I have liked every SW movie for some reason or another in spite of their flaws and inconsistencies as well. But I think the narrative that if you liked TROS then you hated TLJ is going to persist. It doesn't help that there are posters blaming TROS on TLJ and TLJ on TFA.
Oh, that's no doubt true. I guess I'm just burned out on it all. It's why I haven't participated in Star Wars discussion threads much until this past month.
Making movies is hard. Just like making video games is hard. A lot of variables can effect a production, or force the creative team to make difficult decisions and work with what they have. I think RJ and JJ did a fantastic job of reigniting the Star Wars IP in film after the prequels turned away all but the most ardent of fanboys and fangirls.
All 3 films are flawed. They also all ooze potential. They have quality ideas and plot potential. Creating a story is like Schrodinger's Cat. Your story can be all things at once until a choice is made, then it exists. The thing is, once your choice is made, all other choices have to stem from one another or it all falls apart. Each choice from the creative team directly impacted the next creative team's work.
JJ's work impacted Rian Johnson's work, which impacted JJ's work on TRoS. That's not a negative, by the way. It's how these things work when you're telling a story with multiple parts, trilogy or otherwise. And considering that RJ was working on TLJ while JJ was working on TFA, I refuse to believe this narrative that neither knew what the other was planning with their stories.
TRoS was probably the most difficult, since JJ was brought on super late, and had a tight deadline, so there probably wasn't nearly as much collaborating with RJ (though I doubt JJ never spoke with him at all during production of TRoS).
All of the conspiracy theorizing and fantasizing about a disastrous production seems like wasted energy. If you liked the movie, cool. If you hated the movie, cool. The reality of what went on behind the scenes more than likely isn't nearly as dramatic as anyone thinks. At least when it comes to the notion of some kind of bitter rivalry between JJ and RJ, and how they both set out to shit in each other's cereal.
I don't envy JJ having to tie up this trilogy, especially with a tight deadline, and the loss of one of your key actors. And no, killing Leia off offscreen would have been such a disservice and insulting to her character, as well as Carrie Fisher's contribution to this franchise.
Bringing Palpatine back this late in the game is a questionable decision, but I do kind of like the idea that these 9 movies are about these two powerful, almost dynastic families fighting among each other. Like, the Palpatines and Skywalkers are linked since The Phantom Menace, and now both families conflict has been put to rest. I don't like Rey being a Palpatine, because I loved her being nobody, but I can also find the poetry in her "uniting" the Palpatine and Skywalker lines. She is not her grandfather. She is still her own person. And she honors her mentors by taking on their last name. She is a Palpatine by blood, but a Skywalker in spirit.
Still not a fan, but I can reconcile it. It also opens the door for more in depth stories with Rey and her lineage in EU material.
