• ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Are we seriously bringing this nonsense over here to Lemmy as well? The ridiculous binarization of the quality of film & TV has utterly killed media discourse. If everything has to be either “amazing” or “trash fire,” there is just simply nothing to be talked about anymore.

    Was the OT amazing? Yes, it was. I can get on board there.

    Was the PT amazing? No, it was not. Maybe some of it was good, and most of it better than its reputation, but overall the PT was fine. In fact, overall, most content is fine.

    Was the ST a garbage fire? No! It was also fine. Some of it was ok, some of it was actually good. But as a whole, it was fine.

    Rogue One? Pretty good! Not mind-blowing, not bad, better than “fine.”

    Solo? Very watchable. Not bad, worse than “fine.”

    The Mandalorian? Quite good! Occasionally mind-blowing, regularly excellent, always better than “fine.”

    Ahsoka? Also pretty good! Better than “fine.”

    Most media is just fine, and ALL media exists on a spectrum of quality; and pretending like it has to be either mind-blowing or unwatchable dreck makes the whole conversation fall apart. Being able to admit it, and to admit that there are some good elements and some bad elements, or just some things you didn’t jive with, makes you sound more like an adult.

    • Barbarian@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      You skipped Andor. In my very subjective opinion, it’s the best thing in the star wars universe since the OT.

      The writing is razor sharp, the themes are serious and heavy (how does radicalization happen? What does living under a fascist empire feel like for the average person? What does it mean to be a rebel? How much are you willing to sacrifice?), and it really explores the very early rebellion.

      It’s also a great looking series, with lots of practical sets and effects, and it doesn’t retread any familiar planets so they can do cool things with world building.

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Seriously! I absolutely adore/loathe Dedra Meero. She’s such a well written character, I can’t help but hate the woman.

      • bitwaba@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Completely agree. My favorite scene in the show is in the first episode when the second in command dude gets told off by the station commander about how the troopers were off doing some shit they shouldn’t be doing and ended up picking a fight with the wrong person. You get everything you need to know about in that series in like 2 minutes of dialogue. You can see the bureaucracy, the dedication/patriotism, the “grey area” where the bad guys are bad but the good guys are bad too. And most importantly no cute fucking animals. We just get a straight up world building story with real humans that treats the audience like real adults capable of complex thought that can understand the nuance of why conflict arrises.

        • Barbarian@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          treats the audience like real adults capable of complex thought

          Absolutely! Here’s one of my favorite examples of that (spoilers, obviously):

          spoiler

          Mon Mothma picks her husband up from some kinda party. We’ve been told repeatedly by this point that she suspects her driver of reporting to the ISB. She accuses her husband of gambling, and makes a big scene about wasting money. Right after that scene, it cuts to the driver reporting to the ISB and the ISB guy saying that this might explain her money trouble.

          At no point was there dialogue about Mon Mothma’s plan to mislead the ISB and come up with an explanation they might find believable. We’re just presented with who knows what, the action, and the reaction. There’s no need for a monologue about her plan if you trust the audience to put the pieces together themselves.

      • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I actually left out Andor simply because I haven’t finished it. I started it with somebody else and our schedules have never lined up to watch the rest. I’m about to just do it on my own.

          • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I remember thinking that. I think I’ll probably have to rewatch it, because I don’t remember anything that happened. But I do try to make a point not to judge or write off a TV show based upon its first 15-25%. For some shows it’s reeeeeaaaaally hard.

    • rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de
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      10 months ago

      I generally agree, but

      Was the ST a garbage fire? No! It was also fine. Some of it was ok, some of it was actually good. But as a whole, it was fine.

      I’m sorry this objectively is wrong. The ST was the definition of garbage fire. There was nothing fine with it.

          • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Then this is exactly the kind of conversation-ending, inane, useless statement I’m talking about. You’re not actually saying anything; the only possible responses are agreement (in which case, nothing has been gained) or disagreement (in which case, no one’s mind will be changed). It’s the most boring, the most tiring way to have an online discussion. Stating your opinion as an opinion, with a reasoning, is so much more interesting and productive.

            • rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de
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              10 months ago

              I’m not interested in a discussion, this topic was already discussed enough and you can read the obvious results everywhere online.

              The general consensus is that Episode 7 was a soulless remake of Episode 4 and would be fine by itself if it weren’t for Episode 8 and 9, which managed to even turn Episode 7 to an irrelevant piece of media.

              • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                I’m not interested in a discussion, this topic was already discussed enough

                And yet the prequel trilogy, after almost two decades, is being reevaluated and reconsidered. Conversations never end. Things are examined in a new light and different pieces are focused upon. If the conversation about Star Wars was forced to end after one poorly-received decision, the whole franchise would’ve ended with the Special Edition.

                and you can read the obvious results everywhere online.

                The general consensus is that […]

                No, that was the groupthink. There’s no consensus reasoning for those conclusions, which means it was just the “Orthodox Online Opinion.” I prefer to think for myself.

                • SRo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  10 months ago

                  No they were not re-evaluated - a few years ago some trolls on the internet sarcastically praised them and then some daft idiots didn’t get the joke and thought they were serious.

                  • 1ostA5tro6yne@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                    10 months ago

                    or maybe the opinion you thought was so ridiculous that nobody would ever seriously hold it isn’t as ridiculous as you thought and you need to get some perspective

      • 1ostA5tro6yne@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        10 months ago

        the objective definition of garbage fire is literal refuse that is aflame. the sequel trilogies are movies, not quickly-oxidizing litter. the phrase can be used subjectively to describe the percieved quality of something, which is what you’re doing here. if you’re going to pedant at least do it right.

      • TheHarpyEagle@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I rather enjoyed 7 and 8. Granted I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, but I thought they were fun adventure movies with some really cool moments.

    • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      OT was great for it’s time, it’s a little lacking now though but still good.

      PT was bad for it’s time, but with the advent of meming it has become much better. Also Ep 3 is incredible, imo best star wars film.

      Rogue one was pretty good, not mind-blowing but very enjoyable.

      Haven’t seen solo.

      Mandolorian was phenomenal, with only a couple episodes being a little slow.

      Ahsoka was also phenomenal, with no complaints at all.

      But the only way for the ST to be even “ok” is if you separate from the rest of star wars. It just doesn’t fit.

      Rey beats ren when she first picks up a lightsaber, after having no experience even with a sword. This is the same ren that was trained by Luke and then smoke since birth, and should be all accounts be nearly the best duelist current alive.

      They immediately turn ren into a joke by having poe be not even the slightest bit intimidated by an extremely powerful darksider who can melt your brain with the force.

      Their choreography was so bad they had to edit out a dagger mid fight or Rey would’ve died.

      The dice are both real and not real moments apart.

      Hyperspace ramming.(is actually a thing, but also simply isn’t feasible)

      Episode 8 was so bad I got turned off star wars for like 2 years, and I still won’t watch somehow palpatine returned" the movie

      • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Rey beats

        barely survives a battle with

        ren

        moments after he’s been shot by a wookiee bowcaster, which we’ve seen throw stormtroopers off their feet with massive gaping holes

        when she first picks up a lightsaber, after having no experience even with a sword.

        but extensive and demonstrated experience with a staff

        This is the same ren that was trained by Luke

        partially

        and then smoke

        who has no demonstrated skill with a lightsaber

        since birth, and should be all accounts be nearly the best duelist current alive.

        Which is your headcanon. It’s not supported or implied by the film. In fact, the fact that he his lightsaber is falling apart and running ragged would rather imply that he hasn’t focused much on dueling at all. But even if he is a grandmaster—I bet I could do pretty well against Michael Jordan one-on-one if he had a fresh two-inch bullet hole in his abdomen.

        They immediately turn ren into a joke by having poe be not even the slightest bit intimidated by an extremely powerful darksider who can melt your brain with the force.

        Which is so very unlike Han Solo, who is not even the slightest bit intimidated by Darth Vader’s interrogation of him in Cloud City.

        Their choreography was so bad they had to edit out a dagger mid fight or Rey would’ve died.

        Which is so very unlike A New Hope, which features a stormtrooper bonking his head on a door in what’s intended to be a serious moment of threat for the heroes.

        The dice are both real and not real moments apart.

        Which is so very unlike how Imperial troops don’t care about droids in the escape pod but tthen do care about droids in the escape pod moments apart.

        Hyperspace ramming.(is actually a thing, but also simply isn’t feasible)

        Hyperspace ramming is amazing and I will die on this hill. Have you seen the xkcd what-if about relativistic baseball? Heavy stuff goin fast makes big boom happen. Finn later says that it’s a one-in-a-million shot, so there’s no way that an understaffed organization like the Rebellion would’ve ever wasted people (even droids) or ships on something so unlikely to work before if there was any other option, and the Empire never needed to.

        Plus, the Supremacy had been tracking the Resistance through hyperspace, which means it had to have been slightly opaque to hyperspace to receive a signal, increasing the situationality of the Holdo Maneuver.

        Episode 8 was so bad I got turned off star wars for like 2 years,

        I was so thrilled that they decided to try some new stuff with TLJ that I became an instant Rian Johnson fan. I don’t think it all works perfectly, but so much of it would’ve been amazing if they had just stuck with it for episode 9.

        and I still won’t watch somehow palpatine returned" the movie

        I agree that it’s the weakest of the sequels. It might be the weakest of the nine, but that’s a toss-up with AOTC, and I’ll need a few more years to be able to make that assessment objectively.

        The bottom line for me is, there’s nothing in any of the ST that ruins it for me. The sequel trilogy is probably the weakest of the saga, but it’s still fine and I’m sticking with that assessment.

        • 1ostA5tro6yne@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          10 months ago

          FUCKING THANK YOU, there was nothing wrong with or continuity-breaking about the Holdo Maneuver, or most of the things in TLJ people love to bitch about (like Leia’s spacewalk which was pretty consistent with IRL zero-g physics and the character’s established force-sensitivity as well as being a breathtaking cinematic moment) are either conflicts with their personal headcanon (people really be getting mad about the fine points of high-dimensional travel in a cheesy movie franchise about mystical space wizards and writing essays about it and shit) or are not any worse than similar issues the OT itself (ESB has some serious issues with wonky timelines for example). The pacing isn’t great in places but nothing is so jarring as to interfere with my willing suspension of disbelief, and the story didn’t feel beat-for-beat the same as basically the rest of the franchise. TLJ was a breath of fresh air, it’s weird to me how divisive it is despite being one of the higher points in the franchise IMO.

          That said, AotC at least had the neat space-opera-noir thing for part of it where Obi-Wan was playing detective, I can’t think of anything redeeming about Rise of Skywalker.

          • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            The pacing isn’t great in places but nothing is so jarring as to interfere with my willing suspension of disbelief, and the story didn’t feel beat-for-beat the same as basically the rest of the franchise.

            Yeah, that’s basically how I feel about it. TLJ was better than the other two sequels and at least one of the prequels if not more. It wasn’t amazing but I feel like I need to defend it with both hands the way people came after it lol

            AotC at least had the neat space-opera-noir thing for part of it where Obi-Wan was playing detective

            Yeah, that was pretty dope. And I guess the Battle of Geonosis was pretty cool. But while it had some cool moments, they weren’t very coherent.

            I can’t think of anything redeeming about Rise of Skywalker.

            It was a visually beautiful film. But that’s about the best I can say for it.

    • TALL421@lemmy.one
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      10 months ago

      I agree with you. And the shitty memes and all the people that go along with them are honestly single handedly driving me back towards reddit and the star wars cantina sub

      • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Whoa buddy. Nobody deserves to do that to themselves.

        But yeah, the groupthink and useless discussion-enders drive me up a wall. Hate leads to suffering, but you wouldn’t know it in the Star Wars fandom.

    • PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      The moderator of this community literally removed my last comment expressing this exact sentiment hahah. People took their toxicity and brought it here. Star Wars is literally serious business in these people’s eyes.

      • rezz@lemmy.worldM
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        8 months ago

        Hi, this was automod. It catches heavily downvoted comments automatically. Often this can occur with content that does have to be deleted for safety. But you were not manually singled out for your opinion.