J.J. Abrams Defends ‘The Last Jedi’: It ‘Didn’t Derail Anything’

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Paul Bois - The Daily Wire


https://i.imgur.com/cpxBmEDl.jpg

"Star Wars" fans hoping that the upcoming "Rise of Skywalker" will save the franchise from a social justice-induced death should really cool their jets, because according to director J.J. Abrams, the abysmal, uninspired, feminist film that was "The Last Jedi" actually "didn't really derail anything."

According to Bounding Into Comics, the director of the upcoming Star Wars sequel said that "The Last Jedi" simply continued the story laid forth in "The Force Awakens" and did nothing to derail the franchise.

"The story that we're telling, the story that we started to conceive when we did Force Awakens was allowed to continue," Abrams told Entertainment Tonight Canada. "Episode 8 didn't really derail anything that we were thinking about."

Abrams added that "The Rise of Skywalker" will be slightly different from the previous installments because the characters (Rey, Finn, Poe) will all be on a journey as a group — characters audiences still know little to nothing about despite nearly six hours of storytime.

"But I will say the fun of this movie is that these characters are all together on this adventure as a group," said Abrams. "That's the thing I was most excited about, to see the dynamic between these characters that these amazing actors play on this desperate seat of your pants adventure. That to me was the thing that was the most fun — having the group together."

The director's statements echo what he previously told Vanity Fair. "Working on nine, I found myself approaching it slightly differently. Which is to say that, on seven, I felt beholden to 'Star Wars' in a way that was interesting—I was doing what to the best of my ability I felt 'Star Wars' should be," he said. "It felt slightly more renegade; it felt slightly more like, you know, F*** it, I'm going to do the thing that feels right because it does, not because it adheres to something."

As noted by Bounding Into Comics, "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson expressly stated in previous interviews that J.J. Abrams essentially gave him a blank canvas after "The Force Awakens."

"He was really gracious, in just stepping back and giving us a blank slate to work with. The starting point was The Force Awakens script, which is quite a big, expansive, wonderful starting point. In that way, we are drawing directly from his work. But from that point forward it was a blank canvas," said Johnson.

Whatever the case, J.J. Abrams certainly had no objection to the film's overwhelming feminist bromides, which he helped create by turning the character Rey into a Mary Sue with "The Force Awakens." In fact, Abrams even referred to critics of "The Last Jedi" as men who "felt threatened by women."

"We're not asking to take away the male point of view or male artistry or male contribution," he told IndieWire. "We're simply saying, 'What is fair?' I can see why people might get freaked out by it, but the people who are getting freaked out are the people who are accustomed to that privilege, and this is not oppression, this is about fairness."

"Star Wars is a big galaxy, and you can sort of find almost anything you want to in Star Wars. If you are someone who feels threatened by women and needs to lash out against them, you can probably find an enemy in Star Wars," Abrams continued.

"You can probably look at the first movie that George [Lucas] did [Star Wars: A New Hope] and say that Leia was too outspoken, or she was too tough. Anyone who wants to find a problem with anything can find the problem. The internet seems to be made for that," he said.

[DemonGeminiX]

The only way they can make me accept Rey as anything other than a Mary Sue is if she turns out to be a clone of Luke or Anakin. If she's a clone of one of them then her abilities without training would make some sense. But it's still a very badly written trilogy and quite painful to watch.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The only way they can make me accept Rey as anything other than a Mary Sue is if she turns out to be a clone of Luke or Anakin. If she's a clone of one of them then her abilities without training would make some sense. But it's still a very badly written trilogy and quite painful to watch.

:patriarchy:

[Muddy]

What is a "Mary Sue"..?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

What is a "Mary Sue"..?

https://i.imgur.com/989sVX7.png

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The only way they can make me accept Rey as anything other than a Mary Sue is if she turns out to be a clone of Luke or Anakin. If she's a clone of one of them then her abilities without training would make some sense. But it's still a very badly written trilogy and quite painful to watch.

:hand:

No, Rey From 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Is Still Not A 'Mary Sue' (https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/12/21/no-rey-from-star-wars-the-last-jedi-is-still-not-a-mary-sue/#3f62336e4500)

[Muddy]

Thanks.. never heard of that before..

[DemonGeminiX]

:hand:

No, Rey From 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Is Still Not A 'Mary Sue' (https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/12/21/no-rey-from-star-wars-the-last-jedi-is-still-not-a-mary-sue/#3f62336e4500)

Written by a SJW douchenozzle. [-(

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Written by a SJW douchenozzle. [-(

https://i.imgur.com/6ZG0iNb.jpg

[DemonGeminiX]

Yep, SJW douchenozzle. :thumbsup:

[Muddy]

He looks like a SJW douchenozzle.

[Hal-9000]

"...the abysmal, uninspired, feminist film that was "The Last Jedi" actually "didn't really derail anything."

Didn't notice the feminism. I won't get into movie details and will note that Mark Hamill openly spoke out against the film before it was released.
Then he got real quiet and made fleeting comments of support.

use the force - $$$

[DemonGeminiX]

Rey is a feminist icon, supposedly, although she pales in comparison to Ripley from the first two Alien movies. And again, the only way Rey isn't a Mary Sue is if she's a clone.

[Hal-9000]

Rey is a feminist icon, supposedly, although she pales in comparison to Ripley from the first two Alien movies. And again, the only way Rey isn't a Mary Sue is if she's a clone.

The Star Wars universe has had strong female characters since the start. Princess Leia forward.

The character of Rey didn't confront me much, other than what you mentioned about her being somehow magically gifted. Without knowing, she has to be related.

It was the other 10 things that happened in Last Jedi that offended me.

[DemonGeminiX]

The Star Wars universe has had strong female characters since the start. Princess Leia forward.

The character of Rey didn't confront me much, other than what you mentioned about her being somehow magically gifted. Without knowing, she has to be related.

It was the other 10 things that happened in Last Jedi that offended me.

Just 10? :lol:

I don't believe it's enough to be related. Luke needed training. He had no abilities outside of the flight thing before Obi-wan grabbed a hold of him. Anakin had a little more and one could argue that he may have figured some junk out on his own, unless the rumors about him being created by Palpatine or Plagueis are true.

[Hal-9000]

Just 10? :lol:

I remember you guys made posts in the movie thread and I watched it much later and didn't go back to see your complaints.

I listen to a podcaster (same guy who writes for The Hollywood Reporter and does the Game of Thrones coverage) and he is a huge nerd. He knows every pop culture reference from comic books to movies to novels. Unfortunately he often cross-references characters during a comparison and spoils movies. eg That was like the time ____fought Kylo Ren and died.

He pissed me off so much that I had to watch Jedi to avoid further spoilers as I listen to a lot of his stuff.

All that said, I can't even remember now all of my issues with the movie and that's a bad sign. I can remember conversations from 20 years ago :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

:-k

I think I said that wrong.

[Hal-9000]

Hey man they lost me at midichlorians or midi-chlorians or whatever (wtf, are they digital synthesizers ffs?).

I'd like to think the force is within only certain people for mystical reasons, not a disease :lol:

When you compare Luke to Anakin as you mentioned, the differences are apparent. Luke needed a personal trainer, Anakin was more of a natural (at crying and pouting).

[DemonGeminiX]

I remember you guys made posts in the movie thread and I watched it much later and didn't go back to see your complaints.

I listen to a podcaster (same guy who writes for The Hollywood Reporter and does the Game of Thrones coverage) and he is a huge nerd. He knows every pop culture reference from comic books to movies to novels. Unfortunately he often cross-references characters during a comparison and spoils movies. eg That was like the time ____fought Kylo Ren and died.

He pissed me off so much that I had to watch Jedi to avoid further spoilers as I listen to a lot of his stuff.

All that said, I can't even remember now all of my issues with the movie and that's a bad sign. I can remember conversations from 20 years ago :lol:

Rose was a problem in and of herself. The assault with the bombers in the beginning was stupid. The whole side mission with Finn and Rose that took up half of the movie and amounted to nothing. Leia-Mary-Poppins. Snoke being a big fat nothing and never finding out where the hell he came from. Rey and Kylo fending off all of the guards on their own. Rey lifting the rocks without any specific lengthy training from Luke. Luke joining the Force/dying the way he did. The whole Luke/Kylo backstory... that totally wasn't Luke at all. And that's just a few things.

Basically, the entire movie was wrong. Both of them were. The writers just don't get Star Wars. Even Lucas said, "That's not what I would have done", when asked for his opinion on them.

If the final installment turns this trilogy into an adaptation of Dark Empire, and Rey is a clone of Anakin or Luke (preferably Anakin, because he was way more powerful), then while I'll still have issues with it, I'll forgive them for some things.

[Hal-9000]

Rose was a problem in and of herself. The assault with the bombers in the beginning was stupid. The whole side mission with Finn and Rose that took up half of the movie and amounted to nothing. Leia-Mary-Poppins. Snoke being a big fat nothing and never finding out where the hell he came from. Rey and Kylo fending off all of the guards on their own. Rey lifting the rocks without any specific lengthy training from Luke. Luke joining the Force/dying the way he did. The whole Luke/Kylo backstory... that totally wasn't Luke at all. And that's just a few things.

Basically, the entire movie was wrong. Both of them were. The writers just don't get Star Wars. Even Lucas said, "That's not what I would have done", when asked for his opinion on them.

If the final installment turns this trilogy into an adaptation of Dark Empire, and Rey is a clone of Anakin or Luke (preferably Anakin, because he was way more powerful), then while I'll still have issues with it, I'll forgive them for some things.

Agreeing with a lot here. The character of Finn in itself was such a cool idea. I liked the idea of a stormtrooper who defected and wasn't perfect at everything. I also like the actor and how he handled the role.

But here's an example of poor writing that you brought up. Half of the movie with Finn and Rose that amounted to nothing. I forgot her character entirely and that they had even interacted. And that's not a good sign :lol:

I have another hot take that not many people agree with. I don't like the actor who plays Kylo Ren (Driver) and think he was close to Hayden Christensen during his first few scenes. For such a supposed badass and important character to this trilogy, I found Driver wimpy and pouty at times, with no real sense of menace.

And didn't Jedi have that extended attempted comedy scene when Po was talking to the Opie-looking red haired bad guy on the big ship? Speaking of which the red haired guy was about as scary as the Giant Snoke Puppet.

[DemonGeminiX]

Yeah, a badass dark side force user (cause he's not a Sith) as an Emo-bitch wasn't a really great idea.

Oh yeah, at the start. Big fucking waste of time and really not that amusing. They should have just shot Po's ass out of space. Oh our enemy's best pilot's in a small fighter sitting right in front of the entire fleet? Ok, let's just let him sit there and... talk.

[Hal-9000]

Ahhh Lord Emo-Bitch, we meet again :lol:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I didnt care for that movie

[Hal-9000]

I didnt care for that movie

In one of the prequels there was a scene with Obi-Wan and Anakin flying through a huge group of ships and some alien robots were attaching themselves to their ships.

An effects guy froze the scene and said there were over 1050 CG effects within 180 seconds of screen time and those moments cost upwards of 10 million to create.

Most of the scenes flew by at an average of 2.5 seconds per shot. And for the most part no human could ever take in that much information at once and process it.

All that to say the original movie used actual models and a decidedly scaled down camera system with a rudimentary computer to film things like the iconic trench run and opening sequence with the huge ship flying across the camera view.

And people still herald that simplistic plot and effects as being better than most or all of the prequels :thumbsup:

[Muddy]

I didnt care for that movie

:racist:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I'm so glad I haven't seen any of the new trilogy yet :lol:

[Hal-9000]

I'm so glad I haven't seen any of the new trilogy yet :lol:

What did you think of the prequels with whiny Anakin and Jar Jar Stinks?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

What did you think of the prequels with whiny Anakin and Jar Jar Stinks?

I watched all three of those abominations. :|

[Hal-9000]

I thought Ewan as Obi Wan and Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon were excellent choices.

Everything that happened to them and every other minute of the series sucked Jabba's wet ass :tup:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I thought Ewan as Obi Wan and Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon were excellent choices.

Everything that happened to them and every other minute of the series sucked Jabba's wet ass :tup:

:agreed:

[Hal-9000]

Even the premise of how Anakin turned to the dark side was weak. He's pissed at the council for not giving him full Jedi street cred at a young age and angry at Padme after she gets pregnant because she doesn't want to rule the universe with him? It seemed so forced.....


:dance:

[Hal-9000]

and oh yeah, Sand People killed his mom.

So maybe you should have gotten a real job and moved her off that horrible ghetto planet you tool :x

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Yeah, that's why I was not in a hurry to see any of the new stuff...fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice....

[Godfather]

I really liked Rogue One. Other than that, everything since the original trilogy has just been disappointing for me. The newest two films of this trilogy should've been another world-building epic, but they just seem to leave us more confused and unsatisfied about the Star Wars universe than anything don't they?

Who is Rey.... who was Snoke.... Whatever, I'm over it :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

I really liked Rogue One. Other than that, everything since the original trilogy has just been disappointing for me. The newest two films of this trilogy should've been another world-building epic, but they just seem to leave us more confused and unsatisfied about the Star Wars universe than anything don't they?

Who is Rey.... who was Snoke.... Whatever, I'm over it :lol:

Rogue One fucking rocked. Star Wars for adults. I hope they take that as a blueprint for the future series and films that they're planning and making.

Rey's a Mary Sue, a bullshit paradigm for the SJW generation, unless she turns out to be a clone. Snoke was a wasted plot point, just like 3/4ths of the first 2 movies, because the writers suck. And Kylo Ren is an Emo-bitch.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I really liked Rogue One. Other than that, everything since the original trilogy has just been disappointing for me. The newest two films of this trilogy should've been another world-building epic, but they just seem to leave us more confused and unsatisfied about the Star Wars universe than anything don't they?

Who is Rey.... who was Snoke.... Whatever, I'm over it :lol:


Rogue One fucking rocked. Star Wars for adults. I hope they take that as a blueprint for the future series and films that they're planning and making.

Rey's a Mary Sue, a bullshit paradigm for the SJW generation, unless she turns out to be a clone. Snoke was a wasted plot point, just like 3/4ths of the first 2 movies, because the writers suck. And Kylo Ren is an Emo-bitch.

Blame JJ Abrams...he did the same thing to Star Trek with his movies. He took all kinds of liberties (change the time line) because he didn't want to stick to what made Star Trek, Star Trek. I only saw the first one of the Star Trek movies because that was enough for me. If he just wanted to make a sci-fi movie that was like Star Trek, then he should have done that. While his movie (the only one I saw at least) was a really good sci-fi film, it was a horrible Star Trek film. So because he was using the Star Trek template for his movie, I hated it.

It's just like the Star Trek: Discovery television show.

[Hal-9000]

Blame JJ Abrams...he did the same thing to Star Trek with his movies. He took all kinds of liberties (change the time line) because he didn't want to stick to what made Star Trek, Star Trek. I only saw the first one of the Star Trek movies because that was enough for me. If he just wanted to make a sci-fi movie that was like Star Trek, then he should have done that. While his movie (the only one I saw at least) was a really good sci-fi film, it was a horrible Star Trek film. So because he was using the Star Trek template for his movie, I hated it.

It's just like the Star Trek: Discovery television show.

The Force Awakens was almost a note for note copy of A New Hope. I'm not sure how involved Abrams was for that one. It was original and had it's moments, but when I say note for note, it was almost beat for beat structured like A New Hope as if someone took the outline and just filled in the subject matter differently. Critics mentioned this often while liking the movie for the most part.

But for me that's like taking Gone With The Wind, analyzing it scene by scene and making a new movie using the exact framework.

I don't like when writers make alternate universes to bypass canonical ideas, but disagree with your take on the first Star Trek movie(s) by Abrams. His casting was excellent, the story was engaging and there were a ton of nods to old ideas from the TV series. It was a love letter to the show, not a complete rewrite.

[Muddy]

I enjoyed Rogue 1 and also the Hans Solo / Chewbacca movie..

[Hal-9000]

I enjoyed Rogue 1 and also the Hans Solo / Chewbacca movie..

I didn't like that one for some reason. I may have to rewatch it to see what I missed.

It had ol Sleepy eyed Forrest Whitaker who did not much in it, correct? :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I don't like when writers make alternate universes to bypass canonical ideas, but disagree with your take on the first Star Trek movie(s) by Abrams. His casting was excellent, the story was engaging and there were a ton of nods to old ideas from the TV series. It was a love letter to the show, not a complete rewrite.

This is a big forum, you're allowed to have your wrong opinion about Abrams Trek :)










:dance:

[Muddy]

I didn't like that one for some reason. I may have to rewatch it to see what I missed.

It had ol Sleepy eyed Forrest Whitaker who did not much in it, correct? :lol:

Yes, but not many movies are perfect.. I thought it was a good movie..

[Hal-9000]

This is a big forum, you're allowed to have your wrong opinion about Abrams Trek :)










:dance:

Young Kirk, Spock and Bones were superlative casting. You know nothing Jon Snow [-(

[Hal-9000]

Yes, but not many movies are perfect.. I thought it was a good movie..

Au contraire mon ami. Tranny Surprise #3:What's That Under Your Dress? came real close.

[DemonGeminiX]

I didn't like that one for some reason. I may have to rewatch it to see what I missed.

It had ol Sleepy eyed Forrest Whitaker who did not much in it, correct? :lol:

Forest Whitaker's character, Saw Gerrera, was a character from the animated series. It was a nod to the real hardcore fans that watched The Clone Wars and Rebels. Especially in The Clone Wars, a bunch of actors from the movies reprised their roles for the animated series. Saw Gerrera was in both series in a limited way, so they threw him in Rogue One to help advance the plot while tying everything, animated and live action, together. Again, Rogue One rocked. And it rocked before they showed the scenes that proved how much of a badass Darth Vader really is. Adult Star Wars. This is what the Galactic Civil War really looked like. Non-force user casualties and sacrifices to help the Rebel Alliance win the little battles that added up to them winning the war.

The Clone Wars and Rebels are canon, and even though they're made for kids, they have a lot of cool shit in both of them. I'd say check them out if you have the time and inclination. Grand Admiral Thrawn, from Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire book trilogy, shows up in Rebels. That was about as cool as it gets. The showrunners bowing down to the post-ROTJ novels that used to be canon, and everybody wanted to see made live action, but were relegated to Legacy status after The Force Awakens was made. If they do what I'm theorizing they're going to do in The Rise of Skywalker, then that will be another love letter to the hardcore fans that read all of those post-ROTJ novels, particularly the Dark Empire comic series. They might be forgiven for the horseshit that was The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

I still say the whole Jaina and Jacen Solo storyline from the Expanded Universe is about the best storytelling you're going to get out of the Skywalker family line.

[Muddy]

I havent seen two of those movies, but what you wrote sounds good.. :lol: ^^

[lost in melb.]

I enjoyed Rogue 1 and also the Hans Solo / Chewbacca movie..


Rogue One fucking rocked. Star Wars for adults. I hope they take that as a blueprint for the future series and films that they're planning and making.

Same. I thought Rogue 1 was the best Star Wars since Empire Strikes Back.

The other one was enjoyable enough.

What is shows is that if you get the big ego/big name directors who think they shit Hollywood tinsel outta the way, show some respect and get in quality cast and crew you can easily make a great Star Wars movie from any angle/time line in the franchise. There's no excuse for the fckups.