I found the ST depressing. Especially that everyone who is old had to die and be depressed.
I had preferred that we would have seen the rise of the new Republic and Jedi order.
Showing a different side of Star Wars where peace could be won and the force something that could actualyl heal a broken galaxy would have been too much work and probably demanded too much from viewers. The original trilogy worked for a lot of reasons, much of them due to the fact that nothing like it had been seen on the scale it was attempting, but part of it was optimism. It wasn't the star trek optimism of better living through cooperation and technology, but it was a belief in loyalty and friendship and redemption.
The sequel trilogy tried to copy some of those elements but it never quite succeeds:
TFA: Is a rehash of things that Abrams liked from the first trilogy. And it sets the stage for.. something. What it sets the stage for isn't particularly clear because Abrams hands the baton on to the next director without any real guidance. Lucas may not have had much of a plan but he was more or less consistent. It has its good points, but it doesn't get to capitalize on them. I might have liked it better if it had been set 200 years after ROTJ, with Luke, Han and Leia distant memories who lived their lives and passed on into myth. This poor fucking galaxy never got a minute's respite. Well.. it's not called Star Peace. Seriously, this is a really shitty galaxy. I can see why the ET species moved over to ours.
TLJ: I think I would have liked this as a standalone movie that had nothing to do with Star Wars, or as a standalone star wars movie that had nothing to do with any of the major arc characters. I've stated my reasons why I don't like it for what it is. I don't expect anyone to agree. Maybe Rian Johnson could do much better given complete control. But really enjoys taking a wrecking ball to myths, why bother with Star Wars? Part of Star War's appeal is also the hero's journey. Luke's was shown to be something of a failure here, as he ends up a book burning murderous ideal betraying crusty old asshole. And his student is just a tool, instead the placeholder for whatever hopes we'd had for the franchise until then. Thanks?
RoS: begins to feel by this point that Abrams, who has never displayed a single original idea in his noggin and has made a very comfortable living making competent rehashes out of the work of his betters, seems to be diving, again, (hi Ben!) into the Extended Universe that was nixed so he didn't have to be bound to it, and not the best parts. Like the TFA, it has good parts. I've yet to see an unwatchable Abrams film. I like most of them. And this is the best of the Second Trilogy, even if it feels like a quick Bondo repair job on the franchise after TLJ. Abrams, just give your third movies in trilogies to Justin Lin. Go with what works.
I went away and came back and I can't remember what my point was, and I don't think anyone is still reading, so I can get away with saying I only passed Algebra in 9th grade by stealing the grade book. Now I will add something about the force and Qui Gon so you will not notice that, but it feels good to finally mention it.
In short, and in conclusion, the entire Second Trilogy is a force dream of Abeloth. The end.
