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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2019-11-15, 14:49

Ha...yeah, based on what I hear on opening weekend, my plans may get changed too. Although I don't want to stay off the Internet for six-plus months, avoiding spoilers, so I'll probably just hold my nose and see it that Tuesday after it opens ($5!) and then I can just finally be done with it all.

I saw The Force Awakens two-and-a-half times (and then once on Netflix, a year or so later). I saw The Last Jedi once (more than enough) at the theater, and then, 18 months later, I watched it on Netflix this past summer, just to see if maybe I had it all wrong (I didn't) and was imagining things (I wasn't).

So if this pattern continues, I'll see Rise of Skywalker in the theater once and anything beyond that is up in the air at this point. I won't know until I see it. If it's a one-and-done, so be it. If it's the greatest thing since 1980, then they'll get another $5 from me. But I'm really not expecting that at this point.

And in case I'm sounding harsh/negative about the property, please know this. The one thing that has come out of all this lunacy the past four years is that I treasure and cherish the original trilogy more than ever. In my mind, that's the Star Wars saga...a solid, well-made beginning, middle and end. For years, even before The Force Awakens came out, I just consider those three the "saga". I don't even really acknowledge the prequel at this point, as they really bring nothing to the proceedings. They're just filler/backstory that I never really needed (or asked for, frankly). The fact that they're so weak, story-wise (those Red Letter Reviews nailed it), makes them not "repeat viewing" for me. Everything is so heavy-handed and ridiculous, I just don't enjoy them.

But the originals? They do not age. Why? Because the story and characters were priority, and came first. I never get tired of them. It would've happened b now.

So, yeah...I'm 50 now, but I will still tear up when Yoda says "luminous beings are we, not this crude matter". I still grin when Han says "I know". I still clutch the arm on my couch during Luke's trench run. And I do all three when Lando and the Falcon come roaring out of the second Death Star...such pure joy/triumph. None of those have ever dissipated or weakened. In fact, the older I've gotten, the more sentimental and schmaltzy I can be about things like that.

And there are no genuine moments like those in any of these new ones. I'm sorry, there's not. I feel the strings being pulled. I see the moments/scenes where they wanted to be like that, but they fall flat because I don't give a damn about anyone involved. Rey? Finn? Poe? Holdo? Rose? Kylo? Snoke? Maz? Snap? BB8? Nope. They're may as well be cosplayers, and that's about how I see them. They could've done right by all of them, way back in 2014 when writing/preparing it all. But they put other things first.

I love Star Wars. Always have, always will. But it's specific and focused...as in 1977-1983. Everything outside of that, theatrically anyway, is, to me, just a glorified fan film (with an amazing budget). But that's just my take on it. YMMV.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2019-11-15 at 15:00.
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