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Just A Skink
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Ouch! Those Jedi are going to need some Beskar.
Ouch! Those Jedi are going to need some Beskar.
Sigh... I wasn't a huge fan of the PT, but I still wish Lucas hadn't sold Star Wars to Disney. I know it's pointless to rehash what can't be changed, but that's what I do.
Although I know there are some negative connections with merchandising, I LOVED the old Star Wars toys as a kid. I only casually kept up with the newer figures. It's a shame they were priced out of the more everyday kid's/parent's range. I feel the "age of the action figure" has been over for a while.Certainly they've had a pretty awful track record so far, with Rogue One and the Mandalorian arguably being the only live-action successes in general (and the latter I'll only watch if it ever arrives on DVD, because I'm voting with my wallet against streaming services, and from what glimpses of it I've seen it doesn't look particularly good). I personally liked Solo, but not as much as Rogue One and of course I know it was financially one of their biggest failures, if not the biggest one.
Also a personal gripe is that I really dislike how they've handled the merchandise since the Disney takeover - before it got its grubby mouse-sized hands on the franchise, the quality of Star Wars figures was excellent - a great amount of poseability for an affordable price (£7-8 in the UK), and in the latter years each one came with a battle game card and dice, which I thought was a nice extra touch that showed they were putting the effort into it. Then after the takeover that all went out of the window, and the one affordable line that had everything was replaced with two different ranges of 3.75s, one a terrible-quality range for about the same price as the previous Lucasfilm line figures, the other a line with high-POA figures as per the original range (and sometimes even better), but only the bare minimum accessories and each figure costing a huge amount, £15 over here when not reduced, rarely the kind of money that children can afford.
I'm holding out hope for Andor and Obi-Wan though, but only because those feature Rogue One content and Obi-Wan respectively which is thoroughly my kind of Star Wars. If they ruin those with Ahsoka content, wokeness or inserting clearly non-Star Wars stuff into Star Wars (I'm looking at you Power Ranger Speeders in Book of Boba Fett) then my faith in Disney's Star Wars will be all but lost.
You don't need Tom to teach you that, all fans know Episodes VII-IX are drivel. Indeed I'd be more sceptical at the fan status of those who like Episodes VII-IX than those who don't![]()
Agreed, they are so afraid of going off script with these characters, that they tie themselves to redoing what we have already seen. Solo is the perfect example. They just re-did Han's character arch from the OT. They could have done a lot with the characters, but instead, Lando only has one outfit in different colors, and must wear a Cape. Solo isn't even Hans real last name? Why did his son get that last name and not Organa?I don't like how Disney has handled most of the legacy Star Wars characters. I'd like to think that McGregor coming back means a more effort, but so we'll see.
Rogue One wasn't a perfect movie, and it rode hard on Star Wars nostalgia. But for all of that (or perhaps b/c of all of that?), I still liked the overall story and visuals. There are parts of the story I dislike, but I try to disregard them. I thought the cinematography and pacing, especially of the last battle felt very vintage Star Wars to me.
Naturally, the Vader hallway scene was terrifically menacing and had more contemporary swordplay and force use without looking "over the top with" with twirling, spinning sabers and Force pushing every 5 seconds.
I found Andor kind of so-so in Rogue One, but I know you like him, and I can see some potential for a show... if Disney will commit to even a bit of seriousness similar to the first several Mando episodes. I don't think Kenobi will be good, but that's because (in general) I don't like how Disney has handled most of the legacy Star Wars characters. I'd like to think that McGregor coming back means a more effort, so we'll see.
Agreed, they are so afraid of going off script with these characters, that they tie themselves to redoing what we have already seen. Solo is the perfect example. They just re-did Han's character arch from the OT. They could have done a lot with the characters, but instead, Lando only has one outfit in different colors, and must wear a Cape.
Jar Jar Abrams should have had a full script for all 3 movies, and it shouldn't have been a rehash of what we already have seen.
They should have been so much better.
If it wasn't for Favreau and Filoni, I am pretty sure Disney would have shut down further production of all Star wars properties. Clone Wars, Rebels, and Mandalorian were all great. They did have some time wasting episodes, which takes you right out of it, but for the most part they were fun to watch.
Although I know there are some negative connections with merchandising, I LOVED the old Star Wars toys as a kid. I only casually kept up with the newer figures. It's a shame they were priced out of the more everyday kid's/parent's range. I feel the "age of the action figure" has been over for a while.
As far as the action figures and other merch goes, they really should have stayed the course, and hired collectors and fans as consultants. We could have hit a new golden age of Star Wars Merch.
At this point it's as bad as Star Trek merch, which they just never seem to have been able to get right. Not that they were bad, it was always just too little, too late, with no marketing.
I'm able to sponge off of a family member for Disney+. Mandalorian is actually pretty good. The first season is stronger in my opinion, but even it gets a little cheesy in the last half. Still, it makes a good Star Wars serial show. For me, the second season turns into Mando slightly becoming a background character to "guest stars" in a few too many episodes. Plus, a bit of deus ex machina. The overall story is good though. So, I think it's worth the watch to round out your Star Wars catalogue... or fuel your Disney rage. Ha ha ha.
@Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl Those are some interesting points and I like to hear your take on Star Wars. The final fight in Phantom Menace is great and energetic. But most of the lightsaber battles in the following movies were WAY too twirly and sword-spinny for my taste. I think some of that can be fun and cinematic, but I feel there was just too much of it. The one thing I do like about them (especially the Maul battle), is that more of the strikes were actually deadly and it wasn't just "clashing swords together". Still, the sword fights in the OT were less about the spectacle of the fight, which is where I think the PT lands for me (more style less substance).
I feel like Ahsoka is kind of the hero character through whose eyes the audience follows the Clone Wars story. I think the audience also gets to do that through the troopers in a way. We already have some interesting established characters, so maybe we don't need her.
She is rather earnest and has "hero armor", but few of the Jedi really fail in the show.
Also to be fair...
Jyn = Luke
Andor = Han
K-2 = Chewie
Chirrut & Baze = C-3PO & R2-D2
Galen Erso = Obi-wan
But that's mostly b/c these are character "types" and not necessarily re-hashes of the characters themselves. It's why I'm not opposed to Rebels b/c decent writing/direction can still take the characters on different adventures and in different directions. I agree that some of the characters are more "on the nose", but the series draws inspiration directly from the OT and its concept art. Of course the characters are also heroes, so some of the paths will be familiar.