But at what cost!?
As one who loved TLJ and the risks it took, I would say the cost was caving into fan service over originality. I really liked a lot about TROS but an extension of what Rian started would have been a lot better imo.
Just rewatched TLJ and have to agree, it is pure magic and imo easily the greatest Star Wars.
That’s saying something…seriously. I rank TLJ number three (or four depending on what day you ask)
I rank it at the bottom. For me it fundamentally clashes with the story and characters Lucas envisioned. I really don’t like the meta approach to Star Wars, even if I don’t think it is a bad film when viewed in isolation.
It definitely clashes and is one of the things I do like about it.
We all have our own experiences, our own conceptions of the series, what it means and what it is. I don’t find it to clash at all - it feels perfectly Star Wars to me which is why I love it so much. A true continuation of the saga.
TROS… not so much. TROS feels a bit more like the PT to me - interesting ideas, poor execution. Ultimately extraneous.
The things that I think clash are the choices Rian made with regards to Luke’s reasoning for blocking his connection to the force, that a “nobody” can be a force user etc. I have posted elsewhere that I think TLJ is in my top three ep in the saga. Those decisions by Rian are the main reason for that.