Anyone remember the simpler times when it came to television? A time where a new episode of a show was something you could look forward to every single week?! The episode itself was only a half hour long with a couple of commercial breaks in between with a tease of what next week’s episode was going to be. Back when television shows were short, sweet, and fast paced. To quote Ryan Gosling’s character in Blade Runner 2049, “things were simpler then”.
While there are certainly shows and series still out there that do that, one can’t help but wonder why is it that shows you watch on tv or series you watch on a streaming service is becoming the equivalent of watching a feature film? What I mean by that is how the ways shows nowadays are structure and when exactly each episode of a show gets released.
Instead of an episode being a brief 15 to 30 minutes long, they are now somewhere between 60 to 75 minutes now. Instead of building anticipation for the next episode and making it a weekly thing, they are now just making a handful of episodes available at the exact same time. Instead of feeling like mini-movies with each one serving their own standalone purpose, they now feel like a really big movie but split into multiple different parts with an abrupted cliffhanger after each one. This can make for a fairly disjointed and bizarrely paced entertainments. Not just because with the way each episode is put together but how companies are choosing to release all new episodes.
While it can definitely make for an interesting binging experience to have multiple episodes released at the same time, it also runs the risks of big spoilers on the show being out much more quickly than it should be. If you are someone on social media every day, you know damn well it is hard to avoid massive spoilers in any form of capacity. You know that there’s a big chance people will already be talking about a certain big twist or reveals on your Twitter or YouTube timeline before you even get a chance to watch it. You always have to remind yourself to stay off your social media pages before you watch a show to avoid any big spoilers. While shows should be able to work as it’s own thing without having big spoilers ruin the experience for you, it can be unfair to expect your audience to be able to avoid those kind of spoilers when you make the decision to be multiple episodes that are at least an hour long on the same day.
This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time now but what really compelled me to write this piece is around the time the news came out that about every single episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things was going to be at least over an hour long.
In case you don’t know, before the newest season of Stranger Things came out, the length of every episode of the season was announced. Every single episode was to be at least one hour long. Here was the final episode runtimes for what was confirmed to be Part I of Season 4.
Episode 1- 1 Hour 16 Minutes
Episode 2– 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Episode 3– 1 Hour 3 Minutes
Episode 4– 1 Hour 17 Minutes
Episode 5– 1 Hour 13 Minutes
Episode 6– 1 Hour 13 Minutes
Episode 7– 1 Hour 38 Minutes
So, the first few episodes of Season 4 Part 1 was at least one hour long with the longest one being Episode 7 which was exactly 98 minutes long. The length of an actual movie. While I won’t comment on whether or not the runtime of each episode was warranted (I’m still on Episode 5 at the time of writing this!), that does seem to be asking a lot of your audience to find the amount of free time available to be able to watch all seven of these episodes without getting the big surprises revealed beforehand.
However, that was just Part I. How about Part II? Well, Part II is only confirmed to have two episodes that is scheduled to be released on July 1st, more than a month after Part I was released. And here are the confirmed runtimes for those.
Episode 8– 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Episode 9– 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Yes, you read that last one correctly. The final episode of the season is confirmed to be TWO HOURS and 30 MINUTES LONG! The length of the ending of a season is about as long as an Avengers movie. Talk about overboard! Again, I can’t confirmed if the runtime is necessary but it just feels completely and utterly bizarre to see the length of an episode be as long as an actual movie. It’s not like this is suppose to be a tv movie where the length can be considered justified. This is an episode of a big and long running series that needs at least 150 minutes of your time to provide the complete experience.
As we move time and time again in this age of streaming services, one can’t help but ask the question of how we got to this point. How is it that shows are fairly long now with multiple episodes being released at once? My conclusion comes down to two factors: social media and tv/streaming service companies.
I know I’ve stated it several times in the pass but no one can deny that we are living in a time of social media. Everyone is free to say whatever they want and when they want to. This gives anybody free realm to share how they feel about a certain form of entertainment, whether it’s a movie, tv show, book, video game, song, etc. When they really like it, they will often make a post or two about how much they enjoy it and move on with their daily lives. When they really hate it, then they will make sure that the social media account of said entertainment hears them loud and clear about their displeasure. Because of that, no doubt that will get the creators attentions as they will believe that to be the general reaction to what the public thinks of their latest projects. It’s elements like that is what is leading me to believe as to why shows have become what they are along with movies.
A main possible reason why shows and movies are as long as they are is because the creators believe they have to make their points loud and clear so they make sure the audience get the point they are trying to make. Considering we are in a time where CinemaSins is a big thing (I got a whole piece about them in the works!), they have to use certain scenes to overexplain and show off every little detail so that any potential nitpickers won’t have too much to nitpick at. While that is not necessarily the fault of CinemaSins or any other big content creators out there, the influence are becoming clear as day and something that has gotten in the heads of many creators out there. Oh, and also certain networks and companies making deals of the amount of episodes each season must have and the length of the episodes certainly isn’t helping either.
Stranger Things is definitely not the only show out there that has fallen victim to really long episodes. HBO had the writers of Game of Thrones fill up huge chunks of the show with filler so that it could match the agreed runtimes. Netflix forced Marvel to have at least 13 episodes a season regardless if there was enough material to cover that much episodes for their series. And even some would admit that Disney Plus series like Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Obi-Wan Kenobi would have probably benefited more as being movies instead of shows. This has been definitely going on for awhile now but it seems that we are now getting to a point where it feels like tv series/shows are just feeling like one giant feature film except divided into multiple parts and with no deleted scenes whatsoever. (Seriously, I dare someone to find an episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier that did NOT end with a last-minute cliffhanger out of nowhere.)
Regardless of what the true cause of this turn with television and streaming entertainment, it has definitely change the way we view shows and series. Personally, I do like the way that some streaming services like Disney +, HBO Max, and Apple are doing it by releasing just one or two episodes of a show at a time and being able to watch that episode at any given time without having to record it. That is the kind of proper transaction we need from tv to streaming as oppose as to just dumping up all 13+ episodes of a season at once like Netflix does. Even so, I do hope we go back to a time with shows where episodes can work as their own thing. Have each one have a proper beginning, middle, and end with a brief hint as what’s to come for the future. Not just feeling like a quarter or half of a movie that got cut to multiple pieces to make it structured like a show. It doesn’t make for a satisfying viewing experience in my humble opinion. I rather have movies be movies and shows be shows but that’s just me.
Stranger Things Season 4 Part I is available to watch now on Netflix with Part II available on July 1st.
I know this is definitely at least three decades too late to bring up but isn’t it worth acknowledging that the original Jurassic Park was the exact definition of a great movie that feels like it should be expanded into it’s own franchise but when you actually get right down to it or even think about it for a split second, you realize “No!”, this is the kind of movie which you DON’T make into a franchise because the entire idea of multiple sequels and spinoffs completely contradict the morals and message that the original was trying to convey. In the sense that the original Jurassic Park existing and being as good as it is on it’s own terms is simply something you can’t replicate. You would never be able to get that same sense of accomplishment of seeing something so imaginary as real life dinosaurs existing in it’s own unique theme park and the idea of opening the doors for more of it is basically asking yourself for unmatched standards to reach. That has definitely been a problem that has plagued every single movie since the original. Each one has their moments and some are better than others but it’s just never going to be Jurassic Park no matter how many times you try. And that same thing certainly applies to Jurassic World Dominion possibly more so than any other Jurassic Park sequel.
Premise: It’s been four years since the events of Fallen Kingdom. After Isla Nublar has been destroyed and Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) released the dinosaurs out into the open ends of the world, dinosaurs now live and exist with humans along with constantly hunting and preying on them. It’s then that the future of mankind and these fearsome creatures remain in balance. We see returning characters from the previous two Jurassic World movies such as Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) along with returning characters from the original including Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who try to uncover secrets as to what the tech company named BioSyn wants with the technology from the original Jurassic Park and what are they trying to obtain with Maisie, the clone daughter of Ben Lockwood (Be honest, you totally forgot that girl was actually a clone!). Can humanity learn to co-exist along with dinosaurs or will one side’s role to the world will lead to the extinction of another?
Now, admittedly, for at least the first half of the premise I just mention there, it can make for a rather interesting or at least fun one. The idea of human beings and dinosaurs being forced to live with each other now that they are all free can make for an engaging enough parallel to the original of having the relationships between the main human characters and the dinosaurs evolve with one another. Whether it’s makes for a solid exploration of human beings inhabiting with other species like say the new Planet of the Apes movies or for making a wacky, over-the-top movie with ridiculously fun and unrealistic set pieces like the Fast and Furious movies, this can make for something worthwhile. Could it match or top the original? No, not even close but there would at least be something here and even make the World movies able to justify their own existence except for the business side of things.
Unfortunately, just like with the last two Jurassic World movies, Dominion doesn’t seem interested in it’s own concepts and ideas and yet again makes for another Jurassic movie that are all about these brave and reckless heroes running away from scary dinos in numerous remote locations. It makes me wonder what was even the point of the last one going in the bold direction it did at the end if it was gonna follow the same pattern nearly beat-for-beat. With the exception of some expositions scenes at the beginning along with a handful of silent, visually pleasing moments of human interacting with dinosaurs (mostly at the very beginning and very end), the movie’s whole “human and dinosaurs co-existing” premise gets pushed to the wayside (I actually forgot that dinos were a part of humanity for a good portion of the second act) in favor of another typical chase movie where the main characters are on the run and have to rescue a girl from the government. Between this and Obi-Wan Kenobi, I think most folks are starting to realize just how completely redundant that whole premise is.
The movie tries to earn some bonus points by bringing back the original cast of Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum reprising their roles as Dr. Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm respectively. While it is definitely nice to see these actors in these movies again (even if Sam Neill looks slightly annoyed to be here) and I’m sure it will make longtime fans of the series excited to see them interact with the newer characters, they don’t seem to have much of an important role that the movie are hoping they would. A lot of time with them is spent in research labs in scenes that really drag and could have shaved off at least a good 15 to 20 minutes of it’s runtime (This movie is nearly two and a half hours long btw!). They really only seem to be here because this is supposedly the last movie of the franchise and I guess it’s feel appropriate to bring them here to play a role since the world is now forced to inhabited with what they unwillingly helped create.
As for the returning Jurassic World characters, they are about as one-note and cardboard cutout as before and is relying heavily on the performances of the cast to be able to add some sort of thematic weight. Chris Pratt is still playing the cocky, charismatic badass and Bryce Dallas Howard is still playing the overprotective but somewhat meaningful mother figure. Both do what they can but they are only really likable for the actors they are and not for the characters they are playing. One standout however, is DeWanda Wise as Kayla Watts, a former Air Force pilot who helps out Owen and Claire on their mission. While her character can be noted as also just a typical kick-ass woman (something which this movies has surprisingly quite a bit off), Wise brings enough energy and charisma of her own and I hope she is able to shine more in a better role like this in the future.
There is a couple of action set pieces that are fine in their own right, most notably a motorcycle chase scene with Owen and the dinosaurs, even if they don’t quite reach the same heights as the first Jurassic World‘s action-packed finale and the final showdown with the Indominus Rex. The dinosaurs surprisingly don’t stand out as bad as they did in the first Jurassic World but not as nice to look at as they did in Fallen Kingdom (J.A. Bayona definitely brought his A game in that one!). The score by Michael Giacchino is serviceable at best but I was at least expecting to hear the full Jurassic Park theme at one point (especially since this is suppose to be the final movie, after all). Lastly, there are a handful of moments that do flirt with it’s own premise and gives at hint at what it could have been if it was able to at least figured out what it actually wanted to be.
That has basically been the whole problem with all three of these Jurassic World movies, most notably it’s sequels. It can never seem to decide what kind of movie it wants to commit too and what type of direction it’s willing to go in. They all seems like it wants to have it’s cake and eat it too by operating as both a goofy action-packed adventure along with one with important social/political commentary but it just never amounts to anything or goes far enough with either concept. A big reason why the original Jurassic World can only been seen as a guilty pleasure at best and these last two as just beautiful disasters.
Take the whole deal with Maisie, the girl who is suppose to be a clone. It’s a bizarre idea that is never justified because the movie itself doesn’t know what to do with that idea. We don’t see how Maisie is any different than any other human being or how being a clone affects her on an emotional level other than being able to connect with the dinosaurs more so than anyone else. She’s just there to be seen as the big important girl of the picture just because the script says so. That entire character is basically this entire series in a nutshell. Bizarre and just not worth investing in.
This all goes back to my original point at the beginning of how these sequels will never be able to follow up to the original because it’s mere existence goes against what the original stand for. The entire idea around Jurassic Park is how there shouldn’t be a Jurassic Park because having something that special is just too good to be true. While these follow-ups tend to hint at similar morals, it never remains fully committed to it or even tries to act as a meta commentary of sorts. It’s hard to judge these movies for what they are trying to be because I don’t think even the movies themselves know what they want to be. When even the man who made the classic original was unable to make lightning completely strike a second time with his own movie, you know you are fighting a losing battle here. At best, you are fighting for second place.
However, regardless of my personal feelings on it, this series clearly has an audience of it’s own. The last two made over a billion dollars at the box office and I wouldn’t be surprised seeing this one make similar numbers. If you are fan of this franchise and enjoy the prior two movies, then you most likely will enjoy this one. If you didn’t enjoy them, then there is no reason to believe that this one will change your mind. Despite it’s undeniable commercial success, it still feels like for the better for these movies to finally heed it’s own advice for once, to stop trying to bring a beautiful dead thing back to live and just let it rest in peace. I highly doubt that Universal will commit to that but one can only hope.
Other comments:
I still don’t understand the reasoning for making the girl a clone.
Can someone please tell me the difference between Campbell Scott’s character in this movie and his one from The Amazing Spider-Man movies?
For as much as we like to talk about The Force Awakens being the movie to kick-start this legacy sequel ear we are currently in, we all tend to forget that the original Jurassic World came first and was just as successful financially.
Speaking of which, at least we all now know that Episode IX would have been doomed no matter what.
What is it with Colin Treverrow taking fun and exciting ideas but always executing them in the worst and oddest ways possible?
On the bright side, BD Wong is here and is still awesome!
*Warning- This piece DOES contain spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and/or don’t want anything spoiled, then you might want to click off this piece and come back to it after you have seen the movie.*
In terms of the “legacy sequels” that are coming out nowadays, Top Gun: Maverick existing as one feels insane. At least with the likes of Star Wars, Ghostbuster, Jurassic World, Terminator, Mad Max, Rocky, Halloween, etc.., that you can argue that those came from long-running franchises with multiples entries over the past few decades. Top Gun, similar to Blade Runner, was a straight-up standalone feature that in no way, shape, or form, demanded a sequel. Heck, even Tom Cruise himself admitted to not wanting to do a sequel until at least ten years after the original came out. You can debate about how well the original Top Gun holds today (I don’t really think it has.), but it’s existence both feels like a blessing and a curse with how good a legacy-kind of sequel can be.
The big thing that Maverick most differentiate from most legacy sequels is the “passing of the torch” approach. Movies such as The Force Awakens, Afterlife, and this year’s Scream have themes involving a brand new colorful set of characters who are designed to be the main focus with most of the spotlight shined on them while the legacy/fan favorite characters are secondary and play a big role of guiding these new characters through the journeys they go on in the movie. It’s always about the new characters accepting their role as the main people to follow and the old characters accepting their roles as mentor/leadership figures and that it’s time for them to move on to other things. Maverick however takes an approach that’s not all the different from Creed and even, to some odd existent, Cars 3 (Just hear me out!). While Maverick does indeed have the original star from the first movie himself, Pete Maverick, having to guide a new generation of pilots onto the next mission, it also seems to be trying to state that Maverick himself is still the best of the best as an pilot can get despite not being able to exactly pass that along.
Throughout the movie, we see Maverick having a very difficult time training these younger pilots. He’s unable to get him to that certain level of not just what Maverick could ever do as a pilot but even enough to be able to complete the main mission. A big part of it has to do with Maverick’s own attachment to Rooster, the son of his own late RIO and best friend, Goose (Miles Teller). Maverick is clearly still emotionally damaged about losing his friend years ago and is most afraid of that same outcome happening to his own son. It takes a big and very touching conversation of his old former rival/close friend Iceman (Val Kilmer) to push Pete to do what he can to teach the crew. That is until a few days later where words gets out that Iceman passed away and the Naval Air Forces led by Cyclone (Jon Hamm) decide to move on from Maverick as an instructor.
In hindsight, it’s really difficult to find out what exactly the point of Maverick’s role is in this movie. While the original Top Gun established he’s as good as a pilot can get, then Maverick seems to establish that he is also as bad as a teacher can get. That along seems to question whether or not this movie needed to exist in the first place. If Tom Cruise is unable to inspire a new generation of air force pilots with balls and heart, then why even bother to make the movie outside of 80s kid nostalgia over the original. That is until we get to the scene after the big turning point of the movie.
During a class meeting that Cyclone has with Maverick’s former students, Maverick makes an unauthorized flight of the simulated course with the original parameters. With this successful test, it proves that the mission can in face be done. As a result, Cyclone is convinced and reluctantly appoints Maverick as strike leader. That right there brilliantly showcases the role that Maverick still plays. He might not be able to pass on the torch to others properly, but he can still hold that torch still pretty damn high and have others surrounding him. It’s then that the other younger pilots are able to complete the mission but not doing what Maverick himself still does best as a pilot but what they themselves do best as a pilot. It’s only the advice that Maverick himself gives to Rooster, “Don’t think, just act!” that has the needed impact it does to get this young crew to complete the mission and save Maverick himself.
Just like how Creed found a suitable role for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa to act as a mentor to Michael B Jordan’s Adonis Creed and even how Cars 3 shown that Lightning McQueen still has enough in the tank to be a competitive racer along with having an apprentice of his own, Top Gun: Maverick seems to argue that you can have your cake and eat it too with these kind of sequels. You can have the old characters still be as important and meaningful as the newer characters without needing to sacrifice one end or the other. Legacy sequels don’t necessarily have to be the end of the legacy characters journey but the beginning of a brand new one. It’s possible that newer characters don’t have to be the next face of the franchise but the right face of it to guide the meaning and purpose of the original characters. Two wrongs can still make a right!
You can say what you want about Tom Cruise as a person and his own beliefs, but no doubt, he knows his own reputation as an actor and still loves to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience in any way he can. Whether it’s Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, or Top Gun, Cruise’s characters still act as the best kind of action hero that anyone can except out of whatever character he plays. In some sense, these newer Mission Impossible sequels and Top Gun: Maverick itself that sees Tom Cruise continuing to challenge and dare himself to do better and better. And he will keep doing that either until he’s tired of it or he’s just dies. Regardless, Top Gun: Maverick, unlike other legacy sequels, seems to give the notion that it’s titled main character is still on top form with what he is still able to do even if he can’t seem to do anything else. Sometimes it’s okay to let Tom Cruise be the Tom Cruise that audience knows and loves about him without the need for anything else.
Other comments:
Jon Hamm sure did seem like he was having the time of his life being Tom Cruise’s boss in a movie.
We really don’t talk enough about how talented Jennifer Connelly is.
I saw this movie on Memorial Day with my parents. I can’t say for sure but I’m pretty sure this is now their new favorite movie ever.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series has just premiered exclusively on Disney Plus and as expected, it’s been quite debated. And the thing that has been debated the most is how much this series “retcons” certain things from the franchise and doesn’t in-line with the so-called Star Wars canon. Things such as Kenobi actually leaving Tatooine during his exile phase or facing off against Vader has been claimed that it doesn’t match with the continuity between Episodes 3 and 4. While some of those statements might be true, this should not aggravate fans as much as it does. Why is that? Because Star Wars retcons stuff ALL THE TIME!
It’s quite mindboggling how many people out there like to pretend that Star Wars is a series that HASN’T consisted of patching itself up with glue and duct tape constantly. Many folks like to pretend that George Lucas had every single thing planned five or so years ahead of time before each installment in the prequel and original trilogy came out and there was clearly no improvising. Many folks like to pretend that the people behind making Star Wars content actually put that much heavy thought into the supposed “canon”.
The big truth about Star Wars is that it’s not as popular because it’s perfect. Star Wars is popular because it’s imperfect. It’s that imperfection that makes this series as special and at times, shocking as it is. Does it all hold up to scrutiny? Not even close, but that’s a big part of the appeal and it should be acknowledged as such.
As of result, with the amount of discourse surrounding the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and how it retcons established lore and continuity, I’ve decided to take the time to write down ten of the biggest retcons in the while Star Wars franchise. After all, if we are all gonna critique this new series for having retcons, then it’s only fair to shine the light on other entries in the same franchise that have done it as well.
Disclaimer: I’m not gonna add Obi-Wan Kenobi to this list because that’s still brand new and plenty of people out there have poke fun at it’s retcons and continuity errors. I’m only focusing on the movies themselves and the animated series that are confirmed to be canon (mostly The Clone Wars).
First off, some honorable mentions:
“I hope a weakness can be found” “Umm…yes there is! You should know about that because Felicity Jones already said there was one!”
In Rogue One, Jyn Erso leads an army of Rebel soldiers to secure the death star plans and is suppose to carefully lead itself into A New Hope. It’s then once Luke, Han, Leia, and the whole gang come together and is able to secure the Death Star plans back to base, they can then analyze the plans in the hopes that they can find a weakness.
Just one problem! They should already know there’s a weakness because in Rogue One, Jyn herself told the Rebel Alliance that a weakness does in fact, exist! How is it that they are able to forgot the one important detail that a fallen soldier just recently implied? Did the Rebels just not believe Jyn? Do they just have short-term memory? No wonder why no one wants to join the Rebel Alliance!
“Diplomatic mission to Alderaan? Sure?!”
Rogue One had one of the best moments with Darth Vader ever. Just those 30 seconds of him hacking and slashing his way through the Rebel soldiers to try to gain the Death Star plans felt like it was ripped straight out of a good horror movie. It’s a brutally intense scene that shows why Darth Vader is the most feared ruler in the galaxy.
However, it seems way too confident that Leia is just willingly to apply that she is just on some mercy mission when that is complete BS! Yes, Leia was clearly lying to Vader but come on, that is way too on the nose there to claim that’s how George Lucas imagined that exact sequence that took place right before the opening of the original. Not to mention, Vader uses his power and strength in ways that he did not do throughout the entire original trilogy. And he uses his lightsaber to block gunshots despite Empire Strikes Back establishing he can do it with his bare hands now just because.
Nik Sant is actually Captain Rex!
In recent years, it’s been confirmed that a rebel soldier named Nik Sant, whose older and has a big white beard, was actually Captain Rex, the clone trooper from The Clone Wars series all along. In case you don’t know, Nik Sant is that one Rebel that was with Han Solo in Return of the Jedi and you can see his appearance the moment that Han tapped a stormtrooper’s soldier to lead him into a trap. As it turns out, there was in fact, a clone trooper that stood proud alongside the protagonists of the series all along. However, shouldn’t he be like 65 years old or something at this point? I wouldn’t think someone would have the strength to keep fighting after all of those years. This was clearly done as a nod to fans of TheClone Wars series and nothing more.
All right, onto the big ones! The top 10 most WTF retcon moments in Star Wars!
10.) “I’ve been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku” “Uh, yeah I already know that! We’ve fought like seven times before!”
In Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous tells Obi-Wan that he had lightsaber training from Count Dooku which had allowed Grievous to become the bloodthirsty killer that he is just before the two duel!
That’s very odd for Grievous to bring that up when Obi-Wan is already well aware of this since they fought each other like five or so times in The Clone Wars series. While it’s never officially stated that this is the very first time that the two got into a lightsaber brawl, the scene plays out like it does, especially since Obi-Wan is suppose to look rather surprised with how much lightsabers Grievous is able to wield at the same time. It’s also strange how in The Clone Wars series, Grievous always states Obi-Wan’s name as just “Kenobi”, where in Revenge of the Sith, he mostly goes by “General Kenobi”!
At least, it’s established tho that Grievous started the “Hello, there!” meme before Obi-Wan made it cool.
9.) “My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count!” “You mean when we met like a couple months ago?”
Another retcon from Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin and Obi-Wan encounter Count Dooku while attempting to rescue the Chancellor, Anakin implies that he has gotten even stronger since the last time those two fight. With the way the fights plays off, Anakin is suppose to be referencing when the two squared off during the battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. However, it’s actually referring to whatever their last confrontation was in The Clone Wars, which btw they fought like five or so times as well.
If you don’t believe me, Obi-Wan even says to Anakin before the fight, “This time we will do it together!” And Anakin replies, “I was about to say that!” Um, didn’t you two fight Dooku together in the sixth season of The Clone Wars? And for what I remember about that fight, you two seemed to work together just fine. What are you exactly talking about that just now, you two will take him together!
Unfortunately, unlike the last one, a glorious meme didn’t come for this so welp!
8.) Leia’s “real” mother
I’m just gonna let the lovely Megan Cruz take this one!
Remember in Return of the Jedi when Leia is talking to Luke about how she remembers their mother & then in Revenge of the Sith Padme dies seconds after giving birth pic.twitter.com/Z8Z58xszDE
Despite Ahsoka being one of the most loved and beloved characters in the entire Star Wars canon, her mere existence is basically a retcon of the prequels themselves. Throughout the entire prequel trilogy, Ahsoka is never stated or even hinted at throughout any of the movies. It’s never confirmed that Anakin had a Padawan or an apprentice of some kind. Heck, from what the films suggest, you had to be ranked as a Jedi Master to be able to have a Padawan but Anakin clearly doesn’t have it yet.
Granted, when I did my prequel era retrospective, I did state that Ahsoka was still arguably the most important character in the story of Anakin Skywalker and I stand by that. However, I meant that in a more thematic and symbolic way rather than from a storytelling perspective. There was clearly no original intent on Anakin having an apprentice of his own and The Clone Wars era was clearly only meant to be through the perspective between Anakin and Obi-Wan respectfully.
Am I glad that Ahsoka exists? Of course, I do! But that doesn’t make it any less of a retcon.
6.) Palpatine Survived
At the climax of Return of the Jedi, we see the fall of Darth Vader and rise of what is left of Anakin Skywalker as he used the last of his strength to hold the Emperor and throw him down to his doom. It was that moment where Anakin proved that he was indeed the Chosen One by saving his own son Luke from death by his former master. Too bad that sacrifice meant little to nothing as it turns out.
In The Rise of Skywalker, we get confirmation that Palpatine had survived from that fall and had been secretly planning his revenge on the galaxy for the past 30+ years. How did he survive you may ask? Because….because…..okay there was no reason. This was only done because J.J. Abrams couldn’t think of another big baddie for the final movie in the Skywalker Saga that would allow Kylo Ren to turn good after Rian Johnson killed off Snoke in the last movie.
There are still so many questions involving Palpatine I still have yet to cover on this list.
5.) Obi-Wan Kenobi is a liar
This is one that fans have complained about for so many years but this had to be addressed. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a lying a-hole! By that, I mean that he lied to Luke about the truth of his real father and even his sibling. Obi-Wan claims that it was Darth Vader that killed Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s own father. However, what he didn’t say was that Vader and Anakin were the same person and Vader was the name that Anakin took after he turned to the dark side. I get that Obi-Wan might not have wanted Luke to look on his father so downly but come on, you gotta be truthful!
Not only that but Obi-Wan didn’t even mention the fact that Luke had a sister who just happened to be the one woman he made out with in the last film. I’ll talk about that more in the next one. But yeah, Kenobi is a lying piece of s*it! It’s no wonder that Luke sounded so bitter when he was talking about him in The Last Jedi!
4.) Luke and Leia being siblings
Yet another one fans like to rip apart! First off, No, this was clearly not the idea that George Lucas had in mind from the beginning. It’s clear that the other “Skywalker” was suppose to carry over until the next series of Star Wars films where Luke would have went out and search for that other “Skywalker”. But by the time Return of the Jedi came out, Lucas decided to scrap that plan for a sequel trilogy and focus on the prequels surrounding Anakin Skywalker. I’m sure George is not a supporter of incest in any way, shape, or form. It just an overall clumsy way to tie up a loose end that the last movie left hanging and poorly trying to top the “I am your father!” reveal.
The one thing that has always bogged my mind was how was it that Darth Vader couldn’t sense Leia was his own daughter when he captured her in the first one. Couldn’t he sense that the force was strong with Leia or something? It’s only during the final confrontation with his son that he realized that he also had a daughter.
What bothers me the most is that it doesn’t play much of a role in Return of the Jedi. Aside from that one scene where Luke goes batshit crazy at Vader after he suggested that Leia could turn, it doesn’t really amount much to anything other than providing an answer to a question from the last movie. If only the original trilogy was planned from the get-go, am I right?
3.) Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter (or not)
I still can’t believe this one is legit. I still can’t believe that J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio even flirted with the idea that the Emperor may have got busy with someone in the Star Wars universe. Such a bizarre journey of Rey going from someone who must be important because of how powerful she is to being a nobody to suddenly being related to the most evil man in the galaxy. It’s hard to justify this creative choice other than to give a half-ass explanation as to why Rey has as much power as she does.
What’s even more baffling is that she might not actually be the granddaughter of Palaptine but his clone? That’s right! In some recent novelization that came out after Rise of Skywalker stated that the Palaptine in the movie was not actually the real Palpatine but a clone of him and that the real one did in fact die at the end of Return of the Jedi. So, that makes Rey not a Palpatine but the daughter of the clone of a Palpatine? I…just…I….got nothing else.
Lying sure seems to be a tradition in Star Wars. First, Obi-Wan lies to Luke about his lineage. Now, Luke and his sister Leia lied to Rey about hers. *in George Lucas’s voice* It’s like poetry, it rhymes!
In Rise of Skywalker, Luke states that he and Leia knew that Rey was a Palpatine the whole time but never told her. Yes, you heard me! Luke and Leia knew that Rey just had to be someone special and gifted and they knew that someone who was special and gifted was also related to the most evil man in the galaxy. How did they know this? How long have they’ve known this? What was the exact moment that they figured it out? None of that is even remotely explained in the movie.
I just don’t get why this change was made. It makes both Luke and Leia look even worse than Obi-Wan. The movie tries to claim that they didn’t tell her because both saw Rey for her “spirit” and not for where she came from but that’s no where near enough. If you sense someone as incredibly powerful as Rey is and she is in the middle of discovering it, you must figure out where that power came from and tell her immediately.
1.) Midi-chlorians
The one moment that changed the way Star Wars portray the force forever. In a scene in The Phantom Menace, Anakin asks Qui-Gon what midi-chlorians are suppose to be. It’s then that Qui-Gon implies that midi-chlorians are microorganisms that originated from the foundation of life in the center of the galaxy.
Despite the original trilogy implying that the force should always be known as a living thing that is inside any living being, this moment suggests that the force actually is something that is measurable and can easily be explained in a microorganism. Only those that have the highest midi-chlorian can contain the true power of the force now it seems. While this was clearly done as a means of making the force something readable and easy to detect, this completely changes the entire concept of the force entirely. In a way, it practically robs the true meaning of it and makes it seems as though only the ones that are “special” can actually contain it.
I chose this as the biggest WTF retcon in Star Wars because it’s one that I believe can actively make you change your perspective on every single Star Wars thing ever. And it will be hard to ever find one that does!
Also, Han shot first!
Other comments:
This was actually planned for that final piece for Star Wars month in May but things got in the way and I didn’t have much energy to get it done by the 31st! Sorry for anyone that was waiting what that big surprise was going to be!
I still do plan to write something about Top Gun: Maverick! Hoping to get it out sometime this weekend!
Also, to anyone that is harassing Moses Ingram or sending her racists comments? Burn in hell! Just f*cking burn in hell! That’s all I got to say on that.
*Disclaimer- I haven’t watch the show since the early seasons of it and around the time it came out. I’m mostly viewing it as just a casual moviegoer and deciding whether or not the movie was worth my time. Nevertheless, I do mention the qualities of the show based on what I’ve heard from fans of the series. If I get any details wrong, then I do apologize!*
It’s interesting how when people talk about incredibly long-running animated shows on Fox that are still going today, people will always refers to The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad (Although, it’s now airing on TBS exclusively now). However, that other Fox show that people tend to leave out of that discussion which has now been running for over a decade now is Bob’s Burgers. And unlike the latter two shows I mentioned, this show actually felt compelled enough to get it’s own feature film. Regardless of what you may think of the movie and show, that’s quite an accomplishment. Despite arguably not being the most well known animated series, it still is one of the ones that was able to get it’s own movie on the big screen. *in Darth Vader’s voice* Impressive, most impressive!
When I hear most people talk about Bob’s Burgers, the most defining word of that show that I always hear brought up is “comforting”. It’s not a show that aims profoundly big or rock bottom low, but it hits that sweet, comforting middle that is able to make the show so enjoyable and last as long as it has. I might not have watched the show in it’s integrity but I do know that judging from the quality of it’s feature film, I can definitely see why the show might have completely something worthwhile from fans of the series.
Premise: Summer is just around the corner and the Belchers find themselves in a heep of financial trouble. The restaurant has now as making as much business as of late and must find a way to pay their rent for it in a week or else it will be shut down. Their situation however gets more complicated when a mysterious sinkhole forms right in front of the restaurant which basically blocks the entrance to it. It’s now a race against time as Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) with the help of Teddy (Larry Murphy) must find a way to sell enough burgers to pay their rent while the kids of the Belcher family, Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), and Louise (Kristen Schaal) attempt to solve a mystery that might be able to save their restaurant.
Admittedly, when you judged the movie from it’s premise alone, you can make the case that The Bob’s Burgers Movie feels more like an extended episode of the show rather than a feature length film but with better animation. Unlike with other movie adaptions from animated shows such as Spongebob and The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers doesn’t really try to have a plot as big or “epic” in scale and stakes that most would expect for a theatrical-released feature and instead prefer to keep things small and low-scale. This can be seen as both a blessing and a curse.
On one hand, while it might be a shame to not have a cute underdog, “aiming to be the hero of the day” tale that some show-to-movie adaptions like to do, it is at least nice for the movie to keep things basic and stick with what fans most like about the show. From what I see, the biggest hooks of the show involve it’s own beating heart and it’s family dynamics. The humor itself feels dry and natural, the characters are fully human and likable, the struggles and dilemmas they go through are some I imagine most families tend to go through at least a couple of times in their life, and it just has a very sweet, warm tone to the whole thing without coming across as edgy or tryhard. If that is indeed the case then the movie does a overall good job of showcasing that.
The voice cast are just as fitting with their roles as they do on the show, the animation does a good job of blending itself to the theaters, the songs are mostly nice and touching even if it can’t top the very first song, there’s some surprisingly hard-hitting emotion near the tail-end of the film, and it generally feels like the perfect kind of movie to kick off the summer with. Not just because of the time which the movie is set in but it just gets the sense that this is the start of a larger season that is ahead of us. I might be speaking from experience as someone that works at a theme park that is about to be open daily for the next three months but it is still nice to feel that special connection.
If I did have one real gripe of the movie, it’s that the pacing does come to a halt right near the tail end of the second and third act. Once we get to the big reveal of who it was behind this all along, it does spend a good portion of time on one section that I did felt like it dragged on for about five to ten minutes too long.. I also would have liked a bit of a better wrap up as the story is resolved in a way that feels like the resolution to it just kinda happened off screen. Plus, again, as nice as most of the songs were, the very best one should not be the first one of the movie. You are just asking yourself for a world of trouble there.
Sorry if this sounds like a brief review but there are really no big secrets of the quality of The Bob’s Burgers Movie. What you see is what you get! A very funny, heartfelt, and (I assume) faithful big screen adaption of the show that will leave fans delight and might even gain new fans as well (I know I want to start binging the show in my spare time!) It’s not something that particularly aims for the highest level or lowest level but just right at the comfort level. And sometimes, especially with what has transpire over the last week with recent shootings, that is MORE than okay!
This might change to a 3.5 or even 4 once I binged the show in it’s entirety. But for now, a rock-solid 3 stars!
Other comments:
Isn’t it weird but awesome that this was able to get it’s own movie before Family Guy did? Take that, Seth McFarlane!
Btw, yes I will make a Top Gun: Maverick review or post soon! I’m waiting to see that with my folks since they are big fans of the original and wanted to see it with me! Except to see that in the next few days.
With today being the 45th anniversary of the original Star Wars along with preparation for that brand new Obi-Wan Kenobi series set to air on Disney Plus this Friday, there has been lots of discussions and speculations on what exactly the future of Star Wars is going to look like. With the tv side of things, it mostly seems pretty locked in. With the success of The Mandalorian, this will lead to plenty of culmination storytelling with these Disney Plus exclusive series which started this year with The Book of Boba Fett and will continue next year with the likes of Acolyte, Ahsoka, and Andor. Movie wise, on the other hand, it’s a big question mark. There have been confirmations about certain projects with certain directors in development but nothing official about what the next phase of Star Wars on the big screen is going to look at.
A spin-off trilogy with Rian Johnson had been announced before The Last Jedi came out but that has reportedly been put on hold as he is now more focused on his successful Knives Out franchise with his exclusive deal with Netflix. A Rogue Squadron movie with Patty Jenkins had been announced previously during a Disney Plus presentation in December 2020 but that has also been put on hold as Jenkins is putting more focus on Wonder Woman 3. There has also been reports of a Star Wars movie being produced by Kevin Feige and even one being directed by Taika Waititi and written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, which the latter is believed to be the next big theatrical installment, but we know little to nothing about any of those projects so it’s not likely we’ll be seeing those anytime soon. The future remains uncertain for Star Wars on the big screen. While we might get a bit more information with the annual Star Wars celebration coming soon, it’s unclear what exactly the direction is on the big screen.
In my eyes, if Star Wars will continue to expand as a franchise, then it must find ways to make the franchise interesting outside of the Skywalker bloodline. Sure, there can always be a reference or two to that lineage but there’s only so much of the property you can milk about focusing on the same family tree of characters for such a long time before you run out of it dry. However, with the spin-off movie and D+ series that we’ve gotten so far, this showcases the potential that this series can have once they decide to do exactly that.
When people talk about the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one thing that doesn’t get discussed as much is how much the majority of their content plays with certain film/tv genres and sub-genres to benefit the characters it focuses on and the stories they are telling. The Iron Man movies puts focus on science fiction and AI, Captain America movies are thrillers involving spies, politics and psychology, Thor movies revolve around Greek mythology, Ant-Man movies are heist thrillers, Guardians of the Galaxy movies are space operas, etc.. This is also the kind of mindset I see being added to these side stories and spinoffs we’ve gotten thus far and that could be a key focus for the foreseeable future.
For this piece, I’ve decided to take a look at least five of these Star Wars stories and streaming series that have played with other genres within the Star Wars universe. You can debate their quality all day but no doubt, they inspire to show different aspects to Star Wars and that is exactly the property way to keep this franchise fresh and unique for a long time.
Rogue One- War
It’s fascinating how before 2016, there had been numerous amount of Star Wars movies being made since the late 1970s and it can be strongly argued that Rogue One represents the first time that a Star Wars movie can described as being an actual war movie. As a result, Rogue One has a much darker, bleaker tone compare to the other movies in the franchise due to it’s larger focus on the war aspect of this universe than ever before. It’s put more focus on the soldiers on the front line than any other Star Wars movie we’ve seen where we learned just what exactly does it mean to play a small part of an overall larger galactic war. Not mainly through the perspective of the noble heroes who will have legacies which would be inherited, but those who gave up their lives for the greater goods and ones that don’t get much recognition for their bravery.
We never learn that much about the main characters that we follow which include Jyn Erso, Galen Erso, Cassian Andor, Saw Gerrera, Bodhi Rook, Chirrut Imwe, Orson Krennic, and K-2S0 (Be honest, you have to look up all their names to remember which actor played who!) but we know exactly what their goal is throughout the entire movie, to play their part in a galaxy divided by war and little else. In this case, their part is to get the plans to a dreaded battle system that has the capacity to destroy an entire planet. The kind of plans that can showcase a weakness and give the Rebel Alliance a chance to strike a crippling blow to an all powerful empire. They may not make it out alive, but as they all know in a time of war, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Gareth Edwards perfectly captures that bleak aspect to war with his brilliant camera work and scope along with showing the heartbreak that their are plenty of heroes out there that will never get the recognition that they deserve to get. It’s no Saving Private Ryan for sure, but that definitely does make for a very mature and grounded Star Wars tale.
Solo- Heist
The second and (at least at the moment) final Star Wars anthology movie shows a younger Han Solo in his early adventures. The key pitch here is that he must form a band of smugglers to recover a valuable coaximum to the mining planet of Keseel. Not only do we see how Han Solo would eventually become the smuggler we all know and love but the sub-genre this movie goes for is with an old traditional heist flick.
Throughout the movie, we Han with his lover/partner Qi’Ra, his new pals Chewbacca and Lando, and also his mentor figure in Tobias dispatch plans of their own to find these mines that they need to collect without it falling to the enemies. We also get some traditional editing your normally find in heist flicks, strategies or (lack there of) paying off, and sees chases and pursuits like no other as they work their hardest to recover the McGuffin that they need to get paid. There’s not much else to Solo aside from some truly on-the-nose answers to the origin story-checklist of questions that the Ron Howard and the Kasdans felt that the viewers needed, but it is different enough from other Star Wars movies with it’s intention on playing around with the genre of heist movies.
Even though Solo was a big flop at the box office, it did set the stage for what will most likely be the prime focus of Star Wars with the brand new streaming series.
The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett- Western
The first two shows to kick off the streaming service era of Star Wars are ones that have mostly been based off of spaghetti westerns. From the outfits to the bars to the lightning to the gun slinging showdowns, there has nothing that come close to give the feeling of the old westerns quite like these two series.
Before George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, there have been talks of a live-action Star Wars taking place in the “underground” world of Star Wars, mostly around the hidden undergrounds in say, Coruscant. There were even reports that Lucas had scripts for at least 100 episodes already written. However, the series never saw the light due to budget restraints from Lucasfilm. While I can’t quite say if The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett was exactly what Lucas had in mind, I can’t help but get the feeling that this was the kind of vibe that he was going for. A series that takes a closer look at the scum and villiany corner of the galaxy that pays homages to old westerns and crime tales. Whether it’s about Mando or Boba Fett himself, no doubt that these two series were successful in giving us a glimpse of what exactly Star Wars can be like outside of the Skywalker saga, albeit there may or may not have main characters from any of those big films or series.
These shows also have a very refreshing “back to basics” feel to it as it shows the audience a different side to the franchise without feeling the need for the stakes to be grand and epic even when it flirts with it at times. There’s no meta commentary or deconstruction elements at played here, it’s just nice shows you can sit back on your comfy couch after a long day’s hard work and enjoy without feeling the need to hint too much about it. It’s also quite refreshing for a tv show to actually feel like a tv show once again with it’s episodic adventures and having to wait a week until the net episode. While Solo did hint at it at times, it’s really The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett that fully embraces the Western traditions that it’s clearly aiming for. And that’s what makes it all the better for it or in the case of Mando, this is the way!
However, I don’t think there has been quite a spin-off or side story that seems to understand gleefully the type of future that Star Wars must have if it wants to continue to grow than the next one that I’m about to talk about.
Visions- Anime
Of all the main Star Wars properties under the Disney umbrella thus far, this one seems to be the one that has gather the least amount of attention on. Which is a shame, because Visions is a series that gladly revisits the ideas, concepts, and inspirations that inspired George Lucas with the first Star Wars trilogy.
More or less than anything else in the franchise since the original movies, Visions reminds the audience that Star Wars was originally inspired by the power of Japanese cinema, particular samurai. Lucas has always gone on record saying that one of his biggest influences with Star Wars goes back to not just Joseph Campbell but also to famous Japanese cinematographer Akira Kurosawa and his 1958 film, The Hidden Fortress. I won’t go to any big specifics on that game changing film but if you look up any sort of information about that film, you will see that there are plenty of homages and comparisons that can be made between the two properties. From the lore of the Jedi to the droid figures to the Flash Gordon-like setting and atmosphere, Star Wars would definitely not be the way it is today without The Hidden Fortress. And that’s exactly why Visions works as it does!
The remarkable thing about Visions and what makes it arguably the most faithful Star Wars work since 2012 thus far is that it understands gratefully why Japanese culture has played such a big role in the evolution of Star Wars and uses that to craft some interesting, beautiful looking tales with likable characters, superb animation, and intense, gripping action sequences. While definitely not the first Star Wars animations to come out after the likes of The Clone Wars (both 2D and 3D), Rebels, Resistance, Bad Batch, that one cartoon droid series and even that animated bit in The Holiday Special that introduced Boba Fett to the world (Yes, really!), there definitely hasn’t been a series that have used the animation to it’s full advantage the way Visions does.
It’s a shame this series hasn’t been recognized the way it has because this more than anything else shows how Star Wars can still be fresh, inventive, and interesting even without the Skywalkers. Except for one episode which has Boba Fett, these mini movies/short films should be a template of the future of this franchise. If Japanese cinema was able to inspire the original Star Wars to have the impact it has had, then it certainly can do that again with these new Star Wars.
In Conclusion:
We might know in a matter of days or weeks of what the future of Star Wars can be. However, I would not be shocked in the slightest that the influence that these two movies and three shows I’ve just talked about play a big role to influence the direction that Lucasfilm will chose to go in. They have recently come out saying that they are wanting to move on from the Skywalker Saga and see how Star Wars can progress outside of that infamous family tree but I would strongly advise them to approach the future in the ways I’ve just mentioned. By taking a page from the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with the annual traditions of Star Wars that have influence both historic franchises while playing in the sandbox of different genres/sub-genres, that will definitely help Star Wars to continue on even 45 years later after A New Hope came out.
Regardless of how the new Obi-Wan show or anything else turns out, there’s no doubt that the way they go about the things outside of the Skywalker clan will determine the future of Star Wars.
When I decide to re-start my blog, I promised myself I wouldn’t make any pieces involving current events or politics. My intention was to write about whatever goes on in my mind about subjects mostly involving entertainment and sports since there was plenty of controversial discourse surrounding with what’s going on in the world now. However, there are limits. There comes a breaking point when something terribly tragic happens that you just can’t ignore it any longer. It’s not just that one event but others events that have come before it and will certainly come after it. Something that saddens you, frightens you, angers you, and sends you into a parallel dimension of rage that you never imagine was possible!. It’s disastrous and heartbreaking that it will make you afraid to leave your own house. In this case, I have to talk about the Texas school shooting that went on today, May 24, 2022.
For context, there was a mass shooting that went on today at an elementary school in Uvaled, Texas. As the time of this post, a total of 21 people have died from this horrific event. 19 children and two adults! It’s the deadliest school shooting that has took place in America since the awful massacre at Sandy Hook nearly a decade ago. The gunman had been described as an 18-year old who attended a high school nearby and also died from the instant. At least one teacher was killed as a result and plenty other students were wounded and eventually died. Many people are scared, heartbroken, and are rightfully pissed off at the world! As am I!
Eva Mireles. The 4th grade teacher who was murdered in Uvalde, Texas today. From her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado: "I'm furious that these shooting continue, these children are innocent, rifles should not be easily available to all." pic.twitter.com/o2g7yROx1T
According to NPR, there has been a total of 27 (!) school shootings that have took place in 2022! That is beyond terrifying and has to be address IMMEDIATELY by the US! Regardless of what they believe the real problem is and why they think it keeps happening, an action of some sort has to be made RIGHT NOW! Continuing to let a terrible matter like this go unaddressed will lead to even more school shootings happening now until God knows when! Take away weapons, limit gun control, address the mentally ill individuals that are somehow able to have access to such heavy weaponry, have school contain more police security! Just do something! Do anything that can make the kids and teachers feel comfortable in their own school and NOT makes parents afraid of sending their own children away from home!
That’s what makes me these horrific events even more terrifying is that it’s happening at schools. The one place that students, parents, and faculties should feel 100% safe in. It should be a nice, harmless place for young people to learn about life and education and teachers should feel safe teaching kids these exact things. I have no clue how a sick and twisted maniac has the heart and will to slaughter young, innocent children in the blink of an eye but that’s unfortunately the real, atrocious world that we are living in today! A world where a state government is more concerned about banning books that feature LGBTQ+ representation than saving the lives of actual children!
The face we now have talks about teachers having guns of their own shows once again how those in the government would rather point their finger at anything that is not the actual problem. How is a teacher having a gun store somewhere in the same room that actual children are in is suppose to make everyone feel safer at school? Children should be NO WHERE NEAR a real gun of some sort and the face there are folks out there that are pushing for teachers to be armed makes me worry about the bleak future that America is heading in! It just makes me even more terrified!
This all makes matters worse to me since recently, I’ve had an interest of becoming a teacher of English. Events like these now makes me dread of becoming one because of terrible circumstances such as that. The fact that there are this many school shootings and can take place at anytime and anywhere makes me afraid of wanting to follow in those footsteps since myself and many children can be slaughtered and there isn’t much the government is willing to do about it. Well, I can’t take it anymore!
There is clear a big flaw here and it’s time America does it’s f*cking job and do something about it that doesn’t result in giving teachers guns! If it’s a gun problem, then take away guns or limit weapon usage! If it’s a mentally ill problem, then lock up these people in a hospital or behind bars! If there needs to be more protection from the police, then provide more protection! However, it’s time to stop doing nothing and just pretend everything is all right when it’s not or trying to fight fire with fire!
We are currently in an age of internet discourse. And if you are someone that has spend at least two minutes of your time encountering or engaging in any kind of internet discourse, you know that it can be quite a toxic environment out there. Because the internet is as open and big as it is know, that means that EVERYONE now has a voice, literally everyone! And usually when an entry comes out in a long-running franchise, no doubt that there are certain folks out there that will take the time to lash out at the creators and cast of that entry on social media to let them know of their hateful and negative thoughts on something that the crew worked hard on for the better part of two to three years. That’s not to say anyone isn’t allowed to have an opinion of their own or to dislike something but there are definitely certain groups of fandom that takes thing way too far. They take their dislike of a certain installment from a series they claim to love as some sort of personal attack and because of that, they believe they have permission to say whatever is on their mind on their social media page and directly at the creative folks involved. It’s discourse like that that honestly has changed the way that movies, tv shows, and games are being made now. Once the people involved know of the amount of backlash they’ve received on their latest project, no doubt that will stay in their heads like a dark cloud on a rain day when working on the next one.
After plenty of folks lashed out on the likes of Prometheus, Batman v Superman, and The Last Jedi, the criticisms of those movies let to the likes of Alien Covenant, Justice League (Theater Cut), and The Rise of Skywalker to be made the way they were. One thing that all three of those latter movies I just mentioned have in common was how painfully obvious it was to many folks who watched those movies that the negative reception to the prior movies clearly affected the thought process behind the camera. Not only that but they were also poorly received by fans and critics which even led some to show some appreciation to the prior movies they previously hated. Not only did those movies not win over the haters of the previous ones but it also alienated the actual supporters of those films making it all around not well-liked pictures.
That’s not to say that absolutely EVERYONE hated those movies, every movie out there has their fans but most would agree that those movies could have been much better if the filmmakers had simply just stick to their guts and make the movie that they originally set out to make (which we did eventually get with Justice League). However, there is one movie out there that I think stands out well because of the obvious course correction of the franchise that surprisingly not a lot people talk about nowadays. That movie being X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Granted, there are plenty of understandable reasons as to why Days of Future Past isn’t remember as much since it came out eight years ago today. Part of it may have to do with the million other Marvel superhero movies that have been released since then. Another part of it may have to do with Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix being absolute stinkers while Logan is thought of to be the definite proper finale to the franchise. There’s also the fact that director Bryan Singer is an absolute terrible human being who deserves all the punishment in the world. However, none of those reasoning shouldn’t stop you from getting this marvel-ous (Pun entirely indeed! :P) film a re-watch. Not just because of how inventive, action-packed, and entertaining it is but this is the perfect example on how to do a proper course correction kind of movie.
Make no mistake, the sole reason for Days of Future Past’s existence is to erase the two previously panned X-Men movies, The Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine from reality. It does so by taking a page from Terminator 2: Judgement Day where Kitty Pryde (who is now somehow able to teleport people back in time) has to send Wolverine back in time to stop Mystique from trying to assassinate Trask to prevent the tragic future where those last two X-Men movies happened along with the remaining mutants being hunted down and killed by sentinels. However, the main difference between DoFP and the other three course-correction movies I previously mention is that it uses the course correction as an advantage instead of a disadvantage. It uses as a mean of trying to tell a story that can stand on it’s own without needing to let his course correction hold it back. Best of all, it uses the course correction as the main theme of the movie and the goal that every character throughout is trying to accomplish.
The entire point of the whole movie is about the characters doing everything in their power (literally) to fix the mistakes of their past in the hopes for a brighter future. One which sees mutants living alive and well. One which doesn’t see them wiped out to near extinction. One which sees Charles and Eric be friends from the end of time or at least not wasting the better part of their lives fighting each other. Most importantly, one which X-Men 3 and Origins never happened. It does so by having Logan take a trip down memory lane (literally) and using the knowledge that Professor X taught him to save their past, present, and future all at the same time.
While the film does indeed go into length to critique the films it’s trying to move away from, it never acts as if they didn’t extinct. Aside from some continuity issues (Like how actually did Professor X find another body again?), Days of Future Past does what most course-correcting movies fail to do, acknowledge the previous controversial films existence and justifies it. Was there anything more insulting in Justice League and Rise of Skywalker when they tried to actively pretend the previous movies never happened and the ones the characters saw was COMPLETELY different to what the audience saw on the big screen? Days of Future Past thankfully is able to avoid that mistake throughout the course of the movie, especially with the one scene where Charles looks into Logan’s mind to see his older, future self.
This scene right here is magnificent and truly ensembles everything that works about this film. We see Charles seeing what he and Logan will suffer through in the late future. Many of their own kind dead, plenty of good people and friends that lose their lives, and those that survive will only live to suffer by the humans or sentinels. However, it does show a future where Professor X is able to raise an entire school worth of children with mutant-like powers and become an inspiring leader/teacher to a whole generation of his own kind. A future that can still be possible if they are able to succeed at their missions in stopping the sentinels from ever getting made.
It doesn’t just make for a great meta moment where Charles is basically claiming he doesn’t want a future that include The Last Stand but it works because the film acknowledge those films happened the way they did. It doesn’t try to deceive it’s audience into thinking it was a totally different film than the one they saw many years ago or tries to be denial of it’s mere existence. It admits The Last Stand was indeed a thing in the past but it doesn’t mean it has to be a thing for the future. As the film states several times, the future is never truly set.
That is a key theme that Days of Future Past gets right more than anything. Just because you are a franchise that has your hands tie behind your back by poorly received entries does not mean your current entry has to suffer because of it. It is indeed possible to make a film that addresses criticism of said films but also able to stand on it’s own with a story that benefits the characters and their arcs. All you have to do is show respect for your audience and treat them like proper individuals instead of oversensitive babies that need some warm milk and a diaper change. When making a course-correction kind of a movie, this is the way to do it. Bring up those previous not-so-liked installments, acknowledge their existence, examine/critique them, and then just move on. That is what the characters are able to accomplish by the end of the film and it’s something that the audiences would likely do as well. You can make not so popular movies forgivable if you allow it do instead of trying to make them 100% unredeemable as Mystique did with Trask. By the end of the movie, Logan, Charles, the mutants, and especially the audience are awarded for them sticking around for this long with a ending that works wonders.
While I’m not 100% sure this ending makes any kind of logical sense, there could have not been a more perfect ending for this movie and possibly even for the main series (and it honestly would have made for the better). Not only is it a nice, heart warming scene where we see the characters that died tragically being reborn once again but it also shows that the franchise was now able to control it’s own future. This sets it’s own course where the series is given itself a second leash on life and setting the stage for the kind of bright future that both the characters and audiences had envisioned ever sense the end of X2: X-Men United. Yes, X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix happened and (at least in some alternate timeline) Professor X and Wolverine would share an extremely tragic fate by the middle and end of Logan, but for a brief moment, there was hope once again for X-Men. A feeling that the characters of the movie and the audiences hadn’t felt for quite a long time. It was surely a special feeling to be able to hope again.
(Even so, I kinda like to look back on Days of Future Past and Logan being two distinct endings to the franchises. Days of Future Past is the ending for the newly set timeline that the film itself established while Logan is the ending set in the timeline post-Last Stand. It makes both movies all the better for it in my eyes.)
While there’s definitely a strong argument to be made that Logan is objectively the best X-Men film ever made and First Class might be superior in terms of being a more proper team-up movie, Days of Future Past still stands as my absolute favorite in the series and one of my all-time favorite Marvel films period. From the superb character development to the amazing action set pieces (The Quicksilver scene is still an all-timer!) to the warm, dark tone to the resonate themes to the inventiveness of the time travel storytelling to the inspired score, this is basically everything you can ask for in an X-Men film or in basically any superhero movie in general. I’d even argue this is above Avengers: Endgame in terms of culminating storytelling and handling of the time travel (As great as Endgame is, let’s face it, the time travel makes no sense whatsoever!). But the one thing I believe is most important to take away from Days of Future Past is how just because you are course-correcting your franchise does not mean the overall product has to suffer because of it.
This is the kind of a movie that should be taught in film classes on how to change courses for a series when the people involved with the production feel it’s a necessity. I can’t really recall any movie in recent memory that was able to be a kind of course-correcting movie without feeling the need to sacrifice it’s own quality for a brighter future. There are definitely nicks that can be picked (Again, how does Kitty have time travel powers now?!), but these are forgiving for how rewarding the whole experience is. As curious as I am with how the Marvel Cinematic Universe handles the X-Men property from now on, I can’t imagine them topping this film or craft something as creative and inventive as this. As nuts and “out there” Phase 4 has been so far, Days of Future Past just has it’s own personality and feel that I don’t think the MCU can replicated. Perhaps I’ll be wrong but as I say once again, the future is never truly set!
We live in quite a dire time for mainstream blockbusters films. The main reason for that is how rather simplistic and limited most of the choices are for these kinds of big movies that get released nowadays. If it’s not your standard Marvel or DC superhero action flick, then it’s usually another installment in a fairly long-running franchise that usually acts as a reboot, remake, and remix all at the exact same time. There are certain words that people use to describe that exact kind of media. Some call it a “soft reboot”, others now call it a “re-quel” (No thanks to the new Scream movie!), but I think a more proper and not as well-known term for this is literary remix.
When it comes to a remix in the form of literature, it’s stated that it’s best described as an alternative version of a text. A version that for a brief moment that the people are writing it pretend that this version of the text is the real deal. It’s also when William Burroughs used a technique known as cut-up, which was developed by Brion Gysin to remix language in the 1950s. Various textual sources (including his own) would be cut literally into pieces with a pair of scissors, reorganized on a page, and pasted to form new sentences, ideas, stories, and ways of thinking about words. In other words, it’s takes a familiar story but puts a new spin on it’s characters, plots, and themes to make it feel as it’s the first time anyone had ever seen this story told before.
While Star Wars wasn’t or won’t be the first franchise to have used literary remix as well as media literacy for it’s latest trilogy, it’s undoubtedly the one that most other franchises out there will look to for inspiration. We saw it in 2015 before The Force Awakens even came out with Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys (however that’s suppose to be spelt), and Creed and we have continued to see it in the wake of the aftermath of Episode 7 with the likes of Halloween (2018), Terminator: Dark Fate, The Matrix: Resurrections and Scream (2022). Even if Star Wars is no longer the prime standard for big blockbuster filmmaking nowadays in the wake of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and possibly with the Avatar sequels on the rise, it’s reliance of remix in literature and literacy in the form of media has still made it one to copy it’s tentpole from.
As a result, we have the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Three installments that act more as a big tug and pull, more so than the other previous two trilogies. I’m not gonna pretend I have the slightest clue of what went on from behind the scenes and if there was any real “plan” for these series of films but I will judge all three of them on their own terms and how they connect with the other in ways that I think enforce the argument of it’s reliance on literary remix and media literacy.
The Force Awakens- I Have A Very Familiar Feeling About This
When making A New Hope, George Lucas was clearly inspired by his nostalgia for prime Joseph Campbell. When making The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams was clearly inspired by his nostalgia for prime George Lucas. It’s like poetry, it rhymes, am I right?!
In all seriousness, I don’t think there is a film in this trilogy that helps redefine the idea of literary remix than with Episode 7. When you looking at from a surface level, The Force Awakens mostly comes across as a more modern and updated retelling of A New Hope in terms of plot, characters, themes, and the overall beats it hits. When looking deep inside the surface, this is where the literary remix comes to play. While it does indeed borrows many of those kinds of plot, characters, and themes that the original Star Wars provided, The Force Awakens uses those major beats and put them in reverse.
The biggest examples of this is some of the arcs and journeys that the main characters go through majorly reflects the one from A New Hope but has a different spin on it. It’s not a princess this time that is trying to keep the main McGuffin away from the bad guys, it’s a hot-shot pilot. The main protagonist doesn’t want to move on from the desert planet they are currently stranded on, instead the main protagonist wants to stay there in the hopes that her unknown family might return one day. It’s not the older, wisest character of the bunch that is the mentor figure in this story, it’s older, wisest character that acts as a tour figure and guide to have these newer characters feel welcome in the Star Wars universe. It’s not the big battle to destroy the plant-killing system that is the actual point of the climax, it’s the big lightsaber fight between the three main leads that matters the most. It’s examples like these that reflect the overall character themes that the Episode 7 undeniably borrows from Episode 4 but feels pursued to flip the script on them by telling a very similar story in a way that the original Star Wars did not. Rey is not Luke Skywalker, Finn and Poe Dameron are not Han Solo, Kylo Ren is not Darth Vader, and Snoke is DEFINITELY not The Emperor. The arcs of those characters might be similar to the original trio of characters on paper but the internal conflicts that they go through cannot be more different.
Rey is a nobody who discovers she has access to a big power and wants to use in the hopes of finding a family that she never had. Finn is someone that deep down wants to make a difference but is searching for the reason and purpose to do so. Poe Dameron is basically a cocky dudebro who likes to show to everyone why he’s the best star pilot in the galaxy. Kylo Ren wants to be able to unlock that unlimited power that would make his long lost grandfather, Darth Vader proud. This is all vastly different than to the internal conflicts that Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie go through in the original, especially within the context of this movie. Leia is struggling to keep the Rebel Alliance a float post Return of the Jedi, Luke had fallen into the same trappings that his Jedi mentors before him suffered from, and Han basically acts as the driving force between the old and new elements of the picture while acknowledging how his journey during the original trilogy and after has affected him mentally and emotionally. It’s the character dynamics and the way each character old or new is portrayed that makes The Force Awakens a standard definition of literary remix.
There is no denying that The Force Awakens borrows many of it’s elements from A New Hope but it also can’t be deny the way that this help send an example of the remix culture that we are in now. The key trick is that is uses the idea of modern myths and inspirations that help make the original Star Wars happen by using the franchise’s own myths and inspirations that J.J. Abrams was clearly inspired by to make this form of literary remix even remotely possible. This movie may follow the rules of Star Wars to a T but it certainly does have it’s own ways to do so.
The Last Jedi- Breaking The Unwritten Rules
While this next one dives into literary remix as well, it’s more reliant on media literacy than any others. Similar to how George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, and Irvin Kershnner use the structure for The Empire Strikes Back as a means of breaking the rules of how movies are suppose to be made, Rian Johnson uses the structure for The Last Jedi as a means of breaking the unwritten rules of a way a Star Wars movie is suppose to be made. Despite how undeniably similar The Last Jedi is to Empire Strikes Back and (to some extent) Return Of The Jedi in terms of plot beats and structure, it still does attempt something that no other filmmaker has tried before with Star Wars, questioning it’s own existence. To plenty of folks out there, that is not suppose to be the case as what the film’s story turns would demonstrate.
Luke Skywalker isn’t suppose to be bitter, broken, and going as far as to say the Jedi must end, he’s suppose to be optimistic, whole, and inspire the next generation of Jedi regardless of what has happened in between trilogies, just like how he was at the end of Return of the Jedi. Snoke isn’t suppose to die before revealing any of his so-call backstory, he’s suppose to be the evil mastermind that explains his whole backstory and plan to everybody and be the main villain throughout the whole trilogy, just like the Emperor. Admiral Ackbar isn’t suppose to die unexpectedly and be replaced in command by a purple haired woman who makes the logic breaking but badass sacrifice herself, he’s suppose to say his iconic catchphrase and go out like a true hero, just like in Return of the Jedi (at least the first part anyway). Finn and Rose aren’t suppose to fail their side mission, they’re supposed to succeed it or that sequence might come across as a big waste of time despite it being necessary for the final shot of the film. Leia isn’t suppose to use the force to save herself in space, she’s suppose to use the force in a way that her brother only can, like in Empire Strikes Back. Yoda isn’t suppose to back up Luke in claiming that the Jedi must be extinct, he’s suppose to be an ally to the Jedi as long as he is one with the force, just like how he was in both the prequel and original trilogy. Rey isn’t suppose to be revealed as a nobody, she’s suppose to be related to a Skywalker or Kenobi because of how powerful with the force that she is, just like with Luke Skywalker in the originals. Lastly, Luke isn’t suppose to die at all, he’s suppose to live on for all eternity just because…..he can?! All of things aren’t suppose to happen yet they did.
That makes the media literacy stand out the most in The Last Jedi as oppose to the other two movies in this trilogy. It’s unafraid to access, analyze, and evaluate itself in the hopes that this could lead to a great, many things. If it has to harshly condemn it’s characters for constantly making mistakes from the past in the hopes that they may evolve passed it in the future, then so be it. It doesn’t become any more obvious then the way they follow through on the character and plot lines in the way that you are not suppose to in a Star Wars movie. Whether you’re suppose to or not, it is the way it is.
Luke Skywalker is broken shadow of his former self that was consumed by his own sins and failures of the past who forgot why he came a Jedi in the first place. Snoke is nothing more than a stepping stool to Kylo Ren’s progression towards the dark side and make him the most powerful version of his grandfather than ever. Ackbar is just some random character who is iconic for his design and line that has been memed to death and nothing more. Holdo is just a more important character and helps Poe’s arc about not being a hot head all the time and learn to obey your superiors knowing that moment will always come to you at the right moment. Leia can use the force to save herself from space because she just now can. Finn and Rose go on that Canto Bight quest as a means of seeing Rose’s point of view with being on the Resistance along with setting up the final sequence of the film with the kid looking off to the bright moon. Yoda agrees with Luke that the Jedi must end and something else within the force must begin. Rey is a nobody who must now forge her own path to find her place within the Star Wars canon. Lastly, Luke is now at long last with the force and is in complete inner peace while discovering the true purpose to being a Jedi, that the Jedi use the force for knowledge and defense, NEVER for attack! All of those things are true and the film can’t help but think it’s much better because of it.
Whether you like it or not, The Last Jedi is the first Star Wars to openly question the franchise’s existent and asks questions on it’s mind that it believes need to be asked if Star Wars is to have any sort of future beyond the Skywalker Saga. Heck, it even lies well with what I mention about how the Jedi were portrayed in the prequel trilogy and Clone Wars era, they just can’t help but suck.
And Luke has the point here. Regardless of how much success the Jedi might have had in their history, there will always be something that holds them back and make them destined for failure. From the downfall of Yoda’s student in Count Dooku to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s student in Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker’s student in Ben Solo, it’s an endless cycle that will always make the Jedi set up for failure. The only way to escape this countless cycle is to break it and rebuild it to a cycle that works. It might not be the Jedi way but it is definitely the way.
The Last Jedi in a lot of ways can be seen as the anti-Star Wars movie but it does feel like one that stands out as being the one movie in this trilogy that George Lucas in his prime would have made. One that feels the need to break traditions to make room for newer and better ones. One that isn’t afraid to test it’s audiences with what they want and expect out of Star Wars. And one that isn’t afraid to break rules if it makes the overall film worthwhile. However, how worthwhile the middle chapter in this supposed trilogy will be will depend on how the third and final installment follows it up.
Duel Of The Fates/The Rise Of Skywalker- Jekyll and Hyde
Okay, so this one might be weird since I’m not just covering The Rise of Skywalker but also Duel of the Fates, a suppose first draft leaked that was previously written by initial Episode 9 director Colin Treverrow and his co-writer Derek Connolly. The reason for it is because both of these movies provided completely different follow-ups to The Last Jedi. One acts as a counter point, the other acts as a counter argument. That’s why I feel it’s best to examine both of these to this Jekyll and Hyde-style final entry in the sequel trilogy.
Duel of The Fates- Counter Point
In case you didn’t know, Duel of the Fates was the original title for Episode 9 that the previously hired director Colin Treverrow had in mind before he was let go of the project due to creative differences with Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm. However, shortly after The Rise of Skywalker came out, there was a link that confirmed the original first script for Episode 9 that was submitted in 2016, about a week before Carrie Fisher unexpectedly passed away. I won’t pretend to know why exactly Treverrow was fired and what exactly in his script that turned the folks at Lucasfilm the wrong way but for what this leaked script shows, it does acts as a logical expansion to the lessons and themes of The Last Jedi regarding the need for the force to have a new light and using that spark of hope that Luke gave the rebellion at the battle of Crait and passed that on to the whole galaxy.
In this Duel of the Fates script, we see the character’s taking the most logical step forward possible with their arcs along with giving them a definite conclusion to their stories that feel fresh and unique in it’s own right. By the end, Rey is able to proper find the right balance between the light side and the dark along with discovering her true purpose in her life, Finn is able to become that inspiring leader to other turned stormtroopers and folks who desperately need a reason to hope again, Poe is able to honor the legacy of his previous General Leia and Admiral Holdo by become the responsible leader they would have wanted him to, and Kylo Ren ends up dying along with Ben Solo being the last Skywalker to suffer a tragic, inevitable fate. It’s able to hit the beats that I imagine someone who agreed with what The Last Jedi was saying would follow it up by.
This is a script that is able to expand the forces in ways that no other film in the series had before, explore that “gray” area of the force that makes the entire Skywalker saga feel like it’s come full circle, show how inspiration and having each other’s back can help anyone conquer evil, show off action sequences that would make for a rather mindblowing experiences in the theaters, and is able to bring a ending that feels definite, proper, and is able to justify the existence of it’s own established trilogy. Oh, and it also ends in the way that George Lucas initially had in mind for the ending of the original trilogy, having C-3P0 and R2-D2 recapping the events of all Star Wars films to a bunch of total strangers.
There might be some questionable plot elements in there (like a Rey and Poe romance, the Emperor’s master still around, and Kylo being the killer of Rey’s parents) but no doubt, it is able to follow through on the plot points established from the previous two films and make a ending that feels like it’s own thing in spite of similarities. Which makes it seems odd that this ended up being the Episode 9 we never actually got.
The Rise of Skywalker- Counter Argument
While no doubt many can describe The Rise of Skywalker as being a retcon to The Last Jedi, I view as more of a counter argument of it. There are definitely many plot points from the previous film that certainly doesn’t come across as a progression of that story but more of The Force Awakens. While The Last Jedi seems to argue that Star Wars needs to move beyond it’s own standards and traditions, The Rise of Skywalker seems to argue that Star Wars should not move past it and remain what it is since that has what made the franchise last for as long as it has. Where The Last Jedi used media literacy and (to some extent) literary remix about the Star Wars franchise up to this point, The Rise of Skywalker can’t help but use both of these elements about the movie that came before this one. This is shown through how the movie follows up the plot threads of the previous movie and how it can’t help but feel familiar to previous Star Wars movies because the movie thinks it just isn’t Star Wars if it didn’t do exactly that.
Rey shouldn’t be a nobody who must forge her own path with the force but be related to one of the force-using characters from the previous films because Star Wars always has ties to lore and family heritage. Finn shouldn’t be a standard stormtrooper who should set an inspiration to others but be a suppose force-user because the force has to be expanded upon in some way shape or form. Poe shouldn’t be his own cocky character with a mysterious backstory but should be that along with a backstory that represents the kind of smuggler that Han Solo was. Kylo Ren shouldn’t be the main villain in the final installment but be a stepping stool to The Emperor’s return to take his revenge on the galaxy and that the final movie needs a big bad guy to increase the stakes. The Rise of Skywalker seems very hellbent on sticking to the own traditions and tropes that Star Wars is most well known for because it thinks it wouldn’t be Star Wars without it.
Does that make Star Wars perfect? Nope, but it definitely makes Star Wars the way that Star Wars always has been. It’s familiar and imperfect because it’s Star Wars. That’s not to say that Rise of Skywalker changes everything from Last Jedi, it does play a bit with that force bonding trick that movie introduced to create a pretty creative lightsaber fight between Rey and Kylo and even paying off Luke sacrifice’s in the battle of Crait by Lando bringing everyone and their mother from the galaxy into the final battle. However, when viewing it in hindsight, you can’t help but feel that The Rise of Skywalker is definitely at movie that is at war with itself. This can mostly be because that J.J. was involved with the first film in the trilogy and someone entirely different was involved in the second one, but the movie still can’t help but feel like a two-and-a-half long response to the Last Jedi and less of a continuation of it that Duel of the Fates was looking to be.
It’s hard to say exactly how Episode 9 would have fared if Treverrow was never fired and Carrie Fisher was still around but it is quite fascinating that we have at least two different versions of what can be described as the final film of the sequel trilogy along with the Skywalker sage and how each one seems to react differently to the previous two films. Whether it’s for the better or not, no doubt if it makes this comes across a Jekyll and Hide-style psychological war in itself that it can’t help but feel like two different endings of a trilogy does in fact exist.
In Conclusion:
Regardless of what your opinions are on the prequel trilogy and how well it was executed, you can’t deny that George Lucas was trying to provide a COMPLETELY different experience than with the original trilogy. The sequel trilogy, with it’s reliance on literacy remix and media literacy, doesn’t try to be all that different but rather be as familiar with the original trilogy as possible.
Some might view that as a big con but it can actually be described as a big pro. Sometimes re-introducing a generation to a new era of Star Wars by following the similar beats that introduce previous generations to Star Wars can be seen as a necessary evil. Sometimes a series doesn’t need a visionary or something with a so-called “plan” to make it worthwhile, sometimes it’s exciting to just start from scratch and find out for yourself along with the audience the path you will find yourself taking to reach your endgame. Sometimes it’s interesting to see familiar beats be done in new and twisty ways. Sometimes it’s okay to admit that something that many would describe as perfect is actually imperfect. Sometimes it’s okay to admit that Star Wars, warts and all, is just simply Star Wars.
It’s hard to say how others will view the sequel trilogy in hindsight and if future film classes will look into the film’s subtext and meta commentary in the way that I just did. However, there are definitely lessons, both good and bad, to be learned with these three movies and these are lessons that hopefully future Star Wars installments or even other franchise installments will take to heart. The future of the aftermath of this trilogy is unknown but as a wise old Jedi master once said in a different era of this franchise, “Always in motion is the future and many possible futures there are!”
Next up: Star Wars Spin-Offs/TV Series
I don’t have the proper trailer to include with this so, yeah.
If there is one piece of dialogue that stands out more than the rest as what the entire prequel trilogy/era is about, it’s “Heroes on Both Sides!” This is a term that is used in the opening crawl for Revenge of the Sith and even as a title of an episode from Season 3 of The Clone Wars series (the 3D version). This is a line that has stuck out to many fans and has led to many discussions of what the true meaning behind that line is.
What exactly does it mean that there are heroes on both sides? Is it really possible that the good guys can help the bad guys and vice versa? Is there even a difference between what can be viewed as good and evil? Can there actually be a middle ground or gray area between this conflict that is basically two sides of the same coin? None of that is officially stated in any form of prequel media but it’s definitely questions that one would most likely think when either watching a film or series, reading a novel, or playing a game from this era of Star Wars.
The Star Wars prequels have been called many things over the past two plus decades but one word I think stands out more than anything else is simply, fascinating. Whether it’s fascinatingly good or fascinatingly bad, it’s no doubt fascinating. As I have gotten older and look into the deeper meaning as to what this timeline of Star Wars is suppose to stand for is how the Jedi’s portrayal throughout this era does strike a fine line between being the heroes of these stories as well as the protagonists. With the original and sequel trilogy, it’s made perfectly clear who’s suppose to be seen as the heroes and villains. With the prequels on the other hand, not so much.
I’ve stated in the past that there is a clear difference between a hero and a protagonist. A hero is someone that can be described as the character that you are following is clearly the good guy or girl of the picture. A protagonist, on the other hand, is simply the main character of the story that you are following regardless if they are good or bad. There’s been multiple different examples as to the clear difference between these two forms of literature but there hasn’t been quite one with the amount of intrigue than the way the Jedi are portrayed throughout the entire prequel era. As of result, I’m going to look at three main Jedi characters that are the main driving forces of this era, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano.
Anakin Skywalker
It’s clear as day that Anakin Skywalker is suppose to be the main character of this entire era. He’s the one that we spend the most time with in both the films and Clone Wars series, he’s the one that grows and changes the most as a character, and is undeniably the one that Lucas and company wants the audience to believe is the most important character of this era. Just as the original trilogy was about Luke Skywalker learning to bring the light into full balance to corrupt the dark, this trilogy/era is about Anakin Skywalker having the dark trump the light in a way that it brings both of these respective eras into a full circle. It’s the bloodlines of both Skywalkers that had decided the fate of the galaxy at least two times (and later three). Whereas Luke’s journey towards the rise of the Jedi was rather simple and straightforward, Anakin’s journey towards bringing the end to the Jedi is more complicated.
Once we see him as a young boy in The Phantom Menace, we see what we would expect from any kid his age, a little fella that is burst with energy, excitement, and optimism for what lies ahead in his life once he is able to break free of being a slave. It’s once he meets Qui-Gon Jinn that gives Anakin a chance to live the life of a Jedi Knight, something he claims that he has always dreamed of. Anakin is in the mindset that this will not only bring great power to himself but being able to bring that power along with others which he believes can free his mother from slavery and even save people from dying. However, as he grows older he sees that the life of a Jedi isn’t what he envisioned. As a matter of fact, being a Jedi can totally suck.
There are many things that is considered to be forbidden for a Jedi. Things such as love, attachment, and even just plain emotion is considered a cardinal sin for a Jedi. It’s considered a sin because it is believed that feeling anything resembling love, attachment, or emotion can make start down the dark path towards the dark side. However, with what we see with Anakin throughout the amount of time we spend with him throughout the movies and tv shows, it does raises a few question marks as to whether or not that is actually legit?
Throughout Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith (at least the first half anyway) and both Clone Wars series, we constantly see Anakin breaking the rules as to what you can be as a Jedi. He’s secretly married to Padme, he has grown attachment to his master and his apprentice, he constantly feels fear, anger, guilt, and aggression, and we even see him flat out murder tusken raiders (all the men, women, and children of their kin that he describes), but he still remains himself. For at least a good portion of the Clone Wars timeline, he still remains loyal to being a Jedi and nothing with being a Sith. Why is that?
Despite breaking the codes and traditions, he is still able to manufacture well as being a Jedi. It’s not until near the very end of the war that he slowly starts to descend down the dark path. After his apprentice leaves the order, his master siding more with the Jedi council than his own student when he doesn’t get ranked as a master, and having bad dreams that his wife will suffer the same fate as his mother that gets Anakin to snap and turn his back against the Jedi. It’s the more time the spends with the Jedi and the people around him that he becomes closer and closer towards the dark side of the force. It wasn’t because of him breaking the rules that made him become a Sith by the end of it, it was him realizing that those rules were holding him back to unlock his true power that he could provide for himself and the ones he cares about.
It’s 100% intentional that the point of the prequels was to show someone like Anakin Skywalker can turn evil but it’s hard to describe whether it’s through the perspective of Anakin as a hero or as a protagonist. If the Jedi codes is anything to go back, perhaps that was the one thing that was keeping Anakin from being who he really is. There will be a bit more details on this matter later on (particularly about Anakin’s role as the “chosen one”) but for now, it’s worth noting that Anakin can be described as the kind of Jedi that just shows how flawed their traditions are.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Of the three main Jedi characters that the prequel era focuses on, Obi-Wan Kenobi is undoubtedly the one that is the best example of a Jedi that has been able to adapted to their own rules, traditions, and beliefs. He was the apprentice of a wise Jedi Master known as Qui-Gon Jinn. He is described as being as wise as Yoda and as powerful as Mace Windu. Most importantly, he uses his powers of the force the way the Jedi have intended, the way that Yoda even officially states to Luke in Empire Strikes Back, for knowledge and defense, NEVER attack.
Obi-Wan is considered the one Jedi that is constantly referred to as the negotiator. He’s always tries to use the force to find ways to get through conflict with not physical attack but with words. He uses the force to defend the ones he needs to protect, not to attack those who oppose him. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the main Jedi that we know is 100% fully committed to be a Jedi. He follows everything to a t, explores the good that can come with being a part of the organization as well as the bad, shows wisdom and compassion for others, and knows the true meaning of being a Jedi Master. However, he’s definitely not one-noted and has even had cracks in the armor.
Firstly, there was a relationship he once had with Satine Kryze, the queen of Mandalore, when he was younger. Despite her being Obi-Wan’s one-way ticket out of the life of being a Jedi, he remained committed to being a Jedi but admitted that had Satine said the word, he would have left the Jedi Order. That helps ties back into Anakin’s suppose relationship with Padme. A relationship that is never 100% stated that Obi-Wan knows (at least until after Anakin turns) but deep down, he does know about it. Obi-Wan knows the feeling of love and attachment despite it being forbidden for a Jedi. He knows the feeling of wanting to leave the organization so he could be allowed to feel that without much remorse or regret to it. He understands wanting to walk away from the order, just like Anakin once stated to someone else he carried about. Just like how that certain someone knew, Obi-Wan surely knows as well.
There also comes Obi-Wan’s worst nightmare coming back to life in the form of Darth Maul. The one man that represents Obi-Wan’s potential pull towards the dark side. That pure evil that was somehow able to survive being cut in half in The Phantom Menace but is now back and possibly even more dangerous than ever. I won’t get into all the actions that Darth Maul commences to make Obi-Wan snap but the one moment that sticks out is the two’s first confrontation since their one in Naboo. Obi-Wan is clearly overwhelmed by Maul and his apprentice and it’s the one moment that Maul brings up the death of Qui-Gon along with Obi-Wan’s clearly emotional reaction to it. Obi-Wan breaks and tries to end the fight with Maul but gets kicked to the side as he is clearly unfocused. It’s then that Maul speaks of these important lines, “Your rage has unbalanced you! That is not the Jedi way, is it?!”
Start at 2:00 to watch the part I’m talking about.
It’s that moment along with the events that transpires between him and Maul throughout the rest of Clone Wars into Rebels than even a Jedi has clearly noble as Obi-Wan Kenobi can be tested with what it means to be a Jedi. Obi-Wan is definitely the most noble Jedi of the three that I’m discussing for this piece. However, just because he’s noble doesn’t mean he has to blindly agree with everything he stands for. He’s just good at hiding it.
Ahsoka Tano
Now, here we go with the character that despite making no appearance in the three movies and not even referenced, is arguably the most important character in the prequel era. While George Lucas clearly intended for the prequels to be strictly about Anakin Skywalker and his turns towards the dark side, Ahsoka’s story is also one that greatly resembles that one. However, the only difference is that Ahsoka’s growth is not strictly to turn to the dark side after first joining the light but to reject both sides.
When we first see Ahsoka at the beginning of the Clone Wars feature film, she basically resembles Anakin as a young kid. She’s energetic, hopeful, and optimistic with what she can be as a Jedi and is hoping to seek thrills and exciting adventures for what is to come. As the series go on, Ahsoka learns to be more mature and responsible as a Jedi Knight. While she still has that snippy attitude and will crack a one-liner or two, she soon starts to realize that war is not all fun in games and lead to dire consequences if she is not careful. She slowly starts to take her first steps as not just a more mature adult but also seeing through the faults of the Jedi order.
A big question that many folks has always asked was how is it that Anakin’s personality and character seem to radically change in the Clone War series but not in Episode II or III? An obvious answer can be that Lucas and his crew clearly didn’t plan ahead to make the continuity more consistent in between the films and the series but a more honest answer would be Ahsoka herself. Regardless of whether or not it was planned from the beginning, it’s Ahsoka that represents the light in Anakin during his time in the Clone Wars. The kind of light that Anakin was missing during his earlier time with his master Obi-Wan at the beginning of the Clone Wars and the king of light that Anakin was most desperate for after his apprentice left.
That is a big reason as to why, despite not making an appearance in any of the films, there may not be a more important character in the story of Skywalker than Ahsoka Tano herself. Not just because her story can mirror the likes of both Luke and Anakin Skywalker respectively but she also represents the gray area of the force and the independent nature of it. When she walks away from the Jedi order at the end of Season 5, that wasn’t because she has now pledge alliance to the dark side, it’s because of how she has pledge her alliance to no one, not even herself. She no longer represents the Jedi and never represents the Sith, so who side can she be on? That is the question that Ahsoka most likely had ask herself after her departure from the Jedi, even when she kinda gave them an extra hand in the final few episodes of the series. Even though the films themselves have never fully committed to exploring the “middle-ness” of the force except for a handful of hints here and there, Ahsoka is a prime example of how sometimes there is not an easy answer as to what side of the force once wants to be fully committed. Both the light and dark sides have their strengths and weaknesses but also have their own rules and traditions that one must obey if they wish to become one or the other. At the end, Ahsoka simply refused to play either game. She may understand why others will but she can never do it herself.
True Intentions of the Jedi
When looking through the prequel era of Star Wars and how the Jedi are portrayed, one can’t mistake them for being very dumb and arrogant. They were all one-note, emotionless, unaware of the real world which they live in, and even couldn’t figure out the fact that the Palpatine, the main bad guy they had been looking for all along was hiding in plain sight the whole time. Because of that, it lead to their destruction and own extinction. They were able to let all of it slip through their fingers because of their refusal to evolve. At the same time, one can’t also mistake the fact that perhaps this was the intention all along.
Perhaps the Jedi being portrayed the way they were was what the Lucas was trying to do the whole time. He never saw the Jedi as being the perfect organization or one that audiences show grow up wanting to be, he saw it as an organization that is best to avoid or taking any inspirations from. He never saw the Jedi as being as much more out of the dark that the Sith were. Perhaps he was never trying to make the Jedi come across as the heroes of their own story. Perhaps he was actually trying to get across the fact that the Jedi….kinda suck.
When looking at it through those lenses, the prequel era can be best described as being about flaw traditions and religions and what happens when you stand by those beliefs without bother to question it or move on from them. Sometimes that can lead to evolution, other times it can lead to destruction. And there was now three characters throughout this era of Star Wars that seem to have an understanding of that than with the trio of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano.
The Real Meaning of The Chosen One
One last thing to talk about when describing the inner conflict between the heroes vs protagonists narrative with the Jedi is what the true meaning of The Chosen One is suppose to be. The films themselves claim that this terms comes from a prophecy (which really doesn’t get explained or focused on) that refers to the one that will bring balance to the force by putting an end to the dark side and restore peace and justice to the galaxy. The Jedi order believes is to be Anakin Skywalker, strictly because of how high his mini-chlorians counts are and not much else.
Personally, I found the whole chosen one thing to be more of a metaphorical term than one that has any story meanings. Heck, even Anakin during The Clone Wars at one point claimed it was just a myth. However, when looking at it from a story perspective, this also ties back into the flaws of the Jedi. They were in that same stubborn mindset that some random boy was the supposed chosen one just because of a high blood count. They believe that Anakin was the one that have been looking for all along. They were willing to bet the farm on this young man because they believed he would be the chosen one just because. They were trying to hype him up into something he was just not or even was. Yet, what they believed turned out to be true….from a certain point of view.
Sure, in the end, Anakin Skywalker might have fulfilled his destiny by saving his son and destroying the Emperor (at least for the next 30+ years) but he didn’t quite do it from a heroic standpoint but from his own standpoint. He didn’t destroy the Emperor as a means of redemption or sacrifice, he did it because he liked his son a bit more than him. He wasn’t trying to be a hero, he was just trying to peserve his family name. This was both an act that could be described as both selfless AND selfish.
That might have exactly been the part of the prophecy that could have been misread as Yoda stated. Anakin might have been The Chosen One in the end but just because he was The Chosen One does not mean he had to be a hero.
In conclusion:
When viewing the prequels yet again, it’s hard to know get caught up in the complex nature of it. Whether you like it or not, it’s so vastly different and multilayered in every sense of the word, more so than any other forms of Star Wars media. However, one that does stand out the most for me is to whether or not the Jedi themselves can be described as heroes or even simply good guys. They’re not necessarily bad guys by any means but good guys might be a far stretch.
Throughout the prequel era, we slowly see the Jedi make mistake after mistake, compromise after comprise, that ultimately leads to their own downfall. It was being so strict and accustomed to their own standards and beliefs that blinded them as much that they thought it would make themselves immortal, when in actually just made them inhuman. It’s not exactly love or fear that leads to the dark side, it’s how the Jedi always seems to act and speak that it does. When the likes of Anakin, Obi-Wan or Ahsoka felt that, it wasn’t because they were turning evil, they were just being human. In the end, that is what the Jedi seemed to lack most in the end, humanity. Regardless if they stood out as the heroes or main characters of their own stories, the lack of humanity is what led to the end of the order until it didn’t. Guess that was the exact price that Rey, Ben, and company would have to pay over half a century later. The Jedi just can’t help but suck!
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