MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Discussion > Why do the critics love the Star Wars se...

Why do the critics love the Star Wars sequels?

posted 7 years ago by Arghhhh (804)
70 replies | jump to latest

To be clear, I do not have any problem with any single critic (or anyone) loving this film but what I can't understand is how *every* critic seems to be in love with it. Metacritic has 53 critics listed as favourable, 3 mixed and zero give a negative opinion. Zero. And yet there are clearly millions of people who don't just think it's poor, they think it's a disaster.

So how can this be? What is going on...? This is a genuine question and I am looking for answers.

Here are the options as far as I can tell:

1 - It really is as good as they say it is.
2 - Disney has bought them off.
3 - Disney hasn't bought them off but critics are worried about losing access if they are too harsh.
4 - They agree with it politically
5 - They're scared to disagree with it politically as they worry they will be painted as racist/sexist/etc
6 - Everyone else seems to love it and they are going with the flow
7 - They think the prequels were the worst films ever so as long as they're not like the prequels they must be good
8 - Star Wars is now in a very unusual position of having very low expectations buy still enormous amounts of hype resulting in a severe lowering of the bar.
9 - KK has the families of every single established critic on the planet locked in her basement.

I personally feel it is a mixture of 4 through 8 but even this seems a stretch to explain the critical reception. I mean, this is a massive corporation that's bought somebody else's IP for billions, to turn out two sequels that seem to actively undo many aspects of the original story, that don't seem to agree with each other AND that millions of people hate. Now if you were to tell me that you could do that without getting a single negative review from an established critic I'd think you were insane. But it's happened. But how?

[–] CraigJamesReview (1816) 7 years ago

nostalgia, and i'm also assuming they are happy with this being a whole new ball game where, story-telling wise, nothing is off-limits and it's still interesting to see what kinda juice this franchise can still have. I don't think they've been perfect by any means but I also think there is some stuff to really like here- the Kylo, Rey, Luke storyline for example.

I'm trying to go for an entertaining, informative youtube channel so, if you have the time, take a look. Hope you enjoy what you see and if you have any thoughts or criticisms, i'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance. Review right here- https://youtu.be/nerCnafPUm8

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Bought and paid for. Take their reviews as you would sponsored content - that is, complete garbage.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

*All* of them have been paid off?

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Every. Single. One.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

Fair enough. It's as rational explanation as I can come up with at this point.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Sponsored content is the most effective way to sell, it's immoral and open to corruption but the public are onto it now and I don't think it will be effective in the near future.

[–] grindovermatter (380) 7 years ago

Most ironic screenname ever.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Really?

Well there's an achievement I wasn't aiming for.

Thanks!

[–] grindovermatter (380) 7 years ago

and yet not a single whistle-blower or paper trail.

It's almost like the 'bribed critic' theory is some kind of paranoid fantasy dreamed up by narcissistic idiots who have no understanding of how the world works and are threatened by the idea of an opinion that differs from their own.

Interesting.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

I don't think you know what the word 'narcissistic' means. I know it sounds pretty and everything but it's always best to understand a word before using it to describe others, especially when calling them idiots.

[–] grindovermatter (380) 7 years ago

I know exactly what it means, and it applies.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

Clearly you don't. Idiot.

[–] miljenko (0) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] miljenko (0) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Xenopharb (617) 7 years ago

The reason: most reviewers don't understand Star Wars lore; they don't know how science actually works, and they don't care about what happens to Luke Skywalker. They give high praise for bad superhero movies, and they are a bunch of copycats. To them, Star Wars is a no-brain popcorn movie, and being entertained to that end is enough.

There were favorable reviews for Return of the Jedi, and that film was a mess.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

Woah woah woah, I was with you right up until that final sentence.

I don't get the criticism for RotJ - yes, the Ewoks are a little cringey now that I'm a cynical adult but I can tell you that I fucking loved the cuddly little bastards when I was a kid and so did all my friends.

It has so many incredible scenes: the escape from Jabba's palace, the epic final space battle, the emperor, luke completing his journey from whiny farm boy to backflipping ninja, the ending, the ending! Talk about a perfect completion to both Vader and Luke's arc.

It might not seem like it now but the 3 way cutting between Endor, the space battle, and the throne room was incredibly original and daring for the time. Telling 3 separate, yet interconnected, stories all with very different tones: a commando raid, an epic space battle and a conversation/light sabre battle... it's a triumph of editing and pacing.

And the only thing that is needed to 'fix' the ewoks is their asthetics. Make them look a little more alien and a little less like teddybears and that part of the story will work (story being the most important thing - and something the sequels couldn't give two shits about).

The only thing I'd really criticise about RotJ - and it is a big flaw admittedly, so big that Zahn had to retcon it in the books - is that the imperial fleet manages to lose to a force it has trapped and appears to be a tenth of the size.

[–] Xenopharb (617) 7 years ago

While there are many good scenes in RotJ, it was a mess overall, and the Special Edition made it worse.

Of course, those are topics for another board.

In any case, the Star Wars sequels are just caricatures of Star Wars. J.J. Abrams did the same thing with Star Trek.

Many critics believe these films should be like MCU Superhero films, so they like them - even if they don't really understand them or care for the legacy of the characters.

[–] illnagas (457) 7 years ago

In general I agree. I’d add that film criticism as a whole is dying. Very few movies are panned and those that are panned aren’t protected by sjw platitudes

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

It is dying. The internet - which I love - has had many unforeseen impacts, one of the biggest being the gutting of traditional media.

Nobody wants to pay for content and we all know that you get what you pay for.... so the previously professional (but still flawed of course) journalists and critics are now being replaced by the blogosphere and clickbait.

There's a link on this forum to a Variety article that goes something like this "98% of Star Wars films have been made by white men". And it goes on to make it clear that not only is this a bad thing it is *immoral*. Variety was previously well respected and has been going for over a hundred years and now it is reduced to click bait race baiting. It's just insane. There are clear and obvious fundamental issues regarding the new Star Wars films and barely a single established 'critic' has raised them, but they *are* writing articles criticising people for the colour of their skin and the content of their trousers. What the fuck is happening to the world? It's like we came so close to moving past these petty and divisive attitudes then thought 'fuck it - time for racism to be the in-thing again!'

Just review the film. Don't give it a pass because you agree with it's politics. Don't give it a pass because it looks pretty. The DNA of its creators are none of your business. Just do your fucking job! Jesus Christ, how hard can it be to review a movie!?

[–] illnagas (457) 7 years ago

very very well said!

I also love the internet and take full advantage of it every day but you're spot on about 'unforeseen impacts'. Variety is a good example but even the old magazine Cracked has completely transformed into something else completely. It used to be satire and schtick and now it's home page is 100% clickbait. The only journalists that will survive will be ones churning out eye grabbing headlines that might briefly steal the attention of ADHD web surfers.

Bringing it back to movies, I often disagreed with Siskel and Ebert but at least I respected them. They could articulate their praise or criticisms efficiently and convincingly. Now the main source for movie criticism is maybe youtube. And that's mostly hacks trying to entertain, not enlighten or engage or challenge. I wish I had a dollar for every time Chris Stuckman repeated the same old 'observations': OMG, BEST EVER, (ACTOR) TURNS IN A GREAT PERFORMANCE, SO IMMERSIVE, WORLD BUILDING... etc etc etc

And you're right, they shouldn't judge movies solely on what politics they deliver. The real life stories behind movies like Hidden Figures et al might be great, but the critics job is to tell if the movie delivers the story on an artistic level, not 'support' something like the new Ghostbusters just because women are the leads.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

Glad you agree. I never went to Cracked but many people seem to feel the same way about that site.

And they're going one step further now than 'supporting' films they feel have the right politics, they're actually writing articles demonising the fans that dare to disagree with their enlightened views. Ghostbusters was the perfect example - how the hell did 'critics' end up supporting a reboot nobody asked for with humour on a par with Police Academy 4 +? Because the cast had vaginas? And they're the ones they think are progressive?

[–] ADBruno1985 (3579) 7 years ago

Guessing because they've trained themselves (better than the general public) to appreciate a film for what it is, and what it tries to be: A worthwhile way of escaping reality for two hours that's worth the price of admission, and not so hung-up on a movie "ruining their childhood" just because their predictions weren't correct to a T. Really if you look closely, most people who are unhappy with it, it boils down to them thinking it sucks because it didn't meet their overly particular expectations. Really, pretty much any movie can be enjoyed if you just *let* yourself, and that doesn't have to have any bearing on whether the movie is *good* or not. There are some movies that entertain me endlessly, but I have no problem admitting that they're crap, it doesn't have to be one or the other, it can be both.

[–] Arghhhh (804) 7 years ago

You know nobody on here - as far as I can tell - is seriously suggesting the sequels are ruining theirs or anybody else childhood so that's a straw man right off the bat. And what you seem to be suggesting is that we can enjoy any movie if we try hard enough... just lower your expectations. You know if that works for you then great but I'll think I'll keep my expectations for bazillion dollar budget sequels to classic films quite high.