So I watched the new Star Wars the other night and decided to write up a post, because I did for the other one.
One of the issues people seemed to have with episode 7 was that the storyline was too similar to the original trilogy, and whilst I did somewhat agree with it, I thought they had enough new stuff in there to keep it fresh. Episode 8 was completely different. It has the exact same plot elements lifted from 5 and 6, just in different contexts.
The rebel escape from their base at the end of the film is just Hoth 2.0
Rey being taken by the apprentice of a sith emperor to meet him, and standing there looking out of a window at allied ships being blown up, sound familiar?
Finn and Asian girl being betrayed by white Lando Calrissian
Rey disappearing for pretty much all of the film to find a Jedi master and surfacing just in time to wave a lightsaber about
I also thought a lot of the dialogue was poor, particularly at the very beginning and right around the end. The plot itself did not make a great deal of sense either, in particular the escape of the rebel fleet to their base. Instead of explaining the plan to go to the hidden base, purple hair woman had to deal with a mutiny because everyone thought she wasn't doing anything and Finn ended up on some random planet for an hour pursuing an entirely different plan of escape. Why not just tell them what was going on?
The film does have some good aspects though. Mark Hamill was fantastic and played as much of a role in salvaging the film as Harrison Ford did in the last one, probably even more so. The soundtrack and visual design are also incredible, that is one thing I really love about the new films. It's what I wanted the prequels to look like.
All in all though, Rogue One is by far the best of the new releases. I like that film just as much as the original trilogy.
Edit: I also forgot to mention, the reason I think this film was so haphazard plotwise is due to cuts. You may remember a scene from Episode 7 in which the senate is destroyed by the Death Star. If you rewatch it you will see the camera focus in on a black woman as though she is of importance, and it seems kind of odd. This is because she had an entire side plot cut out of the film where she was debating at the senate, and probably the reason why the film felt like it had no pacing. I believe something similar happened with the new episode, and I really hope they release a different cut at some point.
I'm confused. Episode 7 and 8?
There have only ever been 3 Star Wars movies. Only three!