So, how are people feeling about this?

In the wider public, there's definitely a fatigue - and to a degree a loss of magic - with the proliferation of Star Wars' movies, and yet, for me, nothing will ever quite touch on the profound, spiritual message at the heart of Star Wars; that all living things are interconnected. A simple but powerful message that resonated with me at a very young age. This is what film should do at its best.

So that's my story.

How is everyone feeling about this final chapter? How do you feel about the course of the new trilogy?

Excited?

A case of not giving a f?

Just throwing this video in, which captures the trailer music... for me (especially from 1.19 onwards), this is the best reprise of the Star Wars theme to date.

Can't say I've enjoyed this latest trilogy. The Last Jedi being particularly awful.

I don't feel fatigued at all, I want more - but I want better. In my opinion, they are trying to recreate the original trilogy and it's failing miserably - they should have tried to be original.

I didn't get any kind of message from the original Star Wars, nothing on a deep or meaningful level - What I saw was something "new". Some badass space cowboys doing badass space cowboy stuff with interesting characters in interesting places and great aesthetics.
Hadn't seen anything like it before, it was thrilling and got me excited.

The latest trilogy is just trying to be the same - that never works out. And by the same I mean the basic plot - I still want awesome space battles and the like - but another story about a Skywalker discovering their "powers" and going from obscurity to hero of the universe... eurgh.

I think the last jedi drained the trilogy of anything it had left.

It basically killed the story the first one set up (and perhaps the whole Star Wars Universe) , left it without any cliffhangers, and has left this one feeling pointless.

There are no antagonistic forces of any relevance. The main bad guy is likeable. The ginger guy a parody figure. There is nothing to hope for or care about.

As a stand alone film, Last Jedi wasn't terrible. I sort of enjoyed it on the day, then it started making me feel bad about life over time.

It can still be turned around.. If JJ and Disney are bold enough. I'd bring Luke back, if it was me and Snoke. Pretend Johnson's film didn't exist.

In retrospect they got this new trilogy horribly wrong. They started in the wrong place, which is unforgivable really. It all should have started later, in a time of unparalleled peace in the galaxy. So that all the old guys had won.. Then an entirely new threat should have come about. The way they've done it, they made the classic films and heroes pointless.

I'd sack the entire production team if I owned Disney.

Biggest problem is that Kylo Ren is so lame.  Unworthy lame.  Dare I say it -- Jar Jar lame.

There is no way to change my mind about this.  What were they thinking with this guy?

What is still worse is that I will continue muttering these sentiments all the way to the theater to watch this film.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films In retrospect, they got this new trilogy horribly wrong. They started in the wrong place, which is unforgivable really. It all should have started later, in a time of unparalleled peace in the galaxy. So that all the old guys had won... Then an entirely new threat should have come about. The way they've done it, they made the classic films and heroes pointless. I'd sack the entire production team if I owned Disney.

Nail on the head - I feel like they tried to stick to the original formula rather than risk being original.

For me, the ending of the original trilogy set up the next movies in a pretty logical way.
The Galactic Empire was an autocracy, and it fell - that leaves a massive power void in the universe. A power void that any number of species/armies in the Star Wars universe would have tried to fill - the rebels were in no position to mediate the turmoil that the fall of the Empire would bring. Galactic war ensues... (obviously with lightsabers still   )
Basically "War of the Roses" in space is what I would have liked to see - but that's probably just me.

Instead we basically just got the Empire back and an extremely long and slow car chase in space.

The biggest problem with the new trilogy is that it doesn't seem like they had any sort of plan in place. Rian Johnson was more interested in getting across his social justice message than he was in telling a satisfying and logical story.

I've heard some pretty awful rumors about this new film. If they turn out to be even partially true, people will riot.

Quoted from bert Biggest problem is that Kylo Ren is so lame.  Unworthy lame.  Dare I say it -- Jar Jar lame. There is no way to change my mind about this.  What were they thinking with this guy? What is still worse is that I will continue muttering these sentiments all the way to the theater to watch this film.

Haha! Yeah, I think most people will go will that type of feeling.

For my part, I really enjoyed the first movie back, and sympathised with JJ Abrams, because he was picking up a property that is unrivalled in its cultural impact, yet was deeply contaminated by the second trilogy.

To try and resuscitate it they tried to inject with such nostalgia to imbue the new series with the energy of the first trilogy. In my view, they were largely successful in that goal, but from a story perspective there were definitely some issues around what is the point in the context of this universe for extending the story. Still, I think they did a solid enough job, which was then squandered by The Last Jedi.

TLJ appeared to have a largely destructive attitude towards what has gone before, and seemed desperate to craft its own image, and to hell with how that fitted within the universe or this third trilogy. So once again, JJ Abrams is handed a pretty nasty hand to deal with. That said, on subsequent viewings, I came to find TLJ as a very emotional movie, and settled on contextualising it within the broader landscape as incongruent, but ultimately a discordant riff within the braoder piece.

Agree with a lot of criticisms about lightweight villains, and wafer thin trilogy plot, and yet, despite all the obvious flaws, I cannot help but be drawn in. I'm actively going in and seeing this film as part of a 9 movie series; a single episode that doesn't destroy what came before, but rather sits within it. Unlikely to be a top 3 within the series, but hell, it's fucking Star Wars!

It's a little like how I feel about the David Brent movie. Brent, and the UK Office, is my favourite comedy of all-time. Is the movie in the same stratosphere as the show? No chance, but you know, I'll never not want to see the character, because I have such love and affection for him.

I think that's probably the best way for me to embrace Star Wars now. Check my mind at the door, and just bring my heart and give it over entirely!

I was 13 when A New Hope came out and it was a whole new world when I walked out of the theatre. Since episode 4 & 5, it's been nothing but a letdown. Of the recent movies (ep. 7, 8, Rogue One, and Solo), Rogue One was the standout for me. A 'one & done' effort in the spirit of the original. I haven't even been able to sit through Solo.

The Mandalorian, on the other hand, is keeping me on the hook. If it has some tie to Rise of Skywalker, I'll have to go see it in the theatre. Otherwise, I'll wait it out.

Quoted from JEStaats I was 13 when A New Hope came out and it was a whole new world when I walked out of the theatre. Since episode 4 & 5, it's been nothing but a letdown. Of the recent movies (ep. 7, 8, Rogue One, and Solo), Rogue One was the standout for me. A 'one & done' effort in the spirit of the original. I haven't even been able to sit through Solo. The Mandalorian, on the other hand, is keeping me on the hook. If it has some tie to Rise of Skywalker, I'll have to go see it in the theatre. Otherwise, I'll wait it out.

Agree that Rogue One is the best of the recent batch of star wars films.

The worst thing about Star Wars is all the absolute bell ****s, including mainstream press, who have to plaster spoilers everywhere.

I got stung on Facebook an hour before my show time, this time major spoilers are already everywhere.

Quoted from Andrew A case of not giving a f?

You asked. Most definitely.  

Hopefully, fans can catch a break with the new one though. Even from the sidelines, the new films seem increasingly mired with discontent. And having already suffered through the whole prequel trilogy, no less. Rogue One seems to be a crowd pleaser at least.

Quoted from Andrew I think that's probably the best way for me to embrace Star Wars now. Check my mind at the door, and just bring my heart and give it over entirely!

When I was a wee lad in 1977 my Dad took me to see A New Hope. We were both amazed at the time, wound up taking my Mother later on. We all loved it. Fast forward to...

The Force Awakens, and having the opportunity to take my six-year old to see it. When "A long time ago..." came onto the screen I knew I was done for. I actually loved it -- I felt it was a good place to start and JJ Abrams actually did a nice job with it. Then again, I'm a sap. A sucker for an emotional moment, and this had it. I'm just hoping JJ can do it again and give this a fitting ending.

Quoted from Matthew Taylor Nail on the head - I feel like they tried to stick to the original formula rather than risk being original. For me, the ending of the original trilogy set up the next movies in a pretty logical way. The Galactic Empire was an autocracy, and it fell - that leaves a massive power void in the universe. A power void that any number of species/armies in the Star Wars universe would have tried to fill - the rebels were in no position to mediate the turmoil that the fall of the Empire would bring. Galactic war ensues... (obviously with lightsabers still   ) Basically "War of the Roses" in space is what I would have liked to see - but that's probably just me. Instead we basically just got the Empire back and an extremely long and slow car chase in space.

One of the things about Star Wars is that it's one continuous story (or at least was, till 40 years of stuff got canned with the Disney acquisition).

And one of the peculiarities of that, is that critical information often ends up not on screen, but in books or comics.

There's a trilogy of books entitled Aftermath which are about the period you're describing.

Then there's a book called Bloodline which is about Leia and why she didn't become the Peace Time ruler, and shows her finding out about a new threat on the Edge of the galaxy.

There's a Journey to Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker comic as well, which reveals all the training Rey has been going through, being trained in the Force by Leia., shows that both her and Kylo are stronger than Luke and Vader put together....and makes a massive reveal about something, that I'm really surprised they've already let out of the bag.  It's extremely poor, though.

And there's another book, which is about how Poe, Rey and Finn are trying to rebuild the resistance, which is the direct prequel to Rise of Sky walker.

I'll be honest, the writers they 've hired for the books have done a pretty good job making it all make sense. The problems with ALL the main characters aren't going away, though. Every single one of them is as dull as dishwater. I' D go as far as to say they are all dead in the water and unsaveable.

Rey is almost tragically dull. Finn pointless. Rose embarrassing. Leia tired. Poe is a very poor imitation of Solo. There's not a single new character that has worked.

You still really need to read them all to get a full sense of what's happening. Rightly or wrongly.

In other news, Thrawn, considered by many to be the greatest Star Wars villain of all, is officially canon again.

If anyone wants me to post a quick summary, let me know. I don't think you can white text on here, so there may be major spoilers for those that just watch the films.

I was aware there were a lot of books - never jumped into any of them. When I say I am a big fan of Star Wars - I'm not that big - I just stick to the movies and TV shows.

But seems there was a lot of material already there for them to work from - strange that the next movie trilogy wouldn't focus on the aftermath stories.

Having the old characters come back for these films reminds me of professional wrestling - I turned it on recently and saw they still have to rely on the likes of Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy and the Big Show - Guy's from the 90's because the current stock are as dull as a doorknob.

The future is terrifying.

There simply has to be a script at the studios about a character desperately trying to prove their innocence after being deep faked.