Retro Reviews & More

STAR WARS A +/- Review of the Sequel Trilogy When Disney acquired LucasFilm and simultaneously announced the production of a trilogy of films to follow the events of Return of the Jedi , my reaction is best described as mixed. After completion of these films, that descriptor has not changed. The initial one might also have been called cautiously hopeful and that with each teaser and trailer, but in the end, my opinion has settled into recklessly apathetic. Regardless, as a rule, I have attempted to be careful for the purpose of this review to not play "they should have" with major points with the exception of timing and presentation. Also, I am unsure if their cohesiveness is actually the least or modern sensibilities have set that bar so high it just seems that way. The trilogy does contain several good visuals, some that do contribute in other ways, but none are discussed below. [Legend: OT: Original Trilogy, PT: Prequel Trilogy, ST: Sequel Trilogy, ANH : A New Hope , TESB ...

STAR WARS A +/- Review of the Prequel Trilogy The prequel trilogy has never deserved the hate it received initially. A goodly portion of the fan criticism has been those who were nearing middle age and expecting a film to make them feel like a kid of the late 70s/early 80s again. This change in the tide is because those that were younger when they were released have become a stronger voice in support of them as they are now adults themselves. Regardless of how one feels about them, it cannot be denied they are the most cohesive with each other, if only by default. Coincidentally, it does cause some fairly minor continuity issues with the Original Trilogy. It is also worth noting at this point, because the temptation may be present to do so, that a "+" cannot be merely visual and must contribute in other ways. [Legend: OT: Original Trilogy, PT: Prequel Trilogy, ST: Sequel Trilogy, ANH : A New Hope , TESB : The Empire Strikes Back , ROTJ : Return of the Jedi , TPM : The Phantom...

STAR WARS   A +/- Review of the Original Trilogy So...I have experienced a renewal in interest in Star Wars . Blame it on somewhat recently acquired access to be able to replay the best Star Wars video game ever made, Knights of the Old Republic , not to mention its sequel and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga . (We got a Nintendo Switch after I sold off my fairly extensive game libraries for my NES and SNES, the consoles, etc., and this may explain why my blog posts have become much less frequent :D) That latter game covers all three film trilogies with a completely different take on the material it shares with its predecessors, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens , which brings us to the subject of the day. Inspired to rewatch the films ( for the countless time for all but the sequel trilogy), I have also endeavored to review each trilogy at a time in the +/- format I previously used for Terminator : The Threequels . One thing that has always ...