Blogs Get Star Wars, Disney Doesn't

John Nolte (PBUH) reviews The Rise of Skywalker and is not impressed. In his review Nolte makes a great point and with Original Trilogy:

There are two moments I’ve never forgotten from the original Star Wars trilogy. In 1977, I was 11 years old, so of course I’m going to mention that jaw-dropping Star Wars opening. Endless space, John Williams’ rising score, and that never-ending Imperial Star Destroyer passing overhead. The second is Luke Skywalker’s first appearance in Return of the Jedi (1982). What an arc that character had — from a starry-eyed, somewhat spoiled child in Star Wars, to The Empire Strikes Back’s unseasoned and impatient warrior eager to do his duty, to this… Look at Luke now. Look at his poise, his confidence… He’s a Jedi! No. Better. He’s a man.

That, reader(s), is why when John Nolte speaks about movies, one should always listen.

Nolte is sooooo right about Luke in Return of the Jedi, and we too recall Luke's entrance vividly, from our very first viewing. God, Luke is such a badass walking into Jaba's palace. 'You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookie to me.'

Here's Ace writing about world building in Star Wars:

You could take the Star Wars story and just plop it into any setting because it’s a tale as old as time, to coin a phrase. Around that simple story, though, is a new world. The setting of the film seems to spill over on every side. Yes, we have the Empire and the Rebellion, but we also have hints of the Old Republic, a Senate, the Emperor, an ancient religion called the Jedi (or the Force), and a host of new species that all look different and sound different. There are droids that speak English and those that speak their own clicks and beeps.

Hinted at but not over-explained. 

The world around Luke seems old and tired, worn out. Look at those X-Wings, they have battle-scars, the pilot's helmets are dinged and dented. In fact Star Wars seems like...1977. For younger reader(s) that's how American felt, and that's one of the reasons why Star Wars was such a huge phenomenon. Five years earlier and Star Wars flops becuase everyone's thinking about Vietnam. Five years later and we're in the go-go 80's.

We're not bothering with The Rise of Skywalker, a sentence we'd never thought we'd write about a Star Wars movie. We couldn't care less about this trilogy or the characters. After two movies Rey, Finn, Po are uninteresting, dull and pointless. What the hell is Finn even there for?

It's Star Wars week here at William Stroock dot Blogspot dotcom, and we'll be writing about, and maybe vlogging about, the Star Wars movies we do care about.