Star Wars: The Acolyte

[jaztermareal]

Imagine how much editing would be needed to save The Acolyte?

In fact, thinking about it, no editing would be required at all.

Just delete the whole thing.

Yup!!

 

[nexus]

I'll disagree.

Don't think many would argue that Andor and Mando S1/2 - and even S3 were well crafted, even if you don't like the approach. I'm not a fan of the much praised Dark Knight films but stand by they are well crafted - specific tone, intelligent, aesthetic.

Heck even Ahsoka had some nice visuals. There's usually something redeeeming, so you wouldn't mind watching a show again. Maybe it even grows on you. BOBF gets knocked a lot but in hindsight - it was FUN. There were cool moments.

This was just - leaden. Like eating fries cooked in week old grease.

There were some good ideas that expanded the mythos - well for me it didn't. This was too clearly someone's personal problem agenda. While every director/storyteller puts their stamp on things, this could have been any franchise getting hijacked more or less. I just feel bad for the few actors that put their back into it, and hope they have great careers.

This badly needs to go the way of Willow 2.

I didn’t mention Mando, Andor, or Ahsoka because I thought those were pretty well done. Andor is probably the best written and directed and has some fantastic performances, particularly from Stellan Skarsgard and Fiona Shaw.

 

[YoNoSe]

I was okay with most of the TV shows until this. I thought BOBF & Kenobi were the weakest, especially Kenobi because it seemed so rushed & cheap looking when they were lucky enough to have Mcgregor back.

This whole show was Leia Under A Coat level writing. And it gets worse the more I think about it. They just remixed Anakin story elements to do a weird, retroactive "this girl did it first."

I don't understand but I figure it just isn't for me anymore.

 

[The Buffinator]

It was a pic he posted that earned him a temp-ban. Can we get back on topic please?

Can I ask how long a temporary ban is, or do I have to create a separate, Temporary Bans thread and ask there so you're allowed to answer? Hopefully this earnest temporary ban inquiry doesn't earn me a temporary ban.

 

[Mondragon]

Thats what the Jedi get for trying to steal children. And thats what they did all over the galaxy: took children they wanted, and if anyone didnt like that it was lightsaber time.

Yeah I never imagined Jedi were invading peoples homes and kidnaping children, killing their mothers, until this Disney take, skews so insanely off to me, these characters are repulsive.

While Lucas never implied the Jedi were perfect, to the contrary he opened the door to show us why they weren't, SW is literally about their fall, theire blind spot, what they were asking of their own to give absolutely selflessly, with nothing for themselves was meant to be impossible. So what made them unique, would also bring about their brightest most hopeful, to take the darkest fall from it.
I mean that tragic story is what SW is about.

Anakin is specifically shown to have a propensity towards it, "He gives without any thought of reward..." " He knows nothing of greed...". "He can help you, he was meant to help you" These traits were implicitly recognizable in him, further his mother wanted a better life, and a greater purpose for her kid. That is the motive, she outright asks "Can you help him?"
How I imagined others being recruited.

These Disney Jedi, instead come off as vile, horrible, predatory characters. who invade homes, and manipulate to take kids.
They are instinctually jumpy, needy, kill the mother at the sight of smoke, they don't even know what it is, and stab first ask question later.
What happened to "use the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." WTF am I looking at ?

If the Jedi are already (manipulative, murdering, corrupt, monsters) fallen, then what is there for them to fall from?
I mean I get they have to tell "new" stories, but (to me) this mostly reads like straight revisionist and regressive garbage.

 

[The Buffinator]

It was never confirmed that Plagueis created Anakin. Even in Legends Plagueis assumed that the Force itself created Anakin in response to their experiments.

And who’s to say the witches weren’t having their strings pulled by him all along.

But if (by some cruel twist of fate) this show gets a S2 and it's revealed that it was Plagueis All Along it will just be seen as a desperate course correction given how poorly the entire S1 was executed. Hell, who's to say that his appearance in the season finale wasn't a (Bob Iger mandated?) last minute CGI insertion designed to give them that option after seeing the mostly negative fan reaction and woeful viewing numbers?

 

[chrisstbh]

But if (by some cruel twist of fate) this show gets a S2 and it's revealed that it was Plagueis All Along it will just be seen as a desperate course correction given how poorly the entire S1 was executed. Hell, who's to say that his appearance in the season finale wasn't a (Bob Iger mandated?) last minute CGI insertion designed to give them that option after seeing the mostly negative fan reaction and woeful viewing numbers?

Are we really starting conspiracy theories over Star Wars now.

 

[jaztermareal]

Are we really starting conspiracy theories over Star Wars now.

More entertaining than the show itself

 

[The Buffinator]

Are we really starting conspiracy theories over Star Wars now.

Well, you were the one who suggested that Plagueis could have been "pulling their strings all along" with absolutely NO evidence throughout the 8 episodes to indicate that was the case. His being a last minute insertion seems no less plausible lol...

 

[wormlander]

Not great, but not as terrible as folks who had made up their minds before the first episode are saying.

I can't believe some people would go and do such a thing...

 

[Khev]

This whole show was Leia Under A Coat level writing. And it gets worse the more I think about it. They just remixed Anakin story elements to do a weird, retroactive "this girl did it first."

Yep, the "good" immaculately conceived character flips out over their mother's death, turns on the Jedi who raised and trained them, and then goes off to join the Sith. "Sorry Anakin (and all male fans), a girl did it first!" appears to be all that this show aimed to be. The usual KK garbage.

 

[chrisstbh]

Well, you were the one who suggested that Plagueis could have been "pulling their strings all along" with absolutely NO evidence throughout the 8 episodes to indicate that was the case. His being a last minute insertion seems no less plausible lol...

Well he appeared for a reason. We'll never know if it was a last minute hail mary or not.

 

[abake]

I've actually been enjoying this show through Grace's reviews
And man, even she shredded it to pieces...

 

[Sassafras]

Yeah I never imagined Jedi were invading peoples homes and kidnaping children, killing their mothers, until this Disney take, skews so insanely off to me, these characters are repulsive.

While Lucas never implied the Jedi were perfect, to the contrary he opened the door to show us why they weren't, SW is literally about their fall, theire blind spot, what they were asking of their own to give absolutely selflessly, with nothing for themselves was meant to be impossible. So what made them unique, would also bring about their brightest most hopeful, to take the darkest fall from it.
I mean that tragic story is what SW is about.

Anakin is specifically shown to have a propensity towards it, "He gives without any thought of reward..." " He knows nothing of greed...". "He can help you, he was meant to help you" These traits were implicitly recognizable in him, further his mother wanted a better life, and a greater purpose for her kid. That is the motive, she outright asks "Can you help him?"
How I imagined others being recruited.

These Disney Jedi, instead come off as vile, horrible, predatory characters. who invade homes, and manipulate to take kids.
They are instinctually jumpy, needy, kill the mother at the sight of smoke, they don't even know what it is, and stab first ask question later.
What happened to "use the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." WTF am I looking at ?

If the Jedi are already (manipulative, murdering, corrupt, monsters) fallen, then what is there for them to fall from?
I mean I get they have to tell "new" stories, but (to me) this mostly reads like straight revisionist and regressive garbage.

I don't have a problem with completely ignoring this series, which belonged on fan fiction sites, and shouldn't have had millions spent on it. IMO we - unfortunately it began with Feige/MCU - entered an era where Disney, and other companies - were looking to cut costs, and at the same time looking to expand their audiences.

Didn't one of the OT writers say "films are a product of their time?" He was referring to the now-beloved use of models and other aspects of the production of the OT.

The end result recently - including trying to cultivate a large female audience, after the success of Frozen merch - has been the hiring of newer, CHEAPER, writers and showrunners. No doubt infused with their own enthusiasm - but without the experience or business sense to even begin to ask the customer - "does a large, DIVERSE audience (and I mean the audience in general) want to see this? Why?

Even skilled, experienced writers can have misfires; let alone folks who use whiteboards writing words like "dinosaurs" . Nor does KK, who keeps approving this dribble, have George Lucas' knowledge of mythological archetypes, which on some level appeal to all. It's like watching the Rings of Power folks - same superficial treatments. No wonder the Tolkien expert quit.

And so we've gotten a lot of shallow productions like She-Hulk, Echo, Ahsoka - across the board all of them have had some glimmers of interesting ideas, without the ability to execute. I suspect the high cost of Acolyte - which often looks cheap - was LH's inexperience as well, with production companies overbilling her for sets, costumes, CGI. She also - IMO fatally - cast based on personal preferences. These same enthusiastic writers are now getting slapped down, without ever asking - "if this were a book, would I have to self vanity publish, or would a respected publisher laugh in my face?"

So I'd ignore it. This isn't SW - it could have been any franchise that got co-opted. If this were a failing pizza joint, a smart business person would ask "why does our pizza suck? Doesn't everyone like tuna and Cheese Whiz pizza?" So far though KK & co. don't seem to be able to humble themselves that way.

 

[Asta]

I've actually been enjoying this show through Grace's reviews
And man, even she shredded it to pieces...

She could shred anything with that voice.

It's like fingernails on a blackboard!

 

[Sassafras]

Well he appeared for a reason. We'll never know if it was a last minute hail mary or not.

*Shrug*

IMO it was just a set-up for a season 2, so that in the end they could rip off Kylo's arc and say "well, Plagueis was pulling the strings all the time, these serial killers aren't RESPONSIBLE" e.g. Plagueis was lurking around a cave to see his GRAND PLAN unfold.

Probably with Filoni cheering LH on, since it was in Clone Wars where Maul has a whole arc about being betrayed and the grand plan. No doubt Plagueis corrupted Qimir blah blah.

Jeez what a waste this series was - more rehash . Folks can say what they want about Mando, at least he's original.

 

[Khev]

Folks can say what they want about Mando, at least he's original.

Yeah we'd never seen a bounty hunter in Mando's exact outfit in SW before, lol.

 

[The Buffinator]

She could shred anything with that voice.

It's like fingernails on a blackboard!

Yes but much to my surprise I found many of her observations to be spot on, at least until the end when she praised Amandla Stenberg's performances as Mae & Osha. Gracie, what are you thinking? She'll never become a good actress if you praise her mediocre work. Give that girl some tough love!

 

[Wor-Gar]

What do you expect? Grace IS mediocre.

 

[Sassafras]

Yeah we'd never seen a bounty hunter in Mando's exact outfit in SW before, lol.

Srsly tho - at least why I was, and am, attracted to Mando's arc - was the whole every-man-with-a-code thing, Sort of like the Outlaw Josey Wales

After the Rangers ride off, Fletcher says that he will go to Mexico to look for Wales himself and try to tell him that the war is over. Wales says, "I reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damned war," before riding off.

Sort of. Or, like Han's life being overturned. How Din D'jarin wrestles with his code of honor, deals with Grogu - IMO that's interesting (if Favreau keeps the core arcs). Getting pushed into dealing with Force users, when he lived so far in the back of beyond the Force or Jedi aren't even mentioned.

Unfortunately am afraid that gritty arc I was hoping for might get drowned in some bloated film overstuffed with every single one of Filoni's characters, which might be fun, but it's not a thoughtful character study.

Which the Acolyte could have been, as well, in more skilled hands. Instead of crudely sketched characters like the big green meanie who clearly abused Qmir/Q/Kymer or whoever, so it's OK if he's a darksider; Occupational Safety and Health Administration who is supposed to be the "nice one" completely ditching her personality within seconds, basically; BS like just stepping past fallen Jedi; a rodent who seems to be on a sugar high and becomes a traitor for no reason....

Oh, for the good 'ol days of Mandalorian's Client