Edward - Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to convince anyone RO is good
I don't think it's a particularly great film at all and certainly understand why you don't think it's good. Just trying to explain a little about where I think you're off-track, but it's just arguing for the sake of it. I can totally understand you're view that it's pointless.
To me, that's kind of the point though LOL
It's absolutely fan service. It's the story of how the rebels get the plans. The story of the fledgling rebellion's first major attack. A "what kind of thing was going on in the Empire between the two trilogies?" filler. It was all pointless, but all padding and it needed Vader to give that padding. None of it was needed, it was all "look, this is interesting backstory".
It's all part of the extended universe and it's really meant to appeal to people who want to know those things. That makes for it to be a hit with a very specific audience, but there are a LOT of Star Wars fans out there for it to appeal to. It isn't a Star Wars film in that it doesn't carry the characters... Which is what I was going to get on to with TLJ.
We all know that Star Wars wrote the script on how to make a Hollywood blockbuster. By design or accident (or theft
) - Lucas produced the perfect script, with the perfect story arc,the perfect flow and the perfect characters. It's well documented that for years, Hollywood blockbuster writers were meant to follow the Star Wars way to produce a summer hit. It became the template for an action film and a perfect example of the hero's journey.
However, there's something much subtler and simpler going on than the "lost, special child - finds mentor - find quest - uses untrustworthy rogue to complete quest - mentor dies to allow the child to become the hero - rogue turns traitor - hero fights final overwhelming odds with the help of newly conscienced rogue. Phew.
ANH and ESB are both very simple. They're the story of two characters in orbit with each other. They both thrust from different parts of the plot until they collide together. They do this through just a small handful of set pieces.
ANH is the story of R2-D2 and Vader. It's told through both their eyes. They are the two narrators of the film. The film is basically R2's quest to get to the Death Star in Luke's X-Wing. Vader's story is to destroy the hope in the title by using the force (or the Death Star).
The scenes rotate around them. Tantive IV assault. Tattoine. Mos Eisly. Death Star rescue (and death of Obi-Wan). Death Star assault. Yes, there's more detail, but they're your major pieces. What do you remember about ANH? The opening attack. Jawas. Cantina. Trash Compactor. Obi-Wan dying (sorry, spoiler
) and then the Death Star run. There's nothing to it, and it's all told through the eyes of either R2 or Vader (well, maybe not so much the Cantina, but he's there
).
ESB is similar. It's the orbits of Luke and Vader this time. Assault on Hoth. Asteroid chase. Dagobah. Bespin. Duel.
In both, it's really about two characters and 5 scenes. Both are quintessential Star Wars.
When you start to mess with that formula, it goes to pot a little bit. What is ROTJ? Which characters orbit each other? Luke and Vader again maybe, but Endor is a big set piece. They're not involved in the battle of Endor either. It gets less clear cut, more complex (yet ROTJ is essentially Jabba, Ewoks, then the messy Endor/battle/throne room) and loses the magic.
Let's not even start with the prequels.
This is why (despite being a safe repeat of ANH), TFA is so successful. It's back to simple. It's the tale of Rey and Ren orbiting their stories until they clash. Simple set pieces you can replay in your mind. That's why it feels like a Star Wars film (and also because it is a carbon copy - but they still could have screwed that up - look at Krull, Battle Beyond the Stars and a dozen other failed Star Wars wannabes).
And it's why TLJ doesn't feel like a Star Wars film. The set pieces as seemingly disconnected with characters all over the place appearing and disappearing. There's no subtle focus or revolving around set characters. Like Vader in RO, anyone who isn't connected directly to Rey or Ren in a "set piece" is superfluous. The film should be about them.
It does a much better job than RO at capturing a Star Wars feel, but it just falls too short of it to feel like a true Star Wars film. I love watching the stories unfold. I love being submerged in the universe and having the tales told to me. I don't care if I like it or not. I don't speculate because I want to spoon fed the plots and tales. So I don't mind what happens in the films and how the characters act or react. What I really want though is the flow. I want to be carried along in a simple two seater canoe and experience the thrill of the white water plot. TLJ puts you in a pleasure barge on a canal, with canapés, aperitifs and the lots of opportunity for a toilet break. It's all very pleasant, but the key to Star Wars is that less is more.
I do need to see it again, and on the big screen again (I've seen every film (bar two) at least twice on the big screen). However, like Episodes II and III, I just don't feel the compulsion. The silly bits stick in my mind more than the good bits. The dull bits fade into the background and make me think that the film was just five minutes of things to laugh at and nothing much else. And deus ex BB8... All the bloody deus ex BB8.
Might go and see it again because evil BB8 was really fab. The Luigi death stare makes its way into Star Wars... Yeah, maybe for that
I'm excited for the next part though. I don't think the story was generally bad and I'm excited to see where it goes next and what happens next. It's back in the hands of a good director, so I think it will be a massive highlight to end the new trilogy.
