There are certainly other things that could be done too, of course. Some of the beginning could be trimmed up. Don’t know how necessary that text at the start was (at least tighten it up) and definitely find away around the “Solo” scene.
Easiest fan edit ever: cut the Maul scene entirely. You’ve just made the film ten times better!
I didn’t mention, but for all my previous worrying about Emilia Clarke, she’s fine. Not bad, not great, just fine. Not crazy about the character or the performance, but it’s not too detrimental.
To that end, they did an “origin story” without most of the trappings of that (we didn’t have to suffer a child Han or seeing his parents die or whatever, and we didn’t end things off exactly where we pick up in ANH).
The likelihood I’ll watch this has now risen to 92%.
To be fair, they do do the Last Crusade thing where you slowly see a lot of the pieces come together (oh and that’s how he got his blaster). If that kind of stuff makes you annoyed on principle, I got bad news. But, for the most part, they’re just small, subtle things that the movie doesn’t make a big deal of.
So what did people catch in terms of EU references? The film was chock full. I counted a reference to possibly each of the Smith Lando novels (mentions of Oseon, a “Starcave,” and being inside a temple which I can only assume is a nod to the first book), yet I didn’t notice any reference to the Daley books, oddly enough. Beckett killed Aurra Sing apparently. There were a few other good ones I’m forgetting.
The Maul thing is dumb, though chronologically it makes sense. We don’t know what he was up to before his Rebels appearances.
As for Lando being pansexual: the situation makes sense now. I can see why Jon Kasdan and Glover would see it that way (and it is supported by the film itself), and I can see why Disney/LFL haven’t said anything (because it’s small and not a big deal and making a big deal of it would just get everyone mad, which I guess has happened anyway).
So I’ve seen Solo. Really enjoyed it.
Pros:
Cons:
Will probably see again soon. Would certainly be interested in a sequel if they do that.
Footloose (1984) - A lot more silly than it seems to realize, unfortunately. C
Futureworld (1976) - A really smart way to do a follow up, executed pretty poorly. C
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) - A little too ADHD crazy at times, but mostly pretty enjoyable. B-
The Karate Kid Part III (1989) - Absolutely ridiculous. At least it’s funny to watch. C-
The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) - Easily the least of the three Lego films thus far, but that’s not saying much. Lot of fun. B-
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) - Not sure why I’ve never explored the other Muppet films. Really liked this one, though not crazy about musical numbers in general. Maybe that’s why. B
Angels & Demons (2009) - Like DaVinci Code the book, not the movie. Had to check this one to make sure it wasn’t a fluke (come on, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks?). That was a mistake. C-
Rampage (2018) - Pretty much all you could hope for from this movie. The Rock is very solid. B-
Thief (1981) - A film I wish I had already seen, and will have to come back to often to make up for how long it took me. A true classic. A
Streets of Fire - An almost great movie that struggles with characters who aren’t quite what they want them to be (and music that could’ve been integrated a bit better). B+
Deadpool 2 (2018) - What’s there to say? Whole lotta fun. Some story issues, but that doesn’t hurt the experience too much. B
The Great Train Robbery (1978) - I’m surprised people don’t talk about this movie all that much. A killer heist flick from start to finish, with one of the most enjoyable Connery performances I’ve seen. B+
Splash (1984) - A cute, if imperfect, rom com romp. Despite how weird the central relationship is, you buy it. B
Rules Don’t Apply (2016) - An eccentric tale with eccentric characters and an eccentric style to match. Pretty great for the first third, then starts to fall apart a bit. Come for the cast… uh, stay for the cast too I guess. B
This is apparently back on with James Mangold at the helm. Don’t care that much about Fett (though I’ve always felt there is a lot of potential there for a spin-off, considering how little there is of him in the films), but this choice makes a lot of sense (and has me somewhat excited).
I’d say though that they were essentially positioning John Boyega as the lead of TFA during the marketing of that film (or at least as much the lead as Daisy Ridley).
Not in China, they didn’t.
I know.
I have now read both the “Lando” and “Han Solo” miniseries. Both were really great, definitely my favorites of the miniseries I’ve read so far. Would recommend.
I hate seeing those YouTube videos in my recommended with thumbnails saying “SJW DROID!?!”. Like, Jesus Christ a female major character Droid in a Star Wars movie? That’s social justice-- Star Wars is for boys only!
It’s annoying because of the obvious social agenda. Either you get that or you don’t. It’s bs because if there are female droids we would have seen them in the OT. What are they going to do now, do an SE that replaces 3PO with a CG lady droid? It’s pc bs and it’s ruining my childhood.
Well, there is a decent chance i will be able make a late show at the crappy local theater.
thank goodness this movie isn’t so popular that it is sold out yet.
Oh no, the boycott worked. Soylo is making no money.
I’m going to see it at some point but will readily admit I don’t expect much and am terrified they will rip off elements of the Daley novels which are my absolute favorite SW stories.
Weird, I’m terrified they won’t rip off the Daley novels.
You should concede points to the opposition when they make sense.
Good luck with that one on this site.
Agree to disagree I guess. I felt he was turned into much more of an side character in the Last Jedi.
His part is smaller, that’s undebatable. But “side character” is a reductive description. Side characters don’t usually get character arcs and fully separate plot threads that they are the leads of.
No maybe that all the lead characters are still white (Rey, Kylo Ren, Luke, Jyn Urso). The racially diverse characters are pushed to side characters. And I should include the directors who have all been white men.
I agree to an extent, although “side characters” is unfair to Finn, Poe, and even Cassian. Yes the leads are all white but Star Wars movies always have more than one main character.
I agree on Cassian but The Last Jedi took Finn from a main character to more of a side character in my opinion. I bet he will get more spotlight in Ep. 9 though.
That’s debatable. It’s clear that he was originally designed to be a character we focused a lot on (originally opening the film with him + a lot of other deleted material). His diminished presence is simply due to trims in the editing room, so it’s weird to say that “the black character was sidelined.” He still had his own full storyline (one that didn’t include any white characters), whether people liked it or not.
No maybe that all the lead characters are still white (Rey, Kylo Ren, Luke, Jyn Urso). The racially diverse characters are pushed to side characters. And I should include the directors who have all been white men.
I agree to an extent, although “side characters” is unfair to Finn, Poe, and even Cassian. Yes the leads are all white but Star Wars movies always have more than one main character.
Sure, it’s an improvement but I just find it frustrating that they haven’t had the balls yet to have a person of color as the lead character.
I’d say though that they were essentially positioning John Boyega as the lead of TFA during the marketing of that film (or at least as much the lead as Daisy Ridley).
Yep, but I quite clearly remember how I felt a little misled by the marketing after I saw the movie since Finn was not the lead. And it got worse in the Last Jedi. Finn I feel has kind of gotten not treated with enough respect as a character. He was soooo interesting and in all honesty, one of my favorite things about TFA.
He still is the main character in TFA though. Just because Rey has a slightly bigger role doesn’t change that.
Sure, it’s an improvement but I just find it frustrating that they haven’t had the balls yet to have a person of color as the lead character.
I’d say though that they were essentially positioning John Boyega as the lead of TFA during the marketing of that film (or at least as much the lead as Daisy Ridley).
No maybe that all the lead characters are still white (Rey, Kylo Ren, Luke, Jyn Urso). The racially diverse characters are pushed to side characters. And I should include the directors who have all been white men.
I agree to an extent, although “side characters” is unfair to Finn, Poe, and even Cassian. Yes the leads are all white but Star Wars movies always have more than one main character.
Sure, it’s an improvement but I just find it frustrating that they haven’t had the balls yet to have a person of color as the lead character.
I’d say though that they were essentially positioning John Boyega as the lead of TFA during the marketing of that film (or at least as much the lead as Daisy Ridley).
Incidentally I went looking for my first post and there’s a weird thing happening where a bunch of my post history pages at the end are blank. Example:
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/TVs-Frink/id/6930/page/2999
That’s been that way as long as I’ve been a member here. The pagination is based off of your total post count which includes private posts.
Agreed but I should have mentioned that it seems to have gotten much worse. I could have sworn it just happened to the last page of everyone’s history.
If it’s gotten worse, that’s because you’ve posted more in private topics. I’m up to about 50 blank pages on my profile. Would be nice if there was a way to fix it (although I suppose it is a relatively minor issue).
a franchise that wrecked its main characters and replaced them with cardboard.
Lol what?
Good description of the PT, honestly.
K2 is stupid?
Chyron, most of us will agree with you that if it is not in the movie, then it is pretty much useless pandering. All I’m saying is if it is in the movie, then I would have no qualms about it.
If it’s in the movie, I’d tip my hat to them for going there. A fine development for the character that makes sense.
Legends doesn’t count for shit. There’s nothing in the films that contradicts this development. So why is it an issue?
(Hint: it’s not)
As I said, it’s an issue for me because the media is crazy over it and it’s filling up my news feed. It’s just compounded by the fact that no previous canon suggested such a development. Sure, it doesn’t contradict it, but it also doesn’t imply it. Whether he is or not is not the issue really, but rather the pandering and following media craziness.
Who the fuck cares if no previous books or comics suggested it. They threw all that stuff out years ago.
The media craziness is to be expected. You see media craziness for literally everything involving SW. I’d wager I’ve seen less “Lando is Pansexual” headlines than “New Character Therm Scissorpunch has Best Star Wars Name Ever” headlines.
The “pandering” complaint is stupid at this point. None of us know how it is integrated into the film. It’s impossible to legitimately complain that it is “pandering” at this point. You can speculate that it is, but you can’t complain.
Which is why I’m bitching about it in here rather than debating the significance of it in the General forum. For myself, my opinion is who cares whether he is or not?
You seem to.
All that matters to me, is that it makes sense for Lando to be pansexual given how he acts in the other movies.
He repeatedly hits on Leia. And… that’s about it. He’s a player. In the early 80’s, that was a thing.
What about that precludes him from being pansexual?
That’s funny because I had the exact opposite reaction. In theaters I couldn’t remember anyone’s name and didn’t find anything compelling about anyone other than Chirrut, Baze, and sort of Krennic. Since then I’ve grown much more attached to the other characters.
The problem with Krennic is that he’s a weak villain and gets weaker and weaker over the movie, while Chirrut and Baze had no reasons to be in the movie, since they’re not even connected to the plot at all (they’re also the cliché-ridden tragic homosexual couple). One of the problems the Disney movies have (IMO) is too many characters at the same time, which makes things more confusing and/or bloated. Remove Chirrut and Baze and Rogue One gets better.
Krennic works well as the guy who is losing power. it makes him desperate. I don’t get your complaint that him getting weaker is a problem.
My problem with Krennic is one of dimension. He’s kind of an over the top bad guy. The bickering power struggle with Tarkin gives him a second dimension. The problem is, though there are hints of a third dimension in his first scene with Galen (where he implies the Death Star is justified), it never crops up in the rest of the film.
In general I think my enjoyment of a Star Wars movie is in inverse proportion to the number of planets in it.
I don’t care how you rank any of these films, I really enjoy this method of ranking them.
Same. If we can come up with an equation that somehow also works in the number of lightsabers, we might be on to something.