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The Rise Of Skywalker — Official Review and Opinions Thread — Page 21

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For me the soundtrack was the most forgettable in the series.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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Hard disagree. Williams came through on the score to a level I didn’t actually expect. I thought it was going to be more of a hit-parade considering that whole “end of a saga” push we were given in the last couple months of pre-release, and what he delivered has a lot of recognizable themes, but he still came up with something like five prominent new themes, which are just as important to the score as the classic motifs, and a lot of his action underscore feels very alive in a way it hasn’t since Revenge of the Sith.

If Rise of Skywalker has an MVP it’s gotta be the Maestro. He put so much heart into that movie.

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I will say it’s towards the bottom of my rankings when it comes to SW scores, but considering what we’re dealing with here, that’s not saying much. There is not a single film in the saga where he did in which he did not deliver, whether the film deserved what he brought to it or not. If I’m grateful for one thing in this world, it’s that Williams scored all nine films. We’re very lucky to have him and his exemplary work.

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I personally thought the score was mediocre. The “Rise of Skywalker” theme was good, and the music during the climax was really good, but the rest of the score felt like a boring retread. There were so many reused music cues that it felt lazy. But the music does inject some soul into this bland confusing movie, and it’s John Williams, so I still mostly like the score.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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I know we have been spoiled rotten by Williams in the past and I agree that the soundtrack for TROS works well while watching the film and hits all the right beats but I just feel like if you can’t hum it in the shower after the fifth viewing its just not good enough. Even Rogue One, Solo and Mandalorian have more memorable themes.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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The hummable thing is bullshit. Everyone said the same thing about TFA and now you’d be pressed to find a fan who denies the power of Rey’s theme, March of the Resistance, or Kylo’s theme.

That said, the quality of a score is not just the quality of its new themes. In the final film of a nine part saga, it’d be strange if what we mostly heard was new themes. It is only natural that the majority of the score is reworkings of preexisting themes from the previous episodes (if it wasn’t, people would complain). In that case, the score should be judged not just by the “hummability” of the new themes, but of the variations and implementations of old themes as well.

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I can hard disagree with the idea this score is mediocre while simultaneously agreeing that the Solo score was good, too. I think the theme Powell wrote for Chewbacca is some of the best Star Wars music ever. Same with Goransson’s theme for The Mandalorian. Powell’s work on Solo is pretty damned amazing, and he was also the MVP of that film. So many moments in that movie only really worked because of his music.

Hoping that Williams gets one last win for Star Wars when the Oscars come around. It’d be a nice gesture, at the very least. And since the Oscars are more about gestures than any real appraisal of talent, even if you DO think it’s a “mediocre” score I’d love to see the nod.

But yeah, there’s so much good stuff going on in Rise of Skywalker’s score.

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Of course it all comes down to personal preference, the soundtracks for the TFA and TLJ stuck with me from the moment they came out(“the scavenger”, “jedi steps”, “the spark”, “rebellion reborn” and “march of the resistance” are phenomenal) I’m just not feeling it with this one.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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Broom Kid said:

I can hard disagree with the idea this score is mediocre while simultaneously agreeing that the Solo score was good, too. I think the theme Powell wrote for Chewbacca is some of the best Star Wars music ever. Same with Goransson’s theme for The Mandalorian. Powell’s work on Solo is pretty damned amazing, and he was also the MVP of that film. So many moments in that movie only really worked because of his music.

Completely agree. Powell’s work on Solo especially blew me away and I’d probably rank that alongside some of the Williams SW scores.

Hoping that Williams gets one last win for Star Wars when the Oscars come around. It’d be a nice gesture, at the very least. And since the Oscars are more about gestures than any real appraisal of talent, even if you DO think it’s a “mediocre” score I’d love to see the nod.

Highly doubt it for a lot of reasons. Mostly, though, I don’t think the film treats the score very well in the mix, and there aren’t a lot of moments where the score gets to carry the film.

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DominicCobb said:

Highly doubt it for a lot of reasons. Mostly, though, I don’t think the film treats the score very well in the mix, and there aren’t a lot of moments where the score gets to carry the film.

I agree. The film didn’t let the score breathe (like the pacing) Which is something that comes part and parcel with JJs frantic “style” I guess.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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I still don’t understand what the hell the editors were trying to do with that awkward “Darth Vader’s Death” remix.

They could have just left that whole scene completely unscored until Kylo showed up and it would have worked better. Better silence than dragging out the Return of the Jedi 2CD set and chopping it up.

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OutboundFlight said:

Is it weird I found the planet killing Star Destroyers logical within the lore? It feels a natural progression from Death Star, not unlike the evolution and mass production of atomic weapons.

I find Starkiller Base more egregious because it’s big thing is “it’s bigger”. It becomes so big it’s unbelievable, and it’s a very stupid concept to make yourself a bigger target after two failed Death Stars.

I assume that the power to destroy a planet would need to have something to stabilize it, so a giant Star Killer, that harnesses the power of a sun to destroy planets kind of makes sense. Putting this same type of laser on a much smaller ship that can blow up planets…seems like it wouldn’t make as much sense. How are the ships able to harness that kind of energy and stay mobile?
It feels like an evolution of Dr. Evil’s idea of Sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads.

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Broom Kid said:

I still don’t understand what the hell the editors were trying to do with that awkward “Darth Vader’s Death” remix.

They could have just left that whole scene completely unscored until Kylo showed up and it would have worked better. Better silence than dragging out the Return of the Jedi 2CD set and chopping it up.

THIS.

I know I’ve said it multiple times, but JJ splicing in pre-existing music is horribly lazy.

“That said, there is nothing wrong with mocking prequel lovers and belittling their bad taste.” - Alderaan, 2017

MGGA (Make GOUT Great Again):
http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Return-of-the-GOUT-Preservation-and-Restoration/id/55707

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I will say it’s nowhere near as bad as AOTC or ROTS especially in that regard.

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I don’t mind tracking when it’s done decently. I think the Burning Homestead needle-drop was actually very well executed during the Excalibur moment in The Force Awakens.

But my complaint is a quality, not quantity-based complaint. That tracking was not only weirdly out of place (Darth Vader didn’t even DIE in that room, he died in a hangar) and thematically kind of inappropriate (at least Burning Homestead was also scoring the “call to action” moment in the story, so it fit well there) but the way “Darth Vader’s Death” was cut up was just clumsy from a technical level.

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JawsTDS said:

Broom Kid said:

I still don’t understand what the hell the editors were trying to do with that awkward “Darth Vader’s Death” remix.

They could have just left that whole scene completely unscored until Kylo showed up and it would have worked better. Better silence than dragging out the Return of the Jedi 2CD set and chopping it up.

THIS.

I know I’ve said it multiple times, but JJ splicing in pre-existing music is horribly lazy.

Well, if it is the right music for the scene, why not? It’s not like Williams reserves each motif for the exact circumstance. Each one has multiple uses. And it isn’t the first time music has been reused. For the OT they recorded the opening titles for each film. They recorded it for TPM and TFA, but reused that recording for the other movies. They recycled some music for Jabba for ANH SE. They only recorded Dual of the fates once and then used pieces of it here and there. I think that particular choice is perfect for that location. Most of the scenes in there in ROTJ featured Darth Vader’s theme. That has a nice haunting quality fitting for a deserted and ruined location.

And I wonder if you feel the same about Stanley Kubrick?

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I have to admit it would have been pretty cool if JJ threw some Penderecki in there out of nowhere. But he didn’t, so…

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I disagree with that article completely. Rey Palpatine wasn’t done for any storytelling reason, it was just done to please people who were pissed that Rey was a nobody in TLJ. And I really don’t like Rey taking the Skywalker name without permission, just because some ghosts smiled at her. If Jeff Bezos smiled at me, would that mean I’m a billionaire? Rey’s arc in TROS makes no sense, and it devalues TLJ’s message that anyone can be a hero. It’s one of those moments that was clearly designed to be a dig at TLJ, like “Go away, Rose!” and “A Jedi’s weapon deserves more respect.”

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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screams in the void said:

I found this to be an interesting perspective on the film …https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-most-important-thing-the-rise-of-skywalker-reinforc-1841069664

Read the article, and I gotta say that’s pretty dumb. I’ll explain how:

TLJ: Rey is nobody, just a random girl from a random planets, her parents were nobody and they don’t matter. Anyone can be a powerful Jedi.
TROS: Rey is the granddaughter of Palpatine and she’s powerful because of her bloodline. In the end she chooses to take the name Skywalker because Luke and Leia Skywalker are who trained her.
Gizmodo: See? If TROS really wanted to reject TLJ they would have made Rey an actual Skywalker and have that be why she’s so powerful!

Making Rey the descendant of literally any character we know, regardless of who they are, is a rejection of TLJ. The only way to not recon TLJ is to accept that her parents are nobody and don’t matter, and to throw that mystery box away and not touch it for the rest of the trilogy.

No offense, kid, but I don’t think you know how to boil water.

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StarkillerAG said:

I disagree with that article completely. Rey Palpatine wasn’t done for any storytelling reason, it was just done to please people who were pissed that Rey was a nobody in TLJ. And I really don’t like Rey taking the Skywalker name without permission, just because some ghosts smiled at her. If Jeff Bezos smiled at me, would that mean I’m a billionaire? Rey’s arc in TROS makes no sense, and it devalues TLJ’s message that anyone can be a hero. It’s one of those moments that was clearly designed to be a dig at TLJ, like “Go away, Rose!” and “A Jedi’s weapon deserves more respect.”

Well, you are certainly entitled to disagree, but people take names all the time without any permission. Authors and actors adopt a professional name and they are free to pick anything they like. In one of my jobs, I encountered someone who had legally changed their name to Jean-Luc Picard. Name are not proprietary or owned. We adopt people into our families all the time and give them our name. We don’t have to get our ancestor’s permission.

And Rey’s journey in TROS is really a continuation of her journey in TLJ. TLJ was about anyone can be powerful in the force. Rey is given a curve ball in that. Her parents were nobodies (in the force - if her father had any gift his father would have been after him) but her bloodline was from the dark side. That poses a challenge when she wants to be the hero. Yes, this no longer makes her a nobody, but it questions the destiny of your blood. Anakin was a noble Jedi seduced by the dark side, but as far as we know, Palpatine was always dark. Luke overcame his bloodline to be a Jedi, but his nephew fell to the dark side. Does Rey have a choice in her destiny? The movie, and especially the final scene, makes that a clear yes. She can choose to be something other than what her bloodline would dictate. She takes the name of the family she found rather than her family by blood. And contrary to what you think, I believe that Luke, the only one with the Skywalker name, would have given her permission. After all, he trained her knowing who he grandfather was. So I felt that TROS expanded on that and hinted that Finn might be force sensitive as well. I found the real themes (not the false “let the past die” nonsense) of TLJ to be carried forward in TROS and enhanced. I don’t feel anything was thrown out, only build upon.

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liamnotneeson said:

screams in the void said:

I found this to be an interesting perspective on the film …https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-most-important-thing-the-rise-of-skywalker-reinforc-1841069664

Read the article, and I gotta say that’s pretty dumb. I’ll explain how:

TLJ: Rey is nobody, just a random girl from a random planets, her parents were nobody and they don’t matter. Anyone can be a powerful Jedi.
TROS: Rey is the granddaughter of Palpatine and she’s powerful because of her bloodline. In the end she chooses to take the name Skywalker because Luke and Leia Skywalker are who trained her.
Gizmodo: See? If TROS really wanted to reject TLJ they would have made Rey an actual Skywalker and have that be why she’s so powerful!

Making Rey the descendant of literally any character we know, regardless of who they are, is a rejection of TLJ. The only way to not recon TLJ is to accept that her parents are nobody and don’t matter, and to throw that mystery box away and not touch it for the rest of the trilogy.

I don’t see it that way. In fact, I see an interesting parallel to the OT. ANH: Luke, let’s kill off your only living family to make you go on this quest. TESB: Luke, well, actually, your father became Darth Vader. ROTJ: Luke, that girl you like and kissed, well, she is your sister. A lot of fans are still arguing about that one to this day. They thought the other should have been somone else, but the answer to why it is Leia is in the movie. What else would spark Luke’s rage? Vader senses his secret and threatens Leia and Luke loses it. The story required something personal enough for Luke to risk the dark side. The finale of the ST and saga required an epic villain and who better than Palpatine risen from the dead. And what better curve to throw Rey than to make her his granddaughter (I would have made her the great granddaughter). It questions every success she has had to this point and makes her doubt. It was a risky choice, but one I don’t feel negates TLJ’s message that anyone can be a Jedi. It solidified its own message with broom boy at the end. TROS has its own message, that we can overcome the faults of our ancestors. That we are not what our blood dictates. Our heroes are revealed to be a former stormtrooper, a former spice smuggler, and a Palpatine. Like Han in the OT, they overcame their past to be the heroes the galaxy needed.

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yotsuya said:

liamnotneeson said:

screams in the void said:

I found this to be an interesting perspective on the film …https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-most-important-thing-the-rise-of-skywalker-reinforc-1841069664

Read the article, and I gotta say that’s pretty dumb. I’ll explain how:

TLJ: Rey is nobody, just a random girl from a random planets, her parents were nobody and they don’t matter. Anyone can be a powerful Jedi.
TROS: Rey is the granddaughter of Palpatine and she’s powerful because of her bloodline. In the end she chooses to take the name Skywalker because Luke and Leia Skywalker are who trained her.
Gizmodo: See? If TROS really wanted to reject TLJ they would have made Rey an actual Skywalker and have that be why she’s so powerful!

Making Rey the descendant of literally any character we know, regardless of who they are, is a rejection of TLJ. The only way to not recon TLJ is to accept that her parents are nobody and don’t matter, and to throw that mystery box away and not touch it for the rest of the trilogy.

I don’t see it that way. In fact, I see an interesting parallel to the OT. ANH: Luke, let’s kill off your only living family to make you go on this quest. TESB: Luke, well, actually, your father became Darth Vader. ROTJ: Luke, that girl you like and kissed, well, she is your sister. A lot of fans are still arguing about that one to this day. They thought the other should have been somone else, but the answer to why it is Leia is in the movie. What else would spark Luke’s rage? Vader senses his secret and threatens Leia and Luke loses it. The story required something personal enough for Luke to risk the dark side. The finale of the ST and saga required an epic villain and who better than Palpatine risen from the dead. And what better curve to throw Rey than to make her his granddaughter (I would have made her the great granddaughter). It questions every success she has had to this point and makes her doubt. It was a risky choice, but one I don’t feel negates TLJ’s message that anyone can be a Jedi. It solidified its own message with broom boy at the end. TROS has its own message, that we can overcome the faults of our ancestors. That we are not what our blood dictates. Our heroes are revealed to be a former stormtrooper, a former spice smuggler, and a Palpatine. Like Han in the OT, they overcame their past to be the heroes the galaxy needed.

  1. I’m sure you’ll respond with some quip about how I’m not a really fan or part of the community or whatever but I’ve never heard debates about whether or not Leia should have been Luke’s sister.
  2. No, there didn’t need to be an epic villain, and the Duel of the Fates script is evidence of that. Rian Johnson clearly was leading up for Kylo to be the antagonist in episode 9. Do something original and have the turning of the antagonist to the light be the conflict audiences care about, not just beating the same bad guy from the last 6 movies again.
  3. Yes, TROS does tell a different message than TLJ, that’s my point. It shouldn’t in regards to Rey because telling a different story requires changing Rey’s backstory. It throws Rey around all over the place with clearly no plan and it greatly dimishes her growth. Yes character growth is possible with a mystery backstory but it’s much more difficult (and these movies don’t pull it off), especially when who she is in the eyes of the audience changes very much between movies. I think you give these movies too much credit

Rey in TFA: A powerful scrapper girl from a junk planet whose parents, whom we don’t know, abandoned her.
Rey in TLJ: A powerful scrapper girl from a junk planet whose parents, whom we don’t know and who don’t matter, abandoned her.
Rey in TROS: The granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine who was left on a junk planet to protect her from her grandfather.

Luke in SW: A farmboy.
Luke in TESB: A farmboy-turned rebel, whose Father is Darth Vader.
Luke in ROTJ: A farmboy-turned rebel-turned Jedi, whose Father is Darth Vader, and sister is Leia.

See how these changes to Luke’s character are only additions to his character and not complete changes in the nature of the character and where they are from, and the nature of their strengths and what not? Leia being Luke’s sister doesn’t change how we see Luke like how Rey being the granddaughter of the greatest Sith Lord changes how we see Rey.

No offense, kid, but I don’t think you know how to boil water.