What Rise of Skywalker Got Right
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
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Sources / Further Reading:
Every 1-2-3 Shot in Rise of Skywalker - vimeo.com/4234...
Every Shot With 4 Points or More in Rise of Skywalker - vimeo.com/4234...
Dan Mindel on the cinematography of The Force Awakens - bit.ly/3et0hWL
Post-Cinema: The Revolutionary Storytelling of Rise of Skywalker by Travis Bean - bit.ly/3dcu5Xn
Music:
Kevin MacLeod - "Tikopia", "Hiding Your Reality" - incompetech.com/
Julian Avila - "Streetlights", "Petrichor", "Foreign" - / julian_avila
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I'd love to see a movie by JJ where he directed it, but had no influence on the story. He's a fantastic visual director and always gets really energetic performances out of the actors.
Same with Rian. Great visuals but terrible writer.
@@spenser9908 rian Johnson did direct the only thing to have a 10/10 on IMDb so I guess he is a pretty good director
@@eliassettbassett643 Mayyyybe a good director? But an awful writer.
He’s lucky to have good cinematographers, lucrative IPs and big stars to make his work baffle people brains with bullshit.
@@JNeedleVids First three you brought up have some of the worst writing I've ever seen. You honestly must be joking.
@spenser9908 I agree seriously JJ use to be good in the past but now he's awful and he ruined star wars along with Disney including made kylo Ren a bad villain who somehow losses to a Mary Sue Ray and he's a childish raging kid who always losses his cool and kills or punishes subordinates for asking or answer logical questions, includinf taking his helmet off all the time and then also having people like in the 2014 movie where that pilot guy was making snarky comments at him now Darth Vader never did that he didn't kill or choked because it wasn't rage or anger he's either proving a point for those doubting his power, or killing or Punishing ineffective commanders like in episode 5 he's a crude, efficient, villain, and George went through every rule in the book for us to be afraid of this guy so yea also YTBer robot head who's a movie critic talks about why the Disney star wars movies including the 2019 one don't make sense and the way how he breaks it down shows how much bloody plot holes their is its ridiculous like seriously it's really bad and the problem is you wanna reduce the amount of plot holes as little as possible as someone like me who's trying to study for writing and wanting to care about the audience Iike Tom cruise does for his fans instead of shoving woke politics and stuff which is currently ruining entertainment (nerdroditic and critical drinker as well cover stuff like this) I honestly just wanna please people it's obvious I don't really wanna do it for fame while I do eh like it I'm not a big fan of it sense I just wanna make a nice community is all I want and respecting lore and just having fun and meeting new people is what I want to do.
Funny enough, when watching The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi back-to-back in preparation for The Rise of Skywalker, I really took note of how Abrams and Johnson composed their shots. JJ really likes to stay close-up on his characters and likes to move the camera to keep up energy within scenes (much like you pointed out). Rian, on the other hand, likes to shoot in the wide and sparingly moves the camera, only doing so to emphasize something important or significant. It's really interesting to compare these directors as to how they visually tell their stories.
Quite different styles
JJ uses the camera to distract you from the exposition. Rian uses the camera to make you UNDERSTAND the exposition.
Rian is just a bad writer, his directing is great. That is why his movies are enjoyable but forgettable. Except for tlj, which 2as a terrible SW movies.
@@penske_material Same goes for Zach Synder, who is a great visual director but a terrible screenwriter and people hated him for being suck at storytelling, even if he's doing his best. I think people need to acknowledge the fact that not every directors are perfect.
@@poweroffriendship2.0 " I think people need to acknowledge the fact that not every directors are perfect."
I totally agree with this, I think the issue most SW fans have with Rian in that his "apologists"[as I like to call them lol] act as he is in fact perfect. Like no one gave a damn about his movies before tlj and they still don't, they only praise him post SW to "prove a point" or something.
I have heard/read his latest movie "Knives Out" is supposed to be really good though, but I haven't gotten around to watch it yet; the main reason I want to check it out though is because Ana de Armas is in it lmao.
The second thing ‘Rise of Skywalker’ got right was Babu Frik.
Change my mind.
Nop. There is nothing to change. You sir, are right.
HEYY HEYYYY
You are not wrong.
Babu Frik is the Jar Jar of the sequels. Only difference is Jar Jar has his moments while Babu Frik didn’t. I have spoken.
You are absolutely correct, incredibly entertaining babu frik was.
Thing I love about this channel is that he doesn’t talk down to the viewer or hesitate to use technical terms which makes it much much more informative for someone that actually has film experience
Congrats for making a video about JJ without mentioning the word lensflare
That's so 2009
TheArtkaw I've been rewatching some Star Trek clips lately and I'm noticing that there really is a shit ton of lens flare in almost every shot, even generic cuts like when Spock is telling Kirk that there's only a 4% chance of their plan succeeding.
Lmao true 🤣
Honestly I don't mind the lensflare
Mentioning lensflares when critisizing, or somehow praising JarJar Abrams, is easy and sorta cliche', but that doesn't mean mentioning lensflares isnt a valid criticism. I hate tf out of lensflares and I'll never NOT bitch abt them. Especially due to Abrams unapologetic attitude regarding his excess flares. What's key is it not be the only critique when discussing an Abrams production. Fuck all, the bastard gives us enough fuckshit to mention. Having said all that, I do appreciate the attempt to give the fans a silver lining around the dark cloud that is Rise of Skywalker. It says a lot abt how bad the movie is when someone tries to be optimistic abt stepping in a pile of shit, by saying, 'well the shit on my shoe doesn't smell too awful, and at least its not runny diarrhea. Nice try, but it's still a pile of SHIT we all stepped in.
It’s quite sad to see that all the love, effort, and craftsmanship in TROS was in service of such a flawed script.
I think the problem can quite clearly be seen.
They were short of time writing it.
They had to reshoot a lot of stuff that Iger and/or the board didn't like.
They recut JJ's movie without him after he cut it with the reshoots.
Yeah, it seems like studios think you can just throw money at weak writing and make it good. It is sad to see such a massive wealth of resources used in this way, to me.
As soon as Disney said they were having different directors and writers for the new sequels I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. TFA was an ok movie, but leaned way too heavily on the source material. But when TLJ came along with such a different, non-star wars feel to it, I knew there was no recovering. TROS was lackluster as well, and it's a shame that the sequels ended up just being a mediocre follow-up in terms of actual movies.
For all the faults of the prequels, at least they contributed some more unique, interesting stories along the way, instead of cliche-filled rehashes of the previous movies.
@Louise Sea Some flaws in your logic;
1. There have been what.. 24 Bond movies? With many different directors, and almost continually in production since the sixties. Seventies Bond, Eighties Bond, Nineties Bond.... Generations have become used to different actors, and different takes. There's also lots of novels that can be adapted and rebooted. It isn't really a saga where movies continue the same story.
2. After the Bourne series, Craig rebooted Bond, which was mostly seen as a success after the increasingly silly Brosnan movies. So any of the Craig Bonds are already from a revised point of view,
3. Bond was also set in the real world, and obviously rather misogynistic. It had to be radically overhauled over the years - that doesn't apply to fictional galaxy. Even if they made them period movies, they would still have to appeal to a modern audience.
4. Quantum was basically cobbled together in the writer's strike by director and actor. We shouldn't be surprised it was a mess.
5. For a proper comparison, you'd have to bring back Connery, as a broken old Bond, and say, yes that's what audiences wanted.
6. While it may be your opinion the franchise "became better" it rather depends on if you want the franchise to remain a space fantasy with heroes with flaws, or a movie where humans struggle under the weight of their legacy. It's not necessarily better to change something. Bond was updated to compete with modern action/spy movies.
We could argue with the MCU already so popular, the further SW stays away from MCU mom jokes, and retains its own take on heroes in a dark fairytale, the more unique it is.
7. Every RJ movie I've seen, he seems determined to subvert as many tropes as possible. Some may find that interesting, or even fun, but it isn't necessary to subvert every trope in a franchise, which is why RJ was poor choice to write and direct a movie in the Skywalker saga, when they could have given him a standalone movie.
8. It appears you're one of those people that thinks changes things is always better. That is just an opinion, not a fact. It's possible to develop or expand a franchise organically. It's possible to make it fresh while still being recognisably the same. We don't need to deconstruct everything.
And the fact that there was a backlash, and TROS went too far into nostalgia, like TFA (for which we can blame Iger and KK as much as JJ) suggests that actually the whole thing backfired.
Not so much a case of becoming better, in that sense.
@Louise Sea It's the same fallacy.
You're saying the only way to have engaging characters and creative stories is to subvert tropes. It's not binary. Sometimes people like tropes. That's why they are tropes.
Using a few tropes doesn't make a movie hackneyed and boring, and subverting tropes doesn't automatically make it better.
"all about making these franchise films in their own unique ways"
You're implying that the only way a franchise can move forward is by being different, as though every member of the audience is asking for it to be different.
They could make a Tarantino Bond with Sam Jackson, but that isn't necessarily what people want Bond to be. Maybe people want to watch Bond and also watch a Tarantino movie and enjoy them for different reasons - regardless of depth, editing and shot choice.
"depth of character"
Depth of character is entirely independent of twisting tropes or not. You can twist tropes and still have boring characters.
"Lore and canon are the least of my worries because the more you focus on them and not making these films...masterful, the more I feel less invested"
Again, you're saying it's a choice between a stale movie, and making it unique. There's a massive grey area in between.
"fantasy space opera or a realistic spy movie"
Well, no, genre DOES matter. You're trying to say what works for Bond works for SW. In order to reach that conclusion, you remove all nuance from the discussion. People want different things from different franchises, regardless of what makes a great movie. If you don't care if Bond is black or white or male or female, or set on earth, or set in space, then you aren't particularly invested in that franchise, are you? In which case, just make a black female spy space movie, without the limitations or baggage of the previous movies.
If it's character that matters most, and lore doesn't matter, just do something totally new.
As I said, Craig's Bond got a major reboot, due to the Bourne movies and the stale and ridiculous Brosnan movies that came before him. It isn't a continuous saga. That's how every movie ends with him with a woman who disappears before the next movie.
"Mendes and Johnson focused on the most important aspects like character, staging, and visual storytelling"
You don't need to change everything to focus on character, staging and storytelling.
RJ could have made TLJ just as deep and engaging without subversion, or monty python humor. And again, subversion for the sake of it, isn't great. Subversion has to be more exciting than what you thought you were going to get, not a massive anti climax. Deconstructing something doesn't automatically make it fun. That's why people feel compelled to explain to others that they just need to UNDERSTAND TLJ to enjoy it. I thought Arrival was amazing. I didn't need that explained to me. I didn't need anyone to explain it's a women's perspective, or it's Villeneuve's vision. I didn't need BR2049 explained to me either.
"and that’s when Star Wars was dead to me."
While I also wanted to see the L&M version, making a Solo prequel was a total waste of time. That is entirely nostalgia based. We don't need to know anything more about Han than we learned about him in the OT.
"leading to me declaring it the worst Star Wars film of the era."
But it has a droid freeing droids from slavery - it's subversion! That automatically makes it great, remember?
And complaining about TFA or TROS or Solo doesn't prove that TLJ does everything right. Again, movies aren't binary.
If I say to you SW movies have to be either TROS or TLJ it's nonsense, isn't it?
"and more about encouraging filmmakers to find unique ways to tell"
Again, it's the fallacy of your whole argument. You don't need to make a movie in a franchise unique for people to enjoy it. It's possible to make a satisfying movie with new things to say, without being one person's "take" on what the audience want.
Saying, "it doesn't matter to me...." doesn't make your point any stronger. It just implies you can't see a different perspective.
Look at Knives Out (spoilers):
It's a whodunnit, but wait there wasn't a murder. It was a suicide. But wait the person who knows everything can't lie without giving herself away. But wait it was an accident, that forced him to commit suicide to protect her. But wait she can get away with it, by explaining without technically lying. But wait there's the evidence that she did it. But wait it wasn't an accident because someone tried to frame her. But wait he got seen trying to frame her, so they tried to kill someone else. But wait the toxicology proves she didn't get it wrong, because she's a good person, even though she lied. But wait she isn't dead... but wait she is dead! Which means he IS now a killer even though he didn't kill the person that the whodunnit was supposedly about, but by killing the person who found the body, concealing something he didn't need to.
Less is more.
And here's the dumbest thing; If the police decided it was a homicide because of the morphine in his system (Ransom's plan), and with the will previously changed leaving everything to Marta (motive), it makes no difference which vial the morphine is in, so he didn't need to replace it, because the nurse is the one who takes care of the medication. The family would use their influence to hire a great lawyer, and pay them after they've contested the will. All they needed to prove was wrongful death, not a murder conviction.
I always thought the cinematography in this film was great. Very entertaining and flows amazingly.
it's really interesting to see how Abrams is evolving as a director, I didn't even realize how he had stopped using handheld so much
The fact that I never noticed any of the long takes at the very least speaks to how good the actual directing was. Unfortunately, it couldn't mask the underwhelming script.
Yeah I don't think I've heard anyone arguing that the cinematography is part of the problem, but for what it's worth I wish Abrams would have used the transition from the old trilogy style to his style to make some kind of point, to draw some sort of contrast in The Force Awakens. I remember being really stylistically disoriented in the opening moments of that film with so much camera shake and modern style, I think he could have accomplished something by starting off with a more classical style to establish that this is indeed Star Wars and then transitioning to his more modern, mobile cinematography at some important moment, like the Jakku escape sequence, to indicate to the audience how much Rey's world has changed, perhaps. I feel like that was a pretty big missed opportunity.
I disagree, I think the shakiness and disorientation was a good choice. All of the scenes from the First Order's perspective are ultimately being told from Finn's point of view. It's capturing his own shakiness, and mirrors his progression through the scene. Also, the vibe I specifically got from it was "It's Star Wars, but with modern camerawork." I don't think trying to mimic Lucas's style really would have worked, especially for how chaotic that whole sequence was supposed to be.
JJ already did too much to recapture the style of the original trilogy, so his energetic camera-work was a much-needed breath of fresh air. It was a new Star Wars for a new generation - it makes sense that this new style would be present from the first minute. Changing the style halfway through the movie would only make sense if we were seeing the movie from the POV of Luke/Han/Leia, but that wasn't the case. TFA was told from Poe, Finn and Rey's perspective, from the first minute, and the filmmaking reflected that.
This did make me appreciate the film a little more, particularly Abrams' directing. Though I will say, that the cinematography still PALES in comparison to the inventive camerawork seen in The Last Jedi.
But, I'll still clap for Abrams' and Mindel's work here. Good job!
Also, good video, dug it a whole bunch.
Could you elaborate on the inventive camerawork that is in The Last Jedi? I've not read or seen much anything about the camerawork, so I'm curious!
It's certainly better than the cinematography of TFA and the Prequels.
@@PlanetXerox I do think TFA's cinematography looked good, it was just much less complex than TLJ or TROS.
@@coin3720 it was abolished by it's constant lens flares.
@@PlanetXerox I honestly don't think they were that bad in TFA, and a lot of the wide shots were really nice. It was definitely the least visually interesting overall though.
Though I also love dance floor shots, I think that they’re actually too frenetic in Rise of Skywalker and become a detriment. I didn’t know it was possible, but I started getting whiplash. If he's not cutting really fast, he's whipping the camera around too fast. It's exhausting to watch.
The end credits were pretty good
Oof.
My man!
One issue with the end credits though. I would have liked to have seen them much sooner.
I really wish there were a couple of digital versions of those “dance floor shots” during the final space battle. It would’ve helped to individualize the galaxy fleet a bit more.
I genuinely did like this movie, but I specifically enjoyed the long shots.
The highlight of the whole sequel trilogy is easily the connection of Rey and Kylo. It is a perfect example of "Yes, and" with each film.
I just dont feel their friendship. The supposed trio are too much seperated from each other for most of the movies.
But that's a problem with drama. "Yes, and" is only appropriate for improv. For dramatic story structure, it's "Yes,but", and "No, and".
@@Reilly5 Even if the whole thing was planned out better you can still have "yes, and". It just means each installment builds logically upon what was established before.
So what I like about the ST is this "connection" idea. It starts small in TFA with this interrogation scene, then becomes a long distance conversation with the suggestion of contact, then they finally take that idea _into battles_ by transferring things to each other. It was very cool and I loved that. Most everything else didn't connect like that did.
If that's the highlight, it doesn't help them either as it was hard to believe why they had it in the first place.
I was telling someone that one positive of TROS over Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates is Rey and Kylo is been kinda sort of built up over the 3 movies but her and Poe is very last minute.
It's so incredibly refreshing to see someone tackle the craft of cinema and the genuine passion behind the creatives who bring the screen to life.
Great video. I thoroughly enjoy your videos, dude, and I hope to emulate your craft as much as possible to better myself too. xx
You definitely have a place here as a film critique. You've got a keen eye for the finer details that go in every part of a movie. The style and feel of your videos genuinely make me think it's the only way a movie should be analyzed and discussed: having a good balance between telling, showing, critiquing, and praising. Keep up the great work!
Great video! "Dance floor" might actually refer to the tool used to get such shots rather than the emotion behind them (although I do love that interpretation). The grips lay down black sheets of actual dance floor, giving the dolly more freedom of movement rather than if it were on a track. Ironically, dance floor looks very similar to the floors of the First Order ships!
The floors on Star War ships looking like a dance floor is pretty much by design.
Sigh . . . the fact there was a really excellent formal element here almost makes the utterly disappointing story hurt even more-similar to way that the prequel movies had fantastic music and The Last Jedi had amazing visuals.
Steven yedlin is incredible and criminally underappreciated
I've been so frustrated with a lot of video essayists' takes on TROS and the Sequel Trilogy recently, but you get it. This take can stay.
Chris Ovens yeah same here! while the film was overall disappointing with its story and themes in the film, I think the shots and editing was great
@@valentinagrant425 The editing was worse than Bohemian Rhapsody lol
But I don't know that I can blame them, given they had to work with such a dogshit script and were editing on set and then literally up until the last minute, and the editors have said that if they didn't have the deadline they would still have been working on it for another month or so, so it's literally an unfinished movie. I put the majority of the blame on Chris Terrio's script and Bob Iger's release date.
It's a shame, TLJ is my favorite Star Wars movie and the finale it seemed to be building to could have surpassed it if they were willing to go with its set-ups rather than fight and retcon them at every turn.
@@ChrisOvens51 1. A trilogy has to return to where it started from in the first movie. You can't just twist everything in the middle and jettison the promises from the first movie. That's the problem with killing off Snoke and Luke in the second movie, when the first movie makes Luke the macguffin and goal of Kylo and Snoke.
2. Before you start calling the script dogshit, you should probably recognise they were likely forced into reshoots, and the final movie was likely recut after what JJ had cut from the reshoots.
That explains why we know JJ talked to Lucas in the writing process, and there's the dagger of Mortis in the movie, but it makes zero sense that it's a map, and how the movie ends with "I'm all the Jedi" like Endgame.
Edited and cut by LF/ Disney committee to avoid being too 'Inside Baseball'
I haven't seen Argo, but it won awards. I think Terrio got shafted on TROS and the DCEU movies where they were recut or reshot.
The whole trilogy was rushed and full of compromises, except perhaps the only compromises RJ had to make, was working off the mystery box and cliffhanger ending that JJ fudged. He didn't have to rush a script into production though, and it seems was given free rein, compared to the limitations and interfering on 7 and 9 by Iger etc and/or KK/LF. Ironic.
@@Ruylopez778 The first movie made no promises; you, the audience, made assumptions that you mistook as promises. TFA is the perfect execution of JJ's Mystery Box technique; shiny exterior, nothing inside. The little meaning it holds is imbued from TLJ retroactively. There was no promise, JJ's storytelling excels from his ability to create an idea that the audience wants and then withhold it long enough for them to assign their own meaning to it. He played you like a fiddle. And don't get me wrong, I love TFA. It's my second fave Star Wars. But those expectations weren't promises; a middle chapter has far less responsibility to follow the implied trajectory from the prior chapter than an ending does. And it would have been a boring movie if it gave you all the "promises" you expected.
Killing Snoke elevates the trilogy and validates it as a creative venture. It puts the thrust of the antagonistic agency in the hands of Kylo/Ben (with Hux as a strong secondary/shadow opponent), giving the Vader analog character a story position that they've never had to this point in the scope of the main saga, and stacking the emotional and physical stakes in his redemption and romance arc tenfold.
It also sidetracks the expected finale with Snoke as the Big Bad, which would have been so, so unbelievably boring.
Watch TLJ not from the perspective of what you wanted the sequel to TFA to be, but from how it executes its own ideas and how it sets up its own finale to the trilogy and the saga. Watch the Director's Commentary and hear Rian's intent and the love and passion he has for everything he does. It hurts me enough to hate TROS, a movie that's pretty much critically divided between camps "unwatchable garbage" and "watchable garbage". So, I can't imagine how much it would hurt to hate a Star Wars movie that's basically divided between "unwatchable garbage" and "uncontested masterpiece". I really think it's worth the love.
@@ChrisOvens51 "The first movie made no promises"
All stories, at the beginning make promises to the audience about the story, characters, tone.
Use whichever terminology you like, the start of the story sets up ideas you will later pay off at the end. That's how stories work. You can twist it, provided it's more interesting/exciting than what the audience expected was going to happen. That's how good twists work. Bad twists are where there was no one to know it would happen, and it's less exciting than what was expected.
That's why 'kick ass princess damsel in distress' works.
"He played you like a fiddle."
Thanks for continuing to patronise me, for not understanding the point I was making. The mystery box sets up expectations, as does the opening crawl, whether you like or not.
First two words of TFA opening crawl? Can you remember?
"I love TFA. It's my second fave Star Wars."
As I said to you in the other video, if TLJ is your favourite [and TFA is your second favourite] then you really don't like SW being SW. That's fine. Like what you like. Not being a gatekeeper.
"a middle chapter has far less responsibility to follow the implied trajectory from the prior chapter than an ending does"
True, but the middle should escalate the stakes, not remove most of them.
"It puts the thrust of the antagonistic agency in the hands of Kylo/Ben"
Yes, except that the OT is built on the story of redemption. If they redeem Ben it's predictable, and if they don't it ends on a downer, contradicting ROTJ.
The tension in SW comes from a chief antagonist manipulating the antagonist. If Kylo is just by himself, it's difficult to redeem him, and difficult to show him conflicted without him just seeming indecisive.
"with Hux as a strong secondary/shadow opponent"
True but he made Hux a buffon didn't he? So he isn't competent or threatening - which means there's no stakes, just like when Rey repeatedly beats Kylo.
Additionally, a non force user isn't much of a threat to Rey.
"romance arc"
LOL. Like toxic murdering bf stockholm syndrome?
"which would have been so, so unbelievably boring."
As you defend a movie with slow moving ships following each other?
Snoke was boring, yeah, but that doesn't mean that couldn't have thought of something interesting to do, in a Wizard of Oz kind of way. TLJ doubled down on making him a Palpatine copy.
So, enlighten me, what is Ben's motivation at this point? Snoke is dead (who was fucking boring, so who cares) so he isn't trying to please him. His father is dead, and Luke joins the force. So what is there left for him to do? Burn everything down. OK. So that's the conclusion to the Skywalker saga that we waited for?
Please don't think that I'm defending TFA, because it's a passable movie at best, but the only goals of Kylo and Snoke were find Luke. Kylo also wanted revenge on his father, check, and capture Rey, check. Snoke wanted to stop "hope"? because for some reason the Sequels can't stop using the hope over and over like the audience need to reminded every 5 minutes.
It's not to say I dislike everything about the TLJ, or there aren't things I like about it. It just baffles me when people claim it's trying to be a SW movie when it so clearly isn't.
Thanks for the pep talk. I saw TLJ 4 times when it came out. I've watched it at least three times at home, including RJ's commentary.
A director being passionate about their ideas doesn't make a good movie, or a good SW movie.
You don't have any idea what I wanted TFA or TLJ to be, so how can you presume to tell me how to watch a movie? In fact you told me that in the other video comment too.
And as I said there, I didn't have trouble staying engaged in Arrival or BR2049.
RJ intentionally takes people out of the movie to wink at them, because he's desperate for everyone to validate how clever his ideas are.
I watched Knives Out last night, and I knew before I even watched it, that if there was a character who vomits when she lies, that he would write her vomit in someone's face and surprise, surprise, there it was.
And as soon as Harlan is offered the special stuff, it becomes obvious that Marta has made a mistake (at that point), and he will have to kill himself to protect her. And as soon as they find the toxicology report it is obvious that he didn't get an overdose, and something was switched. And as soon Blanc says the Fran is alive and the hospital calls it is obvious she died. And then Ransom's confession is obviously recorded, the knife he picks up is obviously a trick knife.
I did laugh when the dog brought Marta the trellis though. I was told it was supposed to be funny.
So considering I wasn't thrilled by Looper or Knives Out, I guess we can conclude I just don't like RJ's writing, not that his shot choices aren't at least interesting.
JJ's strong directing flare and Babu Frik are probably the only things I like about TROS. I think a good storyteller (ex. Filoni) writing and Abrams directing could be interesting.
I'm one of the few people that actually loves Rise of Skywalker and I admit I never noticed how many long-running single shots there were in the film.
very interesting video. I found the whip panning to be extremely confusing and disorienting. It seems like a fascinating technique that actually exacerbates the scripts lack of focus.
It's actually the best of and most Star Wars like movie of the three. It mirrors and closely follows the tone and pacing of ROTJ. I'm surprised how many miss this. JJ also really tied everything beforehand up and together nicely.
I agree with the technicalities but story-wise It got nothing right. It had potential though.
@Louise Sea Solo is the one canonical live-action SW movie that I genuinely dislike, and plan to never watch again. What bothers me about it is how SAFE it is. They take zero risks. It's like watching a dramatization of a Wookiepedia article. It's Star Wars turned into a commodity film, and *that* is what I most feared Disney doing with the property. I'm glad it failed, and they rethought their plans to keep churning out more empty-headed movies like it.
I love this comment because it basically just repeats the video with a lot less effort put in
@Louise Sea I prefer Solo. It has a simple story and good performances, nothing over the top and ridiculous like RoS.
@@jasonblalock4429 Well in their defense, they had to play it safe because they don't want to ruin the legacy of Han and the other already well known and beloved characters.
@Louise Sea Lol calm down Lord & Miller are good but don't overhype them. They directed the Jump Street films and Lego Movie. They are good fun films but don't say that they're one of the best filmmaking duos of all time lol we don't even know fully what their vision was for Solo.
4:32 Wait, is he waltzing with the camera? (I know it’s being explained, but I immediately thought waltzing because of the 1, 2, 3)
16-17 1-2-3 shots in the film, give or take. Great video, and Abrams' style of composition and dance floor shots is just as classical and engaging (at times) than some people would want to admit. And even though there are better tentpole films than TROS (and TFA and Star Trek) it's still nice to see JJ's visual flair being used to tell a story in his films (regardless of editing and overall quality). Compared to most current big films of similar ilk, last year alone.
Thanks for giving me something to truly appreciate in this film. I had noticed some of these shots (my absolute favorite is Rey climbing withing the Death Star) but never the amount you showed here. So thanks!
Been saying this for years.
JJ is without a doubt one of the best blockbuster directors working at this level.
But he probably should write less.
Chris terrio too
I would say he is slightly above average. All style over substance. Which makes sense considering he thinks the mystery box is an excellent storytelling tool. It makes his films feel hollow. Like McDonald’s, competently made but ultimately forgettable.
sure and tommy wisue is a talented artist... christ every time people like you defend idiots like abrams more people are dieying for stupidity
Competent camerawork and blocking don't make him a great director if he can't tell a decent story. His movies are entertaining, but unoriginal and lacking in depth. The Star Wars sequels clearly showed that he's interested in creating a superficial illusion of a great blockbuster. Mysteries with no answers, action without tension, twists without a solid story. Just keep running so viewers don't have time to think. He makes a good first act and marketing campaign to sell the product and then gives up.
@@matman000000 To me how good a director is, is broken up into three parts. Camerawork, working with actors and storytelling. The first two he is relatively good at. But his storytelling (the most important part) like you said is unoriginal and formulaic at best. And to make it worse the mystery box element compounds the problem.
While TFA felt like him doing a mix of Lucas mastershots and Kershner blocking. He was making a more Spielbergian style of shoot on TROS
Compare to Johnson, who will go for long takes and framing, in specific shoots. But mostly rely on dolly shots, whip pans to close ups and also, great use of rack focus.
Is so incredible to see Star Wars be helm by visually distinct filmmakers and later receive shit like Ahsoka and Mando season 3 that felt kinda stail and dull
Please, man, upload the essay "The joy of the summer blockbuster"
I began seething at the ( admittedly accurate ) homage to the quality of the polish on that turd when, as usual, you totally validated the critique with that beautiful coup de grace right at the end. Nice one mate.
You have summed up my thoughts on the film perfectly.
Dang it, I was just typing out a comment about you once criticized (idk if you really criticized it but you definitely have the same appreciation for the Star Trek one as the Brad Bird ones, I think because it cuts away as soon as it does all that work to establish) Abrams use of the multishot takes in Star Trek, but he's definitely gotten better at it. And then as soon as I finish typing it out, you bring up the Brad Bird video (it's one of my favorite videos of yours). Great video Andy.
A movies main appeal is its story, in 20 years nobody will talk about about a movie just because it had good framing, the visuals are only there to support the story and direct the viewers attention, Blair Witch Project for example was shot on home cameras and is still a classic without having a 100 million dollar budget
This kind of shot is getting common in videogames. Some game directors are applying really clever cinematography to their games’ cutscenes, remarkably Hideo Kojima - his latest work is a statement to brilliant cinematography in gaming.
Love, love, LOVE your deconstructions and channel, in general.
Unrelated: I hadn't thought about it until just now - watching your essay - but...why hasn't someone done a fan edit of this (or, arguably, the previous) Star Wars (series) film?
I think there are GREAT films in the chaos/overwrought fan service that are these two movies. (I do not HATE this or the last film - not by a long shot - but...they definitely could have been better.)
Hate on this movie all you want but you must admit its a beautiful looking movie. Also I like how Force Awakens main color is Yellow, Jedi is Red and Skywalker is blue. Nice consistency.
Maybe if Rian Johnson wrote and JJ Abrams directed, we would have had a good Star Wars move this century
Solo was fun.
Rians directing in TLJ was amazing. It had some of the best shots in all of Star Wars in my opinion.
@Louise Sea ok
Louise Sea funny ass joke, you should be a comedian
@Louise Sea I can't tell if you're joking or not
I always liked the 1-2-3 chunk of your Brad Bird video, would love to more compilations on these kinds of shots
I love the movie, flaws and all, as it not only plays fully to J.J.'s strengths and weaknesses, but even more so the strengths and weaknesses of _Star Wars_ as a hole. And anyone who criticizes or praises the film says that that isn't the case, then they're wrong. I give it a 7/10, for being an entertaining, gorgeous, and highly watchable end to the mainline _Stat Wars_ films. Plus, as much as the story whip-pans, the long-term payoffs are too damn good...
Not my favourite Star Wars movie, but love this video highlighting the positives of the movies. Pretty tired of video essays saying everything is absolute trash on films these days.
I wish this video was longer!
Check out CinemaWins
Similar to how animation is planned: pose to pose.
I think I have my own theory. Knowing how rushed this movie was, to the point that it was being written on set and edited on set both at the same time, Abrams utilized these oners to keep things clear and speedy. You don’t need multiple setups, and you don’t need to spend a whole day nailing that one scene, you can condense everything into one setup. That would leave room for crew to setup lighting and the Abrams along the DOP to setup blocking, meanwhile the writers are just on the edge of set figuring out what the actors will say in this one scene.
That and it also locks in some sense of narrative pace, not just on set “time is money” pace.
Maybe that’s a very cynical take, but I don’t mean it harshly, nor do I want to undermine the technical brilliance of this choice. If you had unlimited Disney money, and practically no time, and actors who just wanna get it done so they can leave, and YOU have a hankering for classical Hollywood master shots, literally what would you do differently?
dont forget the boom operators on the dance floor
In other words, the cinematographer would be perfect for Orson Welles's Heart of Darkness.
Really interesting video. To me Rise of skywalker is an interesting example of a one shot movie. The first time you see it you get carried along by spectacle but its like ability decreases with repeated viewings. Funnily i felt the other way about the prequels where I spot more connections with each view
Just the camerawork, got it lol
Can we all agree that JJ Abrams needs to be sent to a screenwriting 101 course?
JJ isn't the greatest writer, but he was clearly forced to write within the prescribed boundaries of Iger and KK, and in both movies, rushed into production
Totally agree with this. My disappointment with the film is the story direction, which is predominantly due to Terrio's writing. Also, Disney's choice not to delay the film to tighten up these story points... who cares if the film is pretty when it's message is incoherent. I loved TFA and Star Trek and I think JJ is a fine director, but TROS is unwatchable for me because the story is so bad.
also, too much BLUE
Wow, well done essay!
I’ve been pretty critical of Abrams lately. J.J. Abrams has always been a competent director, just not the best storyteller. This video is a good reminder of what a director can bring to a project on a visual storytelling level. That’s why even if I like this movie less than even the prequels(boy I never thought I’d say that), I still believe it’s better made than those films in terms of blocking, framing, composition and...well pretty much everything on a technical level.
Skyfall like Last Jedi feels like the most meta Bond film, that’s for sure. I guess the reason why it doesn’t get more flack is that it plays by the “rules”.
I usually pay attention to stuff like this, yet I disliked this movie so much, I didn't notice those signature Abrams/Mindel tricks you mentioned here. This is an excellent video in a difficult YT vid "genre" (find something hidden & good about "bad" thing) & this seriously deserves more views. I enjoyed this.
It is said that Slayer's Kerry King (not sure if he actually said it or is a misatributed quote) once commented about hair metal bands: "they are Van Halen wannabes, turned up to 11 and done the wrong way"... I have come to think about JJ Abrams pretty much the same way: he's a Spielberg wannabe, turned up to 11 and done the wrong way.
You make a good point with this video about his technical prowess as director, I will give you that... But personally I have to say that I have grown to despise the guy.
He's trying to be Spielberg with the oners. The difference is Abrams camera movements draw too much attention to themselves.
Great video! You should make one about the clone waers series now that we´re still all hyped up about the finale.
I love the focus of this video. Something I had never noticed before. I also love that you stated plainly the problems with the star wars films... that they were just bad,y written.
The issue with the sequel trilogy was all in all story direction. They had some of the best people in the business, specifically some of the best visual directors. However the issue was that none of these people understand Star Wars like those who worked with George Lucas or George Lucas himself. It’s the reason why The Mandalorian works while the Sequel Trilogy doesn’t it’s because the people involved such as Dave Filoni know Star Wars like no one else does. Not only that but there was also no grounded plan for the trilogy whatsoever. Kennedy gave the directors complete freedom in everything. So each director went with what they wanted to do instead of conforming to grander plot points that’ll lead to a good end to that story. An example for conforming to a grander story is Rogue one, which is probably the most well received Star Wars Film made by Disney. The reason why I think it was so well recieved apart from the visual spectacles was because of the film’s narrative. The film’s major plot point and the ending were already set in place because of specific dialogue in a new hope, all the writers needed to do was connect an arc around all of that along with creating interesting characters to portray those involved in the grand event. The film already had a plan, which is probably the most important thing a film needs narratively. I feel like they made Rogue One like they would’ve made a war film with fictional or semi fictional characters like 1917, Dunkirk, and Saving Private Ryan. They took a specific major event that took place in the Star Wars universe and created characters that revolve around that story or setting while sticking to whatever end the story is based off.
The other thing that makes Abrams like Spielberg is he likes showing a community of colorful characters all working together toward a common goal.
thanks for the use of true 21:9 :)
It got right on the IMAX prologue of TENET
thanks now i have something positive to look forward to while watching this movie it is beautifully shot
i remember being very frustrated but very entertained when i left the cinema. the sequel trilogy has some of the most beautiful shots in the whole saga, i believe. its dps were amazing, the colors are vibrant and lively, and the effects are for the most part just the greatest yet. and so this is even a bigger dissapointment than the prequel trilogy -that which had a more confusing, uglier visual style and a bad script, but good ideas. in this case, of the sequel trilogy, i believe its all about the squandered possibilities of characters who would have rocked the foundations of the star wars universe (with the force not being an inherited trait, the recognition of the humanity and possible redemption of stormtroopers -here, child soldiers - which gives the war a more nuanced and real-life take on wars, and the overall part of the Last Jedi which is what the true cost of war is). i believe that abrams and johnson are not to blame, at least not too much: so much of what made these movies lose what potential they could have is, much like lucas' own ego was in the prequels, disney's attempts at playing it safe and satisfying as many demographics as possible, refusing to compromise on any heavy topic -even if the movies are, literally, about war and political power.
i still love these new characters (not kylo so much) for the actors' take on them and what they could have been, though i guess thats a need that'll have to be satisfied with fanfiction.
It was all sizzle and no sausage
Unpopular opinion: J.J. Abrams 2009 'Star Trek' is *actually* a better 'Star Wars' episode than 'The Force Awakens', 'The Last Jedi', or 'The Rise of Skywalker' combined. My theory is that because it was Trek, which he was never crazy about, and there wasn't all the pressure from the Mouse about the original cast returning and billions of dollars being at stake, JJ just got to make the movie HE wanted to make: which happened to be in much more of a 'Star Wars' direction, but also was NOT a clone or copy of 'A New Hope'.
One. There was a lot of visual homage, no doubt - but also, a lot of really bold, really energetic choices, too. Choices that would be hailed as fresh, new, and even daring if it were the real thing; a 'Star Wars' episode. His use of sound, not just the design by Ben Burtt (yes, THE Ben Burtt, who weirdly was NOT involved at all with The Rise Of Skywalker?) but the Kubrick-ian removal of it during key scenes, which clearly inspired Rian Johnson on The Last Jedi. A scene which even detractors agree is the best part of that movie.
Two. The script is BRILLIANT. It's got sex, action, time travel, non-linear storytelling, effective uses of flashbacks, layered male & female characters with differing personalities & complex backstories, and weaves multiple timelines seamlessly all within a 2 hour run-time. Even more impressive, it was written during the Writers Strike! And before you say JJ wasn't involved in writing, he absolutely was. He just didn't take a credit. Little known fact: JJ started out as a writer for Mike Nichols! Spielberg doesn't write at all.
Three. NOT being afraid to take the camera OFF of the dolly, and introduce some frenetic film grammar into the vocabulary. Like using a handheld steadicam, which he had honed to a T from years of playing around on Lost, and is actually quite distinctive to him specifically. Or using guerilla techniques to get shots you could otherwise pay someone to do in post, like having the cast all "jerk to the side" as in the original 'Star Trek' TV series, or - my personal favorite - having the actors *literally* stand on mirrors to create the illusion of flight. And you know what? He gets a lot of flak for the lens flares, but I liked them on that first 'Trek'. Not on his other films.
Four. The ferocious, youthful pacing, fueled in no small part by that spectacular opening scene. How many films come out swinging like that? Fun fact: JJ is a musician, too. Him and Michael Giacchino are old friends. He knew exactly when to let him take over the soundtrack. Not only that, he let him write with no temp score, and gave him the freedom to use recurring themes in the score. A courtesy almost NEVER afforded to composers. Especially not on multimillion-dollar studio effects film bonanzas like 'Star Trek'.
Five. He casts impeccably well, and really knows how to direct his actors. I'm sure he learned a thing or two from Mike Nichols on that front. All of the leads and even the bit players are sublime. You care just as much for Jennifer Morrison & Chris Hemsworth in that first scene as you do for Kirk & Spock. Frankly, in this area I find him a touch better than Spielberg, who still miscasts, and can be schmaltzy when it comes time for any scene that involves tears. Contrast that with Elle Fanning's or Kyle Chandler's scenes in Super 8. That's not meant to be a dig on Spielberg. He's a legend and has netted people some Oscars. I just meant in that one area.
In fact, while we're at it, can we talk about Super 8 predated the 'Stranger Things' craze by nearly ten years? Sure, his staging isn't as good as Spielberg in his prime, or even the Duffer Brothers on season one of 'Stranger Things', but can we at least admit JJ might be one of Hollywood's good guys? It borders on ridiculous sometimes. You want to get mad about 'Star Wars', get mad about Disney.
How they fucked over George Lucas by contractually agreeing to use his story treatments for the new trilogy, then tossed them out the door anyway. Or how they wouldn't give the original screenwriter they tapped for the job, Michael Arndt (the reclusive, Oscar-winning scribe for 'Little Miss Sunshine) the time he needed to write the new 'Star Wars' trilogy. How they instead forced JJ, Rian & Kathy Kennedy to basically wing the whole thing just so they could hit their intended release date and make the most money.
In short, 'Star Trek' is rad and JJ is imperfect but totally underrated. He deserved that gig, and could have made a timeless and wonderful 'Star Wars' episode had the circumstances with the Mouse and the franchise and George been any different. To me, that's what I see in 'The Rise of Skywalker'. An talented director, armed with a beautiful cast and a dedicated crew - totally wasted. Trying to clean up Disney's mess. And taking the fall, gracefully, in the press - along with endless bouts of lashings from fans.
That's what I love about Saladino & Royal Ocean.
He *actually* sheds light on unpopular subjects.
And isn't afraid to voice positivity.
So bravo.
I liked this take on TROS. I hadn't noticed clever camera work. This rises one important question though. How much does this leave room for editing. Several movies have been saved in the edit. Maybe TROS was such a mess partly because these type of shots.
The only thing Rise of Skywalker gets right is that it at least tries to retcon Last Jedi. Although that was an impossible task.
Other than Rey Palpatine, it doesn't really try to do this. I often see people saying that Luke's "I was wrong" is somehow an insult towards Rian Johnson, but it's completely consistent in TLJ; at the end of that movie, Luke realises and admits he was wrong.
@Ian You are probably referring to RottenTomatoes' 90%. This is the one and only reference in the world that shows that 'Last Jedi' is supposedly a good move. 1. RT is a website which draws reviews from thousands of dodgy reviewers. 2. All average, semi-positive and positive reviews ALL count as fresh, so the percentages are aggregate sums, so 90% is quite misleading. 3. historicaly well reviewed movies at their time, don't always hold up in the future. 4. Ghostbusters 2016 has 74% (!) on RottenTomatoes. So go figure.
The fact that 'Last Jedi' made 1.3M worldwide was a worrying underperformance, considering that it was one of the most anticipated sequels of all time, it came after the huge success of Force Awakens (which made 2B) and was fortunate to include the reappearance of one of the most popular and beloved characters in movie history, millions of people flocked to see Luke, not knowing that they would see him as a grumpy coward. The anticipation for 'Last Jedi' was IMMENSE, it should have easily made as much as TFA, but bad word of mouth gradually kept it from doing so (I remind you that huge franchises as Lord of the Rings, Avengers, Mission Impossible, Fast and Furious, not only did not deteriorate box office wise, but grew BIGGER with each new installment, so no, sequels don't make less money than their predecessors). It is now more than obvious that the modern Star Wars franchise humiliating deterioration started with 'Last Jedi'.
And since you like websites, I challenge you to go to 'Last Jedi' on imdb, scroll through the thousands and thousands of user reviews and try to find a positive one. It is a nice game to play. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Also read a few of them while you're at it.
@Ian "I have a message for you. About your mother"
@Ian I don’t give a rat's ass about what somebody wrote in Wire. Even if Rian Johnson was trying to include supposedly a "deep intellectual" meaning in Last Jedi, his method of getting it across was an utter failure. These 'meanings' are only in his head (and yours). The actual result and what a moviegoer get out of it, is just a superficial, pretentious, nonsense of a movie, with a bad plot and a bunch of extremely bad attempts at humor, borderline parody. And whatever you think about it, the movie is still a massive failure, created a HUGE turmoil, causing LucasFilm to cancel all future film plans and massively retcon it in episode 9 (and that wasn’t the effect of a "loud minority").
By the way, I don’t have to google it to present you with some actual intellectual filmmakers. Being European I have grown up watching a variety of film schools, and when I started watching intellectual films, you and Rian Johnson were still in diapers.
They put a tremendous care and craft into everything but the script. Disney would be wise to adapt the preexisting the Star Wars stories from games or novels, that the fans already love. Just as Marvel has done.
*raises hand and speaks in Hans Moleman voice* I like the script...
Oh. I thought this video was just a "fan cut" of all the shots that the movie got right, and that it would basically *just* be Babu Frik's scenes. 8 minutes would be a _bit_ long for that though.
Okey, something to appreciate in this movie! Hahaha thank you
What I loved:
1) The new characters. Jannah, Zorii, Babu, D-0, and Pryde all have distinct and unique personalities and all of them being something new to the table.
Even smaller newcomers like Boolio and Klaud I enjoyed, all be it with their short amounts of screen time.
1) The performances. Every actor gives it their all and they all have amazing charisma. Great work to every actor involved.
3) The Knights of Ren. I unironically enjoyed these guys. I love how all they do is act important and stand around with this triumphant theme (which is awesome by the way) and they just die. I feel like this was on purpose.
4) Kylo’s arch. I really enjoyed his character and the scene with him on the wreckage was beautiful. And all of the subtle nods of him imitating his father were perfect.
5) C-3PO. Threepio is hilarious and all of it is credited to the comedic timing of Anthony Daniels.
6) The effects. The effects in this film, practical and digital, are masterful. The work from ILM is amazing and the amount of work with the sets and puppetry is phenomenal.
7) Palpatine. While yes, I agree his return wasn’t built up properly, Palpatine is so much fun as always. The guy is just so good at being an evil guy and he’s just FUN. To quote Mr Plinkett, “he’s fucking the evil and he loves it.”
8) Rose hugging Chewbacca at the end of the film. Idk why but I love Chewie just picking Rose up and giving her a giant hug.
9) The cinematography. The presentation is pretty great and all of the technical stuff is great, as expected.
10) The humor. The jokes in this film were toned down massively compared to TLJ and the comedy was very appropriate and used only when necessary. The third act really didn’t have any jokes in it and I appreciate the consistency in tone. The jokes themselves are really funny too.
11) Luke’s return. Force ghost Luke was badass. Loved his scene. The catch and the callback to his throw in the beginning of TLJ was perfect.
12) Voices of the Past. While I would’ve preferred the appearance of force ghosts, the voices of the Jedi was a great treat and was handled really well.
13) The space battles and fights. Every fight is great in this film. The final battle is satisfying and heart felt, it has stakes, Snap DIES, and the lightsaber duels and escape on the cruiser were shot and paced really well.
My personal favorite was the duel on/above Kijimi with Rey and Kylo. The way it’s framed and brought back and forth from each other’s perspective was so enjoyable.
So yeah. While this movie certainly had a ton of problems it was still a great film. The movie itself was a mess but had enough in it to make it enjoyable and fun. I can’t say it’s a bad movie. The people making it clearly tried and wanted to make a good movie
I thought you were gonna talk about the writing for a minute there. You scared me thinking about that.
Great video!
Thank you so much for this. I came out of this thinking, "everything good about this movie had to do with Adam Driver, and nothing else." I almost want to watch it again to admire the directorial skill that you've pinpointed, but you're right - it's a weak, weak story.
This video is 100% right and the addition of a ridiculous amount of 'poetic' star wars fan service ramps this chaotic energy to 11, it's not bad. It's technically good while everything else pales in comparison, it makes this kind of camera work is aiding the film in being rugged and fast-paced to pick up human emotions, plot points, themes or attention most of the time
Wow the first video that has something good to say about the last Star Wars movie 🤣 this was really cool tho! I'm a huge movie but I and I never really thought about this! Thank you! Good or bad story, it was well shot wasn't it!
What cams he used on the Rise?
John Williams' score is the best part of the movie, I'd say.
I think the Last Jedi deserves more love. It's visually as stunning as any movie to date, has amazing cinematography and is edited brilliantly.
There's something that doesn't sit well with me about how TROS looks. Maybe its the fact its 63% blue or the VFX is unfinished in places but it just doesn't look "right" camera work is fine though.
And the sloppy editing doesn't help
6:40 This list of bullet points could easily be cut in half. Just because its a lot of stuff is not the same as it being confusing
Good points and a good video too 👍
The movie got one thing right. One! Woo! *claps *
I loved The Rise of Skywalker. Most of its problems come from 2 things out of its control; 1) The Last Jedi messing things up (e.g. killing Snoke) and getting a poor reception, and 2) Carrie Fisher's passing. The Rise of Skywalker had to make the best film possible while carefully maneuvering around those huge obstacles, and not only did it do a decent job at that, it is also a very adventurous, exciting, funny, and heartfelt film. It made me laugh, cheer, and cry several times.
The internet acts like it was some atrocious disgrace but remember that general audience scores are all pretty good, so yeah, a lot of people liked it too.
This is interesting.
Rise of skywalker is proof that great direction, acting, cinematography, sound design and visual effects can't save a terrible script.
Am I the only one who likes the rise of skywalker
There are 3 people/groups to blame for the movie's script being overall poor.
1. Disney for trying to desperately to make a "marketable" movie that appeases everyone
2. JJ Abrams for being too afraid to take risks on the whole/listening to Disney too much.
3. The Fans for complaining for 2 years about TLJ. Rian Johnson is a great writer/director. If you disagree, take a hard look at his IMDB. Nearly everything (the exception some of his early indie shorts) has good - great scores. Fans just didn't like his artistic difference with some of the characters and plot points.
I mean yeah you can say all you want about Rian Johnson being a good director, I’ll even believe you, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good director to a Star Wars movie, specially if he’s not going to respect years and years of stablished lore just to “subvert expectations “. That’s like saying a doctor can be in change of building a bridge: “yeah he’s a smart guy, I guess he can do the exact same as an engineer “. Also he was obviously too busy thinking about advancing he’s own career as a director and not enough about giving the franchise and characters the respect they deserved.
@@RevivalOfSchwann
His track record is phenomenal. The story is cohesive, the arcs are cohesive, and the directing is cohesive.
He literally directed/wrote three of the most popular episodes of Breaking Bad.. and these were in completely different seasons mind you. Ozymandias is the the highest if not top 3 of the entiere series..to be able to write one of the highest rated episodes by a landslide with various other directors, writers, etc..mixing in their thoughts, ideas, directing, writing throughout the entire series and make it cohesive without leaving anything out is IMPRESSIVE. A lot of people were warming up to the idea that anyone can be a hero, they don't have to be a Skywalker or Kenobi to be special. That you don't need a cutout villain who wants world deomination. That a hyped hero can buy into his own legend and fail miserably. That a Jedi doesn't have to light saber battle a sith at the end of a movie.
Again, people just personally didn't like the artistic differences and that's fine, but to say he didn't understand anything or do his research or that he's a bad writer... NO. Disney is more so to blame because they have to have control over much of their movies creative decisions.
Nick Bauer didn’t he like have way to much creative liberty and that was the problem? It’s not like he couldn’t take the franchise to another direction, hell I’ll even prefer it that way instead of a repeat of the overall story of the first trilogy, but he was in charge of the second part of a trilogy, when the plot was already in motion, and then he suddenly gives a 90 degree turn and goes to a place when the franchise doesn’t belong. Also yeah of course the hero doesn’t have to be from a legendary family to be able to craft his/her own story (do I have to remind you that skywalker and Kenobi wasn’t any important names two generations ago?) but again, in the fist movie they gave a huge importance to who Rey was, why is the lightsaber calling her, why Ben betrayed Luke and destroyed the new Jedi order, who’s snoke, and suddenly the second movie says “that’s not important “ dude obviously not everyone is going to like that. Anyways yeah as I said he may be a great director and he’s obviously not the only one with the fault here, but that doesn’t mean he or his team made a good job HERE in Star Wars.
I fear that Rise of Skywalker was the Star Wars film the fans earned. It delivered everything the fans demanded after The Last Jedi, delivered with all the enthusiasm of a funeral eulogy by an embittered ex-wife.
My personal favorite part was the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, literally a corpse animated by machines, and the horrible will of a bitter spirit that refuses to die. I can't think of a better metaphor for Star Wars fandom. Desperate to hang on, but completely missing the point of continuing forward, and instead trying to inject the new generation with its own hateful legacy, supplanting anything new for the sake of trying to stay in the stagnant past forever. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect the whole thing was a middle finger to angry Star Wars fans. "This is you!"
Ted Naifeh good metaphor I guess but why does everyone think than the average Star Wars fan hate changes? It’s ok that they bring something new to the franchise, the problem is how they did it, disrespecting the legacy of the old movies. It’s about balance, yo can’t do the same stuff over and over again (like yeah, reviving the empire, emperor and repeating the same story all over again like the first time meant nothing ) but you can’t also step on everything that’s been stablished and say “oh it’s just that you don’t accept changes”. If they wanted to do a whole new story with brand new ideas why call it Star Wars in the first place? (We obviously know why $$$)
I hate this movie the more I think about it from a story point of view and the wasted potential from what The Last Jedi brought us, but this video made me want to revisit it and look at it in the way that you did and I very well may do that.
I'm genuinely confused by people who don't understand the story, it makes perfect coherent sense to me. I'm interested hear what about it didn't make sense to you?
The one thing this trilogy gets over all of the prequels is the filmmaking aspects, and the directing of actors, its mles better than the sloppy directing of the prequels, or at least the first 2, but the one thing the prequels is way better at is the world-building and establishing the story better then any of the sequels ever do, hell the mcu films have been lacking any creative filmmaking like this also, thats why at least the disney star wars films are really well made and each director has his own unique style
The only thing it got right was that 2 seconds shot of Wedge Antilles
Wow, it's amazing what a director can do visually when he has nothing to say or doesn't care about the story...
I love this movie. It's FUUUUUN
That's the problem with the Star Trek movies too, they all look great but it seems that they were so obsessed with making ambitious shots that they completely forgot the script.
I understand your point about it being an evolution for Abrams as directions/cinematography but all this reiterate to me is that Abrams has nothing new to bring on the table and just likes to repeat things at work and eventually just beats it like a dead horse. Rise of Skywalker fails because it thinks that nostalgia equals good movie.
All style, no substance.
"Hooray! The shit is shiny."