Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi 12/15/17

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

[eabaker]

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

It didn't need to be said, it brought nothing to the table and was merely there to be a pejorative comment.

[eabaker]

But it wasn't pejorative, and it was accurate and relevant.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

[lhb412]

This is it, huh? I'm the guy who responds with Mean Girls gifs. This is my life now.

[canofhumdingers]

[Benjamin Haines]

[klen7]

I liked it (one scene/character withstanding.) I entered the movie wondering why Jedi weren't vegans and left the film wondering why they weren't cannibals.

[mrbluehair]

Saw it, loved it, even 40 years after seeing the first one as a kid, I am enjoying the franchise. Sure the wonder has changed from a 5 year old kid to a 45 year old man, but the love is still there. I don't overthink, revel in the wonder that I see in my kids eyes and know that I can always visit a galaxy far, far away.

Somehow I think as a society, our access and involvement in the process of film has taken away from enjoyment. Squabbles over who thinks what should have happened here or there has become more important to people. I am guilty from a standpoint of what I want Star Wars to be or Godzilla should be....I've decided that it's better to let a story be told and forget what I think it should be, because that will only disappoint.

I've avoided spoilers and in lead ups to movies, eschewed other opinions that can tarnish my expectations. Because of that, I've been enjoying movies more because I've realized something vitally important.....I am not a writer, director, producer or have anything to do with the process....it's out of my hands.

Was Last Jedi perfect? No,,,but things I've read since seeing it like

Also,

In the end, I'm looking at this as a whole body of work and I'm curious how it wraps up. Without spoilers.....

[eabaker]

[mrbluehair]

Yeah, I knew from the whole "The Jedi Must End" comment that his life had not turned out how he had planned....look at Obi-Wan, a recluse on a nondescript planet basically hiding and looking out for Luke. Yoda hidden on Dagobah, reclusive and far different from the one introduced in the prequels. Now Luke, who it seemed like he began to read his own press until he realized that not even the force can overcome all human flaws.

It's supposed to change you. I'm glad I didn't see a polished Luke until he realized what he needed to do in the end.

My only real issue is how would the story have changed had Carrie passed during filming. it would have been simple to say she didn't survive her ordeal in space which would have worked, but how or would it have changed Luke's fate in episode 9?

I'm thinking though that episode 9 will involve not only several past force ghosts, but we may even find out exactly how powerful they do become, because up till this point, they have provided wisdom and lightning. We could get Luke, young Obi, Yoda, Qui Gon and I guess Anikin.

the point being, I hope that they wrap up this thing in a great way. There will always be stories to tell, but my only wish is that the wrap up of this story arc is satisfying.

[lhb412]

Several weeks in, so I'm not SPOILER tagging anything, okay? -

I really liked The Last Jedi, a fact I'm even more enthusiastic about after a second viewing. It makes The Force Awakens (a retread, albeit one with likable new characters) and Rogue One (a side-story predicated on already being invested in a plot point) feel like preludes to this: a movie that feels in every way like a Star Wars movie but is a new movie. After seeing The Last Jedi I'm much more confident in the continuation of this franchise, and, while I'm certainly invested in seeing this trilogy capped off I'm even more interested in seeing what Rian Johnson has in store next.

It provided much needed context and nuance to the SW franchise, namely by touching on the concept of why rebel and what are the social conditions that make rebelling an option? is the force accessible to all and did the Jedi really kinda suck at their jobs? In a series all about hair-brained schemes with one-in-a-million odds leading to victory we have a movie where those schemes screw up and even if successful they may carry too high a cost (this was like that Zatoichi movie - I can't remember which one - where some of Ichi's usual cons and trademark moves backfire on him. It was so refreshing to see the things that always work not work!). In addition, we're taught that while flashy heroics have their place sometimes there's value in prudence, in caution. Indeed, these values are represented by the conflict between Poe and Holdo and yet it is Holdo, not hotshot Poe, who executes the craziest Hail Mary save of all in one of the coolest scenes! In solid narrative fashion, of course, Poe behaves prudently in the finale.

Listen, I know art is subjective and all that and I can't fault anybody for just not liking a movie, but some common complaints for TLJ are just nonsense. People complain that Finn/Rose/Poe's hair-brained scheme didn't work proves that it was a useless part of the movie that should have been excised from the plot. Wha? The fact that it doesn't work and screws everything up is the plot! It's important for the running theme of failure. Luke thought he was a failure and not a great Jedi but needed Yoda to teach him that he was both, and that we must learn from failure. Even the greatest among us fail! It's just reality! In the end Luke weaponizes his own legend to save the rebellion/resistance, embarrass the First Order/Kylo, and inspire a new generation - all while merely using his spiritual power and simple strategy. That was far cooler than making Luke's character some uber-badass (and not giving Hamill a role meaty enough for his talents).

Holdo is at fault for not letting in Poe and certain other characters in on the ultimate plan? It's because she doesn't trust them! I mean, you can complain about her behavior, say she's wrong, but to say the movie doesn't give a reason is rather obtuse.

People have complained about the Casino Planet's look... and I don't know what to say about that. It's just the glossy version of stuff we've already seen in Lucas' movies. As a matter of fact, it seems almost like a setting from the prequels, only, in my opinion, more nicely realized (come on, that set and costume are nicely designed!).

And to top it all off: thrilling action! The fight in Snoke's throne room was the best lightsaber fight in the history of SW! The ship-to-ship battles were well thought out, with good scene geography and very visually distinct sides, making them engaging and easy to follow.

Oh, also: great scene transitions between the various subplots and groups of characters. We're always reminded of that character or plot in the scene we're watching right before the transition. A simple but satisfying trick that makes things go so much easier (Luc Besson does something similar in The Fifth Element, but gets more playful with it - cutting between characters in different locations having variations on the same conversations and the like).

[Gman2887]

Encouraging.

[lhb412]

^ Disconcerting.

Destroy the 'mystery box,' now and forever.

[Gman2887]

[Dai]

Whatever people's reaction to the reveal about Rey's parents, Episode IX needs to avoid undermining it if it's going to be a satisfying capstone to the story. The Last Jedi was a contemplative middle chapter about laying your past to rest (killing it if you have to), so you can move forward. To be a satisfying trilogy-ender, Episode IX needs to move the story forward with a rocket on its butt, not about-face to indulge in two hours of navel-gazing original trilogy worship. Again, whatever your gut reaction was to Rey's parentage at the cinema, people have two years to acclimatise to it before the finale. Abrams could have maybe, maybe got away with a, "She's a Skywalker after all, lol" twist if Episode IX was in the next Star Wars release slot in five months, but two years from now a flip-flop twist like that will get a lot more groans from the audience than it would today. It would be an eye-roller of, "My name. Is. Khan! (dun-dun-duuuun)" proportions.

The largest extent I feel Episode IX could bend what Kylo Ren said is to have her parents still be alive, and for Rey to briefly encounter them in the denouement to make peace with her past, perhaps re-casting them as pitiful and desperate instead of callous.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Dr Kain]

[Henry88]

[eabaker]

Just as, no matter what was revealed in Empire, Vader was not Luke's father in Star Wars; and just as, no matter what was revealed in Jedi, Luke and Leia were not siblings in Star Wars and Empire; whatever may be said in the next episode, it won't change the fact that, in The Last Jedi, Rey's parents are nobodies.

I hope the next movie continues with that idea, but if they do choose a new direction, I'm not going to let it ruin this movie for me.

[canofhumdingers]

[eabaker]

[canofhumdingers]

Well, whether he said trolling or tooling, it felt incredibly out of place.

Another thing I meant to mention in my last post: Captain Phasma. How the heck is she still in command after willingly shutting down the shields that allowed an entire FO planet to be destroyed just to save her own neck. I liked that bit because it showed how she was really just a coward hiding behind her armor. But there were NO consequences for that?

And her role in TLJ was just more padding the runtime. I actually liked her fight with Finn, but it was entirely unnecessary.

[lhb412]

^ I thought lending Finn a highly personal one-on-one fight scene was more than enough reason to bring Phasma back.