Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Sorry, this may be a bit pre-mature, but I gotta be that guy for a minute

I wasn't a fan of The Last Jedi. Mostly, I thought it was boring, but I also wasn't a fan of the way it seemed determined less to tell its own story than it did to just crap on EVERY loose plot thread and twist from The Force Awakens. I know the reasons some of that happened (ie, there is no plan for this trilogy and they've been fumbling along in the dark without any real idea of where they're headed as they rushed into trying to cash-in on their Star Wars investment before thinking about what they should do in terms of storytelling), but TLJ is subversion for the sake of subversion...

...HOWEVER...

...there were a few things in it I REALLY liked, and those seemed to be the few ACTUAL IDEAS Rian Johnson brought to the table. Chief among them being the general theme that Star Wars isn't just for the destined or about the Skywalkers. Rey is a nobody and the kid at the end holding the broom could be the next great Jedi if he's willing to unlock his potential and believe in The Force. I really love that idea. Even though Luke is Vader's son, I always felt while watching the original trilogy that anyone who's open to it could become a Jedi, and that's a huge part of the charm. You could be Luke. I could be. The guy next to us. Whatever. Then the prequels came along and felt like they plowed that under and even The Force Awakens, which I liked and felt like it was kind of hitting the reset button and getting us away from the prequel storytelling, still was pretty Skywalker obsessed. TLJ casts that aside and brings it all back to everyone.


The title of this movie itself seems to crap all over that notion. I thought it was a joke. Seriously. I went onto my phone on Saturday and saw, "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker trailer here!" and thought "ha! someone did a fan trailer based off how everyone hated what the previous movie did to Luke? This will either be a funny satire or a desperate attempt to 'fix' Star Wars by some dumb fans. Let's check it out."

And then I watched the trailer itself and I swear, I thought the whole thing was a MASSIVE gag of some kind.

Kylo Ren repairing his helmet? The Death Star? The Emperor? I laughed. I told a buddy, "Dude...this is pathetic fan wankery."

And then I realized it was LEGIT.

This entire sequel trilogy has been entirely reactionary. The Force Awakens was a reaction to the prequels, which I understood and I think we all kinda did. Then TLJ was a reaction to everyone saying that TFA was too safe. This is now a reaction to everyone saying TLJ ruined Star Wars. Each movie is defined not by itself, but by the way it undoes what immediately preceded it. What a complete waste of time.


I wasn't a fan of The Last Jedi. The only thing I think I could like WORSE (aside from like, another Attack of the Clones) is two plus hours dedicated to apologizing for it and undoing everything it did. This franchise has been a trash heap since 1997.

Don't worry... because no one's ever really gone...

I proudly read most of the EU, I don't care to dip into the IEU (Inferior Expanded Universe)

You Probably Don't Recognize Me because of the Red Eyes.