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user-inactivated  ·  1811 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post:

I disagree on The Last Jedi. It took any loose premise built by the previous film and threw it away, creating a confusing chapter in a story arch. It made the big baddy Snoke a joke by killing him dismissively and it made Hux a clown, robbing from the viewer any chance of seeing either as a credible threat and therefore the satisfaction of seeing them defeated by the heroes. You can have neutered villains, the sheriff and his son from Smokey and the Bandit are a great example, because they're never meant to be taken seriously, but if you want your villains taken seriously, say a supreme emperor and the general of a galactic military force, then you have to treat them seriously. The humor thrown into the scenes was often done so in a way that negated any sense of drama, humor is great for breaking tension, but if it feels forced and out of place or if it is over the top, it makes it very difficult to reestablish that sense of tension.The capital ship chase was a slog and nonsensical (how could energy weapons arch in space and why didn't the villains send half their ships ahead to cut the heros off?). The casino planet scenes completely ruined what semblance of flow and pacing the film had. On and on I could go. It really was not a good movie.

I was not a child when I saw the prequels, did not like them when I saw them and do not remember them fondly in the slightest. However, in everything from maintaining tone and pacing to having clear character motivation and development, as far as memory serves, as awful as they were, they did a better job. I really hold The Last Jedi in that poor of a regard.