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Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Sat May 28, 2022 2:22 pm
by andersonh1
Obi-Wan Kenobi = as far as I'm concerned, they're getting just about everything right with this so far. Ewan McGregor is as good as he ever was, and it's great to see him back. There are a number of returning actors in this series playing their characters again: Jimmy Smits playing Bail Organa (and we get our first extended look at Alderaan), the same actor who played Uncle Owen in episodes 2 and 3, and very briefly, Haydn Christensen as Vader.

Spoilers:
Spoiler
- nice to see Temura Morrison get a cameo as an old Clone trooper out in the street, begging for money for "an old war vet." Someone seriously needs to do some episodes in one of these series following the tens of thousands of clones who were built and programmed for war, and have to find some other way to live once the Empire discards them.
- I had no idea that so much of the plot would revolve around a 10-year old Leia, who simply has no sense of personal danger. It gets annoying sometimes, but is generally not too bad (though a kid like her in real life would be very annoying to deal with).
- We get just a glimpse of the potential of having Vader in this series at the end of the second episode, and I'm thinking it's going to be exactly the right choice, because of the emotional implications of Obi-Wan meeting his "brother" again. He did not know he survived, and is clearly disturbed and shocked when he learns the truth. I wanted to see Maul when I first knew this series was coming, but no, I think putting Vader/Anakin in the show was by far the better choice.
- Bringing in the Inquisitors from Rebels is also the right move. It ups the threat to Obi-Wan and connects the animated and live action nicely. It allows the show to hold Vader back until he can have the most impact. The 3rd sister is an angry Inquisitor who enjoys killing and is obsessed with tracking down Kenobi and is really effective, in my view.
- The effects are good, the environment is convincing, and all the parts seem well cast to me.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:51 am
by andersonh1
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 -
Spoiler
-I did not expect Kenobi and Vader to meet this soon, only halfway through the series. And Ben clearly should have been practicing his Jedi skills over the last ten years, because Vader beats him easily when they fight. Kenobi escapes because he's rescued and for no other reason. Vader had him down for the count.
- Quinlan Vos gets mentioned.
- I like the casual way all the Stormtroopers greet and chat with Fleck, the alien truck driver. It's nice to see the more "ordinary guy" side of the troops, since they're presumably not all the driven, intense type of person that Vader or the Inquisitors are.
- James Earl Jones is voicing Darth Vader again!!!!! Nice!!
- There's a great little scene where Kenobi is talking to Leia about his memories of his family before he was taken to be a part of the Jedi order, and how he has a few memories of his parents and he thinks he had a brother. We've never delved into his past on-screen that I know of, and it was just a great little personal character moment. He describes the Jedi as "his new family" to Leia, bonding with her a bit over being adopted by the Organas. She even asks about her real dad, and if Ben is her dad, and he has to tell her no, he isn't.
- How did Reva get to the end of the tunnel before Leia, when Leia had a massive head start?!?

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 10:27 am
by JediTricks
I'm not feeling OWK at all so far, it's halfway between the PT and OT yet
Spoiler
the titular character is entirely mired in the post-ROTS misery for a solid decade, it's diminished his abilities and left him broken. That'd be fine if this was 6 months after ROTS, but we know where he ends up in ANH and this doesn't fit at all. Baby Leia is the absolute worst writing, it feels like she was scripted to be an older 10-year-old but they cast too young and turned all of her material into stupid antics and shallow nonsense. The inquisitors don't feel true to SW:Rebels or Jedi Fallen Order, the writing and directing on Reva is especially frustrating because the actress is probably good, but the material is terrible, every decision feels bone-headed, just an angry moron. Vader showing up was a total whiff for me, he's killing randos left and right to draw out Obi-Wan, he's needlessly cruel and wasteful and stupid and then just stands around doing nothing when a slow-moving robot saves his mortal enemy, it didn't feel anything like Darth Vader.
The show also seems to be going for the bland "girl power, girlboss" types of storytelling and character that feel less revolutionary and more corporate defense strategy.

It also looks and feels nothing like Star Wars, and has some really dumb stuff like characters trying to open a gate they can clearly see they could walk around. Compared to The Mandalorian and even its lesser cousin, The Book of Boba Fett, this is not in the same league at all.

I really hope Andor is better than than OWK, I've been looking forward to it for a long time now, Cassian Andor has such room for interesting stories.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:50 pm
by andersonh1
JediTricks wrote: Sun Jun 05, 2022 10:27 am I really hope Andor is better than than OWK, I've been looking forward to it for a long time now, Cassian Andor has such room for interesting stories.
I did enjoy Rogue One, but not enough to want to follow further adventures of any of the characters from that movie. I have no real interest in Andor, but I plan to watch the show and give it a chance to win me over.

The second season of the Bad Batch is what I'm really anticipating at this point. I just wish we'd get some Star Wars that didn't revolve around the main character taking care of a child. Only Boba Fett has broken away from that story idea, and while I give the Mandalorian a pass for doing it first, both Bad Batch and now Kenobi are doing the same thing. It's different enough in both cases that I can go with it, but I don't want to see it again in another series. Andor better not have a kid sidekick.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 5:44 am
by andersonh1
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 -
Spoiler
Kenobi is starting to rediscover his skill and his abilities. This show has gone to some pretty dark places with Kenobi being burned by Vader last episode, but this episode tops it with Reva just about to torture 10 year old Leia and Kenobi finding the hallway of Jedi corpses frozen in amber (including cool old man Tera Sinobe from Clone Wars). I almost think some of the scenes with Leia might have gone too far with the cruelty to a child being depicted, though they never quite reach the point that she's actually injured, given that Obi-Wan and Tala are able to intervene. Tala has nerves of steel to put on an officer's uniform and just walk right into the headquarters of the Inquisitors, I have to say, as well as to lie to the psycho Third Sister right to her face. Kenobi hiding Leia under his trench coat to smuggle her out is a little silly though... someone was going to notice that.

I do look forward to Vader finishing the job he started and killing the Third Sister. She's a terrible person and has earned it. She managed to talk her way out of it this time, but no one likes her, and she keeps provoking everyone. She's going to end up dead before it's all over.
I've avoided a lot of reviews and discussion on this show at other sites where I would not have done so in the past. I just get exhausted by all the negativity when I'm enjoying the show. I'm not talking about JT's feelings and critiques here, which are the types of comments that don't bother me at all and are perfectly valid. But some people just nitpick things to death, and gripe about supposed plot holes that are actually explained if they've paid attention, or just read things into scenes that aren't there, and I just get tired of it. It seems like all the negative voices get amplified and it's just tiresome.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:20 pm
by Shockwave
andersonh1 wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 5:44 am Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 -
Spoiler
Kenobi is starting to rediscover his skill and his abilities. This show has gone to some pretty dark places with Kenobi being burned by Vader last episode, but this episode tops it with Reva just about to torture 10 year old Leia and Kenobi finding the hallway of Jedi corpses frozen in amber (including cool old man Tera Sinobe from Clone Wars). I almost think some of the scenes with Leia might have gone too far with the cruelty to a child being depicted, though they never quite reach the point that she's actually injured, given that Obi-Wan and Tala are able to intervene. Tala has nerves of steel to put on an officer's uniform and just walk right into the headquarters of the Inquisitors, I have to say, as well as to lie to the psycho Third Sister right to her face. Kenobi hiding Leia under his trench coat to smuggle her out is a little silly though... someone was going to notice that.

I do look forward to Vader finishing the job he started and killing the Third Sister. She's a terrible person and has earned it. She managed to talk her way out of it this time, but no one likes her, and she keeps provoking everyone. She's going to end up dead before it's all over.
I've avoided a lot of reviews and discussion on this show at other sites where I would not have done so in the past. I just get exhausted by all the negativity when I'm enjoying the show. I'm not talking about JT's feelings and critiques here, which are the types of comments that don't bother me at all and are perfectly valid. But some people just nitpick things to death, and gripe about supposed plot holes that are actually explained if they've paid attention, or just read things into scenes that aren't there, and I just get tired of it. It seems like all the negative voices get amplified and it's just tiresome.
This is exactly why this is the only website that I interact with fans with.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:12 am
by JediTricks
Cassian Andor's an interesting person at the beginning of Rogue One, he's a rebel spy who is willing to kill his own contacts to save the mission, he's very gray area for the good guys, and I think that has potential to tell new types of stories.

I have no idea why there are so many of these pseudo-parenting hooks on these shows, obviously George Lucas had some issues in that realm and it comes through, Star Wars Rebels has a father/son dynamic as well, I never really noticed that before. Favreau definitely has focused on "being a father" rather than a "father/son" dynamic with Mando, and it's worked better there.

I have read comments on a few articles and there's a lot of weird headcanon out there for folks getting in the way, "Leia couldn't possibly have met Obi-Wan before recording that message on R2" - why? There's nothing in there suggesting she's never met him. That's not my kind of problem with the show, although I will say the
Spoiler
T-47 stopping in midair just to hover shooting
is the type of nitpick to bother me and there's a bunch of those sorts of things in OWK, but those aren't my real problem with the show.

OWK ep 4 really failed me. It retreads a lot of material from the game Jedi Fallen Order but worse. Reva I cannot defend anymore, the acting is very one-note and doesn't fit for me, it may be the writing and the directing, but the actor isn't finding any nuance to elevate the material.
Spoiler
She stabs her boss through the gut and then can't even successfully interrogate a young grade-schooler, that's not helping her case. The boring trope of blustering your way through security doesn't fit the setting, nor does an open sea door. What even is the purpose of the red scanner entryway you can easily walk around? How does nobody notice a bearded man in an odd trenchcoat doing a Scooby Doo walk with a second pair of legs in it for so long? There's just so many of these issues cropping up for me, they all speak to a lack of consideration into the setting and the people in the setting.
There's not much substance here, and it's a shorter episode for it. I could go on and on, I want to avoid doing so. But this was the weakest episode by far.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 12:38 pm
by andersonh1
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 - possibly my favorite of the series.
Spoiler
- despite the fact that he looks older, it's still great to see padawan Anakin and master Kenobi lightsaber training, and it's nicely intercut with present day events to show how well Kenobi knows Vader. It's good to see the speed and skill of the lightsaber fight when both men were in their prime
- I like the return of General Kenobi from the Clone Wars, as Kenobi takes charge of the refugees, makes a plan to get them all out alive, and pretty much single-handedly does so, successfully convincing the Third Sister to attack Vader as well. I expected Kenobi to rally as the series went on, and he's doing so. He was at his lowest ebb in episode 3, but he's shaking that off. And it doesn't feel forced to me in terms of pacing, this whole series feels right as he's gone quite rusty after 10 years of hiding and inaction, he's blindsided to learn Anakin is alive and badly shaken and afraid, and then as time goes on and he finds something to fight for again, he's moving back towards the Kenobi of old.
- I think this series does the best I've seen of really connecting Anakin and Vader and making them seem like the same person. Even Rebels didn't quite manage that in quite the same way, but the writers are really taking advantage of the shared history of Vader and Kenobi, and even Reva. Has anyone else ever been stabbed by Anakin twice?
- speaking of which, I do have a gripe: too many people are surviving lightsaber stabbings. We knew the Grand Inquisitor had to survive to appear in Rebels, but Reva too? Why isn't she dead? I know Maul survived being cut in half, but he should remain a unique case.
- The lifter robot is such a great character, and he never said a word.
- I've gone from being happy to see Reva get her comeuppance to feeling sorry for her as she does not stand a chance against Vader, who taunts her non-stop the whole fight after she attacks him. So she was one of the padawans who ran at the very beginning, and Vader knew who she was the whole time.
- Good to see Hayden Christensen's face a few times, playing Anakin at multiple stages in his life.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:38 am
by JediTricks
The amount of dumb things that happened in this episode was so very high that it dragged it right back to the same rating I've been giving the other episodes, 6/10 (the third ep got 5/10). It's exhausting for me to even think about this show in the aftermath.

Re: Star Wars - General Discussion Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:19 am
by andersonh1
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 6
Spoiler
- It does seem like that Star Destroyer should have been able to take out the old civilian transport pretty quickly at the beginning of the episode.
- The Vader/Kenobi rematch was good, though nowhere near as good as the fight on Mustafar from ROTS (but then topping that would be tough). I figured at some point they would do what was done in Rebels and show Anakin's face beneath Vader's helmet, and sure enough we see exactly that.
- It made perfect sense for Kenobi to take a page out of Vader's book and use the terrain against him, as well as to go after his life support.
- The best part of this show has been Kenobi dealing with all the emotions that came with what happened to his friend. Shock that he's alive after he left him to die, terror and near paralysis at what he's become, and finally sad acceptance that the Anakin he knew is essentially gone. We've seen a similar story in Rebels with Ahsoka and Vader, but for me it worked far better here in live action with the same actors playing their characters from the prequels. It was a side plot in Rebels, here it is the entire story as Kenobi comes to terms with everything that's happened.
- the parallels between Vader and Kenobi go on until the end, with both talking to their masters. I enjoyed seeing Palpatine set Vader straight (and the explanation for why they don't continue to hunt Kenobi is far better than what I thought would happen, that Kenobi would fake his death), and it was nice to finally see Qui-Gon.
- Reva is a sore point here. I get it, dark side users can survive major lightsaber wounds, but at this point it's been overdone. At first I thought it was just not credible that Darth Maul survived being cut in half in Clone Wars, but they made such good use of the character that it won me over. But that should have been a one-off, an indication of just how strong a dark side Force user that Maul was. Now we've had the Grand Inquisitor survive being stabbed in the gut by a lightsaber, and Reva survive it twice, once as a child and then when Vader stabs her. What do they need to do, slice and dice someone into fragments to kill them?
- Will we see her again? She's a rare character, a dark side user who seems genuinely repentant and who is still alive the last time we see her. I'm not interested in more of Reva, but it would not surprise me to see her in future.
- I really enjoyed seeing Owen and Beru get something substantial to do in the final episode, and Owen's statement "he is my own." about Luke speaks volumes about how much he loves the boy. These two have always been minor characters, so it was good to see more of who they are and how tough and determined they would have to be given the type of life they live.
The show had plot problems here and there, but overall I have really enjoyed it. Building an Obi-Wan Kenobi show around the broken friendship of Anakin and Kenobi was a good choice, and it was a story that could not have been told in the same way about any other character at any other point in the Star Wars timeline.