ST Watching TFA and TLJ Back to back?

That edit was very impressive. If TFA had ended like that, I think there would be so much hate and discussion "that's not how a SW movie is supposed to end and cut to credits."

TFA ending was great and one of a kind. It did get cheapened with TLJ and the toss. One thing that helps though is that there are a few scenes at the start of TLJ that isn't the island. So while technically no time has passed on the island, it sure feels like it, especially with space battles.

 

I thought the opening space battle worked well (Paige in particular). But come to think of it, if time passed, we still went to Rey and Luke immediately after TFA, which doesn't quite sync up...

I wonder if TFA Luke was meant to have been on the island for a reason, or even waiting?

 

I think pretty much what Han said. Went to go look for the Jedi temple. Though would he have eventually left said island probably not. Did he know Rey was coming? TLJ Luke didn’t cause he was cut off from the force. Was TFA Luke cut off from the force? I think so cause why would Kylo need a map to track Luke down?

 

I'm watching them back to back right now. Thank you TNT and Vudu!

 

I will agree with you 100% on the really strong visual storytelling JJ deploys (especially in the opening act) of TFA. I think by nature of the second film vs the set up there was always going to be much more dialogue.

 

Interesting. I agree that TLJ is way more sprawling than TFA, but I also think that the character work is stronger in TLJ than TFA. But I can see why the crosscutting across the stories can make it feel less focussed for some.

 

The emphasis on TFA is to introduce and make you like these characters and see their strengths while exposing their blind spots and weaknesses that may go places but not letting those weaknesses go too far initially so that the characters are liked more.

The emphasis on TLJ is to take those blind spots and weaknesses and determine what are the hardest things these characters could come by independently or in the presence of someone who might bring out the worst in them to see how they handle it and grow and add depth and complications to the dynamics so that IX can be more crowdpleasing following the less crowdpleasing and challenging/darker middle chapter.

 

I'm more curious on what happened to that helicopter pilot that was circling Rey and Luke at the end of TFA. Did he crash his chopper and die?? No closure. WORST SW MOVIE EVER MADE

 

Bingo. Leia is a key example of this.

 

A few more:

Rey runs away after having an experience with the saber that she didn’t expect and encounters Kylo Ren.

Rey sees the best in Finn and tries to turn him (from running) and Finn ultimately does after she’s left. She tries to do the same with Luke and later Ben.

TFA shows BB8 using cables and ropes with proficiency and speed in a way that when I saw again immediately reminded me of the guards being roped up and made it easier for me to imagine.



2 min & 9 seconds in and 2 minutes and 40 seconds in. Now, obviously it was smart to just cut away and like a lot of the BB8 scenes it feels more for the younger kids but it’s still a minor tie-in noticed. Don’t know if it was the same cables but he doesn’t use cables on screen again so I suppose they might have been?

 

Funny you should ask. When TFA came out I hated everything about it, so I didn’t even care enough about TLJ to bother hating it. I just found it amusing how bad it was. But I’ve always said I’d rather watch a bad movie than a mediocre one, so I actually found myself really anticipating the blu-ray release.

When I got it I watched it with my mom and that helped me let go and enjoy it a bit more. So next I decided to watch them back to back, and to my surprise I suddenly found that I really liked both of them. I can’t really explain it. They still aren’t on the level of the Lucas saga for me or anything, and there are little things about both movies that still annoy me, but it wouldn’t be Star Wars without that anyway. I think they complement each other well though, and now I’m looking forward to seeing how the trilogy plays together in total.

 

Rewatched both for the first time yesterday.

The good:
TLJ isn't as disconnected as I thought it was and actually was connected to TFA.
The OT trio roles were really satisfying (Luke's arc especially is really good).
The new characters are more likable after a rewatch (this include Rose).
While Rey was a little over the top with her abilities in TFA, her character's journey actually become better after TLJ.
Finn has the best arc from the new characters and his actor give the best performance so far (seriously, why Driver is the one getting the praise? Boyega has given a better performance and nailed his role in most of his scenes).
I actually like the resistance better now.
Snoke's has a better presence mainly thanks to his actor.
Holdo's sacrifice was heroic and touching.

The bad:
The editing looks worse than I remember.
FO completely lack any kind of originality and actually one of the worst parts about ST.
Kylo is even worse than I remember and I'm not sure that the story group know what they want his character to be about.
Hux was better in TFA and a bigger joke in TLJ.
Lack of world building.
The Ren Knights being very underutilized so far.
The plantes and the aliens are so bland and lack creativity.
Phasma's role and her death.
Canto bight side story could have been better.
The first part of TLJ was a chore to rewatch (except Luke's scenes) and the second part of TFA was pretty boring.
The conflict between Poe and Holdo was really forced.
The acting was pretty weak in some of the scenes.
The lightsaber fights.
Holdo and DJ are wasted potential.

 

The only part in the two movies that to me seemed a little off When Rey meets Luke for the first time in TFA it is cloudy on the Island that same scene in TLJ IT Is sunny, But if you can look past that or chalk it up to a stylistic thing then Hey its all good! Like the only thing that really bugs me but I am totally over it. Don't even notice it anymore. May be the clouds parted and sun came up when she handed him the lightsaber who knows?

I think The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of the Jedi not only felt Tonally different from one another but also from A New Hope And that's understandable because the entire OT was directed by different Directors. I think at the end of the day the one ST movie that feels Tonally different should be TLJ because It had a different Director not named JJ Abrams but again that is totally understandable but like The OT like in 10 to 20 years I think the different styles of two different Directors will be less noticeable and unless your a fanboy like us you probably don't even know a different Director Directed TLJ...

 

I tried TFA-TLJ back to back. Strange experience. On one hand, it becomes one massive story! Otoh, it becomes one massive story. But then the prequels were that way, too, in a way. TPM is a bit of a stand-alone followed by AotC-RotS. I suppose the OT was that way, too. So I wonder how IX will feel, if there's (hopefully) a time-jump.

I found one.

Brilliant! It would just underscore Luke's dismissal. I want to see that edit one day.

 

Luke's face seems very orange in the scene which is at the end of TFA

 

While there is nothing original on the SW movies about crosscutting for whatever reason, it is one of the strongest points of George Lucas, the DW Griffith of our time. And his narrative signature survives in Disney SW.

 

Which is good - I love the crosscutting.

 

Some of the more distant shots from behind Rey are also somewhat cloudy. But all of the shots facing Rey are bright and sunny. Symbolism of Rey as the light?

RJ does mention this in the commentary... With the extremely limited access they had to Skellig Michael (2 days well before principal photography started and I think one day later on), they didn't have the luxury of worrying about whether or not the weather was consistent.

Was home with a bad cold today so I watched both films back to back. Only two things felt disconnected: the cloudy/sunny sky during Rey's first meeting with Luke... And Luke's hair.

 

Ha! Yes on Luke's hair.

 

the final scene of TFA takes on a different context knowing what's coming in Last Jedi. You see TFA without Last Jedi, Luke is a cipher. you see TFA and you know what's coming and you know exactly what Luke is thinking.

 

Tried it. Honestly, it was a bit of a chore. Doesn’t hold a candle to the ANH/ ESB one-two punch.

 

Yeah rewatching them back to back, they really do not line up. First of all, basic story ideas (like how powerful the FO is) don't line up at all:

-It makes the conflict even more of an OT rehash than it already was.
-Poe and Hux feel like they've bene totally retconned character-wise.
-Stuff like The Map to Luke and Rey's Force Vision feel like they were just brushed aside.
-Han's death and Finn's maiming is also completely brushed aside.
-Leia is taken out for most of the movie, and does nothing of note when she is there.
-Luke's arc is still awful and feels nothing like Luke.
-The characters are FAR less likeable in TLJ and their "flaws" make no sense.
-Rey making a complete turnaround on Kylo two days after TFA based off of a couple of Force Skype sessions.
-Etc.

And it doesn't even have the excuse of "well it takes place a few years after the last one" like ESB, or a year after like ROTJ, etc. It's two days, TWO DAYS, after TFA so it feels like a like natural progression and more like the people who made TLJ not bothering to watch TFA beforehand.

I said after TFA came out that it would depend a lot on it's sequels to judge it's quality. Well sadly, it looks FAR less impressive now.

 

Another massive disconnection (the most unsettling one imo) is how Rey's motivation for actually going to Ach-to in the first place radically changes in order to fit TLJ's ridiculous deconstruction project.

At the end of TFA, she follows the map to find Luke and bring him back to the Resistance. That's it. She's not on a self discovery quest or looking-for-Jedi-training quest, it's a recruitment mission for one guy. Yes there are lots of hints that those other story lines could develop, but TFA doesn't explicitly go that far because they would need a minimal degree of set up. TLJ blows right past that set up and assumes that the characters already know the meta narrative of Star Wars just like the audience. There is not any line in TFA where it's explicitly said that Rey needs to be a Jedi, just lots of cryptic references for the mystery box. When you watch them back to back, the missing link is obvious, and it all stems from the fact that LFL doesn't see Rey as a real character, just a brand.