoda in 2) everything would have been fine. Rouge One and Obi-wan are amazing imo.

[@Leon_K_24]

The claim that critics and fans weren’t happy with TESB is false, for the most part. Robot Head made a good video on it.

[@davidgeisler9885]

Leon Kennedy www.starwars.com/news/critical-opinion-the-empire-strikes-back-original-reviews

[@rapinderjitsinghdhanoa46]

Oliver please answer one question, did it make any sense to you, as you failed to mention any major plot holes present in this fan fiction mess. I am still shocked you stated that these directionless, emotionless, character assassination sequels are better than the prequels.

[@johnweber4577]

The prequels at least had a narrative that actually built itself up to something and thematic coherence.

[@anthonycarado6313]

When one critic say it was messy....the rest will say the same.

[@ANJIN79SAMMA]

Best review channel ever! Love this channel