Surprisingly entertaining this show manages to be family friendly instead of simply kid friendly.
It is bursting with personality. To strike a more suitable comedic tone it seems that a few characters were inspired by their puppet counterparts in the Robot chicken shorts. The emperor especially is just a treat to watch him and his antics.
The main characters are also quite well written. The Freemakers do feel like a real family. it is quite heartwarming to see them work together.
Furthermore the setting makes perfect use of the lego star wars setting by merging the master builder concept from the lego movie with the concept of the force. The result is quite unlike everything else in the star wars franchise and a breath of fresh air. using the force to build instead of throwing stuff around allows for a lot more creativity on the part of the writers.
Finally, while a few people might lament the status of the show as non canon to the broader Disney Star wars franchise i must say that this works to the show's advantage. It has far more liberty in its storytelling by being in its own canon.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
(2016–2017)
Lighthearted and self aware. These characters could star in their own movie
29 January 2019
Star Wars: Resistance
(2018–2020)
A case study in failed world-building
29 January 2019
14 Episodes in so far I have to say that Star Wars resistance is easily the worst modern star wars animated series. Far more mediocre that even the first season of Star wars Rebels. Kazuda Xiono is a bumbling idiot without the charm needed to be endearing. Jarek Yeager is as bland as a piece of stale bread even after getting his dedicated episode featuring his brother. Same goes for Tam Ryvora and Torra Doza (they are so forgettable that i had to check wikia to remember their names).
But that's not the worst part. One of the most common critic against this show is how cheap it looks ( or alternatively that it is childish instead of being kid-friendly). but another animated Series proved that's not the core issue. indeed the "Lego star Wars Freemakers adventures" has arguably even cheaper animation and is even more clearly aimed at children, but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable show while resistance is just a slog to get through.
i think the reason the show is so stale is the lack of a core narrative or of a basic premise. Kazuda is a spy that is just plain bad at spying more often than not just stumbling onto meaningless first order plots. He is also a pilot and racer, yet apart from the first episode he never races. The core team dynamic is also sorely lacking. the mechanics are not a family, or a real team. They're hardly even friends. coworkers at best and watching them interact is basically just as boring as your daily grind in the office. hardly escapist fantasy. Furthermore there is no imminent threat. The show doesn't explain why Kazuda's mission of spying on the first order is so important. There is hardly any urgency to foil their plans (this can be seen by the fact that every other episode is pure filler ) other than stopping the few ineffective pirate attacks.
In the end i think this is why the Star wars resistance fails so spectacularly so far. Simply put, it is set in the "sequel era". This period of the lore is fundamentally broken. The main character is working for an organization called "the resistance" yet is actually working on the behalf of the official government (the new republic) which make them more akin to a secret police than a guerrilla force. Because of that backward setting Kazuda has been stuck on a remote station in the middle of a featureless ocean. He cannot go out and explore the galaxy (like the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars Rebels did) because there is no interesting conflicts or stories to be written in the sequel era setting. Before watching the show I was worried Star wars resistance would waste all its time trying to fix the broken lore established by the 2 Disney movies. Instead the show decided to ignore everything. As a result we have a show with no story, no plot, no characters, and fundamentally no soul.
But that's not the worst part. One of the most common critic against this show is how cheap it looks ( or alternatively that it is childish instead of being kid-friendly). but another animated Series proved that's not the core issue. indeed the "Lego star Wars Freemakers adventures" has arguably even cheaper animation and is even more clearly aimed at children, but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable show while resistance is just a slog to get through.
i think the reason the show is so stale is the lack of a core narrative or of a basic premise. Kazuda is a spy that is just plain bad at spying more often than not just stumbling onto meaningless first order plots. He is also a pilot and racer, yet apart from the first episode he never races. The core team dynamic is also sorely lacking. the mechanics are not a family, or a real team. They're hardly even friends. coworkers at best and watching them interact is basically just as boring as your daily grind in the office. hardly escapist fantasy. Furthermore there is no imminent threat. The show doesn't explain why Kazuda's mission of spying on the first order is so important. There is hardly any urgency to foil their plans (this can be seen by the fact that every other episode is pure filler ) other than stopping the few ineffective pirate attacks.
In the end i think this is why the Star wars resistance fails so spectacularly so far. Simply put, it is set in the "sequel era". This period of the lore is fundamentally broken. The main character is working for an organization called "the resistance" yet is actually working on the behalf of the official government (the new republic) which make them more akin to a secret police than a guerrilla force. Because of that backward setting Kazuda has been stuck on a remote station in the middle of a featureless ocean. He cannot go out and explore the galaxy (like the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars Rebels did) because there is no interesting conflicts or stories to be written in the sequel era setting. Before watching the show I was worried Star wars resistance would waste all its time trying to fix the broken lore established by the 2 Disney movies. Instead the show decided to ignore everything. As a result we have a show with no story, no plot, no characters, and fundamentally no soul.
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
(2017–2018)
Quite awful yet ultimately harmless
18 August 2018
What can I say that hasn't been said before... the writing is non existent, the animation amateurish, the overall style and design lacking (to say the least), and the protagonists act out of character.
But in the end it doesn't really overstay its welcome... I guess it's best to look at this "cartoon" for what it is: a series of 2 minutes long advertisement spots aimed at toddlers
But in the end it doesn't really overstay its welcome... I guess it's best to look at this "cartoon" for what it is: a series of 2 minutes long advertisement spots aimed at toddlers
The most beautiful dumpster fire I've ever seen
16 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The main sticking points I had with this movie:
1. Why Didn't the First Order Fleet Destroy the Resistance Ships Immediately? The First Order Fleet clearly outnumbered the Resistance and they had a number of Dreadnoughts/Destroyers at their disposal (also the fact that one X-Wing took down a whole dreadnought was ridiculous and was done only to showcase Poe)., so why couldn't they have caught up to the Resistance much quicker? Other than that, the action was cool and the tension was high but overall it was the longest chase scene I have ever watched in the cinema.
2. When Darth Sidious said "To cheat death is the power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret." I never realised that Leia would be the one to discover the secret by miraculously flying THROUGH THE VACUUM OF SPACE and back to the Raddus like Superman using the Force- this was the most ridiculous moment of the movie.
3. Poe vs Holdo. This whole segment of the movie was a complete waste and didn't amount to anything significant. Why didn't Holdo Just Let Poe in on her plan from the beginning? I understand Leia and Holdo where maybe trying to teach Poe restraint but this was literally the Resistance on it's last legs and it didn't seem like the right time for moral lessons.
4. Phasma. What a joke. less than five minutes of screentime and Disney marketed her again as being central to the story (Phasma vs Finn, Book release, Last Jedi DLC in battlefront 2). GC is such an amazing actress however she was definitely short changed as were the fans.
5. Snoke. This was the most frustrating death purely from the fact that I feel like I wasted days reading the Aftermath Trilogy for them to suggest that he was this massive dark side presence and with RJ saying he was more powerful than Vader and Sidious yet he couldn't detect Kylo turning the lightsaber towards him?? And the fact that he's dead now means there is not much point for any further character development and he was another wasted character.
6. Rey's Parentage. While I can accept that she came from nothing significant, mirroring Anakin's lineage, why oh why did they build up on this theory since Force Awakens? In the end it meant nothing and for me it was just another example of lazy writing.
7. Finn and Rose. While their character interactions are excellent their whole plot in this story was completely insignificant (apart from Finn killing Phasma). They never recruited the Codebreaker they were meant too and they never shut down the tracker device. Also the whole sequence on Canto Bight was drawn out and felt like a promotion for highlighting rich society and animal cruelty (which are important) but how did this lend to the main plot?
8. Luke. Well where do I start? For the first hour and a half I thought his character direction and portrayal was great but then I began to realise why Mark Hamill initially said in interviews that he didn't like the script; he didn't give Rey any real training, we never got to see him physically wield a lightsaber and during his fight with Kylo he's now the worlds best limbo player??, also he was able to hologram himself? Across millions of miles of space?? and create hologram dice? This is where the nature of the Force is now just a Mcguffin which can fill in crappy plot holes. Luke's death was so stupid and ridiculous considering that in 40 years of canon and lore, Luke has always been promoted as one of the most powerful Jedi etc and his story continued well into old age. But after a hologram fight he just gets tired and gives up? What a joke.
9. Killing off 5 main characters from the old and new trilogy. This just demonstrates how the writers have disregarded fans likability for certain characters - Ackbar, Holdo, Phasma, Snoke, Luke. All deserved more time on screen. And none of these deaths had any emotional impact compared to any other SW movie or certainly Han's death in FA.
10. Yoda appearing to Luke. While I loved Yoda's cameo, why didn't they introduce a CGI Obi Wan (they done a great job of Tarkin in Rogue One) as well since he was Luke's first mentor and arguably the one he was most attached too.
11. the Hyperspace suicide... because of it the whole universe doesn't make sense... they could have used the same tactic against the Death Star.
Overall I would rate it 5/10 and by far the worst Star Wars movie. It had so much potential to be great (Luke fearing Kylo which could have led him to the Dark SIde and then lead him to fighting Rey and Kylo/ or Rey joining Kylo and ruling the Galaxy vs Luke in Ep.9./ Snoke being an Ancient Sith and killing one of the main characters or having Luke save Rey and Kylo on the Supremacy). But overall alot of the plot threads amounted to nothing significant.
The movie was shot beautifully and the action sequences were great. The actors portrayal of their characters was also great. As I say, my main issue is how the plot serviced these characters. The plot was messy and lacked real direction and I think in order to simplify things for Episode 9; that's why the writers literally destroyed everything. This is the first SW movie that I was genuinely disappointed in, and its the first SW movie I have ever complained about (I love the Originals, the Prequels and TFA/RO).
The movie was shot beautifully and the action sequences were great. The actors portrayal of their characters was also great. As I say, my main issue is how the plot serviced these characters. The plot was messy and lacked real direction and I think in order to simplify things for Episode 9; that's why the writers literally destroyed everything. This is the first SW movie that I was genuinely disappointed in, and its the first SW movie I have ever complained about (I love the Originals, the Prequels and TFA/RO).
Tell Your Friends