Saga Least favorite Star Wars film and Why (Revised)

It has nothing to do with shocking. It is a family friendly board. It is a little odd that you would want to have a public discussion about this. I only say this because you brought it up again.

 

I would have to say The Force Awakens. It's where all the problems of the Sequel Trilogy began and derailed the narrative of the Saga.

Although if I had to pick from the Original Six Lucas made I would have to say The Empire Strikes Back. It's not a bad movie and I do enjoy it. It's probably the most technically proficient of the Original Trilogy if not the whole Saga, but I just found it the most boring of bunch. I guess I prefer more lighthearted and out there over the top and well it has the least of those things. I guess that's also why The Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi are my favorite of the bunch.

 

Okay. I must not have my own opinion.

 

Sorry, I was out of line. I should not have brought Star Wars politics into the discussion.

 

I'm not picking on you just trying to be helpful. But in one sentence you said he was "regurgitating" and called him a trendy SW fan. 2 insults. No one is going to like that.

 

I didn't mean it as an insult, I was simply suggesting some self-reflection so he/she, and others members of this forum, can determine if their opinions are truly their own, or influenced by peer pressure.

 

And one might ask others to engage in self-reflection as to whether their opinions are their own or simply contrarianism designed to get a rise out of other posters. But that would just as iffy, really.

I don't see any evidence that rating AOTC at the bottom of the heap is "trendy" so much as it just happens to be the one that many people (myself included, sort of*) consider... their least favorite. Because statistically that honor has to go to one of these films, right? And everyone's got their own trip. No reasons to question it.

*actually, I'm not really sure AOTC is my least favorite... I do think it's the "least good", but if I'm honest I enjoy it more than ROTS or TROS in many ways. So perhaps that's some self-reflection for you.

 

TLJ by far. If I had gone to see TROS (based on what I have read for months about what happens) it would have been my absolute least favorite.

The sequel writing did not inspire in me the ability to care about the characters one iota. I felt as if I was expected to just give the trilogy all of the goodwill I already had from the first 6 films. You love Han and Leia? Oh you have to sympathize with their kid. Without actually giving him character development worthy of any sympathy. I am not an Adam Driver fan girl so his dead eye stare, the shirtless scene and lack of convincing emotion did nothing for me.

TLJ was the first Star Wars film I ever watched that made me feel horrible. The nihilism was enough to choke a Rancor. It made Rey look completely stupid shipping herself off to Kylo. She had no training on not taking force visions at face value and when Luke warned her, she ignored him. She attacks Luke in defense of Kylo? Not the female Jedi I was looking forward to seeing. They turned Luke into this Jedi hating bitter old man. All the gags on Finn, turning Poe into a hot headed male chauvinist, having Leia strike a subordinate, Han and Leia separated, Han regressed to smuggling again. Luke abandoning his family. Messing with established lore, ghost Yoda lighting a tree on fire with the force.

The PG fight was ridiculous. Kylo sticks a guard in the gut but can't use the force to call the saber back to him so Rey has to save him? Kylo sticking the lightsaber in the floor for no reason? Kylo or Rey couldn't use the force to throw back any of the guards?

It wasn't enough that they ignored the PT, they completely wiped out Anakin's sacrifice and gave all of his accomplishments to Rey. Not to mention it makes Anakin's turn look unnecessary by giving Rey the ability to force heal? They touted themselves so much on how it wasn't a family bloodline that made a powerful Jedi (really did the watch the PT?) They claimed to want to present the idea that anyone could be a Jedi and that she wasn't related to anyone but then they contradict themselves and bring in a family for Palps so Rey can be related to a powerful force user? It turned the story into the Palpatine saga and then had Rey slap the Skywalker name on herself rather than honor her parents who died trying to protect her.

And Anakin didn't appear any where. A single line, then his lightsaber buried in the one place he hated the most.

 

TFA.

I didn't like it from the beginning. The visual rehash of ANH with minor ingredients from the rest of the OT, the plot follows the same beats as ANH and it is ridiculous that anyone can today's weapons compare to the ones from 34 years ago - and ignore the same one, even bigger and more powerful, from 30 years ago. The movie is very plot driven, Rey gains more and more power without giving us time to digest that, there are many things that we should take for granted and some really stupid choices (like Han going to Maz Kanata's planet because he fears Leia and later everything's fine with them or making an ice planet so close to it's star).
Abrams failed to bring us some wow-moments, everything's so rehashed, plain, earth-like, style over substance (look, it's practical!) cheap solutions (destroying a planet from another system and seeing that from the third one). He's not that talented artist like Lucas to implant mysteries in a movie without blatantly making them mysteries - and on top of that, they're so poorly executed that answering them (and he didn't) would ruin the whole pattern of SW thread I love in the 6-part one. It makes even worse when he repeated the same mistakes in TROS - the abysmally convenient planning of the Starkiller attack is repeated in the Exegol one. Our heroes know everything and it's about the execution only. There are also issues of not explaining the galactic situation in greater detail, wiping out the Republic in 10 seconds and misunderstanding the terms good and light, when Leia says that there's stil light in Kylo. Come on! Oh, and, just to make an honourable mention, Lor San Tekka and Maz Kanata... Just badly wasted.
Yes, he admitted that, in the end, Chewie just passing by Leia is a mistake. I've got to laugh at that.

 

AOTC. The lack of chemistry between Padmé and Anakin is painful to watch. It's like they're going through the motions.

I've only seen each of the sequels once so far, so I barely remember what happened in them. I don't think I can give a fair review of them, even if TFA felt more like a rehash of ANH than an independent movie.

 

I dislike all of the sequel films.

TFA - always felt distinctly anti-prequel to me, and I think JJ compensated for their perceived shortcomings in all the wrong ways, eschewing the narrative momentum of the series to reset every accomplishment made in the OT.

TLJ - awkward humor and a pervading sense of nihilism coupled with the worst possible arc for Luke all in the name of subversion. A part of me actually gets a kick out of just how much it aims not to please.

TROS - a total mess from beginning to end. Nothing about the story makes any sense or has any point. A disjointed series of events that defy explanation at every turn. I feel it’s not only the worst Star Wars movie, but literally one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

 

That’s a good way to put the entertainment value of TLJ.

 

I get what you mean! It's like for TLJ they went out of their way to ensure each moment goes resolutely and unyieldingly AGAINST anything fans would've hoped for!


I get what many here have said about TLJ and TROS. And I do share some of the opinions, such as the way certain characters are handled, and the odd pacing just to be able to include some "awesome!!!" moments, etc.

Still though, I would say I ultimately enjoyed the ST. It's not my favorite by a longshot for different reasons, and in general it just feels less...grandiose and magical than the PT and OT, and more a watered down "copy of a copy" feel. But I still view them as enjoyable to watch. TLJ is a bit of a drag in certain parts. But I will say that (apart from how they wrote Luke), the film has slowly grown on me just a bit, since its release. I think this may be due to the release of TROS, which ultimately made me see the ST in a different light. I can see how many feel like TROS basically feels like something a couple 10 year olds would come up with while playing in their backyard...But I actually quite enjoyed TROS, so I think that helped elevate the whole ST abit for me. And I'm glad too, cos I was quite disappointed after seeing TLJ-actually kind of depressed really, for the next year and a half until I saw how the story ended.

I still would maintain that TPM still remains my least favorite. Mostly cos it moves so slowly, and the few exciting moments aren't really enough to bring it out of that lull for me. It's great as an installment to set the stage for the whole saga, but really doesn't stand well as a film on its own. TLJ is a close 2nd to the bottom for me. I think really the only thing that puts TPM at the bottom below it is....Jar Jar.

 

People need to learn to quit apologizing for liking something (not calling out anyone in particular). Your allowed to have your own opinion and like something that most deem as bad. I don't like Rogue One and that film is universally praised. I think Attack of the Clones is quite good and most people think it is the worst film in the franchise. I'm not going to apologize for my opinion haha.

 

Agreed. I've always said your preferences are your own. So what if my brother's favorite movie is Equilibrium, or my friend loves Gigli? They are happy when they watch those films and that's all that matters. I personally believe Batman V. Superman (extended version) is a masterpiece among superhero films. I don't need to validate why to anyone, and I don't really care what anyone else says. It's like criticizing someone for their choice of favorite color.

When someone can fully surrender to that mindset, it's a very rewarding thing.

 

I voted TLJ as it is an abomination. TROS is a close second and TFA not that far behind..

... but I watched TPM again today and it rocked! Twice in two days for a film I haven't seen in (I think) 15 years!

I think TPM was the last "eighties" movie made. Feels so different to AOTC et al.

UKS

 

You almost made me choke on my Skittles with that comment....

This is an opinion you might want to apologize for..... I'm kidding, but you're right. It's your choice, not someone else's, even if it is AOTC that you like.

 

Nor should you, EVER. I myself happen to find AOTC a kind of masterpiece, and probably the most interesting and unusual entry in the saga so far. And guess what, if I were the only person in the world with that opinion I'd probably like it even more. I believe I have always been different from the trend-following masses ever since I was a kid, and enjoy going against the grain. I have been avoiding trends ever since I can remember. Best of all, I have never in the least been ashamed of that, much less apologized. I like what I like, am who I am. If anyone has a problem with that I will most probably tell them in no uncertain terms where to go.

 

For me it's AOTC.

AOTC was clunky, and didn't really flow well. The dialogue was horrible, and not just for the romance between Anakin and Padme. There are times we see from one scene to another, lines uttered or actions taken by a character contradict what was said or done by the same character in a prior scene. This makes the character development irrelevant, and turns what are supposed to be important or vital characters into plot devices simply for the effect of moving the movie forward. The end result becomes a movie that is tonally inconsistent and jarring. Too many conveniences that make the movie feel more like a filler episode to get to ROTS than an integral part of the trilogy. This was supposed to be the movie where we see the coldness of the darkside grow in Anakin. To see the struggle that he loses out on by the end of ROTS, but we only get one scene where we're even close to it. Anakin's comments after slaughtering the Tuskins, "I'm a Jedi, I know I'm better than this." is all we get, then the whole budding internal conflict is dropped in exchange for Anakin chasing Padme with a force boner.

 

Agreed. Despite some flaws (which as I've said many times before-ALL SW films have flaws), it's visually stunning, an intriguing mystery plotline that resembles old detective films, entertaining action sequences and IMO the best world building of any film out there-not just SW.

 

Attack of the Clones. It was between AOTC and TPM, which are both barely watchable to me, but AOTC wins out (loses out?) primarily because its most embarrassing scenes are essential to the saga as a whole, I feel. It's really difficult for me to sympathize with Anakin's desperation over saving Padme in ROTS when their love scenes are so cringey in AOTC. I feel like if the basic story of AOTC was executed more skillfully, then Anakin's turn in ROTS would have made far more sense to me on a deeper level in ROTS. TPM's embarrassing scenes mainly centered around Jar Jar, who wasn't as essential, so AOTC gets my vote.

 

By the way, why is there no "dislike" or "downvote" or whatever button here? You can unlike videos and comments on YouTube but sadly not here. If you can give a comment a "thumbs up" then surely there should be a "thumbs down" alternative as well. After all this is how real democracy works. You are free to like something but equally free to dislike, as long as you don't personally offend anyone. Does anyone agree?

 

It doesn't have to do with AOTC or this particular thread, or any thread. The question just occurred to me because some people were slamming it, as usual. The general issue is why we are allowed to only LIKE something but not dislike. I have read so many hate comments about the prequels that got millions of likes. Yet we are not allowed to dislike them? If you want to slam the prequels, that's "fine" (at least in a democratic way). But why can't we dislike those "critical" hate posts as well? Why can we only "like" comments? Add a "dislike" button just like on sites like Facebook and YouTube! It would certainly be fairer. Liking and disliking something should be an equal way of expressing your opinion.