you all probably dont care at all but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid forgot the account password. I would appreciate any tricks you can offer me
Huh, I hadn't really thought about it this way: JJ Abrams has the responsibility to end a 40 year story and he's never really made a satisfying ending.
J.J has never had to end a franchise though. He didn't end Lost or Alias or direct the last Star Trek movie. He starts things and then let's other people finish them. So it's not that he's never made a good ending, its that he's never ended anything in the first place. Whether that makes you feel better or worse about him directing Episode 9 is up to you.
@@genericusername566 The ends of his movies tend to be the least satisfying parts though. I mean, he hit the ground running with Rey and Finn's intros and then half-assed their character arcs. (SPOILERS, though I assume everyone's seen it) Kylo was great for most of the movie, but when he killed Han it kinda fell flat and wasn't half as impactful as it should have been. Compare any of this to the storytelling in the OT or The Last Jedi, and you can see how much he depends on how emotionally invested we already are in the world and the characters; this was especially true in Star Trek Into Darkness. Overall, I liked The Force Awakens, but I have a lot of concerns about J.J. Abrams trying to end a trilogy and I think, for all his Spielberg-esque talents, he's a weird choice to direct the conclusion to a trilogy.
+Ph@tMantv Dude...don't smile and thumbs up this kind of comment like this is some positive thing. Despite some detractors, people do like his movies. You don't need to blow your hatred for his movies up in that way because of this.
Just because Abrams (in an oversimplified way) seems to create the same characters and story arcs ... does not mean we didn't enjoy the films. Plus I would rather watch another JJ mold in Ep 9 then the regretful Ep 8 (TLJ).
Can we also throw it out there that JJ added a second planet which is functionally identical to Tatooine to the new trilogy and STILL went back to Tatooine in the end?
After seeing The Rise of Skywalker this is freakishly accurate...and sad. Sad because it shows how JJ Abrams wasn't able to subvert his own programming.
Most writers start with the end in mind (Where the character will end up). Or at least should according to Syd Field. I'm convinced J.J. never does this and that's his problem. In the few short scripts and manuscripts I've wrote, before I started typing, I knew my ending. I knew my character's arc. It's the end that directs and tells you your beginning. Anyone can create mysteries, but if you, the writer do not know the answers...who does?
Roland deschain. The way to get a clear plot in mind is to work your way back from the end. But one would never begin writing when all they have is a vague idea of their story.
+Roland Deschain they usually don't begin a story until they have at least a solid idea to work with and an idea what direction it's headed. Which says a whole lot more than a mystery box ever could.
While this might be true most of the time, it's certainly not impossible to fly by the seat of your pants and end up somewhere worthwhile. I'd certainly argue that it ends up creating a less satisfying story when all is said and done, but that's just my opinion, inseparable from the experiences and expectations I've set by ingesting media of a certain structure for most of my life. It's also a far more common technique than your comment suggests, particularly in ongoing media with no set ending, such as comic books, most of Japanese television, soap operas, and children's television. Many American shows either don't have an end goal, or been renewed far beyond the intended ending. I don't prefer it myself, but it's valid, it's functional, and has resulted in plenty of stories were worth telling.
You are kinda right. Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson talks about this difference between outline and discovery writers, or what George RR Martin calls gardeners and architects. I don't know the breakdown between outline writers and discovery writers (no one does) but you are right in that even discovery writers write their story by the seat of their pants only until they get to the end. Then they have to have some sort of coherent plot and so they go back and rewrite and revise. If the author doesn't have the ending in mind while writing, the ending is inevitably unsatisfying. And Abrams loves the setup and mystery but never gets to the punchline. Check out Sanderson's lectures on story, he's really thoughtful and insightful.
0:52 - "He left all his TV shows early in their runs". Of course he did. He sets up all sorts of batshit crazy stuff that he doesn't know the answer to himself, and then leaves it to others to figure out. He is quite open about his "mystery box" approach. And if I had just punched an interesting plot hole in the hull, I would sure as hell jump ship, too.
Learnt your lesson? Having watched all of Lost, pretty sure all of the mysteries were answered. Also, he wasn't involved beyond the first 6 episodes. That show was Damon Lidelof's baby, who concluded with what is in my opinion, the best series finale of all time. Cried 4 separate times watching that finale. Beautiful stuff. Very satisfying.
I'm convinced JJ comes up with mysteries but never has any intention of answering them. I don't have any respect for that, personally. For example, I'm unconvinced there was ever a plan behind the numbers before they pulled the answer out of their asses. I liked Lost, but for the characters. and DESPITE the mysteries.
+nextpkfr What's wrong with not answering questions? If anything that could strengthen the emotional response. In one way of looking at it, there isn't a plan, but in another way of looking at it, if you have all the answers, then there's no reason to go back to it. Even in ROTK, when everything ended, it didn't. Frodo still left elsewhere but you have no idea what happened to him in the end. I wouldn't be surprised if J.J. wrote that final part, but yes, it was in the original novel, so I've heard. Still, I think the mystery box is actually a good way of fulfilling a philosophy best said by Tolkien himself, and that's basically my statement at the beginning, which is that "...the moment you learn about something, it loses its mystery." Sometimes the best stories end their main conclusion quite well, but they always leave certain things unsolved. That sounds like Abrams to me.
+The FirstBourne Ok, even the ending of Into Darkness wasn't an example of that not working, that was just...it had other issues (it was a little long, but I don't think it ruined the movie like some people say).
It's sad how accurate this analysis is after TROS. He really repeated his old patterns which led to the fail of TROS.(in addition with Disney meddling)
@@deadshot5007 I have never met someone who liked the movie after their second time watching it or after thinking about it for a while and I have never seen a good review for it after early 2020
Few things exemplify what Patrick says about Abrams having "no core idea to his work" than Finn's character. Abrams decided to make Finn a former storm trooper, which is a really cool, some would say revolutionary idea that could lead to some great storytelling, including themes about indoctrination, redemption, and the way that fascist governments pressgang everyone within them into supporting them even when they wouldn't normally. However, Abrams does nothing with this. Finn defects from the First Order and immediately turns around and starts gleefully murdering his former comrades like they aren't indoctrinated child soldiers just like him. You can't have one of the heroes be a former storm trooper and still treat the storm troopers like mindless cannon fodder, and yet Abrams does exactly that, because there is no core idea behind making Finn an ex-storm trooper. There's no story Abrams wanted to tell with that, no themes he wanted to get across, he probably just thought the idea sounded cool and didn't think any further than that.
I feel like Patrick is just as rueful as everyone commenting here, now. Sucks to be right. I also fear that Film Crit Hulk is right: Abrams fundamentally lacks story sense. To whit: Rian Johnson's left-field moves are drawn from character and theme, while Abrams' approach to the same was just grabbing ideas from nowhere.
Film Critic Hulk was absolutely right. TLJ, for all it's flaws, tried to have themes and advanced the plot by forcing characters to make choices. JJ's work has no themes and he advances the plot by having bad guys show up with guns.
Rian Johnson had something to say and made characters actually change over the course of the movie. JJ comes up with different ways to show off pretty special effects and have everyone talk really fast to make nothing sound actually important.
Yup. They should've let Rian direct ep. IX, but they shat their pants because TLJ was too red and feminist. I mean, literally too red for their tastes. The fanbro temper tantrum was just an excuse for what was, in essence, ideological panic. If I had to guess, it was probably the "war and war profiteering are bad" part that triggered Disney investors. And the rest is... *vague hand gesture* this. The Rise Of SKywalker.
@@olgaradulovic7684 Which amuses me and makes me despair, because not one of my Tory friends (I'm a Brit) objects to "war profiteers are kinda dicks". Heck, I thought Iron Man 1 said war profiteering was bad.
@@Syrilian This sticks with me so much. Like, Finn undergoes so little meaningful change he barely has half an arc. Johnson has him discover an idealism and kick the arse of one of the people who exploited him, and Johnson gets shit for it? Grah.
So Patrick basically ends where he started, thinking Abrams has nothing to say and there's nothing at the heart of his work. Very clever Patrick, very clever...
But he did think Abrams had something to say and that there must be something at the heart of his work, he simply realized he doesn't, so he didn't really end where he started.
Harry Kirkham “I’ve been waiting for you, Patrick. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master.”
That's a very Abrams-y move - to establish a mystery (what's in the mystery box?) and tease an answer. It got me watching. It's also very Abrams-y to postpone the answer again and again, to a point where I said "this isn't worth my time" and left.
VonJay ...which is exactly why I gave up on Westworld this season. When any medium takes death itself off the table, it's removed any real stakes. Westworld has revealed itself as a show HBO can indefinitely renew, which was the whole point, as GoT is ending and they need a new tentpole series to carry Sunday nights.
Matthew MacDonald Exactly. The first season lost me, pun intended. From the unbelievable side characters upping the black robots Prestige for no apparent reason, to the bathos of the blood bath at the end, the not so clear desires or destinations of anyone in the plot, it's just blah blah blah. I tried season two, and it continues to be extremely underwhelming and unsure of what it wants to be. Right down to the characters. The reveal in the first season taught me a lot about jjs box. The reveals have no reason to be mysteries in the first place. They would probably serve the story better if they were visible and identifiable traction building moments.
Does Abrams ever really tease an answer though? More like he just teases that you might get an answer... at some point. Whereas a film like, oh I don't know, Knives Out or Looper will give you some decent hints to go off so that that answer to the mystery has meaning for both the audience and the characters.
I loved that you were doing a parody of the show that almost no one would get, genius. I think we all got it pretty quick, I could have watched you do the whole thing like that!
At this time, I would like to humbly request of Lucasfilm (now owned by Disney) to *PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE TIME TRAVEL IN STAR WARS! IT IS WHAT SETS IT APART FROM LIKE EVERY OTHER MAJOR SCI FI GENRE THING OUT THERE NOW!* (That may be an overstatement, but sometimes it doesn't feel like one.)
@@jayvbspdx Time Travel in Star Wars is of the "Time is immutable" variety. If you change the past, it was always going to be that way. I am interested in how it will work. Maybe.
Imagine a mystery box with no mystery.... plenty of room to store your valuables, but no way to know what your taking out... though it can never be anything that you didn't first put in. You put in Star Trek, you get out random bits of Star Trek strung together haphazardly. You put in Star Wars, same. He is great at setting up the box, and explains why he is never there when it comes time to open it. You can't have a mystery so deep that its creator doesn't know what it is, and yet somehow, he thinks doing so is genius.
Wait. This is genius. Wasn’t the time travel thing introduced in rebels? And rebels introduced the idea of “force projections” in preparation for TLJ. Time travel in Episode 9 confirmed?!
Flashbacks are a storytelling crutch. You can change a character's motivations and doings to justify an unexpected turn in an instant. Time travel, if it isn't the entire point of a story, is even worse. JJ always needs both. I don't see much value of anything he's involved with anymore. Ironically, it's just a waste of time.
I actually enjoyed the use of “time travel” only if to be able to use Ahsokas charecter in future Disney Star Wars projects. Also I think the use of time travel can be used for a real wow moment in ep9. Call me a cockeyed optimists but...yeah I’d rather be stoked for something then hate it before I get a chance to see it
They still are, despite Johnson saying that Abrams told him there was no plan and Ridley saying that they only settled on Rey Palpatine partway through the TRoS shoot.
They still are, despite Johnson saying that Abrams told him there was no plan and Ridley saying that they only settled on Rey Palpatine partway through the TRoS shoot.
Episode 9 is a hot mess. It felt like somebody loaded a shotgun full of lightsabers, star destroyers, x-wings, and TIE fighters and then fired it at my face :( It was like a blurry dream. Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming, and the movie I saw this week wasn't the real Ep 9.
I'd say it's less emblematic than Threepio coming back with no real harm done and a cheap laugh. Because Abrams can never, ever bear to just have one last look and move on to new territory.
Yep, Abrams doesn't know how to end a story - which many would argue shows he doesn't know how to write a *good* story. Stylistically, his movies also seem to be homages to other stuff. "Star Trek" looked like a Star Wars movie (with extra lens flares). "Super 8" looked like a Spielberg movie (with extra lens flares). "The Force Awakens" looked like "A New Hope" (with some lens flares). Maybe his style is to look like a Lucas-Spielberg movie with extra lens flares.
Hey Patrick, just gotta say your channel really is spot on. Biggest thing to me is you go and do the first hand research and plainly state where you're coming from, providing that extra oomph for genuine and precise insight. This gives a super firm foundation for your talents of pattern recognition and comedy through honesty to shine through as well. Love your channel man. Feel like I'm learning high quality & clear principles on filmmaking, and also like, the culture that bonds our whole society together, man.
I remember when you talked about how you don't like the typical video essay format and how it doesn't fit your style. I'm glad you are making your own stuff, it really is refreshing and interesting! I wish more essayist did something new like you
My problem with JJ is that he has no creative voice. He's incredibly talented and anyone who says anything different is fooling themselves. He's a great director with an eye for character and visuals but he doesn't have a unique voice. Which makes him fairly predictable and boring.
Which explains his success perfectly. He's an ideal studio man. Excellent at casting and working with actors, moving the camera, and packing each scene full of fun and excitement. Then at the same time he can cater to whatever the studio wants since he has no real vision himself. He's just there to make it look good. Even though there's nothing inside the mystery box, most people don't think about a movie after they've watched it, so if it's fun in the moment they are happy, which is what the studio wants. Butts in seats. They don't care about stuff like theme or resonant storytelling. The real mystery to me is how he seems to stay so enthusiastic about these films without turning into a cynic who doesn't give a !@#$ like Michael Bay.
Don't confuse plot with story, or actors with characters. If you don't close a story it's not a story. Stories have to say something. JJ utilizes tropes and craft to give the illusion of story. Similarly, he is great with working with actors and extracting a great performance, but they are often thinly motivated and without any sort of arc. I think this is why he developed his mystery box, which is really just a hack to cover his lack of understanding of either of those things. I see JJ as the most successful fan film director of all time. In many ways he seems just like a young passionate kid making youtube videos based on his favorite titles, just on the big scale. It's pure indulgence and fan service because he's a fan too. He clearly wants to inherit the legacy of Spielberg and Lucas, but he doesn't truly get how they did what they did, or why it worked so well, so he just mimics the texture.
geo koukkappakeepo i hear a lot, a lot of people say that jj has great characters. But i can't seem to like any of them. Is it because they lack arcs or because they're just not likeable? I'm not sure. The guys in trek are fun, but like the video says, why is Kirk revisiting a subject he already learned in The prior movie? Why does Finn lie and run while doing a Kevin Hart impersonation? Why is Rey a poor man's Jason Bourne? Why is kylo a crybaby? I really don't get how these are good characters. Rian made kylo into something i never thought I'd love. He did the same with Rey though her character moments came from Kylo's projection of her thought process/emotional wound,"your searching for your parents through others, you did it with Han, with Luke". Idk. In Pulp Fiction, Quinton Tarantino plays on the potential of the Wolf character being a typecast. Harvey Keitel having played someone similar in the year's prior movie Point of no Return. He essentially turns the cleaner(assassin), into a real cleaner(cleans up assassin's mess), a person who is respectful, competent, and trustworthy. This dynamic translates well to the cleaner's boss, Wallace, is telling of his own character, not only in his choice to hire such a man, but in how he's able to forgive and let Bruce Willis' character live after a betrayal and a supremely embarrassing situation. A ruthless person would have killed Willis anyway. But his association with the Wolf gives insight to why he'd tip over toward the side of forgiveness. Even after knowing he saw him being f'd in the a. The Wolf ends his screen time by saying, "just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character" Nolan essentially casted two superheros in The Prestige also playing on typecasts. He hired wolverine and Batman to hide who the true hero is in a moral dilemma(only before he starts killing people). Yeah star wars likes to use fresh faces, but the two movies above would have done the job still without typecasts. The reason i bring typecasts up is because it's hard to shake the franchise they're part of in a new film. And in both cases, not only are they successful in delivering sound characters, but we aren't bogged down by the effects of the typecast. That's what good characters can do for you. A fun character that didn't necessarily have an arc was Rian Gosling's character in the Nice Guys. Imagine that in a star wars film. He wasn't even trying to be funny and didn't have to. He was written very well. "my wife says i have no follow through, i hit in nails half way". And he does everything like that in the film. Even when you least expect it it shows. And it effects everything around him. There's so much to explore in star wars, yet jj gives us blah. And that's the thing. Finn lying and running really doesn't do anything beyond the obvious. He's scared. Rey in tfa just knows how to fix things and fight and is a good person. Ok. Poe is the most interesting because he doesn't have an emotional wound. This makes him fishy, but he's just a good pilot. Snoke is Palpatine 2.0. Ok They're all just, blah.
I think you've nailed where episode 9 will end. Exactly where it began. All the characters in all of his work none of his characters grow they all remain static for the entirety of the work.
I have never watched a single Felicity episode but with just the few shots you showed at the beginning was more than enough to understand that you were making a parody. Haha. Very good video, Patrick!
I mean anyone is better than Colin Trevorrow, but like, Abrams, even as a fan of his, would not be my first choice to conclude a trilogy, especially this trilogy. (For what it's worth, my first choice would probably be Rian Johnson again and let him just finish this trilogy rather than make another, but that's just me though).
Yeah. I was not a fan of 8, but it had ambitions and aspired to tell an interesting story compared to 7 which I found pretty bland. I'd like to see where he'd go with it.
JJ’s biggest problem is that he’s a Spielberg that thinks he’s a writer. JJ is an amazing director but the guy can’t write to save his life. He’s right up there with Spielberg; however, what sets them apart is that Spielberg recognized his ace in the hole was directing, and instead of trying to be an auteur writer/director, he found great writers and capitalized on his directing skills to make other people’s excellent stories shine through his mastery of cinematic language. JJ thinks he’s both and that will always be his downfall.
I've grown tired of J.J's "Mystery Box" conceit... as it feels like more and more of a stalling technique to buy himself more time with audiences and more importantly, investors...
It kind of screwed Rian Johnson, too. There's a lot to like about TLJ but Abrams left him with a bunch of questions that never had answers to begin with, and then people didn't like half the answers he gave.
Well there you have it. "What's past is prologue " indeed. Sometimes our pasts really do spell out our futures, especially when we're seemingly trapped in them.
I'm loving your new "tell a story by examining a story" style, it's been working great for me. Thanks for the great, thought provoking, and entertaining content and keep up the great work!
out of all your Star Wars videos, this is definitely your best! As everyone says your predictions came true, and it really made you feel like somehow you actually learned the truth about him from this
Love these videos, Patrick! I always enjoy the first viewing of J.J.'s movies and shows because he can use the adrenaline of an action scene to leap right over plot holes you notice once you look back. I'd probably miss the plot holes too if I were being chased by a polar bear or TIE fighters. He's a skilled guy - but I'm excited to see if he can finish a story. You're a skilled guy too - and I love watching you explore story. Keep it up.
I used to be a JJ apologist because I do genuinely love a lot of his work (MI3, Star Trek, Super 8, TFA). However, after watching Rise of Skywalker, his style of filmmaking is harmful in the context of franchises. He is too focused on setting up things and is never concerned with the payoffs. I think Rian Johnson, Justin Lin, and Brad Bird have all done a good job with taking his mysteries in the right directions, but when he came back for TROS he needlessly added on more “mystery boxes” because he doesn’t know any other way to tell stories.
This makes so much sense. Abrams knows how to get a character to begin the hero’s journey via assumption and ham fisting, the journey is fun to watch but the conclusions are lackluster and conclude with a “no place like home” bow.
I really like JJ but yeah, repeating the motivation for Kirk in Into Darkness always bothered me. It was like a copy and paste, but replace his dad with Pike. Meanwhile, Pike's character had a lot to add and should've stuck around for way longer.
Patrick, I think JJ watched your video and took notes, because everything came true; Rey went back to a sand planet, had troubles with the closest thing she had to a father, and choose her new family. Plus Ben said sorry to his dad.
I love that you did this video. I did a similar video on my channel where I broke down the mystery box talk that JJ gave cause I think that people misinterpret what he was actually trying to say. JJ is incredibly sentimental, so I'm really excited to see a happy ending to the Skywalker saga.
Maybe JJ doesn't need to have some grand idea? Just saying, the guy likes to set up stories and enjoy watching the stories unfold. Great art doesn't always have to say something, sometimes it can just be a beautiful piece of art and that's all it needs to be.
I just realized J.J. Abrams is cinema’s Ken Penders: Really good as selling a world and a mystery, and also really good at never resolving it, and that’s all they’re good at.
But the Kylo lens flares using the Death Planet/Star were epic. I just want Kylo helmeted....Kylo with a helmet was far scarier and unknown then unmasked.
I think JJ Abrams is a talented filmmaker with a strong aptitude for kinetic visual flair and the depiction young adult friendships. He has what it takes to make great films rather than just highly polished and trendy ones. I just feel like he hasn't ever truly applied himself to make something unique. It's funny because your binge made me think back on Felicity and my takeaway would be that JJ is like Greg Grunberg's character. A guy that with a youthful persona that maintains a perspective with those younger than himself. It shows in the kinds of storytelling he finds appealing. He's filled with twists on nostalgic ideas and the drive to apply them but never quite sees beyond the template he uses. I feel like the only way Episode 9 can be a great movie is if it's ultimately the best movie of JJ Abrams' career. Which is oddly kind of sad because it would still mean that he can't elevate or challenge himself enough to go beyond that mindset to another, less familiar path. One that doesn't need to build off the foundation of influential things he grew up watching. But one that's rewarding as a complete statement by him as a creator of his own story and characters with the external influences not used as a template. Until he steps out and makes an original film that stands on it's own, devoid of heavy nostalgic influence - he'll basically remain the William Riker of filmmakers in his generation. A man fully capable of taking command, but far too comfortable to ever really challenge himself to do so.
He mis a mediocre director at best, but he is a good businessman, he is all pure hype, no deliver, and his Star Trek movies were awful, it showed a lot that he did not likes Star Trek
84 episodes in a row sounds unpleasant. Thanks for doing what I could not and would not ever do. As for JJ, I think you're on to something. To the extent that his stories have endings, they tend to be about reconciling oneself with prior mistakes and decisions. Time travel in the Star Wars universe would enrage me, but there are plenty of canonical examples of post-mortem reconciliation through the force. I could see him using this sort of loophole to close some threads out for Kylo Ren and Rae.
What I think is important to mention is that Abrams is co-writing Episode 9 with Chris Terrio who wrote Argo. I think he'll help Abrams conclude the story better than if Abrams wrote it himself, so there's really no reason to worry. At worst we will get a decent conclusion, with an alright ending, that is perfectly entertaining.
Yes, but that's the only notable thing he's written. If you look at his filmography the only other things he's written is Heights (his dirctorial debut that i have not seen), BvS, and justice League. If they had hired someone like Alex Garland, who has written three novels, four films, two video games, and directed two films, all of which have spanned from well recieved to acclaimed, then I would be on your side.
But if you think about it, BvS was received negatively because of his theatrical cut, which was a terrible interference by the studio. The Ultimate Cut of BvS is perfectly cleared of all the plot holes. And it still causes mixed responses just because the comic book audience is spoiled and can hardly tolerate a new interpretation of a beloved character like Batman, Lex Luthor or Superman. But if you call those characters in a different way (and cancel the DC logo at the beginning), no one would have problems with it. Even the Martha scene (which I love), I think it triggers the fandom just because they can't accept that Batman can be not only built in a negative way, but that he can be defeated with a single word which makes clear that he is just a traumatized rich boy with mental issues. For Justice League Terrio is the last person to blame. That movie of course is mediocre at best. But every plot-hole, lack of character backstory or development, cringe-worthy dialogue lines, continuity error,... is because of Warner Bros. interference and because of a terrible writing by Joss Whedon. I even thought that it was an exaggeration, but recently I watched the entire movie (literally shot by shot) and it's easy to spot a reshoot from the original scene. So Justice League is a Terrio script cut by (at least) half a hour and with useless additional footage just to make it F U N N I E R. The day we'll watch the whole original footage of Justice League we'll be capable of judging Terrio's script properly. But until then we can only hope. And after all... you don't forget how to write after you win an Oscar.
What I'm saying is, Abrams and Terrio, can perhaps be a better matchup than say, Terrio and Zach Snyder. I think they'll complement each other in that Terrio will be better at wrapping things up neatly, and Abrams will be better at writing well-developed characters that have the right emotional impact. Also, I doubt Garland would sign up for Star Wars, he has such a strong and original vision that I have trouble imagining what episode 9 would be with him writing and directing (although I would be very curious to see it).
Abrams already praised Terrio during the Late Show with Colbert, so I think things are going on pretty decently. I don't know, I think that Snyder's visual narration matched up perfectly with Terrio's dialogues and depth. They complemented each other perfectly even in subtle things. For example: Terrio's Luthor monologue talked about how Lex wished that a God came down and stopped his father's fists and abominations and then we have Superman saving him from Doomsday's punch. Little subtle things that could unify style and substance. I wonder if the same coordination will happen between Abrams and Terrio. I hope that Episode IX won't be just entertaining. I expect more since Episode VIII disappointed me. It had very good ideas but it could've used much more time developing them and maybe less time with the Finn and Rose side story. And even that could have been written in a better way... you know the plothole with Holdo and the plan B that only she knew.
Plus, if you take MoS, BvS, and Justice League as a trilogy, they do at least have some sort of thesis statement in that superheroes have changed the world forever, but they are ultimately a force for good and that they make the world a better place. Abrams...you can tell he struggles with committing to an actual thesis.
hey uhh several lifetimes ago i watched Felicity (sorta, i kinda tapped out here 'n there bc it was an s/o's obsession, and yannow how it is) but i'm only at @5:12 and i want to say that i DID get the parody you're doing! and i DO know about the twist that's coming! and tbh i made some wisecrack at the top of this video when you started talking about JJA and i said, embarrassingly literally out loud, "yeah well if you don't take Felicity into consideration, then there's no point to any of this" and then BAM you dropped the box set on cam a minute or so later -- anyway, short-time listener, first-time caller-- been bingeing your film vids recently here and on Nebula (tm) and you're saying things in this vid i've kind of been saying all every time i saw a JJ-flavored Star film in theaters (and also was obsessed w/ Cloverfield when it first came out) anyway -- your vids rule, you and your team are some of the best creators out there, and if i were a video essayer your voice is one i would humbly try to channel (pun not intended, but i'm keeping that one) -- Happy 2023 to ya 🎉
nearly done and not gonna lie, you almost had me, i thought you were gonna skip over THAT WEIRD S4 LAST-HALF haha -- i feel kind of vindicated for this goofy lil ole microcosm of the JJ style -- just finished the vid, you're a gem, K.O.K.O. xo ✨
Well this aged depressingly well.
Wow that sucks! i love that bots can try to steal your identity by promising you can steal your partners identity and invade their privacy now
you all probably dont care at all but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account..?
I was stupid forgot the account password. I would appreciate any tricks you can offer me
@Samuel Jaiden Instablaster :)
couldn’t have said it better myself.
No it didn't.
“Kylo Ren reconciles with his father but he can’t because his father’s dead and quits the First Order to study pre-med”
OH
MY
GOD
LOL, pretty spot on isn't it.
Theory: Proven!
Pre-med = Force healing powers
and the REY one too, she's back on a desert planet just with jedi powers.
JJ Abrams had his heart broken in college by a hot, troubled... guy
These predictions came true in all the worst ways.
Jimmy Morey Agreed
you can put that "worst" in capital letters. what shitshow ep9 was.my god.
SOOOO true
@@hazardeur Honestly asking were you doing a Yoda
@@darkthorpocomicknight7891 specify why please
Huh, I hadn't really thought about it this way: JJ Abrams has the responsibility to end a 40 year story and he's never really made a satisfying ending.
Fuck.
Shit
Damn
J.J has never had to end a franchise though. He didn't end Lost or Alias or direct the last Star Trek movie. He starts things and then let's other people finish them. So it's not that he's never made a good ending, its that he's never ended anything in the first place. Whether that makes you feel better or worse about him directing Episode 9 is up to you.
@@genericusername566 The ends of his movies tend to be the least satisfying parts though. I mean, he hit the ground running with Rey and Finn's intros and then half-assed their character arcs. (SPOILERS, though I assume everyone's seen it) Kylo was great for most of the movie, but when he killed Han it kinda fell flat and wasn't half as impactful as it should have been. Compare any of this to the storytelling in the OT or The Last Jedi, and you can see how much he depends on how emotionally invested we already are in the world and the characters; this was especially true in Star Trek Into Darkness. Overall, I liked The Force Awakens, but I have a lot of concerns about J.J. Abrams trying to end a trilogy and I think, for all his Spielberg-esque talents, he's a weird choice to direct the conclusion to a trilogy.
>The real J.J. Abrams is the friends we made along the way
Classic.
JJ is just one of his boxes. there really isn't a good answer, since the question never had one to begin with.
degraded tardigrade He is his own box.
kaan. Super 8 ended well. A little suddenly, but well.
JJ Abraham will show the 🌏&🇺🇸 the HACK he really is come Dec. 2019👍😁
+Ph@tMantv Dude...don't smile and thumbs up this kind of comment like this is some positive thing. Despite some detractors, people do like his movies. You don't need to blow your hatred for his movies up in that way because of this.
Just because Abrams (in an oversimplified way) seems to create the same characters and story arcs ... does not mean we didn't enjoy the films. Plus I would rather watch another JJ mold in Ep 9 then the regretful Ep 8 (TLJ).
"the last jedi blew up his mystery boxes so what is jj gonna do now"
JJ, changing rey's parentage: i'm about to do what's called a progamer move
The retcon to end all retcons.
Omg Patrick you were right!! Rey did when back to where she started! but not Jakku that is, but still a dead planet and desert
Can we also throw it out there that JJ added a second planet which is functionally identical to Tatooine to the new trilogy and STILL went back to Tatooine in the end?
After seeing The Rise of Skywalker this is freakishly accurate...and sad. Sad because it shows how JJ Abrams wasn't able to subvert his own programming.
seeing this after rise of skywalker...this could not be more accurate.
Totally. Rey and Felicity choose Ben in the end.
No it's totally wrong.
Most writers start with the end in mind (Where the character will end up). Or at least should according to Syd Field. I'm convinced J.J. never does this and that's his problem. In the few short scripts and manuscripts I've wrote, before I started typing, I knew my ending. I knew my character's arc. It's the end that directs and tells you your beginning. Anyone can create mysteries, but if you, the writer do not know the answers...who does?
John talks Star Wars thats not true. I heard from many writers, that they do not know the end. Sometimes they do not even have a clear plot in mind.
Roland deschain. The way to get a clear plot in mind is to work your way back from the end. But one would never begin writing when all they have is a vague idea of their story.
+Roland Deschain they usually don't begin a story until they have at least a solid idea to work with and an idea what direction it's headed. Which says a whole lot more than a mystery box ever could.
While this might be true most of the time, it's certainly not impossible to fly by the seat of your pants and end up somewhere worthwhile. I'd certainly argue that it ends up creating a less satisfying story when all is said and done, but that's just my opinion, inseparable from the experiences and expectations I've set by ingesting media of a certain structure for most of my life.
It's also a far more common technique than your comment suggests, particularly in ongoing media with no set ending, such as comic books, most of Japanese television, soap operas, and children's television. Many American shows either don't have an end goal, or been renewed far beyond the intended ending. I don't prefer it myself, but it's valid, it's functional, and has resulted in plenty of stories were worth telling.
You are kinda right. Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson talks about this difference between outline and discovery writers, or what George RR Martin calls gardeners and architects. I don't know the breakdown between outline writers and discovery writers (no one does) but you are right in that even discovery writers write their story by the seat of their pants only until they get to the end. Then they have to have some sort of coherent plot and so they go back and rewrite and revise. If the author doesn't have the ending in mind while writing, the ending is inevitably unsatisfying. And Abrams loves the setup and mystery but never gets to the punchline. Check out Sanderson's lectures on story, he's really thoughtful and insightful.
Dude, you fucking called it. He even cast Felicity in the freaking movie!
0:52 - "He left all his TV shows early in their runs". Of course he did. He sets up all sorts of batshit crazy stuff that he doesn't know the answer to himself, and then leaves it to others to figure out. He is quite open about his "mystery box" approach. And if I had just punched an interesting plot hole in the hull, I would sure as hell jump ship, too.
I personally couldn't be happier TLJ blew up JJ's mystery boxes. I learnt my lesson about his mystery boxes from Lost.
Learnt your lesson? Having watched all of Lost, pretty sure all of the mysteries were answered. Also, he wasn't involved beyond the first 6 episodes. That show was Damon Lidelof's baby, who concluded with what is in my opinion, the best series finale of all time. Cried 4 separate times watching that finale. Beautiful stuff. Very satisfying.
I'm convinced JJ comes up with mysteries but never has any intention of answering them. I don't have any respect for that, personally. For example, I'm unconvinced there was ever a plan behind the numbers before they pulled the answer out of their asses.
I liked Lost, but for the characters. and DESPITE the mysteries.
+nextpkfr What's wrong with not answering questions? If anything that could strengthen the emotional response. In one way of looking at it, there isn't a plan, but in another way of looking at it, if you have all the answers, then there's no reason to go back to it. Even in ROTK, when everything ended, it didn't. Frodo still left elsewhere but you have no idea what happened to him in the end. I wouldn't be surprised if J.J. wrote that final part, but yes, it was in the original novel, so I've heard. Still, I think the mystery box is actually a good way of fulfilling a philosophy best said by Tolkien himself, and that's basically my statement at the beginning, which is that "...the moment you learn about something, it loses its mystery." Sometimes the best stories end their main conclusion quite well, but they always leave certain things unsolved. That sounds like Abrams to me.
+The FirstBourne Ok, even the ending of Into Darkness wasn't an example of that not working, that was just...it had other issues (it was a little long, but I don't think it ruined the movie like some people say).
I personally couldnt be happier about a record 2nd week drop for a major block buster and in turn watching TLJ merchandise not sale feelz good m8
It's sad how accurate this analysis is after TROS. He really repeated his old patterns which led to the fail of TROS.(in addition with Disney meddling)
What fail?
@@deadshot5007 no one likes the movie
@@minerpvpgaming2160 Delusional
@@deadshot5007 I have never met someone who liked the movie after their second time watching it or after thinking about it for a while and I have never seen a good review for it after early 2020
Watching Felicity to understand JJ Abrams? You know this is something Abed Nadir would do.
TheSchmuck2 cool cool cool
"My god. Everyone give him some space"
You've managed to nail an episode 9 review one year early... Almost exactly
Few things exemplify what Patrick says about Abrams having "no core idea to his work" than Finn's character. Abrams decided to make Finn a former storm trooper, which is a really cool, some would say revolutionary idea that could lead to some great storytelling, including themes about indoctrination, redemption, and the way that fascist governments pressgang everyone within them into supporting them even when they wouldn't normally. However, Abrams does nothing with this. Finn defects from the First Order and immediately turns around and starts gleefully murdering his former comrades like they aren't indoctrinated child soldiers just like him. You can't have one of the heroes be a former storm trooper and still treat the storm troopers like mindless cannon fodder, and yet Abrams does exactly that, because there is no core idea behind making Finn an ex-storm trooper. There's no story Abrams wanted to tell with that, no themes he wanted to get across, he probably just thought the idea sounded cool and didn't think any further than that.
JJ Abrams: a director so bad that his movies have ludonarrative dissonance.
i completely agree. Finn is one of the greatest wasted potentials of the sequel trilogy
I don't know how, but you called it
"Super 8" being two scripts put together makes sense. Because it didn't really go together.
I feel like Patrick is just as rueful as everyone commenting here, now. Sucks to be right.
I also fear that Film Crit Hulk is right: Abrams fundamentally lacks story sense. To whit: Rian Johnson's left-field moves are drawn from character and theme, while Abrams' approach to the same was just grabbing ideas from nowhere.
Film Critic Hulk was absolutely right. TLJ, for all it's flaws, tried to have themes and advanced the plot by forcing characters to make choices. JJ's work has no themes and he advances the plot by having bad guys show up with guns.
Rian Johnson had something to say and made characters actually change over the course of the movie. JJ comes up with different ways to show off pretty special effects and have everyone talk really fast to make nothing sound actually important.
Yup. They should've let Rian direct ep. IX, but they shat their pants because TLJ was too red and feminist. I mean, literally too red for their tastes. The fanbro temper tantrum was just an excuse for what was, in essence, ideological panic. If I had to guess, it was probably the "war and war profiteering are bad" part that triggered Disney investors. And the rest is... *vague hand gesture* this. The Rise Of SKywalker.
@@olgaradulovic7684 Which amuses me and makes me despair, because not one of my Tory friends (I'm a Brit) objects to "war profiteers are kinda dicks". Heck, I thought Iron Man 1 said war profiteering was bad.
@@Syrilian This sticks with me so much. Like, Finn undergoes so little meaningful change he barely has half an arc. Johnson has him discover an idealism and kick the arse of one of the people who exploited him, and Johnson gets shit for it? Grah.
So Patrick basically ends where he started, thinking Abrams has nothing to say and there's nothing at the heart of his work. Very clever Patrick, very clever...
But he did think Abrams had something to say and that there must be something at the heart of his work, he simply realized he doesn't, so he didn't really end where he started.
Harry Kirkham “I’ve been waiting for you, Patrick. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master.”
That's a very Abrams-y move - to establish a mystery (what's in the mystery box?) and tease an answer. It got me watching. It's also very Abrams-y to postpone the answer again and again, to a point where I said "this isn't worth my time" and left.
Terminimal, I absolutely love your comment. There is something sadly hollow, and after a time, genuinely infuriating, about Abrams' work.
Matthew MacDonald it's funny because Westworld, even with Chris Nolan's brother, has largely become Lost but with robots.
VonJay ...which is exactly why I gave up on Westworld this season. When any medium takes death itself off the table, it's removed any real stakes. Westworld has revealed itself as a show HBO can indefinitely renew, which was the whole point, as GoT is ending and they need a new tentpole series to carry Sunday nights.
Matthew MacDonald
Exactly.
The first season lost me, pun intended.
From the unbelievable side characters upping the black robots Prestige for no apparent reason, to the bathos of the blood bath at the end, the not so clear desires or destinations of anyone in the plot, it's just blah blah blah.
I tried season two, and it continues to be extremely underwhelming and unsure of what it wants to be. Right down to the characters.
The reveal in the first season taught me a lot about jjs box. The reveals have no reason to be mysteries in the first place. They would probably serve the story better if they were visible and identifiable traction building moments.
Does Abrams ever really tease an answer though? More like he just teases that you might get an answer... at some point. Whereas a film like, oh I don't know, Knives Out or Looper will give you some decent hints to go off so that that answer to the mystery has meaning for both the audience and the characters.
We have to build a time machine, go back to 2018 or so and show J J this video.
We have to go back, Kate.
WE HAVE TO GO BACK
damn I wrote this before all these time travel shenanigans in the end of the video.
I like your new direction that you're taking your videos. Keep up the good work.
I loved that you were doing a parody of the show that almost no one would get, genius. I think we all got it pretty quick, I could have watched you do the whole thing like that!
Vladdie777 yes! And I was patiently waiting for the time travel twist. I Didnt leave disappointed.
I actually got the parody as soon as he did it.. LMAO..
I was expecting Felicity to be Obi-Wan's daughter, I was disappointed
Santi Yeah I also thought the pilot was gonna be Bail organas son. Its a shame not everyone is connected.
So basically, you got the ending of IX and no he hasn’t evolved one bit. You might even have predicted a sequel to IX with that time travel thing..,
At this time, I would like to humbly request of Lucasfilm (now owned by Disney) to *PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE TIME TRAVEL IN STAR WARS! IT IS WHAT SETS IT APART FROM LIKE EVERY OTHER MAJOR SCI FI GENRE THING OUT THERE NOW!* (That may be an overstatement, but sometimes it doesn't feel like one.)
@@jayvbspdx Too late. They've already got it set up for whenever they need to jump this ship.
@@jayvbspdx Time Travel in Star Wars is of the "Time is immutable" variety.
If you change the past, it was always going to be that way.
I am interested in how it will work. Maybe.
Lol this is hilarious how accurate that prediction of how Episode IX would end!
Patrick you were right. End where you started, a little wiser. And having palps back was a blast From the past. Almost time travel.
Imagine a mystery box with no mystery.... plenty of room to store your valuables, but no way to know what your taking out... though it can never be anything that you didn't first put in.
You put in Star Trek, you get out random bits of Star Trek strung together haphazardly.
You put in Star Wars, same.
He is great at setting up the box, and explains why he is never there when it comes time to open it. You can't have a mystery so deep that its creator doesn't know what it is, and yet somehow, he thinks doing so is genius.
Wait. This is genius. Wasn’t the time travel thing introduced in rebels? And rebels introduced the idea of “force projections” in preparation for TLJ. Time travel in Episode 9 confirmed?!
Time Travel doesn't belong in Star Wars unless it's a force vision of the past.
YES, I know several people who are freaking out because they think Abrams might use time travel because of rebels
Ugh. They put time travel in Star Wars? That's fucking terrible.
Flashbacks are a storytelling crutch. You can change a character's motivations and doings to justify an unexpected turn in an instant.
Time travel, if it isn't the entire point of a story, is even worse. JJ always needs both. I don't see much value of anything he's involved with anymore. Ironically, it's just a waste of time.
I actually enjoyed the use of “time travel” only if to be able to use Ahsokas charecter in future Disney Star Wars projects. Also I think the use of time travel can be used for a real wow moment in ep9. Call me a cockeyed optimists but...yeah I’d rather be stoked for something then hate it before I get a chance to see it
For the record, I understood that you were parodying Felicity before you said it explicitly
That, my friend, is good conveyance.
JJ actually ended in the exact way you predicted lmao, how did this even happen
So... Patrick was right. He ended like his beggining. Damn you Abrams...
Star Wars Rebels has now just introduced time travel so.... you could be right
Oh god
You could be right....
But it's the good type of time travel (the time loop theory).
Now people are under the impression that Abrams had a plan in mind for the mystery boxes of TFA despite him choosing not to make the whole trilogy.
They still are, despite Johnson saying that Abrams told him there was no plan and Ridley saying that they only settled on Rey Palpatine partway through the TRoS shoot.
They still are, despite Johnson saying that Abrams told him there was no plan and Ridley saying that they only settled on Rey Palpatine partway through the TRoS shoot.
10:21 omg change Jakku for Tattoine (which is
basically the same) and it fits perfectily with Rise of Skywalker
I would love that Kylo Ren tops being the baddy to start studing pre-med
He could intern at the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center. (Its canon look it up.)
He kind of does, doesn't he? He probably is studying medicine while Rey is fighting Palpatine and then comes back to save her life.
Episode 9 is a hot mess. It felt like somebody loaded a shotgun full of lightsabers, star destroyers, x-wings, and TIE fighters and then fired it at my face :(
It was like a blurry dream. Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming, and the movie I saw this week wasn't the real Ep 9.
Dat moment when Patrick inadvertedly predicted the end of Episode 9...
You actually called this pretty close to accurate.
after hearing you describe it, I've never wanted to not watch a show more than Felicity
"jj abrams isn't really sure what he's saying, and that there is no core idea at the heart of his work." Hit the nail on the head right there.
This was brilliant! Your production value here is fantastic, you weren't kidding about stepping it up. Thank you.
8:45 - "The friends we made along the way"
Well C3-P0 saying "Taking one last look sir, at my friends" really says it all then.
I'd say it's less emblematic than Threepio coming back with no real harm done and a cheap laugh. Because Abrams can never, ever bear to just have one last look and move on to new territory.
This is one of the best video essays on UA-cam! Brilliant exploration of Abrams' work
TBH, time travel is one of my favorite ideas for what you could do in episode 9. But people would really hate it.
Yep, Abrams doesn't know how to end a story - which many would argue shows he doesn't know how to write a *good* story.
Stylistically, his movies also seem to be homages to other stuff. "Star Trek" looked like a Star Wars movie (with extra lens flares). "Super 8" looked like a Spielberg movie (with extra lens flares). "The Force Awakens" looked like "A New Hope" (with some lens flares). Maybe his style is to look like a Lucas-Spielberg movie with extra lens flares.
Hey Patrick, just gotta say your channel really is spot on.
Biggest thing to me is you go and do the first hand research and plainly state where you're coming from, providing that extra oomph for genuine and precise insight. This gives a super firm foundation for your talents of pattern recognition and comedy through honesty to shine through as well.
Love your channel man. Feel like I'm learning high quality & clear principles on filmmaking, and also like, the culture that bonds our whole society together, man.
JJ and his mystery boxes. 😑 I do love how the whole "Who are Rey's parents?" thing went down. "They were no one." Suck it, Abrams. Learn to write. 🤣
I remember when you talked about how you don't like the typical video essay format and how it doesn't fit your style.
I'm glad you are making your own stuff, it really is refreshing and interesting!
I wish more essayist did something new like you
"rey returns home to jakku, but now she knows some jedi stuff, and has some nice new friends in the resistance"
You are BRILLIANT.
I really hope that you accidentally predicted parts of episode 9 through this comedy gold.
Welll....this comment aged depressingly well.
Dang...who would've thought that majoring in Pre-Med was fatal?
Binging all of Patrick’s videos makes me notice how much he uses the term Rosetta Stone!
My problem with JJ is that he has no creative voice. He's incredibly talented and anyone who says anything different is fooling themselves. He's a great director with an eye for character and visuals but he doesn't have a unique voice. Which makes him fairly predictable and boring.
Which explains his success perfectly. He's an ideal studio man. Excellent at casting and working with actors, moving the camera, and packing each scene full of fun and excitement. Then at the same time he can cater to whatever the studio wants since he has no real vision himself. He's just there to make it look good. Even though there's nothing inside the mystery box, most people don't think about a movie after they've watched it, so if it's fun in the moment they are happy, which is what the studio wants. Butts in seats. They don't care about stuff like theme or resonant storytelling. The real mystery to me is how he seems to stay so enthusiastic about these films without turning into a cynic who doesn't give a !@#$ like Michael Bay.
Ali Ghadimi no..JJ gives attention to character and story..he just cant CLOSE a story..dont confuse things
Don't confuse plot with story, or actors with characters. If you don't close a story it's not a story. Stories have to say something. JJ utilizes tropes and craft to give the illusion of story. Similarly, he is great with working with actors and extracting a great performance, but they are often thinly motivated and without any sort of arc. I think this is why he developed his mystery box, which is really just a hack to cover his lack of understanding of either of those things.
I see JJ as the most successful fan film director of all time. In many ways he seems just like a young passionate kid making youtube videos based on his favorite titles, just on the big scale. It's pure indulgence and fan service because he's a fan too. He clearly wants to inherit the legacy of Spielberg and Lucas, but he doesn't truly get how they did what they did, or why it worked so well, so he just mimics the texture.
Ali Ghadimi i mean theme, character arcs and etc wouldn't hurt his films if he tried to implement them.
geo koukkappakeepo i hear a lot, a lot of people say that jj has great characters. But i can't seem to like any of them.
Is it because they lack arcs or because they're just not likeable? I'm not sure.
The guys in trek are fun, but like the video says, why is Kirk revisiting a subject he already learned in The prior movie?
Why does Finn lie and run while doing a Kevin Hart impersonation?
Why is Rey a poor man's Jason Bourne?
Why is kylo a crybaby?
I really don't get how these are good characters.
Rian made kylo into something i never thought I'd love. He did the same with Rey though her character moments came from Kylo's projection of her thought process/emotional wound,"your searching for your parents through others, you did it with Han, with Luke".
Idk.
In Pulp Fiction, Quinton Tarantino plays on the potential of the Wolf character being a typecast. Harvey Keitel having played someone similar in the year's prior movie Point of no Return. He essentially turns the cleaner(assassin), into a real cleaner(cleans up assassin's mess), a person who is respectful, competent, and trustworthy. This dynamic translates well to the cleaner's boss, Wallace, is telling of his own character, not only in his choice to hire such a man, but in how he's able to forgive and let Bruce Willis' character live after a betrayal and a supremely embarrassing situation.
A ruthless person would have killed Willis anyway. But his association with the Wolf gives insight to why he'd tip over toward the side of forgiveness. Even after knowing he saw him being f'd in the a.
The Wolf ends his screen time by saying, "just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character"
Nolan essentially casted two superheros in The Prestige also playing on typecasts. He hired wolverine and Batman to hide who the true hero is in a moral dilemma(only before he starts killing people).
Yeah star wars likes to use fresh faces, but the two movies above would have done the job still without typecasts. The reason i bring typecasts up is because it's hard to shake the franchise they're part of in a new film. And in both cases, not only are they successful in delivering sound characters, but we aren't bogged down by the effects of the typecast.
That's what good characters can do for you.
A fun character that didn't necessarily have an arc was Rian Gosling's character in the Nice Guys. Imagine that in a star wars film. He wasn't even trying to be funny and didn't have to. He was written very well. "my wife says i have no follow through, i hit in nails half way". And he does everything like that in the film. Even when you least expect it it shows. And it effects everything around him.
There's so much to explore in star wars, yet jj gives us blah.
And that's the thing. Finn lying and running really doesn't do anything beyond the obvious. He's scared.
Rey in tfa just knows how to fix things and fight and is a good person. Ok.
Poe is the most interesting because he doesn't have an emotional wound. This makes him fishy, but he's just a good pilot.
Snoke is Palpatine 2.0. Ok
They're all just, blah.
I think you've nailed where episode 9 will end. Exactly where it began.
All the characters in all of his work none of his characters grow they all remain static for the entirety of the work.
I have never watched a single Felicity episode but with just the few shots you showed at the beginning was more than enough to understand that you were making a parody. Haha.
Very good video, Patrick!
I mean anyone is better than Colin Trevorrow, but like, Abrams, even as a fan of his, would not be my first choice to conclude a trilogy, especially this trilogy. (For what it's worth, my first choice would probably be Rian Johnson again and let him just finish this trilogy rather than make another, but that's just me though).
Yeah. I was not a fan of 8, but it had ambitions and aspired to tell an interesting story compared to 7 which I found pretty bland. I'd like to see where he'd go with it.
Rian Johnson should never be allowed close to Star Wars ever again.
JT Sleazeball Rian Johnson directed the best Star Wars film. :)
JT Sleazeball well, he’s making three more
Braeden glickman that's debatable
Patrick's Videos > Sleep
Either you're not in America or you sleep at 2pm lol
Patrick your production value has gone way up with this video. The visuals, editing, music and audio are all top notch and I'm loving it. KEEP IT UP
JJ’s biggest problem is that he’s a Spielberg that thinks he’s a writer. JJ is an amazing director but the guy can’t write to save his life. He’s right up there with Spielberg; however, what sets them apart is that Spielberg recognized his ace in the hole was directing, and instead of trying to be an auteur writer/director, he found great writers and capitalized on his directing skills to make other people’s excellent stories shine through his mastery of cinematic language. JJ thinks he’s both and that will always be his downfall.
I just love the fact that you watched all of Felicity in one week. No one ever talks about that show but they should.
I've grown tired of J.J's "Mystery Box" conceit... as it feels like more and more of a stalling technique to buy himself more time with audiences and more importantly, investors...
It's a marketing gimmick
It kind of screwed Rian Johnson, too. There's a lot to like about TLJ but Abrams left him with a bunch of questions that never had answers to begin with, and then people didn't like half the answers he gave.
@@FluffyBunniesOnFire That would be okay if he knew the ending to begin with
The Mystery Box gimmick is nothing but a scam---a literary shell
game---because there is never anything in the box to begin with.
@@Llewellyn2844 So true if only I could upvote you again. It's a pure marketing scheme.
11:51 Wait, are you serious?
> Looks up synopsis of the last few episodes of Felicity
Holy crap, you're serious
This is very good and very predictive for how Rise of Skywalker ends.
Well there you have it. "What's past is prologue
" indeed. Sometimes our pasts really do spell out our futures, especially when we're seemingly trapped in them.
Loved this, especially the ending. And for someone unfamiliar with Felicity the parody still lands.
I'm loving your new "tell a story by examining a story" style, it's been working great for me. Thanks for the great, thought provoking, and entertaining content and keep up the great work!
After seeing the rise of skywalker...ur kindda right about the ending
I honestly can't believe how accurate this was.
its scary how accurate this was...
I LOVED the Felicity parody. I'd forgotten the show entirely but as soon as you started, it all came back lol
11:48 Vsauce music kicks in.
HA
So true man haahahahahahahahaha
I thought the same xD
out of all your Star Wars videos, this is definitely your best! As everyone says your predictions came true, and it really made you feel like somehow you actually learned the truth about him from this
patrick... watching this video after watching episode 9 ... you were so right!!!!!!
The Felicity parody was fantastic. I laughed probably way too hard at it. The lighting the staging the sweater! Bravo
Just watched Star Wars. Wow. You are really spot on. It really isn't communicating any idea.
All the other stuff is true as well.
The predictions have me pointing at the screen like Leo.
Love these videos, Patrick! I always enjoy the first viewing of J.J.'s movies and shows because he can use the adrenaline of an action scene to leap right over plot holes you notice once you look back. I'd probably miss the plot holes too if I were being chased by a polar bear or TIE fighters. He's a skilled guy - but I'm excited to see if he can finish a story. You're a skilled guy too - and I love watching you explore story. Keep it up.
this post probably will go unnoticed in the flood of commentaries, but i think you and your work are awesome!
I used to be a JJ apologist because I do genuinely love a lot of his work (MI3, Star Trek, Super 8, TFA). However, after watching Rise of Skywalker, his style of filmmaking is harmful in the context of franchises. He is too focused on setting up things and is never concerned with the payoffs. I think Rian Johnson, Justin Lin, and Brad Bird have all done a good job with taking his mysteries in the right directions, but when he came back for TROS he needlessly added on more “mystery boxes” because he doesn’t know any other way to tell stories.
This makes so much sense. Abrams knows how to get a character to begin the hero’s journey via assumption and ham fisting, the journey is fun to watch but the conclusions are lackluster and conclude with a “no place like home” bow.
You predicted Rise of Skywalker pretty well
I really like JJ but yeah, repeating the motivation for Kirk in Into Darkness always bothered me. It was like a copy and paste, but replace his dad with Pike. Meanwhile, Pike's character had a lot to add and should've stuck around for way longer.
Patrick, I think JJ watched your video and took notes, because everything came true;
Rey went back to a sand planet, had troubles with the closest thing she had to a father, and choose her new family. Plus Ben said sorry to his dad.
I love that you did this video. I did a similar video on my channel where I broke down the mystery box talk that JJ gave cause I think that people misinterpret what he was actually trying to say. JJ is incredibly sentimental, so I'm really excited to see a happy ending to the Skywalker saga.
Well you were kinda right. Kylo did reconcile with his father and Rey did just sort of stay the same but now with jedi shit
Also, Force Healing = premed
You've outdone yourself! I appreciate you making each one of these a little work of cinema in its own right.
Well, i'm going to add felicity to my watch list
Maybe JJ doesn't need to have some grand idea? Just saying, the guy likes to set up stories and enjoy watching the stories unfold. Great art doesn't always have to say something, sometimes it can just be a beautiful piece of art and that's all it needs to be.
OMG this aged really well.
I just realized J.J. Abrams is cinema’s Ken Penders: Really good as selling a world and a mystery, and also really good at never resolving it, and that’s all they’re good at.
All I know is there is gonna be lens’s flares
*lens
There were very few lens flares in TFA compared to, say, Star Trek.
But the Kylo lens flares using the Death Planet/Star were epic. I just want Kylo helmeted....Kylo with a helmet was far scarier and unknown then unmasked.
John Carlos His mask was well used, but he was far more interesting once he took it off.
I think JJ Abrams is a talented filmmaker with a strong aptitude for kinetic visual flair and the depiction young adult friendships. He has what it takes to make great films rather than just highly polished and trendy ones. I just feel like he hasn't ever truly applied himself to make something unique. It's funny because your binge made me think back on Felicity and my takeaway would be that JJ is like Greg Grunberg's character. A guy that with a youthful persona that maintains a perspective with those younger than himself. It shows in the kinds of storytelling he finds appealing. He's filled with twists on nostalgic ideas and the drive to apply them but never quite sees beyond the template he uses.
I feel like the only way Episode 9 can be a great movie is if it's ultimately the best movie of JJ Abrams' career. Which is oddly kind of sad because it would still mean that he can't elevate or challenge himself enough to go beyond that mindset to another, less familiar path. One that doesn't need to build off the foundation of influential things he grew up watching. But one that's rewarding as a complete statement by him as a creator of his own story and characters with the external influences not used as a template.
Until he steps out and makes an original film that stands on it's own, devoid of heavy nostalgic influence - he'll basically remain the William Riker of filmmakers in his generation. A man fully capable of taking command, but far too comfortable to ever really challenge himself to do so.
He mis a mediocre director at best, but he is a good businessman, he is all pure hype, no deliver, and his Star Trek movies were awful, it showed a lot that he did not likes Star Trek
84 episodes in a row sounds unpleasant. Thanks for doing what I could not and would not ever do. As for JJ, I think you're on to something. To the extent that his stories have endings, they tend to be about reconciling oneself with prior mistakes and decisions. Time travel in the Star Wars universe would enrage me, but there are plenty of canonical examples of post-mortem reconciliation through the force. I could see him using this sort of loophole to close some threads out for Kylo Ren and Rae.
What I think is important to mention is that Abrams is co-writing Episode 9 with Chris Terrio who wrote Argo. I think he'll help Abrams conclude the story better than if Abrams wrote it himself, so there's really no reason to worry. At worst we will get a decent conclusion, with an alright ending, that is perfectly entertaining.
Yes, but that's the only notable thing he's written. If you look at his filmography the only other things he's written is Heights (his dirctorial debut that i have not seen), BvS, and justice League.
If they had hired someone like Alex Garland, who has written three novels, four films, two video games, and directed two films, all of which have spanned from well recieved to acclaimed, then I would be on your side.
But if you think about it, BvS was received negatively because of his theatrical cut, which was a terrible interference by the studio. The Ultimate Cut of BvS is perfectly cleared of all the plot holes. And it still causes mixed responses just because the comic book audience is spoiled and can hardly tolerate a new interpretation of a beloved character like Batman, Lex Luthor or Superman. But if you call those characters in a different way (and cancel the DC logo at the beginning), no one would have problems with it. Even the Martha scene (which I love), I think it triggers the fandom just because they can't accept that Batman can be not only built in a negative way, but that he can be defeated with a single word which makes clear that he is just a traumatized rich boy with mental issues.
For Justice League Terrio is the last person to blame. That movie of course is mediocre at best. But every plot-hole, lack of character backstory or development, cringe-worthy dialogue lines, continuity error,... is because of Warner Bros. interference and because of a terrible writing by Joss Whedon. I even thought that it was an exaggeration, but recently I watched the entire movie (literally shot by shot) and it's easy to spot a reshoot from the original scene. So Justice League is a Terrio script cut by (at least) half a hour and with useless additional footage just to make it F U N N I E R. The day we'll watch the whole original footage of Justice League we'll be capable of judging Terrio's script properly. But until then we can only hope.
And after all... you don't forget how to write after you win an Oscar.
What I'm saying is, Abrams and Terrio, can perhaps be a better matchup than say, Terrio and Zach Snyder. I think they'll complement each other in that Terrio will be better at wrapping things up neatly, and Abrams will be better at writing well-developed characters that have the right emotional impact. Also, I doubt Garland would sign up for Star Wars, he has such a strong and original vision that I have trouble imagining what episode 9 would be with him writing and directing (although I would be very curious to see it).
Abrams already praised Terrio during the Late Show with Colbert, so I think things are going on pretty decently. I don't know, I think that Snyder's visual narration matched up perfectly with Terrio's dialogues and depth. They complemented each other perfectly even in subtle things. For example: Terrio's Luthor monologue talked about how Lex wished that a God came down and stopped his father's fists and abominations and then we have Superman saving him from Doomsday's punch. Little subtle things that could unify style and substance.
I wonder if the same coordination will happen between Abrams and Terrio. I hope that Episode IX won't be just entertaining. I expect more since Episode VIII disappointed me. It had very good ideas but it could've used much more time developing them and maybe less time with the Finn and Rose side story. And even that could have been written in a better way... you know the plothole with Holdo and the plan B that only she knew.
Plus, if you take MoS, BvS, and Justice League as a trilogy, they do at least have some sort of thesis statement in that superheroes have changed the world forever, but they are ultimately a force for good and that they make the world a better place. Abrams...you can tell he struggles with committing to an actual thesis.
hey uhh several lifetimes ago i watched Felicity (sorta, i kinda tapped out here 'n there bc it was an s/o's obsession, and yannow how it is) but i'm only at @5:12 and i want to say that i DID get the parody you're doing! and i DO know about the twist that's coming! and tbh i made some wisecrack at the top of this video when you started talking about JJA and i said, embarrassingly literally out loud, "yeah well if you don't take Felicity into consideration, then there's no point to any of this" and then BAM you dropped the box set on cam a minute or so later -- anyway, short-time listener, first-time caller-- been bingeing your film vids recently here and on Nebula (tm) and you're saying things in this vid i've kind of been saying all every time i saw a JJ-flavored Star film in theaters (and also was obsessed w/ Cloverfield when it first came out) anyway -- your vids rule, you and your team are some of the best creators out there, and if i were a video essayer your voice is one i would humbly try to channel (pun not intended, but i'm keeping that one) -- Happy 2023 to ya 🎉
nearly done and not gonna lie, you almost had me, i thought you were gonna skip over THAT WEIRD S4 LAST-HALF haha -- i feel kind of vindicated for this goofy lil ole microcosm of the JJ style -- just finished the vid, you're a gem, K.O.K.O. xo ✨