I saw Mission Impossible 3.
Not everything he does is mystery boxes. He is not Damon Lindelof. I know you really disliked his "mystery box" ted talk he did years ago, but pretty much everything he starts has been excellent. The problem is he has stepped away and done other things and his successors have ruined them.
The only criticism I could levy on him is that he mainly does nostalgic material. I think it's well put together material though. I think this will be a test, as he does get a chance to be on the finishing end of something in this case.
MI:3 had the Rabbit's foot a literal container we didn't know anything about besides being implied as expensive and dangerous. Most of the plot happens because reason. It's a very disjointed movie as it is a bunch of Alias scenes strung together with the minimum on connective tissue. Musgrave the traitor just comes out of nowhere.
JJ isn't just the most visible Mystery Box, it's the nonsense, lack of substance. What do you know about Hoffman's character compared to those in Fallout? Fallout has ideals, non-money goals, outside connections. MI:3 is just Hoffman chewing scenery with an organization that can arbitrary do stuff.
Does the hero's failure during the movie makes the difference to the story? Felicity dying makes no difference, Hunt is sad for a moment but that's it, she got put in the fridge. From that point on Hunt doesn't fail when he can influence the outcome.
Fallout the Cores is the goal, his point of failure that reveals his strength that those who know him value more highly than anything else especially the IMF secretary. He has repeated failure that tests his ideals. Being Ethan Hunt isn't easy and has serious down sides.
Hunt is still the head liner but in every other movie it's far more of a team effort where they play linchpin roles.
There is there how the movies are shot and presented. JJ is GO FAST shaking and pew pew lights. To distract you from the nonsense just long enough to have an initial good impression before the whole thing falls apart to a slightest thought.
JJ doesn't know how to lay a foundation, just look at the opening crawl to TFA. Anything that follows is destined to fail, never remembered fondly, Star Trek, Star Wars, Lost, Alias. Sure they made some immediate money which gets attributed to him but he always washes his hands right after. With ST/SW he got the Brand with a lot of thirsty fans. Thirsty enough that they would drink just about anything.
MI series is something of a Unicorn as Tom Cruise is the show runner, the guy who keeps it from flying apart. I helps that it severed from JJ outright taking only Simon Pegg and Hunt's wife.
There are people talking about watching Episode 9 out of obligation. That is fucked up.
I'll just chime in here for the sake of variety, not trying to ruffle any feathers, just a casual observer's take. Don't really care for Star Wars in general, haven't seen them all, and don't have super strong feelings on the series as a whole. But my favourites by FAR are Empire Strikes Back, and more recently Last Jedi for finally steering the franchise away from chosen-one-destiny stuff. Was really hoping they'd double down on that direction, but it looks like the squabbles of a single family bloodline are back with full Force.
Trailer looks decent, but also very tired as an outside observer. We're still having old characters do victory laps 3 movies later from the looks of it. At least so far I'm not seeing those corny old scene transitions JJ Abrams brought back for the 7th (?) movie, but who knows.
I'm happy for the fans that they get to speculate again about family intricacies and lineages, about recycled evil laughs, and that Lando is back and stuff. But this isn't convincing to a more casual fan like me who wants to like the series.
Last Jedi felt like it had teeth and understood many of the series' underpinning flaws, and wasn't afraid to claw at them. Yeah it wasn't perfect, but even its weird diversions (the casino tangent) were trying to make points the whole franchise seemed unwilling to face before. The end of Last Jedi felt like it was trying to break the whole 'everything is about the Skywalkers' mould right open, but now I'm not sure if they'll actually follow up on it.
I understand that Last Jedi to many felt like it bore an active grudge against Star Wars, but precisely that slightly self-concious nature is why it appealed to casuals like me. Granted they haven't showed much of the next one, but right now it seems mostly focused on the long-term fanbase (I would do the same if I was their marketing department btw).
Rian was just being a contrarian and troll. There is a reason why "Subverting expectations" has become degoritory and a punchline. Rian didn't understand anything, he looked up TV tropes and did the reverse of said trope. Making a terrible movie when people are expecting a good movie isn't subverting expectations.
An example of actual subverted expectations would be a standard fight with Luke and Vadar Vs Emperor, maybe Vadar getting mortally wounded half way as a reversal. Luke's Force/combat prowess didn't factor into the final victory other than not dying. The conflict was ultimately a mental one.
Another example again with Luke is his fight with Vadar in ESB. Expectations would have been a close fight, to see Lukes greatly improved skills to show up Yoda who is telling him he isn't ready. Instead Luke gets stomped, Vadar is toying with him the whole time. Neither was done without in movie reason or subversion for subversion sake.
I am not sure why you think the legacy characters are doing victory laps in the sequels. Every movie has gone out of it's way to destroy, marginalise every legacy character's achievements, meaning, characters assassinated.
The trailer is pure desperation.
I would pay real money on "Jumping the Tie Fighter" becoming the new Jumping the Shark as did Nuke the Fridge did.
Yeah, that was the impression I had. Star Wars itself isn’t about the Skywalker line. However, the numbered episodes are. The Last Jedi felt like it was trying to prepare fans and non-fans for the eventuality of Star Wars being more than the Skywalker Saga.
OT wasn't about the blood line or chosen one thing. It was never sold it as such and Luke wasn't a chosen one. It's a Prequel retcon.