Thread by @belatedmedia

My roommate @shamshandwich and I have started a weekly re-watch through the Star Wars Saga in prep for IX. I'll post some loose observations in this goofy little thread.

The Phantom Menace:
• Jar Jar Binks is a technical triumph and the fact that ILM straight up introduced the character in dappled light is so damn bold!
• Speaking of boldness, the first two laps of the pod race are sound mixing perfection. No score. Just Ben Burtt rocking hard.

• Episode I, particularly the first half, feels the most like the Flash Gordon vibe George Lucas was always striving for. It is constantly out of the frying pan into the fire with set piece after set piece.
• The political scenes aren't actually that dull.

• As a slight #WhatIf, there's a sequence on the Blu-Ray that during the pod race, a cable gets disconnected from Anakin's pod. It could have been slick if Anakin - rather than using that magnet to reconnect things - had used the Force (but perhaps not realize it) to grab it.

• The creature design is top notch, particularly when traveling through the planet core. What lovely aquatic monsters!
• Qui-Gon is such a complex character. I love that he's a rogue. I love that despite his disregard for authority, he's all in on the more mystic "Chosen One."

Attack of the Clones:
• Oh, hey, Rose Byrne!
• The amount of “m’lady”s said in the first ten minutes is staggering.
• Anakin has such a rough start with the audience. He lacks any charm to make his behavior enjoyable.

• This is also the first time we’re really seeing Anakin and Obi-Wan interact, as they hardly did in Ep I. It’s very bizarre for their entire first string of sequences together to be that of bickering and undermining each other. A single chuckle in the elevator doesn’t fix it.

• Anakin is the most toxic/powerful incel ever portrayed on screen.
• It’s crazy that the sand line is what is the lead-in to their first kiss.
• Jonh Williams straight up pulls a record scratch on the score when Padme shuts the kiss down. Hilarious.

• I love the concept of a film noir with Obi-Wan and I love that it just keeps stacking mystery upon mystery.
• The seats at Kamino cloning HQ are duck spoons.
• The conversation between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett is perfection.
• I love the sound of the seismic charges.

• Anakin’s motivator for wanting to save Obi-Wan should come from the fact he just lost his mother and said he thinks of Obi-Wan as a father, and said he doesn’t want anyone he cares for to die which should be Obi-Wan.

• Christopher Lee gets his first real screen time 90 minutes into the film and is immediately magnetic.
• I forgot how clunky the logic gets with Dooku circumventing the Jedi entirely regarding the Sith and the Senate granting Palpatine emergency power is.

• Both Jango Fett’s battle sequences are kind of lame.
• The clone trooper designs are slick as hell. The ship designs are strange but pretty fun.
• Yoda’s speaking pattern is at an 11 in this one.

• The shots in the dust storm lit by lasers are gorgeous.
• Similarly, Anakin against Dooku is beautifully lit and I love the flourish of Anakin cutting a power cable resulting in additional sparking throughout these wides and close-ups.

*Episode III: Revenge of the Sith*
• I always forget how many hiccups occur when rescuing Palpatine; he could’ve just been accidentally killed so many times!
• General Grievous just needed one true villainous moment before jettisoning himself, though that moment is baller.

• Ian McDiarmid absolutely crushes every scene he’s in, particularly Darth Plagueis.
• Anakin’s scene with Yoda about grief and death is an underrated gem in this film.
• That legged-wheel that Grievous escapes on is such an awesomely designed vehicle.

• Anakin’s turn will forever feel like it goes from 0 to 60, but even with two hours and twenty minutes, the movie has too much ground to cover.
• The death of Padme and the “death” of Anakin cross-cutting next to one another is a slick idea.

*Solo: A Star Wars Story*
• This is my second time watching it and I enjoyed it a lot more
• I’m more forgiving of the fan service moments — it’s only really saturated/present for the first third of the movie and - while largely unnecessary - it doesn’t impede the story.

• The major story misstep I see is that it should have been Beckett, not Val. She would challenge (and indirectly teach) Han throughout the whole thing, and by the end there would be a mutual respect, which would make her betrayal at the end stronger than Beckett’s.

• Despite moving quickly, there’s still a balance of breathing room and character moments.
• That train heist is clean as hell.
• Solo does out of the frying pan into the fire with ease. Characters are constantly kept on their toes and events domino wonderfully well.

• It’s remarkable how quickly we meet and lose characters (Rio and L3) and yet they have enough screen time and personality (albeit a bit louder than the rest) to be notable.
• I love that Han basically destroys the Falcon the first time he flies it.

• This is the most “adult” Star Wars in terms of suggestive content.
• The creature and ship designs in Solo are heavenly and you can see that weathered look of the classic Star Wars film creeping into the gloss.

• Any scene with Lando is exceptional. The craziest part is that he’s the smoothest loser in the galaxy who still thinks he’s winning and we love him for it.
• Qi’ra is a remarkably layered character and it’s a pity that we likely won’t see her story continue with Crimson Dawn.

*Rogue One*
• Both RO and Solo have locations near the start that really ooze Blade Runner vibes.
• I love that Krennic and Erso have a longstanding and fraught relationship, it makes their first meeting really fill out a lot of the history of the overall state of the galaxy.

• The ensemble is strong with this one. Even with the plot clipping along, every character gets strong introductions AND each of them get major moments of growth.
• I would happily watch a Chirrut and Baze series.
• K2-SO lands every joke.
• CGI Tarkin is still unsettling.

• Vader's base on Mustafar looks like something out of LotR.
• It's so wild that the Death Star is at the center of RO, is responsible for most of the destruction in the film, but never feels like the main threat. All of the threats are human (Krennic, Vader, Tarkin).

• This line from Cassian Andor (which I've abridged) speaks volumes: "We don't all have the luxury of deciding when and where we want to care about something. [...] You're not the only one who lost everything. Some of us just decided to do something about it."

• The flip of "I'm one with the Force and the Force is with me" from Chirrut to Baze is beautiful.
• I love that Jyn and Cassian never kiss. Their embrace before incineration is that much more powerful.
• And, yeah, that final run with Vader is badass as hell.

*Star Wars / A New Hope*
• This thing is wall-to-wall Williams.
• Are we all in agreement that canonically R2-D2 loses all his abilities displayed in the prequels when the Jawas zap him?
• Luke is an ageless man/child.
• Even if Han didn't shoot first, it's a helluva intro.

• I love that Han and Leia's first exchange is screamed frustration.
• The entire sequence in the Death Star is so tightly wound. around everyone's actions -- what exceptional plotting.
• The creature in the trash compactor effectively does nothing more than get Luke wet.

• A modern blockbuster would give a full scene to establish that Luke has a grappling hook to swing over gaps. LOL
• When Luke screams because of Obi-Wan's death, Leia has an expression of both utter disbelief and annoyance. Her reaction is spot on; he just blew their cover.

• Every single space battle in this is incredible, ESPECIALLY when you take into account when it was made.
• Marsha Lucas made every edit count and pacing perfectly ramps up and down throughout the film.
• Tarkin is such a smug son of a bitch. He's perfect.

*The Empire Strikes Back*
• Right from the gate, there is palpable fuck energy from Leia and Han. They have such exceptional chemistry.
• If Chewie hadn’t started doing repairs on the Falcon, Han wouldn’t have stuck around and then both Luke and Leia would be dead.

• Empire amps everything up. Star Destroyers go Super, Vader chokes people remotely, The Force offers telekinesis, first with Luke pulling a lightsaber to him (with no explanation, and that's honestly great), BUT THEN we fucking step it up AGAIN when Yoda lifts the X-wing.

• The comedy in this one is so solid. So many strong running bits, most of them pretty subtle.
• C3PO is perfectly paired with Han. They’re perfect fouls for one another.
• Williams cements himself as the soul of Star Wars with every theme added in this one.

• The Asteroid Field is such an exceptional sequence and so magnificently scored.
• Like ANH, Empire also features a character (R2-D2) pulled under water by a monster and then spit back up. There is no real consequence to any of this. Odd.

• C3PO cites the Falcon’s “dialect;” is that the only direction they had for L3 in Solo?
• You can really see how everything Luke does was properly dialed into Anakin’s behavior and dialogue. Hamill just comes off as more likable.

• Yoda first moments as “wacky Grover“ are so fun. The shift in his demeanor to gruff solemnity in his reveal is so fucking cool; the moment that both Luke and Yoda react to Obi-Wan’s voice is aces.
• Every tear down from Yoda of Luke is fatal

• The Mandalorian takes a lot from Empire, but the coolest pull is Vader saying “no disintegrations” specifically to Boba Fett; also are the creatures that are working in the scrap room when Chewie finds 3PO the same species that Nick Nolte’s character is?

• From a scenic design standpoint, Bespin offers such great contrast with the sterile white hallways and then the ominous carbon-freeze chamber.
• While still slower than the prequels, duels makes a huge leap from ANH implementing bolder choices with lighting, angles and moves.

*Return of the Jedi*
• Jabba's palace is a feast of awesome creature design!
• Han's partial blindness from carbon freeze lasts waaaaaaaay too long.
• It's pretty wild that Luke fights and kills the Rancor without any Jedi powers. He just throws a rock at a door switch.

• This is the first time I've understood the complaint about Han being goofy and neutered.
• Of all the Star Wars films, ground combat in RotJ feels the most clumsy; there's a disconnect across a handful of shots
• Leia is the MVP strangling out Jabba.

• Frank Oz acts the hell out of Yoda in the single scene he's in. I always feel like he has so much more screen time, but he just leaves such a strong impact.
• I love the Obi-Wan and Luke scene. It's just a seated conversation that holds you.

• Having come from pod racing, the speeder bikes feel unimpressive.
• Luke's storyline is so well fleshed out, whereas Han and Leia are just stuck with Ewoks.
• Palpatine's throne room is a marvel. The shapes. The lighting. Absolutely magnificent.

• It's pretty nuts that Luke only meets Palpatine once and Vader twice (though, yes, there's a Force connection between them as well, but actual in-person meetings - you get what I mean)!
• The moment that Palpatine reveals that the Death Star is fully operational is so baller.

• Vader's redemption is so slick. He casts off his final master, no longer a slave, but also in his final moments he accepts death, the whole reason he turned to the Dark Side in the first place. That's huge. He wanted a better future, and it's there now because of his children.

*The Force Awakens*
• In the same sitting we went from RotJ into TFA - It's a touch jarring snapping from the galaxy at peace to flickering in on the First Order's Stormtroopers.
• Poe being responsible for the stormtrooper that Finn has die on him is gold.

• Stopping the laser blast immediately cements Kylo as a badass and keeping it there for the whole scene is a solid button.
• I love that Finn is just trial by fire on basically everything; all he wants is a blaster and to get away from Jakku and gets neither of those things.

• We spend so much time with Rey before she speaks a line of dialogue. The score, shots and performance during all of this are so damn captivating.
• I love a world where the characters of original Star Wars trilogy are legends (though it does lend itself to meta commentary).

• Doubling back on an area we've previously seen with Rey, but now in the Falcon is really clever.
• The whole Rathtars sequence is just one big slapstick clusterfuck. It feels more like "we need an action sequence here" than anything else.

• The fact that Han Solo is the heart of this film is great. He's become a believer in The Force. He's seen it. It also makes what he's gone through more tragic.
• Ugh to this "cantina" in every sense. Creature design and architecture are great, but It's such a clunky lean.

• This lightsaber vision sequence is incredible.
• Between "what girl" and "that is a question for another time" VII seems to forget that people will show up for Star Wars; they don't need to string fans along with a mystery like it's the pilot for a network TV drama.

• Finn igniting the lightsaber (BOTH TIMES) is the most thrilling moment of this whole movie for me. This is a dude who has minimal control over everything that is going on, but says "fuck it and fuck you" and charges ahead anyway.

• That shot of Poe's X-wing flight over Finn is so majestic.
• Leia is grossly under-utilized.
• Every character's breath or grunt is +12dB when compared to every other sound.
• Every shot leading up to Han's death is incredible. His fall, however, always feels weird.

• Yes, light saber battling in the snow is cool, but what really makes this for me is them inadvertently slicing down pine trees like butter as they swing for one another.
• The beats of the second half (like R2-D2's map and Rey's meditation) are more convenient than (l)earned.

• VII feels less concerned about being a complete movie for each character and more focused on the overall journey. Had Finn remained conscious and accepted Rey leaving, things would feel more tied up. Instead, he and many other characters are left hanging.

*The Last Jedi*
• This is definitely the weightiest and nihilistic SW film. There are a lot of thematics hefted onto the viewer because - get this - all of our main players have arcs in this movie! Character arcs are shocking low across characters in the other two trilogies.

• The bomber sequence feels like a short film or TV cold open.
• Captain Canady is perfect.
• Rian Johnson uses silence so excellently throughout the whole film for moments of tension/impact.
• I really like Luke walking Rey through The Force.

• I'm really bummed that Finn can't get a break during most of this. He's played largely for laughs rather than any badass moments.
• Maz didn't need to be in this at all.
• Canto Bight is all the glossy and "wacky" parts of the prequels that I don't like.

• The Force connection between Rey and Kylo is so damn cool.
• Both Luke and Kylo want the past to die, but for different reasons. Luke has walked away, hoping to be forgotten, while Kylo actively destroys the past. Both fail to take into account the power of memory and myth.

• I like the simplicity of the cave sequence.
• Yoda shows up without any previous mention making the assumption that the viewer has seen the original trilogy, which VII largely does not.
• While I don't like his portrayal, I think the character of DJ is interesting.

• Were this not billed as a trilogy, I think Snoke's death would have been less shocking and more triumphantly received. That said, that was the most exciting moment for me in the theater. "Now what?" is an exciting question to be asking.
• The Praetorian Guard battle is epic.

• I love that Kylo reaches out to Rey paralleling Anakin reaching out to first Padme and then Luke, hoping to rule the galaxy together.
• The Holdo maneuver, lightsaber split, and execution all concurrent: A masterfully built beat.

• Hux drawing his blaster and then sheathing it when Kylo regains consciousness is the only comedic beat that holistically reflects character intention and isn't simply for levity.
• I love the vehicle design of the AT-M6.
• The ground assault on Crait is so utterly beautiful.

• It will never not bother me that one of the last exchanges in the movie is Poe introducing himself to Rey.
• Upon reflection, VIII operates like a season finale, so that J.J. could build a whole new season with IX... or at least... it could be. Very excited to see IX tonight!