Another criticism is the tonal problems. The prequels had the same problems with tone. Really not even considering the gravity of certain moments and jumping straight to buffoonery or bathroom jokes. There is a lot of that in TLJ and also talk about how bad the Jedi are.
Honestly this movie felt like an homage to the prequels and was even worse than them. TFA was at least much better.
The only reason jokes were a tonal problem in the PT was because they were aimed squarely at children, although they were not necessarily things children actually found funny. TLJ just makes normal jokes, and they’re funny jokes. PT jokes aren’t jokes, they’re Lucas’s approximation of jokes. So they’re not funny and don’t fit in at all.
I disagree with this. Comedy and tone are different. Maybe they are sometimes related I guess. But comedy is more subjective. If you think something is funny who can argue you with you? For me, I didn’t find almost anything in this movie funny and it didn’t feel like Star Wars humor either. I’ve seen a lot of people agree.
But tone is more objective. It’s not really about whether something is aimed at children. RLM had some great examples in their prequel criticism videos. I wonder if they will do the same on this movie. It really did feel like watching Attack of the Clones to me.
You misunderstand me a bit.
I think it is possible to achieve a proper tonal balance between drama and comedy. I believe TLJ achieves that balance (not just because the simple fact that the jokes are funny, but because they are well integrated and feel true to the characters and situations, which makes them funny). I do not think the PT does, because I believe the humor is forced in, almost an afterthought, designed to get kids to laugh. That is why the tonal mishaps take place.
I also think the humor in TLJ functions as a sort of release valve for audience tension. Without the jokes the film would be exhausting.
Exactly.