I agree that IX would’ve been more interesting to focus solely on Kylo trying to be the big bad as everything fell apart around him. I feel like this could still be accomplished somewhat in a “Palpatine-less” edit, like joshuabri’s edit. I think simply removing Palpatine’s influence naturally gives Kylo a lot more agency in the film. Hopefully joshuabri’s work can lead to more edits that are even more polished.
Oh man, really? I had no idea there was a Palpatine-less edit out there. (I didn’t even think it was possible, to be honest.) I definitely have to check that out now; thanks for the tip!
I don’t see any way Leia could live though, unless someone wanted to roto a lot more footage of her for the rest of the movie. I was mainly just saying, “In a perfect world, this is what I wish the movie had been.” I don’t fault J.J. for offing her, given the circumstances.
I think both of you are forgetting that at its core Star Wars is a fairy tale. It’s for 12 year olds. Nev, your argument for how it should have been about the systems that subvert democracy would definitely work in a political drama or some movie that is for a much older audience. It definitely works as an underlying message in the prequels or TLJ, but I don’t believe it should be the overall message of the saga.
It’s fine that you prefer the fairy tale aspect, Jar Jar. But isn’t it rather reductive to say that Star Wars “has to be” a kiddie story at heart? Clone Wars isn’t a fairy tale, neither is The Mandalorian, Rogue One, the Prequel Trilogy… Star Wars has already been growing and changing, whether or not you like those changes (and as the Prequels have shown, not everyone does). The thing is, it has to find ways to evolve if it’s going to grow and thrive. Star Wars is almost 50 years old at this point; if it has to just repeat the same stories and themes after all this time, doesn’t that make everything in this galaxy very small and reductive? Does Star Wars have to be made “for 12 year olds”? Can’t different stories in that universe be made for different people, looking for different things?
Like, god, imagine if the last 12 films, over 40-odd years, were all telling essentially the same story, with the same tone and the same ideas. Wouldn’t people get sick of that?
And Burbin, I really enjoyed your thoughts on TLJ. Very well said, I heartily agree!