Started reading this thread a few days ago but am struggling to catch up to the end of it so just putting in some initial comments.
I’m still actually processing what happens in this movie and how drastically different it is to TFA and the about face it does on everything setup in the previous film by JJ.
Having read a number of reviews on both sides of the fence, some analysis articles and some very informative and considered replies in this thread thus far (up to page 26) that helped me see another side on some of the matters and even appreciate them to a certain extent, I still find myself extremely conflicted on many aspects but I very much feel myself coming down on the side of disliking if not outright hating this film and everything it f**ks up in trying to bury the past and setup the franchise to continue on with its new cast of “Star Wars Heroes” with new rules that don’t mesh with the OT and are forgotten whenever it is convenient for poor and lazy writing.
Essentially I was extremely disappointed coming out of the cinema after going in fairly hopeful for at least a good SW movie if not a great one from what I’d seen in the trailers and had been setup by TFA. There were many elements I really liked but overall it left me feeling really deflated and it almost feels like a seperate entity to the rest of the saga.
TFA was not a great movie, it had its issues but it was still fun and I overall enjoyed it and most of all it helped reignite the spark of joy in watching non OT SW movies and the desire to see more of it, to eagerly anticipate where it was going to take me. RJ pretty much shot that feeling to pieces, set them on fire and stamped on the surviving ashes. At this stage I really have no desire to watch IX and am pretty much resigned to understanding that the OT will be the only trilogy I truly care about and can enjoy without any terms and conditions attached.
Anyway, I feel I want to discuss the matter in much greater detail but I’m not sure when I’ll have the time. So until then, I basically side with everything DrDre has said up till page 26 (where I’ve read to so far). His logic and thought process on all the matters he addresses is nearly a mirror for what I would say and I can’t agree more with what he states are the issues with this movie.
.Val