Star Wars Ahsoka series discusion thread

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

So since we got a new high profile Star Wars series and in keeping here with a tradition as was in a Mandalorian discusion thread, I wanted to start a new thread dedicated to the new Disney+ series Ahsoka.

What were your overall thought on the first two episodes? Did the series met your expectations, or were you left wanting more? Be sure to comment bellow.

 

 

As for my own thoughts on the matter, I realy liked the visual direction so far, each set felt incredible from the visual and cinematography side. You could realy tell that Disney spent some big bucks on some of the opening shots. The action also wasn´t bad either for the most part, though it sadly still pales in comparison to Lucas´s infinetely inventive Prequel choreography, which makes the action here in comparison seem alright to passable with some notable exceptions like:

Spoiler

Ahsokas opening fight against HK droids, dockyard fight and maybe Sabines fight against the dark Padawan

 

What I sadly didn´t like was the acting itself which sounds incredibly wooden, especialy coming from our main heroines which I find quite alarming for the future episodes. I felt they sounded too expository, which on the other hand is kinda given since this series is an unoficial continuation of Rebels cartoon, but still it felt like I was watching two droids exchanging information with one another, instead of real people (and friends at that) sharing their feelings.

The worst parts I felt were between Ahsoka and Sabine, where I was not sure if the actors were properly couched by their directors, but their performances were very flat, almost like something played by a Highschool acting student.

Still I have some hope that things will hopefully improve and we´ll get to explore the characters in a more believable way.

[WARDUST]

I started a thread for the same3 hours earlier :P
For me it has a good action for a first episode. Better feeling than the last Mandalorians episodes. The storyline is interesting enough, the new robots feel cool to me and my only concern is the Disney direction:
 

 

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

3 minutes ago, WARDUST said:

I started a thread for the same3 hours earlier :P
For me it has a good action for a first episode. Better feeling than the last Mandalorians episodes. The storyline is interesting enough, the new robots feel cool to me and my only concern is the Disney direction:

Damn, gues you ninja´d me to it, oh well ;)

[Rudolph]

For convenience's sake, I would suggest making this thread to be the Star Wars equivalent of "Star Trek discussions".

 

That being said, I look forward to the second season of Andor. I really liked the first season and it was probably the first piece of Star Wars media that I genuinely enjoyed in a good while; Obi-Wan Kenobi was prime material for Auralnauts, but as a show, it felt very self-defeating.

[Xim]

I'm liking it so far. It looks like they're doing the story I was expecting, a mission to save Ezra (and stop Thrawn). I liked the part with the "not so former imperials", shows that the empire is still going. I like Ahsoka pointing out that greed is their motivation too. We tend to forget how bad imperials are, not just Palpatine.

I have also picked up that Ahsoka seems to have gotten more ruthless shall we say? She's definitely more focused on getting Thrawn than saving Ezra, and her fighting style seems to be a bit more aggressive in live action. I don't think she's going dark-side or anything, but I think she's become another "bitter hero", almost like Luke in episode 8, but fortunately she has not given up, but I think she might be losing patience.

 

[Rudolph]

@Xcalibur 

 

3 hours ago, hybridial said:

have just turned Star Wars into just another IP

Not true. Even before Empire Strikes Back was greenlit, Lucas was already deadset on milking Star Wars for all it is worth. I recently learned that since the studios had little fate in the movie, Lucas was able to secure the merchandising rights fairly easily, which explains the non-stop onslaught of tie-in products and later sequels and spin-offs over the last three decades. And even if the first movie had not done as well as it did, Lucas also had plans for lower-budget sequels, such as what became Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel.

 

Like it or not, all Disney did was to keep riding that gravy train.

Edited January 1 by Rudolph

[Xcalibur]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:02 PM, Rudolph said:

@Xcalibur 

 

Not true. Even before Empire Strikes Back was greenlit, Lucas was already deadset on milking Star Wars for all it is worth. I recently learned that since the studios had little fate in the movie, Lucas was able to secure the merchandising rights fairly easily, which explains the non-stop onslaught of tie-in products and later sequels and spin-offs over the last three decades. And even if the first movie had not done as well as it did, Lucas also had plans for lower-budget sequels, such as what became Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel.

 

Like it or not, all Disney did was to keep riding that gravy train.

hey, sry for vanishing on you. I definitely see your point, but my ire towards Disney is because they're just reboots, rehashing the OT without advancing the story or expanding the universe. Many EU works at least added to the lore (the Thrawn trilogy was quite good), and the prequels, for all their obvious flaws, filled in blanks that were only hinted at before (the fall of the Republic). The only Disney Wars movie I have any regard for is Rogue One.

[Rudolph]

Then again, under Disney, we got plenty of successful television series spin-offs, including Andor, which is, at least as far as the first season is concerned, the best thing to have come out of the Star Wars franchise so far in my opinion. Yes, even better than the Original Trilogy; the latter might be more entertaining and rewatchable, but Andor is smarter, bolder and more thought-provoking.

 

In a way, it is kind of the opposite of the LucasFilms era, where the main appeal was the original movie trilogy and everything else tended to be hit and miss - especially miss when it came to the second movie trilogy and the spin-off shows.

Edited January 14 by Rudolph

[Xcalibur]

haven't watched Andor, so I can't comment. I've heard good things, but I don't think any SW media can surpass the Original Trilogy!

 

Even though I'm a bit of a "Disney hater", even I'll admit that the Mandalorian tv show was downright decent.

[Rudolph]

So far, my greatest issue with Andor is its title: "Cassian" would have been a better choice in addition to not sounding like Endor.

 

I have not seen The Mandalorian, but Baby Yoda has been an Internet sensation and it is cool that the live-action spin-offs have provided Prequel Trilogy actors (e.g. Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Temuera Morrison, etc.) a chance to reprise their roles - or in Ahmed Best's case, play a new one - while benefiting from better acting direction. I am especially glad for Genevieve O'Reilly, who finally got to shine as Mon Mothma in Andor.

 

Of course, there has also been some terrible mistakes, like deep-faking Mark Hamill (who, unlike Peter Cushing, is still alive, and Disney has had no problem recasting other legacy characters before), but given how George Lucas had inflicted all sorts of unnecessary bizarre revisions upon us with the Special Editions, I strongly doubt he would have been above this sort of thing himself.

Edited January 16 by Rudolph

[Xcalibur]

On 1/16/2024 at 10:03 AM, Rudolph said:

So far, my greatest issue with Andor is its title: "Cassian" would have been a better choice in addition to not sounding like Endor.

 

I have not seen The Mandalorian, but Baby Yoda has been an Internet sensation and it is cool that the live-action spin-offs have provided Prequel Trilogy actors (e.g. Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Temuera Morrison, etc.) a chance to reprise their roles - or in Ahmed Best's case, play a new one - while benefiting from better acting direction. I am especially glad for Genevieve O'Reilly, who finally got to shine as Mon Mothma in Andor.

 

Of course, there has also been some terrible mistakes, like deep-faking Mark Hamill (who, unlike Peter Cushing, is still alive, and Disney has had no problem recasting other legacy characters before), but given how George Lucas had inflicted all sorts of unnecessary bizarre revisions upon us with the Special Editions, I strongly doubt he would have been above this sort of thing himself.

pretty much.

 

I definitely object to the Specialized changes. Even the ones I don't object to in theory (big animals in Mos Eisley, ring on the Death Star explosion), still have the effect of adding 90s sfx to a film from the late 70's, which clashes and ruins the aesthetic unity. Then there's changes I object to completely, like the added scene with Jabba in ANH, on multiple counts:

1. It tells us nothing we didn't already learn from Greedo

2. It gums up the otherwise flawless pacing of the film (since it already takes a breather from action aboard the Millennium Falcon)

3. It makes literally no sense to blurt out Jabba so early, it's much better to let him be a mystery until RotJ

4. Nor does it make sense for Jabba to be slithering around town without a palanquin & armed guards

5. Han Solo treads on his sfx tail and it looks dumb.

 

As you can gather, this topic winds me up lol. Anyway, for the true OT experience, I'd recommend Harmy's Despecialized, a fan project that restores the films to a state as close as possible to the original cut with great fidelity. There's also the 4K project, but it's unfinished last I checked.

[Rudolph]

38 minutes ago, Sunbirth said:

it's so bad it's good

No.

 

I mean, the Special Edition revisions, maybe, but with the exception of the stylized cartoon segment, The Star Wars Holiday Special is just a string of deeply unfunny skits and as such is tantamount to psychological torture. And while there are some unintentionally funny bits in Revenge of the Sith (e.g. Darth Vader's infamous "NOOOO!"), the movie as a whole is incredibly boring because of all the flat cinematography and the inconsequential action scenes that go on for way too long. I do not care for The Rise of Skywalker one bit, but even that movie looks better overall.

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

17 hours ago, Rudolph said:

No.

 

I mean, the Special Edition revisions, maybe, but with the exception of the stylized cartoon segment, The Star Wars Holiday Special is just a string of deeply unfunny skits and as such is tantamount to psychological torture. And while there are some unintentionally funny bits in Revenge of the Sith (e.g. Darth Vader's infamous "NOOOO!"), the movie as a whole is incredibly boring because of all the flat cinematography and the inconsequential action scenes that go on for way too long. I do not care for The Rise of Skywalker one bit, but even that movie looks better overall.

Omg no just no, what the hell are you talking about Rudolph?

Revenge of the Sith has one of the best action scenes from Star Wars and also calling Rise of Skywalker as "better looking"? Are you high?

[Rudolph]

I do not even like JJ Abrams as a director, yet I cannot deny that he is better at filming action and crafting interesting visuals than George Lucas.

 

To quote Red Letter Media, "JJ Abrams should've directed the Star Wars Prequels and George Lucas should've directed audiences to their seats."

Edited February 1 by Rudolph

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

41 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

I do not even like JJ Abrams as a director, yet I cannot deny that he is better at filming action and crafting interesting visuals than George Lucas.

 

To quote Red Letter Media, "JJ Abrams should've directed the Star Wars Prequels and George Lucas should've direct audiences to their seats."

Holly shit you are hopeless, lol.

[Rudolph]

Eh, I really do not think so. Less is more, as they say...

 

I mean, the whole trend of making lightsaber duels overly long and obviously rehearsed pretty much began with Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, yet this is how the character goes down in an episode directed by Dave Filoni of all people, the man who is considered to be George Lucas' protégé:

 

 

Edited February 1 by Rudolph

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

I dislike Filony and would NOT even consider to call him a protege of George Lucas.

All of you can say what you want about ol Georgie, but the man has far more talent then Filoni could only dream of having, not to mention that he was a ganuine auteur even before Star Wars was made.

[Rudolph]

3 hours ago, MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai said:

he was a genuine auteur even before Star Wars was made

Indeed, before Star Wars was made. XD

 

By the time the Prequels came out, however, he had become more of a greedy businessman. It is also well-documented that Marcia Lucas had a hand in making the Original Trilogy the smash hit that it became, and his ex-husband has been heavily downplaying her contribution ever since their divorce.

 

As for Dave Filoni, he has been highly successful so far and is a well-liked figure among Star Wars fans. He is also a staunch defender of the Prequels like you, so I do not know why you even hate his guts so much.

Edited February 1 by Rudolph

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

3 hours ago, Rudolph said:

As for Dave Filoni, he has been highly successful so far and is a well-liked figure among Star Wars fans. He is also a staunch defender of the Prequels like you, so I do not know why you even hate his guts so much.

 

Because Filoni is a hack that can´t direct live action for shit and Ahsoka proved that he can´t direct actors judging from their lifeless and wooden performances.

 

If you compare Ahsoka to Prequel acting, then even characters like Anakin (who I feel is unfairly critisized) has more charm and personality then any character in Ahsoka and thats a fact.

 

Quote

By the time the Prequels came out, however, he had become more of a greedy businessman.

 

What greed? Star Wars was his brain child and labour of love, of course he would try reap all the rewards. And if he was so greedy, then why was he more then wiling to let so many sci-fi writers write extended material for his franchise? Or invest into other forms of media like videogames, television series and so on.
He was just a good bussinessman that made the smart move to expand the original three (then six) movies into multimedia franchise.

The only problem he had was that he had a need to overcorrect his original works with new special effects while reffusing to preserve the original cuts, on that I agree.

 

Quote

It is also well-documented that Marcia Lucas had a hand in making the Original Trilogy the smash hit that it became, and his ex-husband has been heavily downplaying her contribution ever since their divorce.

 

Only the first movie for the most part and while editing is a crucial job that determines the movie succes or not it can only do so much if the entire foundation is lacking which OG Star Wars definetely was not. Editor is there to trim the vission, but you still need the visionary to provide it.

Your comment about Marcia contribution is nothing more then a tired passive-agresive remark by buthurt fans who still feel wounded by George Lucas "raping" their childhood (and other such nonsense) by making Prequels, so they feel the pathological need to retroactively lessen his contribution on OG trilogy. That, is what truly upsets me about your post.

 

 

[Rudolph]

I do not know, man: if you cannot help but lash out at people over Star Wars, then it sounds like it is you who is "hopeless" here. And if you keep pushing the whole "Great Man Theory" about George Lucas, do not act all outraged whenever you get a reality check.

 

I actually never said that the Prequels "raping my childhood" or anything so gross and petty, I just think that they are fairly boring movies (especially Revenge of the Sith), so I would appreciate it if you could refrain from putting words in my mouth all for the sake of using me as your punching bag.

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

Quote

I actually never said that the Prequels "raping my childhood" or anything so gross and petty.

Never implied you did, just that you uncriticaly parrot their talking points.

 

Quote

And if you keep pushing the whole "Great Man Theory" about George Lucas, do not act all outraged whenever you get a reality check.

Yeah realy nice, just because I want to give the man his due that suddenly makes me some Lucas cultist. The man has many flaws, but I´ll still take his direction over any zombie directors in employ of Disney, warts and all. That goes for Filony AND especialy Abrams.

 

[Rudolph]

2 hours ago, MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai said:

just because I want to give the man his due that suddenly makes me some Lucas cultist.

"Give the man his due"... The guy is rich beyond belief and now happily retired. Give me a break.

 

I mean, do you even realize just how silly you are being right now? You might have more in common with the "butthurt fans" you claim to despise than you are willing to admit. Suffice it to say, I invite you to take a step back and rethink your attitude here, because it is not conducive to dialogue...

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

You know what maybe you are right, I don't even like Slop Wars anymore.

 

But it still upsets me how Disney could have fumbled such a big cultural icon with such a blatant missmanagement and how they absolutely drained it's original feel and turned into a Marvel clone

 

 

[Rudolph]

Thank you.

 

As I told Xcalibur, I do not think Disney is that much worse at managing the IP than LucasFilms, all things considered. But yeah, I have not actually seen a Star Wars movie in its entirety since Revenge of the Sith and the last Star Wars product I have actually enjoyed is Andor, in part due to how unique it felt. I guess I am at a point in my life where I do not resent people for enjoying art that I do not. I am fine with the Prequels, the Sequels and the other spin-offs existing, even though I do not care about them; plenty of people do, and also it provides Auralnauts with plenty of material to remix.

 

I do think that Star Wars is ultimately better than Marvel at the end of the day, as the former is fundamentally about fighting fascists - which probably explains how something like Andor was allowed to be made - whereas the latter is about continuously preserving the statu quo as we know it. Even though I find the Prequels to be rather boring in their execution, I do appreciate what they are trying to say about the empty promises of liberal democracy and the ways fascists worm their way into power; for instance, I recently learned that Nute Gunray was very much inspired by American politician Newt Gingrich. I admit I am a bit embarrassed to have not picked up on such obvious pun before, but then again, Newt Gingrinch is not a figure I am familiar with and he does not appear to be very relevant these days anyway... :P

Edited February 2 by Rudolph

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

I watched all of the SW movies just to watch them. I was sick of hearing about it all the time, so I just binged the films. Normally I watch pretentious French erotic comedies, but I think they're mostly OK. I don't care enough about the franchise to even be disappointed in Rise of Skywalker. But I completely agree that Disney's management of it sucks, because they're milking that shit so hard that I refuse to watch any of it. By 2025 we'll probably have 20 different series on Disney+. I'll also never watch any of the modern Marvel shit because I don't think that any franchise needs 33+ films, especially in such a short amount of time. Last one I watched was the first Captain America. Longest franchise I like is 007 but that shit has been around for over 50 years (also like Zatoichi, but we're not talking about foreign shit).

 

Overall SW was a decent 7/10 break from my usual prestigious lineup of Cannes Palme d'Or winners. I just wish that the films would have included some Freudian or possibly Jungian themes so I could have masturbated more often while watching them. 

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

@TheMagicMushroomMan You know, now that I'm at a phase of life to trying to become the most snoby motherfucker, I could go for some nice Erotic French comedy.

 

@Rudolph I'd also like to further apologoze to you Rudolph. Normaly I don't get so worked when discusing movies, but sometimes I get unreasonably angry.

It was unfair and petty of me to lash at you so much.

[Sunbirth]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:06 PM, Rudolph said:

No.

 

Well agree to disagree then I guess, lol

[Rudolph]

6 hours ago, MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai said:

I'd also like to further apologize to you Rudolph. Normaly I don't get so worked when discussing movies, but sometimes I get unreasonably angry.

It was unfair and petty of me to lash at you so much.

Eh. I have been there too. ;)

 

Nevertheless, I appreciate it.

 

5 hours ago, Sunbirth said:

Well agree to disagree then I guess, lol

Wait, are you saying you have a good time watching the Star Wars Holiday Special?

 

Again, I will defend the quirky cartoon segment with Boba Fett, which is kind of cool actually, but the rest? The segments with the Wookie characters groaning at each other alone made me appreciate the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi even more... :x