REWATCH! Star Wars Episode IX The Rise Of Skywalker - Sith Council

[@NisGaarde]

For me this was such a heart-breaking movie to watch. As I was watching it I was slowly realizing that the sequel trilogy had just basically been a big con. There was no plan, no real story (as was sadly confirmed later by Daisy Ridley and then JJ himself). It was the ultimate Emperor's New Clothes moment for me (no pun intended). It boggles the mind that this is how Disney chose to handle such a precious franchise.

[@RossAllaire]

Slowly? ;)

[@frankvizen5480]

Big con is a great description

[@TheKristianHarloff]

No plan was the big sin

[@fernandovillacis3728]

I feel the same… I used to watch everything SW before the Sequels and now I just know that this is the end of that story

[@bb-gc2tx]

@@TheKristianHarloff and the political agenda. i walked out of last jedi depressed it was like they told every gen x male who grew up ot we dont want you anymore star wars is not for you anymore now get out

[@JediKnightoftheTifaCult]

Enjoying these deep dives. The conversations you guys have reminds me of the old days of Jedi Council! Looking forward to the Boba reviews.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you! Yes I have been saying it for a little. This is actually my favorite Star Wars show that I have ever done.

[@HanTalksFirst]

Every time Mike screams "What are you proposing?" I die laughing! 😂 Great show guys!

[@LukeTG1TTV]

Haha yeah 😅😅

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Oh yeah kills me to

[@Vulcanerd]

I love watching Mike all conflicted with himself, talking back and forth by himself then throwing his hands up in the end going, "I don't know. I don't know."

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Haha

[@brucecrawford4948]

I went to a 24 hour Skywalker Saga marathon in theaters leading up to The Rise of Skywalker. I was excited with how they could end this entire Saga but then there was clearly no plan for the trilogy or the end of this Saga’s story. I was so upset leaving the theater. I’m sorry but for me, this Saga’s story really ended at Return of the Jedi. Thank you Kristian for your review of this film. I’m so grateful to finally hear it!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you for listening!

[@THEMANUC]

53:12 .... hilarious! Been revisiting your Star Wars reviews here and over on Collider. Great stuff!

[@deanlewis6109]

Great discussion as always. Particularly fond of all the banter and ribbing in this one. Its great to see the chemistry just getting better and better. Good stuff.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you Dean!

[@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677]

Yes, the force awakens was a retread but JJ did a great job setting up the characters and getting us to care

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Agreed, harder to watch now knowing what comes after

[@ShawHortonMusic]

This is actually my favorite of the sequel trilogy, despite some of the sloppier aspects, now that it’s all said and done. I like that it’s a bit separate from the main TFA/TLJ storyline (TLJ had to continue directly from TFA, but TROS got to be a little more of its own thing). I love that the main trio finally gets to work together as a trio. It only took until the final film in the trilogy but they’re finally working together, and they work well together. I like the back and forth between them. This film actually made me interested in seeing them return on screen somehow. JJ and crew did a good job with Leia considering they didn’t had limited footage to work with. I liked that Han was given a more positive note to go out on and that his scene here made his death in TFA have more purpose in turning Ben back to the light. Luke finally got to be the wise Jedi Master, guiding the next generation, and it was great to see Lando again. And C3PO finally had a good role in this trilogy, he had some of the best comedic lines. Everyone dislikes the idea of “Rey Palpatine,” but I really don’t think it’s a bad idea. It feels more substantial than her being from nothing. And it doesn’t really negate anything from the previous films. Luke even says to her in TLJ, “You went straight to the dark.” Of course she did. It’s in her blood. And I like this idea JJ was going for where we have the Skywalker descendent (Ben) on the dark side and the Palpatine descendent (Rey) on the light side. Plus it’s great to see Ian McDiarmid back on screen hamming it up as the Emperor, so even though his return isn’t explained very well, it really doesn’t bother me. The final battle above Exegol is really great. I liked Poe leading the charge and taking over for Leia, and I liked that he promoted Finn to a leadership position. Everybody complains about Finn being wasted in this film, but it completes his arc in a way by having him become a leader in the Resistance. He goes from stormtrooper, to a deserter who wants no part in the war, to a true leader for the cause. Sure, I would’ve loved to see him become a Jedi, but he does have an arc across the trilogy, even if it’s not what a lot of people would’ve preferred. Most of all, this is the only film in the trilogy that leaves me somewhat satisfied in the end. TFA ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m underwhelmed by TLJ, so neither of those really leave me satisfied. But whenever I watch TROS, I always have a fun time. This may not be the case for everyone, but to me this one really feels like there was some love behind it and an attempt to satisfy the fans. I just enjoy watching it, simple as that.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Happy you enjoy it!

[@justindza]

This dude wrote an entire essay. My goodness.

[@skamvran1139]

Yes and you got to read it for free​@@justindza 👍

[@RyanNilsen]

“he must have been on another transport” I can’t

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Lots of stupid writing in all 3 of these Disney era movies.

[@andrewbarnett152]

You're great on SEN Ryan (and nobody does Watto better!), so please don't take this as me being contrary for its own sake- but the movie actually doesn't cheat on the other transport if you look closely. It's clearly seen as the group watch the troopers disembark. I just took it as a homage to Marion in the basket in Raiders. I have other issues with the movie, but that ain't one of them.

[@psychogoji]

For me, this was the first time I had watched/read a piece of SW media and felt that it was corporate. Whether I loved or hated something, I always felt the magic. It was a part of this universe and I was invested regardless, except for this movie. Only time I feel anything is when Ben talks to Han, and it's for a plot point that shouldn't even really be in the movie. Normally, I can like a movie if the ending makes it all worthwhile (Rogue One), but this final act of the trilogy is just an amalgamation of "things a finale should have" and I could see JJ/Lucasfilm checking off boxes rather than making an engaging end to it all. Great video as always though, Kris/Steph/Mike!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

See I feel all 3 of these land into the corporate feel when you look at them as a trilogy.

[@psychogoji]

@@TheKristianHarloff As a whole? Completely agree, the lack of a plan was evident. But individually I was able to get invested with the first two. Even though I really enjoy TLJ, I went into TROS ready for 8 to become the ugly duckling of the trio because of how it would fit into "the overarching narrative". If there was a genuine attempt at writing a good movie, there's so much to tie in with the novels especially to justify bringing Palps back, a stormtrooper rebellion, etc. Instead it was a fan service slog to try and "make up" for TLJ (as much as I and others liked it).

[@caigecrampshee3709]

It would have been very interesting to get Reiilys thoughts on this movie. I'd imagine he does not like it? Could be wrong. Loved this episode guys!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I think he doesn't love but would actually love to have Ken on

[@caigecrampshee3709]

@@TheKristianHarloff Great recommendation. Ask him to come to Sith! :)

[@travis_mitchell]

One huge missed opportunity I thought they were actually going to do once Kylo arrives at “Exogol” Was that was he would land on the planet, which is a salt flat, and the lighting would strike, illuminating the outline of a crashed Tipoca City, revealing the planet to be Kamino. Hence why it wasn’t on a star chart, and why The emperor’s clone would be there, using the old technology. The implication being that the Dark Side was so powerful, that it killed all the life, and the hidden army’s resources used up all the water. And the Red Nebula would be the power of the Dark Side rotting space, or the Force Itself attempting to separate it from the rest of the universe. This of course was when the movie came out, and obviously wouldn’t hold up now even if they decided to go that route, but it’s a “what if” that would’ve tied the trilogies together.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

And why wasn't Exogol just Morriband? I get it, Unknown Regions but come on!

[@our_daily_obsessions6615]

My main issue with this film (among many) is how easy everything comes to the heroes. They either stumble upon or are handed everything they need just to get to the next plot point. Nothing is earned. It’s the definition of lazy writing. Anyways, been a fan of yours for the last decade! Love this series of rewatches!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Agreed

[@camhalen]

This is the one I only watched once in the theater, I saw all of the other Disney era films at least three times on the big screen. To me, the writing in this movie is simply inexcusable. How did some of it even make it past a first draft? Been fun watching the movie discussions, thanks for the laughs. Also, we have R-rated content on disney+ in Canada 😁

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yes heard about the Star option outside US!

[@ricardoelorza613]

Yeah. Here in Spain, Star comes as one of the options in Disney + along with SW, NatG, Marvel or Disney. Pretty complete offer

[@camhalen]

It's the best, they have Die Hard amongst the Christmas movies. I love some of the suggestions that come up. Do you want to watch Lion King or Commando? 🤷

[@Mokkari77]

They didn't have time to make a third or fourth draft. That was the problem.

[@ryangettig274]

Ian McDiarmid,Dennis Lawson,Billy Dee William's knowing it's camp,full camp,go full camp& somehow make it resourrend-Exegol is a weird StarWars Planet:)

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Wish it was just Moriband

[@caedus0809]

Thank you for the rewatch-series Harloff! It was a great time listening to you guys. Can't wait for Boba.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you! So you are also aware on Big Thing, we did Spiderman Rewatches, Matrix coming up next.

[@dmvprofessor]

In the booklet the came with the 4K it says that "Lando continues Luke's work on Pasaana to unravel the mystery of the Sith and their connection to the disappearance of his daughter" and that this was happening around the same time that Ben was turning to Snoke. Later it reads "the first people that The First Order targeted were leaders of the old Rebellion, they went for their kids." I'll never understand why there wasn't another 20-30 minutes added to this film for motivations and additional context. We all saw what that did for B v S. People were going to see the last Skywalker Saga movie whether it was 2:20 or 2:50.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Agreed

[@OLDTIME47]

Doing a rewatch of these , awesome

[@bojax]

The whole thing with Chewie's medal can be confusing. Like you mentioned, in the comics (the canon ones), Chewie did end up getting his own medal at some point, but gave it away to a young girl he met. Maz did have Luke's medal at some point... though she didn't know it. During a flashback in the Last Shot novel, Han needed Maz to do him a favor, and for payment either she wanted or he offered his medal (been awhile since I've read it), but what he didn't tell Maz is that he gave her Luke's medal instead (Leia had possession of all of Luke's stuff when he went away) and kept his...which is exactly something Han would do...which Leia ends up giving to Maz to give to Chewie.

[@generalgrievous696]

The funny thing is that Chewbacca getting a medal was more of Disney cheapening everything the reason that he didn't get a medal in A New Hope George Lucas said that Chewbacca's people didn't value material possessions like medals like other cultures did they didn't mean much to them. And Disney retconning that strips things away from the character

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah definitely see where it could be confusing to casual fans.

[@Ruleof2Review]

I do still want to add that I’ve loved watching these (I watched the whole series) and you guys did a wonderful job discussing and breaking these all down. Thank you for this, guys!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you so much!

[@BlankGreenCanvas]

This may be unpopular, but as disappointing as a collective these three movies were, to abandon the characters and stories established here would be a massive mistake. There is a report that the JD Dillard (Director if Sleight) and Matt Owens were developing a movie that has since been repurposed into a show, and apparently it’s centered on Finn exploring both his origins and his post-TROS journey. If the Clone Wars really helped change the Prequels for the better, I think the Sequels deserve it too. The Mandalorian is already looking to head in that direction, and honestly an animated series with the Sequel Trilogy characters and actors’ lending their voices would be a good way too. Honestly, I hope that somehow that Finn series rumor is true, because Boyega would crush it, and he’s admitted he’s not completely opposed to return despite being honest with his disappointment with his role in the movies.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I wonder, I don't see Boyega getting involved with SW anytime soon but who knows

[@Dohsoda]

I've only see Episode IX twice. In the theater and on streaming a few months later. On my second viewing I came to sinking feeling that J.J. Abrams just gave up and didn't care anymore. I know he's a fan, but I don't think he and his co-screenwriter had a good story end for this trilogy or the end of the 9 Episode Skywalker saga. By the end of the day, I just felt the screenplay lacked any type of creative risk, substance, or cohesion. Looking back, either J.J. should have directed this entire trilogy or stuck with the plan to have 3 different directors bring their own vision and screenwriting team to this overarching story. Based on what Colin Trevorrow wrote, it seemed like he took elements from VII and VIII, didn't negate anything, and brought his own vision to this story. It might not have been perfect, but it would have felt at least a good enough point to end the story on. Despite its fun positives, as it stands, Episode IX is my least favorite Star Wars film.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Didn't seem like there was any chance to want to connect stuff

[@langleymneely]

1:00:12 “apparently you don’t” LMAO!🤣😂🤣 IM DYING! Goddamn you Harloff, just like that you sent me into a fit of laughter!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Hahaha, thank you.

[@pr0_gabby656]

I would love to see you guys go through the OT with this same energy and attention to inconsistencies. I think that there is something to love in every Star Wars movie. But as much as I love the OT, I think it is treated with too much reverence. There are plenty of issues in them too if we’re honest with ourselves.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Well remember this is how WE see the movies. Everyone sees the movies their own ways and this is about also respecting how other people feel and not diminishing that. This is why we had Reilly on to discuss TLJ

[@jordanrattanavong2655]

Yes. It would’ve been dope if they would have made the first order the new “rebels” of the thriving new republic.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yup, would have made more sense. Corruption within the new government

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah, just wasn't explained on HOW he came back

[@geekedmedia]

Not trying to hate but yall should take a page out of Force Centers playbook when evaluating Star Wars. Glad you gave Ken a shout out. 🤙

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Um no. Why in the world would we model ourselves off another show?

[@geekedmedia]

@@TheKristianHarloff It's just interesting to listen to both Sith Council and Force Center. 2 very different appoaches to evaluating Star Wars. I don't want you to change your format at all.

[@c-3po.concepts567]

Thanks for doing these, they make my weekend commutes fun.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Glad you like them!

[@dawn_bestofj2]

Love this show so much! I look forward to watching it every week. I enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker when I saw it in the theater. I had fun watching it and parts of it made me cry. Then over the next couple of days, I watched reviews that pointed out all of the massive plot holes I managed to overlook my first viewing and saw the movie in another light. Yeah, it's a mess storywise but I still like it better than Last Jedi. I don't like it as much as I initially did during my first viewing. I'd love to know if there are some key points that were cut out of the movie. It would be interesting to read JJ's first script for it. Also, Leia was holding Han's medal when she died so that's where Maz got it. I'm looking forward to the rankings and I hope you guys talk about the script from "Duel of the Fates." I'd love to hear everyone's take on the movie that we could have got if Trevorrow hadn't gotten the boot.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you Dawn! More to come!

[@thebag-lt6wv]

Great episode again crew!! We have Star over here on Disney plus in Ireland/Europe, it has all the R rated stuff on it, Deadpool 1 and 2 Logan etc, lots of Horror stuff on there etc, to be fair its got a lot better over the year, Aliens etc added to it. Keep up the good work!!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yes I hope we get that Star option soon!

[@robertjackson9005]

14:42-14:50. Here’s a what if. I’ve always thought this. Imagine instead of Ben seeing Han showing up to him we hear a voice calling out to him, he turns around and sees the ghost of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) the man who Ben worshipped when he was Darth Vader and then finding out that he turned good in the end. Would’ve been much more effective in my opinion

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Nice!

[@hen913]

Unfortunately in the world of film, throwing in a character like that at the climax without ever showing him beforehand is a huge rule breaker. The audience needs to see said person in some type of way for it to have any emotional impact in a scene like that. Just like how it wouldve been incredibly silly for Luke to come out of nowhere to catch the lightsaber in the snow lol.

[@seandconway]

The Rise of Skywalker is in my top 5 Star Wars movies. I absolutely love it, which I know is a controversial opinion to have these days and to answer Mike's question, I love all 3 sequel trilogy films together. Thanks so much again for an awesome discussion on this movie and thanks for doing this whole re-watch series! Can't wait for future discussions especially when Kenobi starts airing!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you and Book of Boba coming soon!!

[@seandconway]

@@TheKristianHarloff Can't wait to hear all of your Book of Boba Fett thoughts! That show is going to be incredible!

[@lookingforwookiecopilot]

I love the beginning with the falcon in that ice cave place and the lightspeed skipping. The rest of the movie I can live without.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Falcon skipping was fun

[@MindofMike35]

I'm a casual Star Wars fan, there are some parts of the universe I love, other's I'm not a fan of... Having said that, I love this movie!!!!!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Hey love hearing that

[@darthregulus]

Casual? Your opinion makes sense for you then.

[@chrisbrown113096]

Nice ! Been waiting to get off work to watch this ! Been really enjoying these videos ! But this movie upsets me and unfortunately I can’t enjoy it even as a popcorn flick. The line “Somehow Palpatine returned” just scrambles my brain because it showed me they were creatively bankrupt and didn’t even care

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah wasn't flushed out at all!

[@High_Key]

6:18 Exactly. Cant believe there wasn’t a plan in place before The Force Awakens was even developed. I gave TFA the benefit of the doubt, but we ended up getting on-the-nose course correction after course correction. Literal rehashes of iconic moments, in their same respective spots withinin the trilogies, that all concluded with deus ex machina-type plot conveniences…and Finn was a total waste of a character by the end.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

That's why the TV shows work for me, better plan.

[@Averagejoe-wl9ym]

This film should shown to film students on how not to edit a film, how not to write a screen play, and how not to end a film franchise

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Hey think lots of kids enjoy it though

[@xavidelfiorano]

Confounding Michelle Maclaren with Patty Jenkins, the one who was supposed to direct Thor 2 too. They over praised a lot her with the first WW, when Maclaren, and Snyder, were the ones planning the movie. When WW 84 happens is when Jenkins showed her true colours.

[@senpaigarr]

Oh and Deadpool is on Disney+ in Canada. They have the Star section on Disney+ that has the more mature content Deadpool, Sons if Anarchy, Family Guy, etc, etc.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Ah right!

[@MoramothHauntz]

I got a poodle puppy dropping a slobery ball on my phone as I type. Fun talk looking forward to the rankings. I'll try and figure out my own. When I first saw ROS I felt pandered too, but had fun along the way. I cried seeing Wedge because I knew the behind the scenes stuff that kept him from appearing before. Second viewing left me feeling less pandered to and more emotionally manipulated which soured things. Now I don't know how to feel about the movie.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

This is why I have definitely become more invested in Star Wars TV

[@therealred567]

I liked the stuff they did with the force in this trilogy kylo stopping Lazer force Skype Luke’s hologram across the galaxy snatching the necklace. Is there any stuff you liked that they did with the force?

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I liked the Luke stuff even if it resets Last Jedi

[@c-3po.concepts567]

I also like that the last thing Ben does is bring someone he loves back to life. It’s a fun reversal of his line in TFA when he’s praying to Vader’a helmet. “I will finish what you started.” Anakin started as Vader to do just that, save those he loved from Death.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Did you check out the Trevorrow comic?

[@c-3po.concepts567]

@@TheKristianHarloff I didn’t! He wrote a comic? What’s it called?

[@TheKristianHarloff]

@@c-3po.concepts567 He didn't a fan did based off his treatment. Go to the Sith Council episode that is premiering on Friday. The link is in the description.

[@c-3po.concepts567]

@@TheKristianHarloff good deal. Appreciate ya

[@jon1970]

Lost stars is amazing. People need to discover this.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

So good

[@neilhanstock]

Fascinating discussion as always, as your upcoming "most enjoyable" rankings will be. However, I have to take issue with the conversation around the 14 minute mark of this video, concerning Luke throwing away his sabre in TLJ, then telling Rey she should have more respect for it in TROS. The Luke and Yoda scene, which might possibly be my favourite scene in all of Star Wars, makes his words to Rey in episode IX, even more impactful. I hear a some people say that IX retcons a lot of VIII. If that is the case, someone is going to have to give me some examples, as I just don't see it.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I mean sure but the scene was clearly in there to show that JJ did not like Rian's choices.

[@neilhanstock]

@@TheKristianHarloff It will never happen of course, but I'd love to see a 90 minute Disney Gallery with JJ and Rian, discussing their trilogy. I'm still not convinced that they ignored or disliked each others movies.

[@Mokkari77]

The problem was instead of three years between each movie there was two. That meant the script for the next movie was written before the current one was released. Previously they had more time to work on the script and also do reshoots after principle photography. Before Lucas was able to see how audiences reacted to a movie, what they liked and didn't like. When Phantom Menace came out and Jar Jar was hated by fans Lucas minimized his role in the next movie. Bob Iger is the one who wanted a two year gap and also ROTS to be released his final year as Disney CEO so he is who I blame the most.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Not enough time is very true.

[@QuiGeorgeJim]

Sith Council - You guys are an absolute riot, Thanks So much for sharing your insight on all three sequels! "May The Force Be With Us All"

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you Jim!

[@johnbarker7602]

Great conversation! I thought they did a fantastic job setting up the new trilogy with the Force Awakens, but it was very apparent with the release of the 8th and 9th they didn't have a plan where they wanted the trilogy to go. The 7th and 8th movies are technically one giant 4 hour movie since no time passes between the two. It's literally just one Episode. George Lucas said that Star Wars revolves around Anikan Skywalker the tragedy of him being lured to the dark side and becoming vader and then later bringing balance to the force as prophesied. With that being said, Anikan should have played a major plot point in the sequels at least as a force ghost at some point. The sequels felt very disconnected from the first 6 films, more like fan fiction. The only one that felt connected was the Force Awakens. I don't blame J. J. when he had to herald a movie that needed to be rewritten due to Carrie's death, tight deadlines, but also because he somehow had to tie up loose ends of an entire "trilogy" in one movie since the 8th movie did nothing to move the plot forward or answer questions. He was forced to write two movies into one movie in little time. I hate to say it, but although I didn't like the Last Jedi, I think the trilogy would have ended on a higher note if the 9th movie had been written and directed by Rian Johnson again. It would have felt more cohesive with his vision rather than J. J. trying to revive what Rian Johnson killed. Otherwise, they do make for great entertainment, and in the end they are just movies.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Liking the shows?

[@alexlazzerly3677]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Kylo did redeem himself in the Duel Of The Fates script, but just at the very end before death. For most of the movie he's the main villain.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

He did? I thought he died a villain. TBH, need to read

[@alexlazzerly3677]

@@TheKristianHarloff Yeah I think Leia calls out to him similar to how she did in TROS, and he returns to the light just before he dies. Kinda comes out of nowhere tbh.

[@rittiswelt4287]

Before I get started about The Rise of Skywalker, I must admit, I skipped leaving a comment on The Last Jedi. The discussion about that particular movie, with all the back and forth, produces a kind of friction that can get exhausting very quickly. So before I move on, I'd just like to sum up my opinion on TLJ briefly: for every great idea it offers, there is a bad one to meet it! Partly it is for the delivery/execution, partly for half-baked story beats. My cinematic experience at that time constantly evolved from one to the other. I attended the midnight premiere - a double feature with The Force Awakens - and left the theatre confused, wathcing those two movies back to back. The second time I enjoyed it a lot more and the third time was a very laid back experience. Since I had already seen TLJ, knowing what to expect from it, it was funny to witness the reactions of other audience members. One time, when the credits ended, there were these two guys sitting in one of the upper rows and they were fuming about the TLJ as they left the theater. I've never seen people getting that mad over a movie still inside a movie theatre. Others went off in complete silence. Why do I tell this? Because The Rise of Skywalker offered such a different experience when it hit theatres. Although I'd call my overall personal experience „A tale of two movies“. The first „movie/experience“ was the one we all couldn't wait for. The „mighty“ conclusion of The Skywalker Saga on the big screen. It's a tale of a long anticipated moment in cinema history and an action packed adventure, that successfully pressed the pedal to the metal far enough to create a sense of thrill and wonder for the time being. I remember walking out of TROS after the first time, saying to a stranger „well, that wasn't too shitty after all“. Although I felt overrun by the pace of the movie I generally felt highly entertained. The second and third viewing even solidified that impression as I was prepared and able to fill in more and more of the gaps TROS clearly leaves for the audience to fill in. The Star Wars fan in me caught up with the breakneck speed of the journey, I embraced the majority of choices without overthinking them. Unfortunately, the home video release broke the spell of TROS for me to a big degree. Without the „force“ of the big screen the movie came apart piece by piece, perhaps with the exception of Babu Frik - the most hilarious character in recent Star Wars history - and a few story beats here and there! While Indiana Jones would have been proud of the adventurous nature of the plot, a ton of scenes do not receive enough screentime to marinade properly. What still worked in the cinema, lacked a lot of substance at a closer look. Sometimes to the point of throwaway lines. Right after the opening crawl we are being thrown into the storm of Kylo Ren heading for Mustafar, killing a bunch of strange inhabitants and taking a trip to meet the emperor. What could easily have filled a 45 minute episode of a series, got crammed into a rushed montage that made it hard to follow and connect the dots, even if you know your „lore“. Over and over again TROS throws settings, scenes and characters at you, without lending them proper or any depth at all while one hunt for a MacGuffin chases the next. Too often the movie provides a too shallow experience with characters we are supposed to root for. Like empty calories in a bad breakfast cereal we get to spend little to no quality time with heroes and villains alike. While Rey, Finn and Poe seem to have grown a significant amount of comeradery off-screen (!), characters like Hux, General Pryde, Zorii Bliss, Rose Tico, Jannah, Maz Kanata and a bunch of others have little to do with almost no character depth. Even the (admittedly cool) appearance of Lando feels utterly brief, shallow and unearned. And don't get me started on the off-screen assembly of that massive galactic civil fleet at the end. A movie that wants to be more than the sum of its parts - and mere parts TROS is at this point- you just can't leave that kind of stuff to the imagination (or other media). Unfortunately in this case TROS has to go down that route since the entire background of that particular „part“ would probabably have taken another 15-20 minutes of indepth storytelling to really make it stick. Without the buzz of the cinematic rollercoaster experience TROS struggles to live up to the gravitas of ending The Skywalker Saga. For the most part it even fails to properly pull our emotional strings. To be honest, the entire trilogy to this point just didn't offer enough depth for that to happen. Granted, the Han Solo moment runs much much deeper than it seems at first glance - I actually like that scene a lot for the sake of its poetry! Also it's very touching to see Leia pass away in the movie. But do we really care for the new leads? Even in the theatre, when Rey and Kylo kissed each other at the end and Kylo died, I heard some people in the audience chuckle instead of sniffling silently! Well done, sequel trilogy! What an emotional journey you must have been! For the long haul, I think TROS, despite all its spectacle, reveals too much wasted potential. Potential that might get picked up one day by a Disney+ series or will even be told through various series, like the current course already indicates. So I want to finish my little deep dive the same way TROS functions as a movie. With an abbreviated rapid fire: -Palpatine is back: tell me more!? -Snoke was just a puppet: I don't mind! -Hyperspace skipping: flimsy concept, poorly executed and visually weak -Force powers: overpowered at times, relegated to a plot device at others -Chewie's fake death: neat if you don't see it coming, resolved far too quickly for lingering impact! -Knights of Ren: they exist, they can follow people... -Hux is a traitor: loved it, but the „execution“ was flat, or shall I say quick and painless? -C3PO gets wiped: wasted for laughs with the inevitable memory-restore -Rey climbing the death star wreck: well executed (Jedi: Fallen Order, anyone?) -Door in the smashed throne room: how does that still have power? -Lightsaber fight: very raw, great setting - I enjoyed it! -Finn and others having a „feeling“: tell me more!? -Final Order fleet: who, how, why, when? -Civilian fleet: is time travelling a thing in Star Wars now? Tell me more! Let's wait and see how much of this „shopping catalogue“ of a movie gets „adopted“ and explored by future Lucasfilm/Disney+ material. It'll be quite a tall order to tie-in a cohesive „story behind the story“ and I'm pretty sure they will have to resort to a mix of live action and animation stuff to really explore everything properly. For now I have a hard time watching The Rise of Skywalker with the same joy I experienced during its initial theatrical run. Maybe that's a temporary thing. I really hope so! Even more I hope Disney and Lucasfilm can turn the wheel around and live up to the missed potential that still lingers in this trilogy! Ultimately this might not really be „a tale of two movies“, but „a tale of a movie that should have been two“.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Did you watch our TLJ ep?

[@rittiswelt4287]

@@TheKristianHarloff I did!, Kristian! I think the general discussion about that particular movie is very complex. It was quite extensive (and passionate) in your deep dive episode as well. I think it was healthy for the discussion to invite Mark Reilly as the defender. However after watching the episode I felt like "maybe that movie has been debated enough for one night. We know it's divisive, let's deal with it". Depending on what mood I'm in, I see truth in most of the arguments held against, inbetween or in favour of TLJ. It's time to move on and maybe the day will come, when the overall fandom is willing to make its preace with TLJ for what it is. For that to happen I think it needs extensive workarounds. Just one example: I'm totally fine with what TLJ did to Luke, but it lacks justification. We didn't get enough backstory. So Luke's choice to hide on an Island isn't all that comprehensible as it seems very sudden and harsh to himself. I'd like to compare it to the turn of Anakin. When EP3 came out, that felt sudden as well. With The Clone Wars series taken into account it's a whole different situation. I think once we get to see the struggles and the cracks in the shell of a Luke, crushing under the weight of his responsibility, The Last Jedi might come off as a pretty rewarding experience one day.

[@jondebenedict7315]

I'd definitely love to see you guys do a deep dive or reading (or whatever, something of that ilk) of Colin Trevorrow's Episode 9 draft. I wouldn't even mind you guys still doing "what if's" like you've been doing. I think you'd get a good amount of material and discourse talking about that script. But, anyway...first time leaving a comment here, but great discussion as always, Kristian and co.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Already planning on that!!

[@LP3Customs]

Wow, great timing. Just in time for the annual new Star Wars movie in December. Oh wait

[@TheKristianHarloff]

HAha

[@chriscossin]

One thing I was hoping this film would’ve done was have the title of The Rise Of Skywalker be referring to the return of Anakin Skywalker as a force ghost and with Palpatine returning this means the Sith still exists which means the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled, so that way you can have Anakin show up at the end and defeat Palpatine and the Sith since he’s the Chosen One, which you can also tie in the Mortis stuff from the Trevorrow Duel of the Fates script to explain the prophecy to the general public. I also would’ve had Anakin mentor Rey the most alongside Luke and Leia and give Anakin a large role in the film. And if you were to redeem Kylo I feel like the only person who could really persuade him to turn to the light would be his grandfather who he idolizes, Darth Vader aka Anakin, and Anakin could’ve have shown him the light and shown him that he went down a similar path Kylo does and show him a way to turn back to the light. That’s what I think would’ve been an improvement among many things in this film, along with Palpatine going into detail at some point how Plagueis taught Palpatine to cheat death. Those are my thoughts haha, sorry for how lengthy that was.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Please don't apologize! Love when you guys get involved in the conversation! I think the Anakin idea would have been great, would have loved if they incorporated past lore into it more.

[@chriscossin]

@@TheKristianHarloff Thanks! It’s always fun listening to you guys talk Star Wars. Also one more thought, get rid of Exegol and just make it Korriban/Moraband if you’re going to have the final duel on a Sith planet. The Mortis idea that Trevorrow had was pretty dope too.

[@andrewbarnett152]

Someone else (it may have been Marc Bernardin or Kevin Smith) wondered why they didn't restore Threepio's memory of the prequels. I think the reason is because in the lore, Lucas has said that Artoo is the ONLY one that knows the whole story, and restoring Threepio's memory would be a violation of his intent. At least that's my understanding. Again, in the lore, I think that it's Artoo who, many years later, narrates the story of the adventures of Luke Skywalker to the keeper of the Whills. And it's the keeper of the whills who is telling us this story from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away etc. So it's by design that Artoo is the only one who has his memory across the whole saga intact. At least, that's my understanding from Rinzler's 'making of' books.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I mea I guess but it just means R2 is a prick who could have told a lot of people what was going on

[@diamondrattler7453]

The thing with Kennedy is, she's on the sets of the movies giving her input into what should be happening, a finger there, a finger here, a nose over there. When she's on the set of The Mandalorian, she's doing NOTHING but sitting and listening. Favraeu and Filoni are all over that. Kathleen doesn't care about any Star Wars story. She wants visual effects galore, space battles that are bigger and "better" (which just makes them sloppy looking), and some lightsabers swinging around. You could tell from the little trailer that Patty Jenkins put out that she wanted to tell a story with character and heart. Kathleen probably read the script and said "Well, we need more zoomies and flyzees, can you cut down on the character moments and insert another planet killing machine that's even bigger and badder than Starkiller Base?!" But yeah, all in all, this Disney trilogy is just background music that won't amount to much in the long run. I doubt any of the actors want to return to this mess.

[@generalgrievous696]

I've seen this before. The problem is that she's like a jealous manager in an office who was promoted for doing good work in the past. She wants the title and the prestige that goes along with being in Senior Management but she doesn't trust the employees under her enough to do their job and so she's constantly micromanaging and meddling in every little thing because she wants to be in Senior Management but she also wants to be doing the job that she had before she was in Senior Management.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

All I know is that the issue does continue to happen.

[@magicconchshell]

I have no love for her and dont care if shes fired, but do you have any proof that any of that happend? So many people act like there is a "war" at lucasfilm between kennedys people and fillonis people, which is so childish and makes zero sense business wise. Shes his boss. So many thumbnails have sayings like “ the real Luke is back and Kennedy can’t handle it!” Or “take that Kathleen Kennedy!” She’s the freaking executive producer, she signed off on it over a year before they aired it. They act like she’s tuning in each week like the rest of us to see what happens. Like she’s watching and going, “what!? They brought back Luke? Damn you Filoni!” While shaking her fist in the air.

[@generalgrievous696]

@@magicconchshell well I don't buy into the clickbait titles of people like doomcock all you have to do is go through the cavalcade of executive producers and directors who have parted ways over "creative differences" some even mid production of movies because of the fact that instead of sticking with what they had countless reshoots or edits to cut out certain parts in movies at the 11th hour were done. Those types of decisions can only come from the top I could see if it was maybe one director or producer but there have been several one after the other and it's not all their faults. Even if you read recent interviews by people like John boyega and Daisy Ridley. John boyega more openly and unabashedly than Daisy Ridley who sort of finally admitted it have both said that Disney didn't have much of an idea with what they were doing. That being said I don't think it's a huge cap versus iron Man civil war inside Disney but I do think that the chaos that has resulted in a lot of the movies and television shows that are in production aren't all by coincidence when you don't have your ship together and your ducks all in a row chaos is going to happen.

[@TylerBabb]

If I could get one redo in film histroy it would be this trilogy, heck if I couldn't get the whole trilogy, I would at least have this redone.

[@kiki42719]

Amen

[@TheKristianHarloff]

So much could have been done differently. Look at the way Mando was handled. Imagine that this trilogy had that kind of care and plan directed towards it.

[@DavidJordao]

Canada is one of the countries that has Star on Disney Plus, which gives some of the Hulu originals and other adult content. We actually just got Deadpool 2 a few weeks ago

[@TheKristianHarloff]

That is what I hear!

[@francissellerdude]

Thanks for making all these, youre the man 💪

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Glad you like them!

[@mnova69]

Thankyou guys for these deep dives!! I thought I missed Jedi council but this surpasses, keep up the great work! Best wishes from the uk

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@GalaxyGeeks]

Not gonna lie have been wanting you to review this film ever since it came out. I agree completely you can nitpick this movie to death with everything you wish they would have done. It really throws off the whole trilogy because it just end up being a rehash. But, saying that id watch this movie all day long over the last jedi because it really is a fun popcorn movie to watch. I honestly get extremely bored watching the last jedi. -Luke

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah but man now that I know this exists... awinegarner.squarespace.com/duel-of-the-fates I want this movie.

[@GalaxyGeeks]

@@TheKristianHarloff SAME!!! When this script was first released I listened to many different people talking about it. Reilly on rule of two talked on one of the last episodes he did he went deep into it and it really was the story that you had wanted back when you would talk about the sequel trilogy on Jedi council. They don’t bring palpotine back but they bring it back to the idea of Plagous which really gives it a connection to the prequels but also works off of the story the sequels where telling. Honestly I think the reason the studio didn’t want to Pursue this story was due to the backlash of the last Jedi. This movie would have connected everything but it was very heady and might not work in their minds with a mass audience. The Star War lore fans would have lost their minds with joy. I hope one day Star Wars movies can start to trust the audience with a movie that has lore in it like the MCU has done.

[@marksith6550]

I enjoyed it. My litmus test was my kids a boy and girl who grew up with the ST. They loved FA, left the cinema before the end of TLJ and they loved ROS. Their faces at the end (a boy and girl) was an echo of mine at the end of ROTJ. This movie negates TLJ brutally at times but still cannot fathom the direction TLJ went in…

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Same

[@jcc9erz]

The 2 words I can’t help but think and say when watching the sequels is WHAT IF. It feels like they ignore any prior Star Wars canon or basically make choices that say it didn’t matter

[@trevorthornley8835]

What's next for you guys? It would be cool if at some point, you guys talked about clone wars series. Each video focuses on one season. That would be fun

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Next week is the deep dive into the Trevorrow treatment/comic book. Then we start to lead up to Boba

[@terminaDORU]

Been thinking these past few days of Lord of the Rings (LOTR), which if you add up the Extended editions, it totals to about 12h of content. If you think about it, that is 1 season of 12 episodes. So within "1 season" they present to you one of the best stories ever, you care about all characters, incredible world building and a lot of emotion. Now imagine applying this treatment to Star Wars. I absolutely agree with you that you can tell the best stories on TV, (or streaming) and just the fact that you can achieve LOTR level of quality within 1 year should get us (and especially Lucasfilm) very excited and interested. The story of Revan for example could easily be told to a meticulous level on serialized form. Not everything has to be a movie.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Man would love that!

[@xcryosonx]

Hahaha oh my god I forgot how bad TROS was, this was great guys.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thanks for watching!

[@lunat6952]

I have a lot of issues with this movie and yet... I teared up when Leia passed on. It still hit me harder than I expected it to. I also wanna say I love the whole idea of the Sith Eternal and having a Sith cult. The kind of stuff you wanna see out of an Old Republic spin off

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah that got me to.

[@kiki42719]

The forgotten Collin Trevorrow script is a million times better than this movie. I dont want JJ to ever touch Star Wars or any one of my favorite franchises again

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I need to read it!

[@kiki42719]

@@TheKristianHarloff I believe Fernandez got a copy of the script, Im sure he can hook you up. If not, he and Star Wars Theory read the whole script on their rule of two episodes

[@SaladVonBaco]

I am saying this with love and as a fan of Sith Council. My personal opinion and simple constructive criticism. This whole trilogy talk could have been more interesting with more opposing views discussing it rather than people who basically agree on almost every point. I know you tried with the Last Jedi one with having Reilly appear but it didn't quite work. It still felt like a one sided conversation. I still enjoyed them but it was basically only hearing how Kristian felt with people ultimately agreeing with him. It felt like a deep dive with folks who generally didn't enjoy the trilogy (honestly I'm in that camp too) but I feel it could have been cooler if on the council there was someone with the exact opposite view of the entire trilogy (someone who absolutely loved it). Hearing the two perspectives bounce back and forth could have been enlightening and maybe made me feel differently on some things. All that being said thank you for this show. I enjoy watching/listening every week.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I get that criticism and I think it is fair however this Council is the the three of us. And Steph really enjoys this one.

[@chrisolivo6591]

It’s not the small stuff that bother me about 7,8,9. I actually like the new characters and think the movies are executed very well. It’s the big picture story that falls flat in the end. It turned out to be a carbon copy of 4,5,6. A Skywalker/Solo turns bad and joins the First Order/Empire while the Resistance/Rebellion fights to keep the Galaxy peaceful. The protagonist ends up redeeming the fallen Skywalker/Solo only to kill the Emperor at the end. Geez, they couldn’t think of anything original in 7,8,9?????

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yea wish there was a whole different story line.

[@urbanexcursion]

Cotton candy movie - that's a spot on description of this film. I'm not sure if I was incorrectly reading the film, but the scene with Finn and Jannah sounds like the Force awoke within them as well as many others. This gives me some hope for Episodes 10-12 (if we ever get them) because maybe we will get to see Rey try to train a new order of Jedi or something along those lines. I don't know...I just hope Lucasfilm has a plan next time. Overall, my ranking of films based on levels of enjoyment would be: ANH, ESB, ROTJ, TFA, ROTS, TPM, ROS, TLJ, AOTC

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah give me TV all day

[@rdp16rulez]

These rewatch series have been so fun and thought provoking. I've been excited to see everyone's opinions. For me, RoS is a mixed bag. Some good, some bad, nothing to far in either category to hate it. The parts that I didn't like (mostly the Emperor stuff and all the needless romance subplots that don't land) didn't hurt the stuff that I did like (I'm part of the problem, but I love all the Kylo scenes, the big dumb space battle, space horses, Babu Frick, and the farewell to Leia). I am 100% on board with you guys looking at the Duel of the Fates script and maybe reading some scenes out loud. Look, the MTS literally has a full Star Wars division. If each player took one role, no matter how big or small, and recorded those, and the Sith Council read the main three roles (Emperor Palpatine, Kylo Ren, and Rey, with Ken Napzok as the narrator), that's the audio drama of the year! Of course this is one fan asking for something massively complicated, but a guy can dream, right? In any case, this show is great and definitely the direction the channel should be going. Keep up the great work Kristian.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you so much and glad you enjoyed! We have also been doing Spidey rewatches. Matrix up next. Thinking Batman and a few others.

[@rdp16rulez]

@@TheKristianHarloff I've been loving the Spiderman rewatch series. I'm excited for the Matrix one and the Mandalorian one that you might do. Would you be open to a Ghostbusters rewatch for the Blu-Ray release of Afterlife?

[@gzz8551]

“Some good” I’m all ears…

[@Hauerization]

Imagine being a soldier called in for a briefing when your commander says: "Somehow Hitler returned."

[@daninilsen7657]

I dont like these films. The story is totally bananas. I need a good story above prime acting etc. I know a lot of Star Wars fans and no-one who really likes these movies and most of us have been fans from the very beginning. I have the complete saga blu-ray set. It is the complete saga to me. I aldo really like the Legacy of the Force series of books which I think is a pretty good continouation. I dont care about official canon. Its all fantasy anyway so Im keeping what I want. I have really enjoyed these rewatches. I am happy that you answear comments. It makes us feel heard. Very few people do that. So thank you Kristian!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you Dani! I try, it takes me a little longer to do it sometimes but I try to get to everyone!

[@strawberryblondemilk7249]

I've loved this rewatch bravo to kristian and the crew for having a proper interesting discussion on all the films good and bad. The whole rewatch series has been fantastic to listen to with both the star wars and spiderman movies looking foward to the matrix rewatch!!!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you! Did you see the Spidey Rewatches also?

[@strawberryblondemilk7249]

@@TheKristianHarloff oh yeah they've been great

[@gollum475dejong3]

A week ago I tried to watch this movie again, but after 15 minutes into the movie I couldn't continue watching it. It felt like I was watching a fan film. So then I put on revenge of the sith and I immediately felt better and I watched that one to the very end. It felt like I had a warm blanket over me, while rise of skywalker made me feel like I was running in the cold rain trying to catch the bus while my pants kept falling off. Revenge of the sith has problems too, but there was still a story to be found in that one. But rise of skywalker feels so amateurishly made, that I'm starting to worry about the quality of future films.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I am more interested in TV for sure

[@gollum475dejong3]

@@TheKristianHarloff Me too. The two seasons of mandalorian were in my opinion the two best things Disney has put out. It really felt like they were made by someone who understood what inspired star wars from the very beginning, rather than a desperate attempt to recreate the magic of the original trilogy. And after seeing the trailer for the book of boba fett and that little clip for the obi wan series, I have high hopes for what the future of star wars on tv holds.

[@thrawn2k5]

To much reliance on books for Snap Wexley’s arc. The Aftermath series, and the book that came out prior to the movie, Resistance Reborn gave weight to Snap Wexley, and also explained the huge civilian force that appears at the end of the movie. Without Resistance Reborn, they literally come out of left field.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Hard to argue

[@indyj29]

I am just so grateful that I wasn’t the only one using that “what is she proposing!!” Line. 😆😆 so funny

[@TheKristianHarloff]

It is the best.

[@langleymneely]

You all cover almost all of my issues with the entire trilogy and most importantly this last film! I have serious issues with a lot of what JJ did or didn’t do and like Kristian says the BIGGEST issue is execution and planning. My 1 caveat that sheds light on and exacerbated the problems with this film is JJ Abrams having even LESS time to write and direct TROS than he did on TFA. I think a lot of us forgot about JJ needing extra time to finish The Force Awakens? That extension led to the now traditional (and better timed imo) new Star Wars in December. It’s not a valid excuse to completely give Abrams a pass but when compared to his other work you can definitely tell this was haphazardly slammed together and rushed. A byproduct of not having a master plan or outline for the entire trilogy!

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Facts

[@NZealand]

Yo Kristian have you really only read a short sypnosis of the duel of the fates script? I highly recommend reading the full script.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I am reading the comic book version right now as we speak

[@NZealand]

@@TheKristianHarloff comic book version? Holy shit, heading to google now…

[@marklechman2225]

The third trilogy wasn’t necessary to the arc of the original six movies. The PT was part one, the OT was part two. The story was over. The only way to make the sequels work is if they had made two new trilogies, episodes 7 thru 12 - and by “made” I mean written and laid out in advance with a coherent beginning and an end. But just having three more movies tacked on feels awkward, especially since they really had nothing to do with the redemption of Anakin Skywalker - which is what all six original movies were basically about.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Understand the points, thanks for sharing!

[@nassernasser4699]

I disagree about Kennedy brining in Faloni. Gorge Lucus took Faloni under his wing years before he sold SW. Faloni was George's #1 draft pick. Kennedy inherited Faloni, she didn't discover or find him.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I don't think anyone said that Kennedy discovered Filoni. She chooses who stays in what positions and goes where. She placed him in the live action series and paired him with Favereau.

[@jmakowsky7715]

Luke saying that you should respect the saber was character development, not a rewrite. Ryan wrote Luke to fail so why did you say that was JJ going back on that decision? JJ also expanded on the force projection. I don't know why people think TROS was a total rewrite of TLJ

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Hey if you feel that way, more power to you! But I am pretty confident in information I have heard that JJ was NOT a fan of what was done in Ep 8 and that a lot was changed to rework the things done in TLJ. But if you enjoyed it, that is the most important thing!

[@teamkaboozles4910]

So here is my issue: TFA: Kylo turns to the dark side, TLJ: He is conflicted but in the end ultimately chooses the dark side there is no plagueis, no paps, no snoke, he himself makes the decision. TROS: Although he is “supreme leader” he lets paps control him for some reason, he is no longer the big bad. The focus should of been like in Duel of Fates treatment: Kylo is the big bad, he does not get redeemed. In doing so the third act and a final fight between Rey and Kylo would of been a fitting end to the trilogy.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Totally agree with this

[@Nix-xo9js]

TROS was my favourite of the three and maybe by far tbh. That being said, the trilogy was obvs a disaster. I also like Rey. I think it’s sick that she is Palpatine’s GD.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it Nix!

[@jamievicha1660]

I would have loved to see have seen a run down Coruscant in the other version...

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Me too

[@bendavis287]

This is probably my second favorite Star Wars movie. I get it, it’s not the popular opinion, but I love this movie and how I felt it really wrapped things up going from the prequels, the originals, and the sequels. I also think this has two of the greatest scenes in all of Star Wars to me. Also, bendemption was awesome.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Love that you feel that way and thank you for sharing your thoughts on it Ben!

[@bendavis287]

@@TheKristianHarloff thank you for the awesome content, man! Loving this stuff!

[@darekforeman535]

This has always been my problem. They just made 3 different movies. Force Awakens set up a lot of plot points and mysteries. The Last Jedi was like "we don't care about any of those plot points, we are going in a different direction". Rise comes back and erases Jedi but doesn't really connect anything from Force. The movies work as stand alone movies but they fail as a trilogy. Palpatine coming back works with the Darth Plagueis angle. The way they actually...made no sense. Killing off Snoke after the entire mysterious setup in Force felt hollow in Jedi. There was no weight to it. Having a reveal in Jedi that Snoke is actually Palpatine brought back to life by the teachings of Darth Plagueis gives the movie a "I'm your father" moment.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Great points

[@Vulcanerd]

To address Kalinowski's point about whether there are fans of this trilogy, I think it's going to be like the PT. 10-15 years from now, we'll have people who are maybe around 10 or whatever now, that will push back and show this trilogy love. For me, I don't see any way I come around to this unless there's a The Clone Wars type series or movie(s) to bolster this trilogy, but I think this trilogy is actually worse than the PT. At least the PT had Lucas at the helm with a vision of what he wanted. And while the dialogue and acting are wooden, there is a tangible story you can follow with a vast amount of world building that set up everything that came after for series like TCW, Rebels, Mandalorian, etc.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah I def had made that point before. My kids generation will be the same as say Steph's for the prequels.

[@harbir300]

I remember the title "Rise of Skywalker" made me think Anakin was gonna come back to life with some Chosen One powers and bring balance again...

[@TheKristianHarloff]

The call to owning the name is just kind of meh

[@darthregulus]

Rey being a Skywalker makes no sense.

[@orennahoum3888]

Been loving these. I though you said you were going to do a ranking? Is that going to come out?

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah either this week or week after.

[@samthesham4684]

This was a great series of videos the gang did! Do the live action shows!

[@samrenzi1538]

A great discussion! Sometimes I wanna travel back to the time in between force awakens & last Jedi. The hype was real, and Jedi council & movie talk were all fire with news, speculations and all of that good stuff. By the time this movie came out, I feel like majority of the fans didn’t care that much. It was sad to see. P.S: I know this movie made over a billion dollars, however I don’t think it would’ve done as well if it didn’t come out in December.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Def some kind of civil war happened between the fandom which was heartbreaking TBH. But now, to me, it is fun to talk Star Wars again. It wasn't for a long time.

[@andrejohnson2599]

There no reason to get rid of trevorrow

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Agreed

[@RDramatica]

Watching this in 2024 😂😂😂 I will always love you guys and gal together!!! 👍🏾👏🏾👍🏾👊🏾

[@sunnytimes_]

Love this! It definitely feels like the old jedi council 🙌🏾 I think you should all do another show on the leaked Colin Trevorrow Ep9 script using the concept art as a guide. I loved that script and it felt like the ep9 we deserved; all the characters are better developed, their arcs make sense, there are genuine original 'chill' moments, and the ending for Rey / Kylo feels right. Keep up the great work 👍🏾

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Thank you, I think we will. And honestly, this is me, I think this is much better than anything I ever did on Jedi Council. This show is way more fun that that show.

[@sunnytimes_]

@@TheKristianHarloff Couldn't agree more and that's down to you my man. I honestly can't wait for the episode by episode breakdowns of Obi Wan Kenobi 🙌🏾

[@Panthror]

To me it felt like they were trying to put every theory that was posted on the Star Wars Reddit, after The Force Awakens, into this movie, instead of going with their own ideas. Nearly everything in this movie was discussed on KZbin prior to it coming out, so there were very few surprises. Add to that the Finn arc that has no pay-off, the weird jokes, the somewhat uncanny valley with Leia, the wasted potential of the Knights Of Ren and the unearned Rey/Kylo kiss, and you have a movie with just too much dumb for me to like it.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Yeah there was a lot of messy story in this.

[@emmanuelfuentes01]

Hey quick thing. There is an A missing from "Star" in the title.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Fixed

[@christopherbrickner5181]

I am a prequels fan, and while I don't believe the rumor that disney forbade prequels references, I did feel like they were intentionally ignoring the prequels. As they focused so much on the ot and reminding people of those films, but for me the prequels were my star wars films and they didn't even try to remind me of the prequels in a good way. By focusing only on the ot for it felt to me like they were saying "the ot is real star wars and the prequels are not real star wars". That's not what they were trying to do, but it made me and many other prequels fans feel belittled by lucasfilm.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

They were def ignoring them for a bit

[@arodz21]

List of things wrong with this movie (and this is just the main problems): 1. Rey is a Palpatine 2. Palpatine is back...with NO explanation. 3. Multiple fake out deaths. 4. Finn is reduced to just shouting "REY" the entire movie. 5. Rose's character is thrown in the garbage in this movie. 6. Egregious use of Avengers: End Game ending for the climax. 7. The majority of the movie is a series of, what turned out to be pointless, fetch quests. 8. Introducing new characters Zorii Bliss and Jannah (in the final Star Wars film) and doing NOTHING interesting with them. 9. Doing nothing with Finn being Force sensitive. 10. Hiring Chris Terrio to write the screenplay. One more thing that didn't make sense. When Finn, Rey and Poe meet Lando they fanboy over him, especially Finn. But in reality, you would think one or all them would want to punch Lando when they see him and say, "Where the fuck were you when we were getting slaughtered at the battle of Crate??" Their entire Resistance was dwindled down to almost nothing because no one answered the call for help. There was never any sense of urgency or desperation in these characters. No they're too busy making quips and having fun.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I think all 3 of these have lots wrong for sure. Biggest problem being no plan.

[@redheadnerd96]

I dont know if u know of this kristian but someone named Andrew Winegarner has turned Colin Trevorrow's original Episode IX script into a webcomic. I follow him on Twitter and so far he has made a brilliant comic out of Trevorrow's story for Ep IX, it really shows just how much that script should have been made, I tagged you in it on Twitter if u have not seen this brilliant guys work

[@TheKristianHarloff]

Can you shoot me the link?

[@redheadnerd96]

@@TheKristianHarloff I can give it a try

[@redheadnerd96]

@@TheKristianHarloff don't think it liked me posting the link here to you so I sent u a message on Instagram with the link attached but truly give it a good look it really is something, and keep up the good work 👏 absolutely love what you all do

[@Vulcanerd]

Also, Kristian, if they ever make something following Darth Revan, would you prefer a trilogy of movies or would you want it to be a limited run series? To me, kotor is the greatest SW game and I'm curious b/c I know you love it, too.

[@TheKristianHarloff]

I would prefer a limited series that reads like Game of Thrones