interstellar sandwiches

It sure was a nothingburger. I remain dismayed that their choice for finally bringing Star Wars back to the big screen was a continuation of a tv series that got tired years ago and that we all knew was unlikely to succeed because it does not feel like a theatrical event at all.

But! I'm also an idiot and I can find some things to like! Ephemeral joys that passed over me and through me, but joys nonetheless.

Good:

I really enjoyed space Chicago! (except for the fact that they barely changed the name. """"Shakari"""" sure. okay.) I mean I just like Coruscant variants—Aurebesh neon signs and colorful lighting are always a delight. It looks cool and there's ample opportunity for densely layered environmental details that are fun to look at.

And my favorite part of space Chicago was the Marty Scorsese food truck!!!!!! He was a cute funny lil guy, the food truck was a really pleasing design, the closeups of SPACE FOOD were great, it was exactly like the best parts of Outlaws. 10/10, whole movie worth it for SPACE SANDWICH

The title sequence of spaceships flying at golden hour looked really nice. I love X-Wings in clouds!

The little bugs in the rain at Din's house :) :) :) YAY INCIDENTAL CREATURE SHOTS

Sigourney Weaver piloting an X-Wing!! I wish she'd been in it more, I have so much goodwill for Sigourney Weaver in space. Her casting in this was especially funny to me because I always thought that if the ages lined up better in an alternate universe she could've been a great choice for Rey's mom—she and Daisy have such similar features with their delicate faces and square jawlines.

The score was excellent!!! Typical Goransson W!!!! The Eurythmics-esque synth segment was SUCH a bop. And as corny as it was, I liked the part in the arena battle that sounded like Rocky, lol

OMG Grimtaash the Molator, hi!!!!!!! Do you have a favorite dejarik piece because of its relation to Ben Solo or are you normal

The stop motion giant robots were GREAT and I didn't even have to see the credits to know they were done by Phil Tippett's team. Classic Phil.

I love the look of the dragon snake—the way they did the lighting and coloring in that scene really had the feel of a McQuarrie painting.

I liked Rotta???? Honestly I thought I would have a huge problem with a) ripped Hutt b) not speaking Huttese, but actually I found him and his fast friendship with Grogu very endearing. The two of them playing on the beach was my favorite.

I am a huge fan of Babu Frik (a.k.a. the best part of The Rise of Skywalker) and while they are kind of overdoing it and turning the Anzellans into too much of a good thing, I still got a kick out of them here. The tiny ship was a great gag. It actually got me thinking about how Star Wars doesn't typically play with alien scale much—there are huge creatures, there are taller and shorter aliens, but all mostly in the range of humanoids (obviously for practical reasons). Seeing the really tiny guys with their accessories and vehicles scaled to match is so fun. The only other time I can think of that we've seen anything like it is Luke crammed into Yoda's hut.

As much as Grogu's novelty has entirely worn off (the time when we all loved the baby seems so long ago 😔), they continue to do some cute funny stuff with that puppet. The frantic tapping on Din's helmet, his little walk, eating things. It's fun.

Bad:

I had assumed, with this being a major motion picture with a bankable star, they would use unmasked Pedro Pascal more. Make it a big deal, do something momentous beyond the scope of the show, really spend time with that guy! But, uh, I guess not. It's hard to get invested when they refuse to let the main character be anything other than an action figure cipher. He's a cool action figure, sure. But there's a limit to how much I can connect with that.

I like Zeb but I find his "live-action" appearance horrific. Jedi Fallen Order struck a better balance of a realistic Lasat, although that had the benefit of still being fully animated. In live-action he is just deeply in the uncanny valley of being both offputting and weightless. I get that you gotta CG him to have personality, but any personality conveyed in the animation is offset by how awful he is to look at. I'M SORRY ZEB. Chopped and husband-less. Tragic

The pacing was bad and the "Grogu Alone" section in particular was clearly a tv episode that ground the movie to a halt. The first half of the movie was definitely more charming and propulsive (wow Star Wars on the big screen again yay I'm ready to have a good time!!!!) and then the second half got tedious because there was just... nothing... significant...

I guess it makes sense for a warlord to have a tacky McMansion, but the McMansion was bad in a way that didn't seem intentional. Fortunately they spent very little time there, but still, the whole thing (wood paneling???? hipped roof????) was hideously un-Star Wars-y. That also coincided with being set in bright sunlight, which is the one thing they absolutely cannot, should not do with whatever Volume/tv-budget production they're using—there is nowhere to hide how fake everything looks and the way they color those scenes is greige on greige on greige. UGLY

While I appreciate practical droid effects, I don't like how they had to alter the BD droids to build them for the theme parks; they look too chunky and cheap. They're still cute—I'm sure especially if I saw them walking around in real life—but they're not nearly as cute as the original, the best droid, my son BD-1

Too many fight scenes. Obviously they were padding out the runtime with no real plot to speak of, but it is wearisome to have continuous fight scenes with no purpose behind them. The New Republic blew up that Hutt palace for no reason, lol