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neoanderson12's rating
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neoanderson12's rating
Supremely bad for a show that costs 22.5 MILLION DOLLARS per episode, (with each episode only being 30-50 minutes long)! And it's not really "Star Wars", which isn't helping anything.
Just to be clear: George Lucas made Star Wars in 1977 for 11 million dollars, (about 56 million dollars when adjusted for inflation in 2024.) The profit that one movie made was 775.5 million dollars in 1977, or a little over 4 BILLION DOLLARS when adjusted for 2024's inflation! So for the price of less than three episodes of The Acolyte, George Lucas made 4 BILLION DOLLARS in ticket sales alone, not including the years of merchandising that followed and two sequels.
So when someone says, "we don't want it to be like George Lucas's vision", my question is always, "WHY!?" I mean, who doesn't want to spend 56 million dollars and make $3,944,999,999 profit!? Maybe... just maybe... what you think needs 'fixing' in his vision is actually you projecting your own issues, because that kind of profit speaks for itself. On his first go with Star Wars, he crushed the box office and made a legacy. If you're going to change something, you should be damn sure you know what you're doing because you're standing on the shoulders and work of a giant and have nowhere to go but DOWN.
I say this because I'm making a serious accusation when I say that The Acolyte is fan-fiction and we're seeing the inferior quality from the craftsmen. This show bears the "Star Wars" label and has an enormous price tag per episode; to say that it looks cheap and doesn't feel like Lucas' Star Wars is pretty much the worst criticism it can get. The Acolyte strays FAR from Lucas' works, and despite Leslye Headland and Kathleen Kennedy saying how great that is, the proof is in the pudding: the ideas in this show not only don't bring anything of real quality in, it's actively trying to rid itself of what made Lucas' work so good.
Let me put this in perspective: Reacher on Amazon Prime cost less than half as much per episode, (10 million per episode) and has great reviews and views. People actually told their friends about Reacher and new subscribers came in to Amazon Prime to watch the show. And in a wildly, 'it's-so-crazy-it-just-might-work!' fashion, the show actually dares to TRY to follow the source material and the designs of the original author! Both seasons are a wild thrill ride and I think very well balanced and paced.
The Acolyte, on the other hand, is lesbian fan-fiction that's set in a fan-fiction version of Lucas' Galaxy Far, Far Away setting, "the High Republic", and is a terribly acted, terribly scripted whodunnit that is supposed to be a mystery to the audience, but is laughably predictable.
And LET ME BE CLEAR: what the show pitched and was supposed to bring had elements I have wanted: namely, more martial arts in Star Wars and more Jedi to watch on screen! I'm a martial artist myself and I love dynamic, explosive fight scenes and the world is FILLED TO THE BRIM with people chomping at the bit to be a part of Lucas' Star Wars. We grew up with the films, the books, the comics, and wanted to be Jedi or Sith, or even just have a place in that setting. And this is the single biggest missed opportunity in my mind because a New Jedi Order under Luke and Leia could have easily had their pick of the litter from thousands of actors and stuntmen & stuntwomen from around the world who'd give their right arm, (no Jedi/Sith puns intended) to be in this universe!
In fact, my ideal "New Jedi Order" pretty much looks a lot like the "Legends" version of the Jedi Order, which, if Chirrut had a lightsaber instead of staff, Chirrut would have been the poster child for.
However, The Acolyte takes these ideas and flushes it completely down the toilet by making The Jedi, (the GOOD GUYS from Lucas' films and stories) and trying to make them the BAD GUYS. On top of that, the fight scenes that should be a big draw are a big snooze because the writing for the characters is so bad, you'll see a Carrie Anne Moss' character get into fistfight instead drawing her lightsaber and just defeating the person attacking her outright, which would have been the logical move for a Jedi.
Worse, instead of justifying some hand to hand combat for any logical reason, most of the time this show forces it by dumbing the characters down in non-canon ways, like some fan-fiction made up rule like, "not pulling out their lightsaber unless there's a reason or intention to kill", (paraphrased).
Making up the fan-fiction as they go is a huge reason this show is tanking badly. Obi-Wan Kenobi sliced a dude's arm off in a bar for messing with Luke and trying to start some s$%t. Jedi aren't pacifists, and they confront evil regularly. The show is trying to paint them as pathetically stupid when not alluding to how they've done some terrible act.
On top of that, characters who should be wise and smart, (full-fledged Jedi or Jedi Masters) are shown to be dumb, corrupted, egotistical, or moronic, while apprentices are shown to the smart ones with the right answers and tactics.
For 22 million dollars PER EPISODE, there is NO excuse for the terrible casting, wooden dialogue, and poor direction in each episode. And to be frank, people want to pull a "Rose Tico" and criticize the character writing and not the actors by saying, "it's the script and direction that's bad", but I'm going to say it: it IS the script and direction, but (especially in the case of the twin girls) they're also not very good actresses. At all. In their defense, most of the actors in this show aren't. For sure, their scenes aren't helped by dumbass logic such as, "if you don't do what I want, I'll kill you". (I'm paraphrasing, but that actually happens, and as a twin myself, you couldn't have written a worse line, because that was pure stupidity on the part of the writer.) But still, compare these two to say, Dakota Fanning at the same age, or Natalie Portman; there are some kids out there who are brilliant actors at that age, and these two aren't it. I hate to be blunt, but most of the casting in this show was based on looks, not talent, and man, the show suffers for it!
For a show this expensive, (180 million dollars, AT LEAST, not including marketing!) the acting, writing, and casting should have been top tier. And it isn't.
The Acolyte is a bad show. It's even worse as a fan-fiction of Star Wars, and for the price tag, it's abysmal! We're four episodes in, (roughly about the run time of Star Wars: A New Hope) and I've literally fallen asleep twice trying to watch these. And for the same run time, I dare you to compare how far the story has progressed compared to A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back.
Honestly, this show is completely forgettable. I can't even remember the names of the characters after I'm done watching the show, whereas it's been 30 years since I read something like "I, Jedi" from the Expanded Universe/Legends and I could still tell you my favorite moments with Corran Horn, because the writing and characters were INTERESTING, and it felt more like Lucas' Star Wars.
This doesn't. And if you love it, great, but I'd question why by any objective measure. If you remove all emotion from your critique, this is a slowly paced, badly acted, illogical mess that doesn't match or fit Star Wars by George Lucas. This honestly could have been set in some other setting entirely and been just as terrible.
The Jedi being evil isn't new to this show.
Let's clear the air: "The novels and comic books are other authors' interpretations of my creation. Sometimes, I tell them what they can and cant do, but I just don't have the time to read them all. **They're not my vision of what Star Wars is."
As for the Prequel Trilogy, OMG, the Jedi aren't evil! In fact, you seem them fighting the people who are actually evil. Lucas showed the Jedi Order as flawed, not evil, and their worst flaw was something that is actually a noble virtue: they were loyal to the Republic. That strength become a massive vulnerability when Sheev Palpatine managed to manipulate his way to the top of the organization they were sworn to protect.
The Acolyte, on the other hand, actually wants to depict the Jedi as morally evil: they are the ones who are committing evil deeds and being painted as hypocrites. That's not Lucas' vision, and clearly a reinterpretation and revision of these noble warriors through the lens of Leslye Headland.
It's not fair to compare The Acolyte to Star Wars: A New Hope/It's a different time and place.
Au contraire; The Acolyte bears the Star Wars brand is using Lucas' setting for the TV show, so it's 100% fair to compare how much has been invested in the show and how much was invested in the original movie and look for how much QUALITY that money produced.
Right now, this show has had four times as much money poured into it than the movie that started it all, and what's coming out the other end is BORING to watch.
This isn't comparing movies to TV, this comparing craftsman to craftsman. We're looking at two chefs, one working with 1/4 of the budget of the second chef, both of whom have access to the same recipes and material.
Just to be clear: George Lucas made Star Wars in 1977 for 11 million dollars, (about 56 million dollars when adjusted for inflation in 2024.) The profit that one movie made was 775.5 million dollars in 1977, or a little over 4 BILLION DOLLARS when adjusted for 2024's inflation! So for the price of less than three episodes of The Acolyte, George Lucas made 4 BILLION DOLLARS in ticket sales alone, not including the years of merchandising that followed and two sequels.
So when someone says, "we don't want it to be like George Lucas's vision", my question is always, "WHY!?" I mean, who doesn't want to spend 56 million dollars and make $3,944,999,999 profit!? Maybe... just maybe... what you think needs 'fixing' in his vision is actually you projecting your own issues, because that kind of profit speaks for itself. On his first go with Star Wars, he crushed the box office and made a legacy. If you're going to change something, you should be damn sure you know what you're doing because you're standing on the shoulders and work of a giant and have nowhere to go but DOWN.
I say this because I'm making a serious accusation when I say that The Acolyte is fan-fiction and we're seeing the inferior quality from the craftsmen. This show bears the "Star Wars" label and has an enormous price tag per episode; to say that it looks cheap and doesn't feel like Lucas' Star Wars is pretty much the worst criticism it can get. The Acolyte strays FAR from Lucas' works, and despite Leslye Headland and Kathleen Kennedy saying how great that is, the proof is in the pudding: the ideas in this show not only don't bring anything of real quality in, it's actively trying to rid itself of what made Lucas' work so good.
Let me put this in perspective: Reacher on Amazon Prime cost less than half as much per episode, (10 million per episode) and has great reviews and views. People actually told their friends about Reacher and new subscribers came in to Amazon Prime to watch the show. And in a wildly, 'it's-so-crazy-it-just-might-work!' fashion, the show actually dares to TRY to follow the source material and the designs of the original author! Both seasons are a wild thrill ride and I think very well balanced and paced.
The Acolyte, on the other hand, is lesbian fan-fiction that's set in a fan-fiction version of Lucas' Galaxy Far, Far Away setting, "the High Republic", and is a terribly acted, terribly scripted whodunnit that is supposed to be a mystery to the audience, but is laughably predictable.
And LET ME BE CLEAR: what the show pitched and was supposed to bring had elements I have wanted: namely, more martial arts in Star Wars and more Jedi to watch on screen! I'm a martial artist myself and I love dynamic, explosive fight scenes and the world is FILLED TO THE BRIM with people chomping at the bit to be a part of Lucas' Star Wars. We grew up with the films, the books, the comics, and wanted to be Jedi or Sith, or even just have a place in that setting. And this is the single biggest missed opportunity in my mind because a New Jedi Order under Luke and Leia could have easily had their pick of the litter from thousands of actors and stuntmen & stuntwomen from around the world who'd give their right arm, (no Jedi/Sith puns intended) to be in this universe!
In fact, my ideal "New Jedi Order" pretty much looks a lot like the "Legends" version of the Jedi Order, which, if Chirrut had a lightsaber instead of staff, Chirrut would have been the poster child for.
However, The Acolyte takes these ideas and flushes it completely down the toilet by making The Jedi, (the GOOD GUYS from Lucas' films and stories) and trying to make them the BAD GUYS. On top of that, the fight scenes that should be a big draw are a big snooze because the writing for the characters is so bad, you'll see a Carrie Anne Moss' character get into fistfight instead drawing her lightsaber and just defeating the person attacking her outright, which would have been the logical move for a Jedi.
Worse, instead of justifying some hand to hand combat for any logical reason, most of the time this show forces it by dumbing the characters down in non-canon ways, like some fan-fiction made up rule like, "not pulling out their lightsaber unless there's a reason or intention to kill", (paraphrased).
Making up the fan-fiction as they go is a huge reason this show is tanking badly. Obi-Wan Kenobi sliced a dude's arm off in a bar for messing with Luke and trying to start some s$%t. Jedi aren't pacifists, and they confront evil regularly. The show is trying to paint them as pathetically stupid when not alluding to how they've done some terrible act.
On top of that, characters who should be wise and smart, (full-fledged Jedi or Jedi Masters) are shown to be dumb, corrupted, egotistical, or moronic, while apprentices are shown to the smart ones with the right answers and tactics.
For 22 million dollars PER EPISODE, there is NO excuse for the terrible casting, wooden dialogue, and poor direction in each episode. And to be frank, people want to pull a "Rose Tico" and criticize the character writing and not the actors by saying, "it's the script and direction that's bad", but I'm going to say it: it IS the script and direction, but (especially in the case of the twin girls) they're also not very good actresses. At all. In their defense, most of the actors in this show aren't. For sure, their scenes aren't helped by dumbass logic such as, "if you don't do what I want, I'll kill you". (I'm paraphrasing, but that actually happens, and as a twin myself, you couldn't have written a worse line, because that was pure stupidity on the part of the writer.) But still, compare these two to say, Dakota Fanning at the same age, or Natalie Portman; there are some kids out there who are brilliant actors at that age, and these two aren't it. I hate to be blunt, but most of the casting in this show was based on looks, not talent, and man, the show suffers for it!
For a show this expensive, (180 million dollars, AT LEAST, not including marketing!) the acting, writing, and casting should have been top tier. And it isn't.
The Acolyte is a bad show. It's even worse as a fan-fiction of Star Wars, and for the price tag, it's abysmal! We're four episodes in, (roughly about the run time of Star Wars: A New Hope) and I've literally fallen asleep twice trying to watch these. And for the same run time, I dare you to compare how far the story has progressed compared to A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back.
Honestly, this show is completely forgettable. I can't even remember the names of the characters after I'm done watching the show, whereas it's been 30 years since I read something like "I, Jedi" from the Expanded Universe/Legends and I could still tell you my favorite moments with Corran Horn, because the writing and characters were INTERESTING, and it felt more like Lucas' Star Wars.
This doesn't. And if you love it, great, but I'd question why by any objective measure. If you remove all emotion from your critique, this is a slowly paced, badly acted, illogical mess that doesn't match or fit Star Wars by George Lucas. This honestly could have been set in some other setting entirely and been just as terrible.
The Jedi being evil isn't new to this show.
Let's clear the air: "The novels and comic books are other authors' interpretations of my creation. Sometimes, I tell them what they can and cant do, but I just don't have the time to read them all. **They're not my vision of what Star Wars is."
- George Lucas 2004
As for the Prequel Trilogy, OMG, the Jedi aren't evil! In fact, you seem them fighting the people who are actually evil. Lucas showed the Jedi Order as flawed, not evil, and their worst flaw was something that is actually a noble virtue: they were loyal to the Republic. That strength become a massive vulnerability when Sheev Palpatine managed to manipulate his way to the top of the organization they were sworn to protect.
The Acolyte, on the other hand, actually wants to depict the Jedi as morally evil: they are the ones who are committing evil deeds and being painted as hypocrites. That's not Lucas' vision, and clearly a reinterpretation and revision of these noble warriors through the lens of Leslye Headland.
It's not fair to compare The Acolyte to Star Wars: A New Hope/It's a different time and place.
Au contraire; The Acolyte bears the Star Wars brand is using Lucas' setting for the TV show, so it's 100% fair to compare how much has been invested in the show and how much was invested in the original movie and look for how much QUALITY that money produced.
Right now, this show has had four times as much money poured into it than the movie that started it all, and what's coming out the other end is BORING to watch.
This isn't comparing movies to TV, this comparing craftsman to craftsman. We're looking at two chefs, one working with 1/4 of the budget of the second chef, both of whom have access to the same recipes and material.
The engaging plot keeps the viewer invested in the story, with the screenplay maintaining a consistent pace that ensures the film remains suspenseful and intriguing. The direction by Homi Adajania is precise and taut, skillfully handling the various twists and turns in the plot. His handling of the emotional beats and romantic scenes is commendable.
While the romantic scenes in the film are clichéd and feel like fillers meant to cater to the younger audience, they do little to add to the overall narrative. The film's predictability in some of its twists is another weakness, making the film less surprising for the audience.
Despite these weaknesses, "Murder Mubarak" is a taut and engaging thriller that benefits from the excellent performances of its lead actors. The film's engaging plot and gripping direction make it a worthwhile watch for fans of the genre. The underdeveloped supporting characters and underwhelming climax could have been improved, but overall, "Murder Mubarak" is a decent addition to the Tamil thriller genre, and it's worth watching for its strong performances and thrilling moments.
While the romantic scenes in the film are clichéd and feel like fillers meant to cater to the younger audience, they do little to add to the overall narrative. The film's predictability in some of its twists is another weakness, making the film less surprising for the audience.
Despite these weaknesses, "Murder Mubarak" is a taut and engaging thriller that benefits from the excellent performances of its lead actors. The film's engaging plot and gripping direction make it a worthwhile watch for fans of the genre. The underdeveloped supporting characters and underwhelming climax could have been improved, but overall, "Murder Mubarak" is a decent addition to the Tamil thriller genre, and it's worth watching for its strong performances and thrilling moments.
