Posted by: @red_ogre

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 It bugs the shit out of me that a lot of the other people that hated this are of a.... "type", that I mountainously disagree with.

I think this is a real problem - so much of the critique of legacy sci-fi/fantasy projects by the fandom has been taken over by people trying to warp everything (both praise and criticism I might add, but more criticism to be sure) into an "agenda" that it is hard to tell whether people are truly commenting on what is being presented. And it means that if something like The Acolyte doesn't perform well, they take credit for it as "proof" the "agenda" is a problem and it encourages them to review bomb more.

It seems like it has gotten much worse the last few years. I am sure that Disney is viewed by some on the far right as the poster child for their complaints about society. Disney pushing back on DeSantis in Florida over the Don't Say Gay law and the firing of Gina Carano from The Mandalorian has led to this organized (it seems to me) review bombing by the far right, as they believe Disney has turned on them. 

Right, I see plenty of people on other sites who enjoyed the show but some sites seem to be entirely populated by people who hate it for various reasons. I honestly have no clue how it really shakes out as far as ratio of people who really liked to to people who really did not.

Spoilers. Maybe. Some. Or whatever.

I watched all of this over the last three nights because I can't watch this stuff in drip drip one show a week anymore. It definitely started off a little iffy, and I was kind of thinking it would be more like Ahsoka which was a huge disappointment.

In short, I actually liked it quite a lot. A surprising amount, based on how much I actually thought Ahsoka was a very dull point. It didn't shatter any molds, and to be quite frank anybody looking for that is searching for a snowboot in a heat wave. The actress did a fine job as the twins, I liked Master Squid Games quite a bit, Darth Dental Plan worked well and wookie with a lightsaber, which is apparently everything I've ever wanted in life. I was surprised that half the cast was killed off so soon.

The fight scenes were so much better than in Ahsoka. Like, ridiculously so. It actually looked like they did some training and didn't have movements being called out to them for the first time while shooting.

In short, there are obviously criticisms to be made--as with anything--and then there are obvious bullshit reasons people invent to hate it. I kept reading how this was the worst thing ever and that Star Wars is dead from some of the most mind-numbingly stupid people on this ridiculous green marble, and I still don't know what makes those fools so mad.

So yeah, I liked it. I don't really feel like I ever need to watch it again, because it's not the original trilogy and that's the only thing I feel like nailed perfection out of the gate. But I feel the same way about a lot of post Original trilogy stuff. I've watched the prequels maybe a handful of times. I'm kind of over the sequels. I will rewatch Luke cutting up droids from Mando season 2 until the end of time. I'm a writer type fellow and I know with absolute certainty I can probably write Star Wars better than most of the people that are writing Star Wars, but I'm not and they are, so whatever. This was good for a viewing. That's all.

I don't know what is people's inability to watch some of these things; like certain elements and be disappointed in other elements. Everything is either amazing or total trash in their world views. It really is idiocracy. I mean lets be honest; 99% of genre entertainment isn't the most accomplished. It isn't called literature for a reason. The ratio of "distract from the human condition" vs "illuminate the human condition" tips against this type of entertainment. That's ok. That has purpose too. Most these sci-fi / superhero things exist in a C+ to B+ ratio with a median of B-.

I liked some things about Acolyte and disliked others. Still to this day I don't know why the show didn't see which characters that clicked and which didn't. I would have been so much more excited about the show had it had more Jecki or at least the promise of her in the future. Darth 1000 Reps a Day was fine; less so when he was playing the goof at the beginning. The physicality of his performance was really good. Split lady, in my opinion, had an impossible acting task for a mid 20s year old actor; so I don't blame her. The 3 performances that made my brain say "I want to see more of that" Jecki, Sol and Queen witch lady. All dead.

For the record in real literature having "characters I like" means next to nothing vs having characters of interest. I had similar issues with Ahsoka. Some really great moments and some really unfortunate directions. Dramatizing Clone Wars era Ahsoka and casting such a young actor was really a highlight in an otherwise uneven show.

Right, most Star Wars genuinely sucks at least a little.

Most Star Wars is to me well made - things like the art design, costumes, sets, effects, music is almost always solid at worst and exceptional at best. Storywise, at worst they tend to be "I'm not interested in this" to at best "When is the next chapter coming out!" (The ST is the part that tests this theory the most for me)

Yes, it isn't life changing art that provides deep insight into the human condition - but it is also not just totally mindless entertainment and tries, I think, to promote that being good is something to aspire to. So I like that.

I know I take it more seriously than I should, in the sense that I care about things like how the Jedi are portrayed even if I know it is a fictional thing, or how certain characters act can bother me - which ultimately means at some point something resonated enough that I care. But nothing can "ruin" Star Wars because the Star Wars I grew up with is still there (mostly) and in my memory.

Posted by: @fac

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But nothing can "ruin" Star Wars because the Star Wars I grew up with is still there (mostly) and in my memory.

And that's a great point. I figured that out with the PT, even though I came to appreciate things about them. And of course... Yeah it's still there but sorta not. Though that one guy painstakingly restored the original theatrical cuts in 4k!

One thing I think "sucks a little" is Mandalorian. To me it's the most mindless of the star wars releases, which in no way means bad..it was just always shallow to me. Well done, good music, production values and costumes, but very simple plots and characters..and mostly a lot of fun. But it's best moments, for me, were entirely rooted in nostalgia. Which was great. For the first two seasons it really did a good job of that. So yeah, I can enjoy star wars when it isn't deep, when it tries new things, or when it recycles. I know Obi Wan was very far from perfect but I enjoyed it anyway. Eh.

Exactly. Most these SW and Marvel shows have interesting and fun production designs. They, to their credit, don't try to score a 0 on the escapist vs substance spectrum either. Not that they are shooting for that high on this imaginary spectrum either of course. Seems Lucasfilm has been telling the story that maybe the institution known as the Jedi wasn't this perfect entity for 25 years now. I'm totally fine with that and it makes sense. I mean, lack of conflict is pretty damn boring; especially in a pew pew laser sword type story.

To be honest that isn't the most incongruous thing about my impressions of the Jedi I've found since watching the OT in the 70s as a kid (I'm not that old!) . I found it stranger that just 20 odd years after the Clone Wars that Jedi are so dismissed as marginal and perhaps not even genuine, but we as an audience see them in the 10s of thousands leading a very public war witnessed by millions. Does no one have an iPhone there? They've mastered faster than light speed space travel but not digital video? It would be like me saying ... nope ... Wilt Chamberlain never existed.  Which is to say its all abit silly and slides into the conventions of genre storytelling.

Summer of 2026

The suburbs in Star Wars seems really incongruous and is a bridge too far.

I’m in for a fun adventure. Skeleton crew has that kids from the suburbs going on an adventure they only read about type of vibe. They will obviously learn more about themselves and hopefully grow some. The peg leg droid we’ve seen has a Long John Silver vibe. Not sure what to make of Jude Law’s character yet. I like the ship design. I can’t tell. 10-14 year olds? Not the actors. The characters? The music definitely invokes a Goonies vibe. Very romanticized. I’m very intrigued.

Thwipp!

Posted by: @prophet

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The music definitely invokes a Goonies vibe.

Bunch of kids finding a buried ship with a one-eyed skeleton? That can't be accidental. 

Watts likes to copy scenes. Peter running in suburbs as Spider-Man/Ferris running home to beat his parents. MJ acting just like Ally Sheedy’s character in breakfast club. So buried ship and one eyed skeleton sounds about right.Itll be his own thing in the long run.

Thwipp!