So, on the one hand, we have JJ Abrams. A director who openly admits that he likes setting up mysteries, but isn't interested in resolving them.
On the other, we have Rian Johnson saying that JJ Abrams set up a bunch of mysteries with no resolution planned in advance.
And you're still saying that it's Johnson's fault?
Abrams set up the plot devices, that's true. But to say they are unresolvable or unworkable is not - Johnson just gave up in trying or working around them. But I think that's going to be bad from the point of view of his customer (who likely is only now starting to realize what's happened), and any explanation for at least some of the points would have been received better by the general audience than just ending them up. It's Johnson's decisions that make the movie look like a mess, and I've already said several times that the story line was still recoverable at the beginning of TLJ. It's certainly not that any more. I personally didn't think TFA was a particularly good movie, left me with the feeling alright, I see what you're doing but let's see where you headed next. Pretty much the only reason I came to see TLJ were the plot hooks and the old cast. There's no reason to see Episode 9 any longer.
Also, wow, you are really reaching here. Disney, after acquiring Marvel and their track record of building a universe using planning across multiple films and genres, has no idea how to structure a trilogy?
Ever heard of management level screw-ups such as
Ratner effect and
Osbourne effect? Or
Elop effect that's both of them together? Remember that Marvel universe is already written and Disney hasn't changed much there. With Star Wars, well, EU and all that... Especially with a recent acquisition of Lucas Films, I really don't find it difficult to believe Disney insisted on making movies with a quicker pace and at the same time cancelled the EU stories. This leaves the first director hanging and also with not a lot of time to write any compelling backstories as you'll have to write the plot to the movie as well. That is how you end up recycling ANH. This is how I read what you said about Johnson's comment - he said
no-body, which I took to include also Disney. Finding the article where he said that might make me think differently.
For all your talk about how successful you are at your company, please let me know which company that is so I can avoid having to deal with them in any way. A director being "difficult to work with" isn't an indicator of quality. Tommy Wiseau is really difficult, and the worst. Spielberg isn't, and makes really good movies. Is a manager who's difficult to work with automatically a good manager? No. Is a manager who's easy to work with a spineless pushover? No.
That's just so brilliant that I may have to put that in a frame in my office!
You haven't been in a lot of company to company negotiations, have you? If you had, you'd probably know that what you are saying would break one of the earliest clauses in the mutual company to company or employer to employee contracts. And unlike certain directors, I honor my contracts and put my customer's advantage first. So how about a resounding NO?
What I did was providing an alternate explanation for why the movie is a mess also from the cutting perspective. That's because the director has allowed all sorts of ideas to be included in his vision. I find it hard to believe the Canto Bight animal rights (ignoring slave kids) is particularly Johnson's idea, or the Porgs in the Millennium Falcon. Or Chewbacca going vegan in a particularly jarring scene that NO bird actually does. These are likely coming directly from Disney.
The point is, until you have worked under a weak director, you don't see through the signs of him mishandling stuff. With Johnson here, I'm seeing enough inconsistency that could indicate he isn't a particularly visionary guy and is instead a yes-man, so I'm saying it out. You are right to criticize that, since I can't provide direct evidence. But it's risk I'm willing to accept.
Right. TLJ "fails to advance character development". In a movie that has all of its main cast go through substantial character development.
Here I disagree. The only person who changed was Luke, and that's... let's say just a story of its own. Disclaimer: I don't see death as a particularly good character development. I mean sure, it's something new, but also a bit... abrupt.
Basically a lot of people are pissed off that they spent ages trying to figure out who Rey and Snoke were and when they didn't get their answers they got mad at Rian Johnson rather than blaming the people who set the unsolvable puzzles in the first place. Mika's doing the exact same thing.
Are you calling me out on being also a Star Wars fan? No, I haven't spend a single second thinking who Snoke and Rey were between TFA and TLJ, I really do have other stuff to do.
What do you mean by "unsolvable puzzles"? If Johnson was going to ignore something, parts of those "unsolvable" puzzles would have been a far more safer option than ignoring the character development in the original trilogy.
Also, found this gem from the depths of the internjet
Episode XI Attack of the Orphans
After space crawl explaining how the galaxy is on the verge of progressive enlightenment, the scene shifts to the Melenium Falcon drifting in space.
- Inside the falcon, the remaining 10 members of the resistance are passing judgment on Chewbacca, who has been accused of an found guilty of killing and attempting to consume a sentient being. For his crime, Chewbacca is flushed into the vacuum of space. Unfortunately, he does not have the force to save him.
- C3-PO and R2-D2 are the only two who object to the verdict and are immediately destroyed and used to construct a much needed second bathroom in the falcon (a quick vote also officially changes the name of the falcon the the "Millennial Falcon").
- General Liea gives everyone remaining a participation trophy then quietly disappears down the hallway of ship, never to been seen again. (see I removed the last pieces of the saga in the first ten minutes)
- Rey takes command and using her new godlike (excuse me, godess like) force powers, force projects the Millennial Falcon back to Jakku.
- After arriving at Jakku, Rey renames the Resistance, Tolerance (with a upper T). Tolerance beings to enforce strong environmental regulations to combat global warming.
- Soon after taking control of the planet, Rey finds Poe guilty of overly manly thoughts and must decide of getting a sex change, so he can better understand of plight of an oppressed female or Poe must work 25 years of hard labor in an environmental work camp. Poe chooses the latter.
- Because of his status of a minority, Finn is allowed to remain with Tolerance but must never speak or have any thoughts of his own.
- Rose realizes she is actually in love with Rey and only had feelings for Finn because of society peer pressure.
- meanwhile Kylo is still stuck at the abandoned rebel base that Tolerance escaped from. Since the only female in the First Order was killed off, frustration mounds as all the white males remaining in the First Order do not have enough intelligence to figure out how to leave the planet.
- Hex, in a sudden flash of brilliance, advises Kylo to order all remaining First Order personnel to refer to themselves as gender fluid.
- After Kylo gives the order (known as order #metoto) he contacts Rey on Forcetime with news of his/her revelation. Delighted that Kylo has enlightened himself, Rey orders Uber for all First Order forces and they travel to Jakku to meet with Tolerance.
- After Kylo and Rey meet at Jakku, force ghost Luke Skywalker appears to both of them. Luke wants to finally impart with final wisdom of the force to them.
- Incensed by Luke's remark that he somehow can so a Millennial anything, Rey convicts Luke of white privilege and sentences him to imprisonment. In a shocking twist, and surprise cameo, the new ghostbusters appear and suck force ghost Luke into a trap and he his never seen again.
- The movies ends with the entire remaining cast holding hands and singing "We Are the World" and dancing around a large fire pit with anything remotely Star Wars burning intensely.
The funny thing is, I could actually see myself paying money to see that
Particularly the Ghost busters and Force Ghosts.
