1:30: explanation starts.
1:45 - 2:30: tells people to not get upset about a movie and to not be bothered by the movie so much because it's just "A movie about space wizards intended for children." Yeah, SW is just a dumb movie made for kids! By all means, keep minimalising the cultural signifance of the property. Why get upset that WoW has removed the challenge post-WotLK to cater to normies and monetised aspects that were previously earned through grinding and dedication?It's just a dumb video game! Why get upset about anything? It's all relative, learn to let go of your stupid dedication to nerdy things guyz!!! This argument is infantilizing the passion many people have for their hobbies and interests, I won't tell you to take your concerns with current movie criticism elsewhere because they're just dumb moving pictures, you won't tell me to not care about SW so much.
Ironically, Patrick himself takes TLJ very seriously.
Also references Mauler as "an angry guy". I suppose people think his critique isn't worth watching because of its length and his attitude. I understand it's hard to watch a long, pedantic, basically edited negative take on something you like/love, but there exists no better overview as to why people hate it. I find it insulting that several commenters describe those series of videos as mere "rants".
2:30 - 3:28 : talks about his experience with SW, he loves the OT, thinks the PT is bad (even though they had some cool ideas) and thinks TFA is "pretty good". He gets that TFA needed to return to a familiar dynamic and reintroduce people to SW, mentions it's frustrating we get no actual "landscape" of the setting and that he doesn't need to see a seperate movie to get who Snoke is and what his deal is.
My only comment here would be that having more backstory on Snoke is quite necessary, since he's responsible for the current state of the galaxy and the conflict between TFO and Resistance. Small flashbacks or explanations (5-10 min) throughout both TFA and TLJ would have been sufficient.
3:28 - 4:10: mentions people wanted explanations, confirmations and that they wanted their fan theories answered. This is not his priority, he just wanted SW to do something new, to surprise and entertain.
Nice insight into his though process, perhaps he will reveal more later.
4:10 - 4:55: mentions the opening space battle, and how Paigo Tico sacrifice is "more emotional and suspenseful that anything since Luke's trench run." Aside from the underlying problems with the scene, we barely have an emotional connection to Paige. We have far more to connect to in IV than VIII. Comparing the culmination of Han's character arc to a newly introduced character dying is silly (even though Paige's scenes were shot well).
4:55 - 5:30: talks about how people don't want new things in their SW and why he loves V (it surprises and takes it SW in a new direction) and finds VI dissapointing (familiar territory, small additions to mythos)
5:30 - 5:40: says TLJ isn't a "greatest hits of" and that it doesn't everybody make related to big familiar faces. Many of the scenes in TLJ (Crait, Snoke throne room, disguising as the enemy and shutting off a vital part of the enemy's contraption) are still straight ripoffs from previous movies. His comment on being related to characters we know shows how much he thinks "fan theories not being confirmed" had an impact on the reception of TLJ.
If you're going to introduce and build up the identity of Rey's parents in the same movie, it better matter to the story/ Rey herself. Aside from a shocking revelation, she doesn't change and the question may as well not matter.
5:40 - 6:16: he likes how it shows the 1%, that the Force is used to turn on a lightsaber and that TLJ gives you an idea what Obi-Wan meant with his iconic line in IV (shows Yoda summoning lightning).
If force ghosts can suddenly impact the physical realm, why wouldn't they help prevent the dismal state of the galaxy, it's a small but noticeable lore break. He goes on to say TLJ introduces new and natural extensions of force powers and that Luke gives the best explanation of the Force.
6:16 - 6:55 : mentions how SW has always been full of weird shit (cantina scene) and how the titty alien is his favorite new addition and (jokingly?) says that "If you don't like it, no offense, you have boring tastes and I don't want to be friends with you." Quite condescending in and of itself, but he misses why people don't like seeing Luke having to go through such a gross scene. There are ways to show the audience how far he has fallen without resorting to gross and demeaning imagery. He then mentions the hell mouth, the multiple Reys sequence, frog nuns & Canto Bight. The problem with these new aliens is that they barely act any differently from humans and that we never get any insight into their quirks or what makes them special (Rancors, Jabba, Wampa, Chewbacca, Ewoks, Sand People, Uggnauts). Aliens previously had roles in these movies, besides acting as fancy dressing.
6:56 - 7:35: goes on about Canto Bight, its criticisms and that he won't rebutt them. Jokingly mentions how he thinks BB8 being a slot machine for the goblin, Maz Kanata having had sex with the code breaker and rich people getting their stuff destoryed is awesome (If you can't enjoy the latter, he feels sorry for you, sips mug)
Again with the condescension, I get the feeling he veils his jabs at detractors as jokes because he has a bone to pick.
7:35 - 8:10: mentions how he doesn't like Leia having no closure with her father, how she doesn't get to show off her powers and how she doesn't get to do anything despite being the "other" Yoda talks about. Kinda agree with him here, it felt lazy to introduce this twist and not have Leia do anything related. Hence why the scene with Leia pulling herself back to the ship thrilled him. Again, even if we ignore the logistics of that scene, Leia is able to use the Force with no build-up, no hint that she ever used it and in such a manner that it comes across as unbelievable (vacuum of space, moving ship, strong enough to save herself and still in a coma).
A better alternative would have been something like battle meditation (KoTOR), given Fisher's infirmity.
It's not nearly as ridiculous and would explain why the Rebels get so lucky during this movie.
8:10 - 8:50: he loves that the film criticises the Jedi and their ways, how Luke repeats those mistakes and how he CLAPPED when he saw it in theaters. Of course, he misses that RToJ did this too, with Luke going his own way and the Jedi being wrong about Dart Vader. It doesn't make sense for an older Luke to repeat the same mistakes when he has access to force ghosts (information on the past) and the knowledge that being stoic all the time isn't wise. Besides, this criticism is only aimed at the Jedi and ignores that removing a force for good (no matter how flawed) and to still have evildoers roam around is idiotic.
8:51 - 10:00 : says that Luke and the movie don't want the Jedi to end, but to evolve. The whole movie is about moving on from the past. Says TFA is obsessed with the past (correct) and that TLJ moves forward. He won't explain why and references the "Just Write" video on TLJ. Says the movie weaves together all the arcs for Rey, Finn, Poe, Luke and Kylo in which they all learn from failure and move on from the past, tied together when Holdo rams the Supremacy. Says that people who are too hung up on the science of this part should just enjoy the movie made for children blabla and that he weeps for those people.
First of, for a channel called "Just Write" the essayist paid no attention to continuity, lore or characterisation in that particular video, which is embarassing. Secondly, not all characters move on from the past and Kylo doesn't learn anything and reverts back to his angry persona of TFA. Finally, ignoring lore and changing the mechanics of space battles across this entire this billion dollar franchise breaks immersion and believability for any future battles to come. But as has been made clear with all apologists for TLJ, they don't care about lore or rules within a fictional universe, it can all be twisted and broken, so long as it looks nice.
10:01 - 11:00: says TLJ is about moving forward and not letting the past die, mentions Kylo and how the movie does not endorse his outlook. Mentions how many detractors thought "Let the past die" was the message. Says the Jedi need to lose their dogmatic ways and that Yoda straight up says this. Says people miss this because they'd rather obsess about how force fields work.
Many fans misinterpreted this, but Disney's attitude towards the franchise and its legacy (blatant commercialising, no overall plan for the story, burying the relevancy of the OT and PT, shoehorning in ripoffs and decanonising the EU) makes many think otherwise. I concur with his notion that many errors are far too autistic, but there are simply so many of them that it enhances all the other flaws.
11:01 - 11:31 : repeats everybody learns from their failures and that Finn's arc was his personal favorite (sidenote: Rebel Scum was the best moment in the movie). The best example is Luke Skywalker: he loves him when he's whiny, heroic and most importantly, conflicted. Mentions many have misunderstood Luke for a really long time.
Again, Kylo doesn't learn and thinking a poorly thought-out, convoluted and retreading arc for Finn is great, instead of Finn struggling with his former brothers in arms or his superior is laughable. Loving "Rebel scum" just shows a preferance for cringeworthy lines.
11:32 - 12:48 : strawmans fan's perspective on Luke's portrayal and says that he's complicated and having him be a superhero would be pretty boring.
Once more, Luke can be miserable, sad, defeated, pathetic, etc. but the movie has to put the effort in to explain WHY and make the audiene connect with his new character. 2 mins of him going against a fundamental part of his character (love of family) and subsequently losing all of his old character traits and not giving anymore context to Kylo's corruption, Snoke's influence, Kylo's relation to his parents and uncle,... makes it incredibly hard to swallow.
12: 49 - 13:28 : attempts at convincing the audience Rey isn't a Mary Sue: has no idea what to do and seeks guidance, she was tempted to join Kylo and refuses (he believed she would, a mark of good storytelling).
Despite Rey acting clueless and vulnerable, she kicks ass without problems, stays true to her convictions and doesn't change as a character throughout these 2 movies. She is a blank slate with no backstory, no interests besides doing the right thing and has the Falcon, is Chewie's new BF, can fly the falcon well despite having had no experience beforehand, is the chosen one, everybody likes/loves/ is interested her for weird reasons (Leia hug, Poe meeting, Kylo thirst, Snoke), is proficient with a lightsaber despite zero actual training and doesn't learn or grow from her mistakes.
13:29 - 14:00: a bunch of subjective stuff about why he thinks TLJ is a rip-roaring good time. I will admit, if you turn your brain off while watching this movie, you will have a great time. I had a great time, on my first viewing.
14:01 - 14:31: defends the comedy by saying a movie like Goodfellas is also funny, thrilling and devastating.
"A movie can make you feel different things, humor is good, why am I even explaining this?" He also loves Adam Driver's delivery ("Blow that piece of junk out of the sky!").
Goodfellas comedy relies on the characters and their current situation: Jimmy gets upset that his pals bought a shitton of epxensive stuff right after pulling of the Lufthansa heist. It's funny, stems forth from the previously displayed ignorance of Johnny and co. and carries possible consequences for the entire gang.
TLJ inserts humor artificially and undercuts most of its dramatic moments this way. Porgs are just "lol so random" and aside from one scene with Hux he is constantly made fun of, beat up, or humiliated.
14:32 - 14:47: again says this movie is about moving and from self-loathing (Luke), selfishness (Finn, because wanting to save Rey is very selfish), empty heroics (Poe, because wanting to save the remnants of the Resistance in lieu of having no plan is such a self-important act), from families being special and everything being like it was (ironic, given this movie revers the galaxy back to ANH levels of Imperial rule), moving on from the same old story beats (V and VI say hello) and the same old status quo (the movie pretends to move on from this but fails (Empire vs Rebels, lone untrained Jedi needs to face down dark lord, Chewie R2 C-3PO & Falcon are still around, similar planets and vistas).
14:48 - 16:03: says he loves SW (considering being a fan of somethingthese days means having no regard for basic storytelling and writing rules, this rings hollow) and that he can see the story continuing for decades to come and that we will look back on different eras of SW (Falcon owned by Han, then owned by Rey).
Mentions that it is no longer a story about people being from a select bloodline and that heroes can come from anywhere, that SW can go anywhere and he finds this idea moving. Says TLJ understands the need for a simpleton to become something greater.
First of all, the fact that SW can go beyond the Skywalkers isn't necessarily a good thing, it can keep the franchise going forever and was certainly not the intention when those movies were made. The fact that SW can go anywhere is quite nice, but Disney has to incorporate popular characters, factions, conflicts, settings,etc. in all of their products to attract attention and make it sell. Doesn't seem very innovative to me, it reeks of cowardice.
Why people like him see no issue in SW continuing forever is beyond me, it's grown beyond what it once was and is blatantly mismanaged by Disney. There's tons of examples of franchises that have detoriorated because they were to big to fail (Simpons, Family Guy, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Bourne series, most horror movies, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Transformer movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, Terminator, Alien, Predator, Fast & Furious,etc.)
16:04 - 17:02 : mentions a bunch of little things he loved in this movie. He loves Porgs, which further reduces his credibility and taste as a movie critic. He does mention some neat little details he noticed, which only saddens me, knowing there was such potential for a good SW movie in this mess.
17:03 - 17:31: mentions he never wanted to make a video on TLJ but that he couldn't stop thinking about it all this time. I guess RLM jogged his brain. Says he wishes that those who hate the movie, could see what he sees.
I would respond that I can definitely see what you see, Patrick. Most apologists just seem blind to our criticisms and arguments.
Rest of the video is a "joke" with his parents and a word from his sponsor, but there's a small bit after the credits.
20:03 - 20:31: says he won't read a 2000 word long email as to why he's wrong. He won't mention SW or TLJ for the rest of the year in his videos, talking about SW is exhausting and that he has said everything he wanted.
It's quite pathetic that you won't have your opinion challenged (even thought it might be through verbose messages) and that he considers this superficial clange at the movie "everything he needed to say".
