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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST The Aesthetic of the Sequel Trilogy

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by TheGhostOfZero, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. TheGhostOfZero

    TheGhostOfZero Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2016
    From Snoke and his Praetorian Guards to Kylo and his Knights of Ren, from Captain Phasma and the First Order Stormtrooper Corp to the Heroes of the Resistance. This is a thread to discussion the look and feel of the ST, their inspirations, how they compare to previous sagas, and how they come together to make Star Wars what it is. Whether it's ship designs, weapons, planetary biomes, or how our main characters are outfitted, I'd like to know how you feel about its aesthetics; be it positive or negative.

    Feel free to post images/art to help us visualize what you mean as well.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
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  2. ByteSizeRick

    ByteSizeRick Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2018
    I found the look of Last Jedi to be much more "realism" based than the previous entries of the saga. Even Snoke's throne room, as evocative as it was, felt like something that could actually exist, at least more so than the Death Star pits of doom and the entire prequel trilogy. In particular my thoughts go to the "reach out to the force" scene, which was much more visceral and "earthy" (?) than I had anticipated. It seems clear to me that the Sequel trilogy intends to invoke a more "grounded" feel, which is an interesting direction to go. Not sure whether I prefer the "fairy tale" approach of the prequels or the "grounded realism" of the sequels, to be honest.
     
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  3. Vader0706

    Vader0706 Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2017
    I really like the outfit aesthetics, especially for the FO. Kylo's new templar look from TLJ really looks good. And his robe over his suit in TFA really gave him a mysterious and a unique look.

    Luke's TFA ending/TLJ Jedi robes are also pretty cool and almost exactly as how I would imagine him as an old Jedi Master. However, his regular brown robes on Ahch-To are also cool.

    And I love Rey's Jedi Training Throneroom/Crait outfit!

    Overall, I really like the new outfits of the characters.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
  4. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    I don’t know why, but there were several elements in the movie that reminded me of Final Fantasy. Particularly the praetorian guards deign, the Raddus and Kylo Ren’s new character design.
    Porgs are like chocobos.
     
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  5. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2017
    I dislike the Casino of Canto Bight and the Caretakers, because I find them way too Earth-like. I also dislike some animals that had an expression that was a bit too human (Disney style). I'm fine with the other things. The Praetorian Guards were pretty cool.
     
  6. DarkGingerJedi

    DarkGingerJedi Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2012
    I loved the look of Ahch-to, Porgs, the Nuns, Kylo Ren's outfit, the Knights of Ren, TFA Snoke, Crait's landscape, Maz's Castle, BB-8, almost everything on Jakku, Rey's look at the end of TFA, Luke's fisherman look, the crystal foxes and caverns. I also loved the tactile feel to everything, especially in TFA.

    l also really disliked most of the First Order's copy-cat Empire aesthetic, TLJ Snoke, the bigger bolder, look to everything seemed a little lazy, the gorilla AT-ATs, the ships in TLJ, the skimmers, the P-Guards, Leia's and Holdo's luxury clothes, Canto Blight - all of it.

    That said, I really loved the entire look and feel of Rogue One. Sure it may be derivative of classic OT, I feel it really nailed that classic look but also introduced new designs as well.
     
  7. Vader0706

    Vader0706 Jedi Knight star 2

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    Jan 2, 2017
    Pardon my question, but how exactly would RO be derivative of classic OT, yet nail the classic look at the same time (according to you) ?
     
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  8. DarkGingerJedi

    DarkGingerJedi Chosen One star 6

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    Nov 21, 2012
    Oh...I guess I wasn't the clear. Its just one of those criticisms I've seen time and time again, that R1 takes everything we've seen before so to them may not be as creative or something. It does borrow or use many elements from the classic movies, but I feel that it expands on the design world building language in a good way.
     
  9. Jedi Knight Fett

    Jedi Knight Fett Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2014
    The aesthetics seem more dark overall
     
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  10. Vader0706

    Vader0706 Jedi Knight star 2

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    Jan 2, 2017
    I see what you mean now. Thanks for clarifying!

    I really love RO's look and how reminiscent is of the OT look, yet everything is made with modern VFX. The CGI on the DS was breathtaking!

    And due to the use of miniatures for the Star Destroyers, they looked flawless and almost photorealistic!
    To highlight the flawlessness of RO's CGI, this image instantly comes to mind:[​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
  11. TheGhostOfZero

    TheGhostOfZero Jedi Master star 2

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    Sep 5, 2016
    I'm not bothered too much by the return of X and A-Wings since they've been improved over their OT counterparts, but the TIEs are a question mark and an exclamation point for me (the Special Forces TIEs are alright). I don't really care for the AT-M6s either, but the Ski Speeders have grown on me, despite their OT inspired look.

    The Deathtroopers left a real impression on me in Rogue One; though I still don't know if Rogue One counts as OT or ST. Come to think of it, Rogue One has a lot of great designs: Krennic, the Shoretroopers, K2-SO, Chirrut and Baze are all great designs.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
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  12. JDN21

    JDN21 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 2004
    I’ve been very critical of TLJ, and aesthetics and tone is one of my big criticisms. The Ach-to scenes were just Rey and Luke on a windy island off the Irish coast. It was too Earthy and lacking in any kind of creative fantasy design. Even Luke’s hut was a real-world Middle Ages dwelling, no effort to make it more alien.

    Rogue One has been the one Disney Star Wars that nailed the aesthetics. It felt like the GFFA throughout. The way the Death Star would move ominously in the sky was brilliant.

    TFA did a good job of remaking the aesthetics of A New Hope, I liked the junkyard area of Jakku particularly, and Maz as a character design was great.
     
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  13. JDN21

    JDN21 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 2004
    Yeah! The opening scene of Rogue One where Krennick and the Deathtroopers walked quietly to the Erso’s house was fantastic. Just the noise the Deathtroopers made when talking was brilliantly creepy. Agreed about K2 as well - really one of the great Star Wars droid designs.

    That reminds me, BB-8 is a great design as well, didn’t JJ come up with that himself?
     
  14. DarkGingerJedi

    DarkGingerJedi Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2012
    There was some interesting concept art floating around that showed these bell-domed stone structures all covered in vines and whatnot. It's almost like the interior of that was in the movie, where we see Luke and Rey near the mosaic, but the outside was always just shown as the mountain with no discernible features.
     
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  15. TheGhostOfZero

    TheGhostOfZero Jedi Master star 2

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    Sep 5, 2016
    I know that he at least gave him that brilliant name. BB-9E is a cool variant as well, usually what comes after doesn't look as good as the original, so I was pleasantly surprised.

    http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/star-wars-force-awakens-character-names/4/
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
  16. Avnar

    Avnar Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2007
    The aesthetic of the ST thus far has been very close to the OT (This is how the PT lost me) which is great! There have only been a couple of miss steps... Tuxedos?? :oops:

    I generally apply a couple of my own personal rules when judging this... Sine ANH and the OT came first I always defer back to it.

    With the locations shown on a new planet - Would they exist in the world of the OT? Can I picture Boba Fett walking around that location?? Can I picture the OT gang in that costume or with that weapon?? Can I picture the OT cast interacting with that character?? RO nailed every planet and location. Every costume. Every weapon. =D=

    I'll provide a couple of examples where I see it as not working...

    Picture Boba Fett walking around Theed, Otah Gunga or the casino on Canto Bight [face_shame_on_you]
    Picture Han wearing a tuxedo that everyone has on in the casino. [face_shame_on_you]
    Picture Luke fighting Vader using the "TRAITOR" weapon (used on Finn in TFA and by Finn in TLJ) [face_shame_on_you]
    Picture Jar Jar Binks aboard the Millennium Falcon! [face_hypnotized]

    I understand that the PT and ST are set in new eras but that doesn't excuse a new planet looking fake or a bounty hunter in basketball boots! haha
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
  17. Lulu Mars

    Lulu Mars Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2005
    This is one of the areas where I feel that this trilogy has failed to deliver on the same level as the others - big time.
    Look at how the first two trilogies compare to each other. Two distinctly different periods, yet clearly in the same galaxy, with a myriad of aesthetic links.
    Then look at how the third trilogy compares to the second one. Same galaxy, no doubts there... but different period? Hm... Going by the looks of things, I would say no. It looks like a few years have passed, but we’re still clearly in the same aesthetic period.
    ...which is especially interesting in light of the fact that thirty years separate the two, while only nineteen separate the first two!

    What this gives us is two trilogies with distinct personalities and a third trilogy that behaves like an extension of the second one. It just doesn’t have much of a personality of its own and this, in my view, reduces the individual strength of both trilogies.
    They should’ve listened to GL and been more daring, IMO.
     
  18. DarkGingerJedi

    DarkGingerJedi Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2012
    Very agree!

    Without the Empire, and without a possible fully working New Republic, you'd almost think that there would be a vacuum of power in the galaxy. This would lead to goods and products no longer being as mass produced as it was in the Empire, or especially the Old Republic. The engines of society have stopped pumping out goods. Nothing is new. The economy isn't the same. Everything is worn out, or recycled and mixed up. TFA almost showed us thins at times, on Jakku. Scavenging would make a lot of sense in this era. But it's never really applied it anywhere else. Time and time again, these movies rarely show us what the affects of 60 years of war have done to the galaxy. The ST could have shown that in story, and in designs. Instead, we just got the OT, a little restyled, and applied to the same teams. 30 years after ROTJ didn't reveal any new progression.
     
  19. BlurryUFOs

    BlurryUFOs Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 24, 2016
    finally, a thread where we can discuss what's important.

    Rian operated on a micro stage i felt. snoke's throne room was ugly, but served as an excellent backdrop for the fight. in one sense I don't mind that, it's okay to take liberties like that to achieve one time incredible scenes. but on the other hand, the aesthetics fall short when you consider the big picture.
    snoke's robe did the job it was meant to, shows him as greedy and opulent, but in a really obvious and unnecessarily overt way that takes you out of the gffa, same thing with canto bight. it's jarring because star wars uses its aesthetics traditionally to build the universe and immerse you in it while serving as a storytelling device, but i think rian just focuses on the latter. that's why we have kids dressed like newsies and aliens in tuxedos
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
  20. CEB

    CEB Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 3, 2014
    I think Crait and Jakku are my favourite locations (special mention for acht-to as I’ve been on that island myself)
     
  21. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Yeah, as someone who has been to Ahch-To and the Jedi Archive Library, I automatically rate those locations but Crait is the bee's knees, aesthetically.
     
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  22. DBPirate

    DBPirate Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2015
    The costume design of the ST is great. I especially liked Luke’s clothes on Crait and Rey’s TFA clothes. Set design is a little...meh. Not a fan of Snoke’s throne room and Canto Bight. The new alien designs are also really weird to me. Perhaps if there were some familiar aliens in there, it’d make the new ones stand out less by comparison.

    As for the ships and weapons, I don’t feel like rehashing what I’ve said many times — just not different enough from the OT.
     
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  23. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Where is that?

    I've been thinking about visiting Skellig Michael. It looks like a beautiful place, not to mention fascinating from a historical point of view.

    As for locations in the ST, I actually really enjoyed Canto Bight. It was something completely different from what we've seen before, but still a place that feels 'right' within the universe. I would have liked slightly less earth-y costumes though.
    Crait was amazing visually - the white and red is striking.
     
  24. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    It is the Long Room of the library at Trinity College in Dublin. I am in there nearly every time I head home.

    [​IMG]

    If a planet is not in their records, it does not exist.
     
  25. CEB

    CEB Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 3, 2014
    It’s amazingly beautiful, and a very serene place. You need a head for heights though. Those sheer drops and steps aren’t exaggerated at all