Star Wars: The Last Jedi discussion thread(Warning: Spoilers!) (1 Viewer)

[Greg.K]

Fried calamari for everyone!

 

[Sam Favate]

I enjoyed it, but... It's far from the best Star Wars film, or even close. Rogue One was a more satisfying experience. Technically, this is a beautiful film, and it has a lot to offer. But...

I enjoyed Daisy Ridley's performance. Even though her part was critically underwritten, the actress was terrific. She held your attention every time she was on screen. Kelly Marie Tran might be the best thing in the movie. She was refreshing, and might have had the best line in the movie ("We won't win by destroying the things we hate; we win by saving the things we love.") Adam Driver played Kylo Ren very well, but the character was so conflicted as to not be as threatening.

I didn't care for the in-fighting among the rebels. Poe basically mutinies for what we think is good reason, only to find that the leadership had a plan all along. Of course they had to make Laura Dern's character into a hero, but after characterizing her as a clueless person of privilege for the whole movie, it wasn't satisfying. I liked the casino stuff, but it felt like too much of a diversion from the rest of the movie. After two years, we were craving answers to our questions, and it was clear we weren't going to get any from Finn and Rose.

Ultimately, the movie fails for not giving us satisfying answers to the questions set up by The Force Awakens -- indeed, that movie suffers more because of this one, because we see how weak the writing was on TFA - how many questions were left hanging.

The sequence in Snoke's throne room was thrilling, maybe the best in the film. But he dies without any indication where he came from or who he was. After two years spent wondering and debating that same issue, this is a major failure.

Likewise, the answer of Rey's parents. I don't really believe Kylo Ren that she's a nobody. These are films of the Skywalker lineage, for crying out loud. We're teased a few times with finding out who she is, first in the cave (too obvious a call back to Empire Strikes Back) and then with Snoke and Ren. If Ren is being truthful, it's the biggest disappointment in the entire saga. Again, why did Luke's saber call to her in TFA? Why did she have the vision? They were teasing a connection but it never came. An unsatisfying resolution to a major plot point like this makes the movie a disappointment.

Mark Hamill was great as Luke, but the part wasn't written very well. Why was he in exile? What did he intend to do there? Was he going to leave all his friends in the alliance to die? The Luke we knew wouldn't have shirked his responsibility like this. Once again, the majority of this falls on The Force Awakens for giving us so little in the way of backstory between Episodes 6 and 7. And now, Luke's gone? I get the dramatic necessity but for crying out loud, we didn't clamor for 30 years for sequels to the original trilogy to see the characters we loved killed off. Enjoyed the use of Yoda, but the CGI was not good. Come on, we expect a lot better of a Star Wars movie. And, wow, the entire rebellion fits into the Millennium Falcon? That's not a threat to the First Order, it's a bunch of hecklers. (Did R2-D2 piss off Harvey Weinstein or something? He's barely in this or TFA!)

Maybe more will come to me after a second viewing (tomorrow) but right now, I can only place this a notch above The Force Awakens. As much as I wanted answers in this film, I don't have much hope for them in JJ Abrams or Episode 9.

 

[steve jaros]

I enjoyed it, but... It's far from the best Star Wars film, or even close. Rogue One was a more satisfying experience. Technically, this is a beautiful film, and it has a lot to offer. But...
.....

I just saw this (LiMax 3D) and I agree with every single criticism you list here, save for Yoda's CGI, which I thought was fine.

Nevertheless, I give it a much higher rating than you seem to. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the plot holes and empties are just washed away in my mind by the action, and the joy of seeing Luke and Leia dominate a Star Wars film like they always should.

I also loved TFA - and the original trilogy, which i saw in my youth during their original runs. I've always been awed by the overall sweep of the stories and emotions and action of these films, have never been much concerned by the technical details of plot construction, etc.

Just a different POV ...

 

[Wayne_j]

I'm not even sure that Yoda was CGI.

 

[DaveF]

I took the day off work to see The Last Jedi with friends. And in preparation, I rewatched The Force Awakens this weekend along with the special features.

I enjoyed TLJ well enough. It has some moments of nostalgia and other emotional beats, especially early on, that made the screen a little blurry for me. And the action sequences, especially the Jedi fights, were thrilling.

The story, as a continuation from TFA, was decent. While it wasn't riffing off of ESB so obviously as TFA was from Star Wars, it took the expected direction of being the middle movie, with the Rebellion begins and ends in crisis.

TLJ suffers from Return of the King syndrome, with too many endings. The movie could have been 20 or 30 minutes shorter and had a more powerful ending, lending even greater sense of crisis as we wait for the finale.

I'm still uncertain how I feel about the central theme of "failure". Dameron Poe is the rebellion's greatest enemy. Had he sat quietly in a corner, everyone, more people would be alive and the rebellion would likely be safely hidden. Rey completely failed at her efforts to save Ren and her actions increased his power and threat. Finn's failure is not so great nor so consequential but unwittingly he participated in Poe's failures and put a young woman in serious harm. And of course, we learned that Luke's failure is Ren's origin story.

These are interesting and somewhat complex concepts for a Star Wars movie. I like that. But I'm not sure if it wholly works.

I'm still deciding whether to watch again Sunday, for which I've already purchased tickets.

 

[Tino]

I believe Yoda was a puppet.

Also at both my screening last night and this morning the crowd cheered when the film started and when it ended.

Also it was Rey who said her parents were nobodies first, NOT Kylo.

Liked it more on the second viewing.

 

[MielR]

It felt VERY odd to hear someone say "Godspeed" in a Star Wars film. That one little word really took me out of the film. It was very un-Star Wars-like.

 

[Tino]

It felt VERY odd to hear someone say "Godspeed" in a Star Wars film. That one little word really took me out of the film. It was very un-Star Wars-like.

Why? Gods have been mentioned in Star Wars before.

 

[TravisR]

As an aside, Holdo was 'introduced' in the Leia, Princess of Alderaan book, not that her characterisation in the book adds anything one needs to know for the purposes of TLJ.

Yeah, in that book, she struck me as similar to Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter where she's kind of an oddball and unaware of that. I expected that nice weirdo rather than an in-charge admiral that she was in The Last Jedi.

Fried calamari for everyone!

Too soon!

I think you can actually see the dice hanging there in SW '77.

Yeah, they're only in the first shot when Chewbacca walks into the cockpit in the first movie. I think the dice were in The Force Awakens too.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yoda: CGI to start, turned into a puppet is my final call until told different.

 

[MielR]

I'm not even sure that Yoda was CGI.

I don't think he was. He looked like a puppet to me. The upper lip was a little off, but at least he looked better than TPM "stoned" puppet. Chewie looked better than in TFA. His eyes looked weird in that one.

Why? Gods have been mentioned in Star Wars before.

When? I don't remember.

 

[Tino]

I don't think he was. He looked like a puppet to me. The upper lip was a little off, but at least he looked better than TPM "stoned" puppet. Chewie looked better than in TFA. His eyes looked weird in that one.
When? I don't remember.

Jar Jar says something like “it’s demanded by the Gods it is”.

 

[TravisR]

Jar Jar says something like “it’s demanded by the Gods it is”.

I think of the use of "gods" or "godspeed" in the same way I think of when they use "hell", it's weird to me but there is precedent so I can't argue with it.

 

[MielR]

Jar Jar says something like “it’s demanded by the Gods it is”.

I knew it had to be a Prequel. I would have remembered it if it was in the OT. Haven't seen TPM since '99.

 

[TravisR]

Yoda: CGI to start, turned into a puppet is my final call until told different.

I would agree with that. I think they used a puppet nearly the whole time but they probably used CG to animate or give a little more life to the face of the puppet.

 

[Carabimero]

The whole Benicio del Toro thing was weird. Especially the stuttering.

I thought when they were in the prison cell it was going to turn out to be Lando as the master thief. So it was a letdown, but my own letdown since I had no real reason to expect Lando other than I wanted it to be him.

I don't quite understand the criticism of the Dern casting. Seems like nit-picking to me.

To me she originally came off as a do-nothing, so that didn't help me like her right off the bat. She seemed like an uninspiring fatalist. Plus I thought Dern played it too passively. By the end she was a worthy commander but until that point, I didn't like her. So the whole movie I basically resented her. If I had seen a hint that she had something up her sleeve, I might have felt differently. But then Poe wouldn't have done what he did. Bottom line: I wished they had cast someone else with a charismatic spark, even if they were supposed to come across as a do-nothing.

I don't understand why they disappeared when Kylo picked them up.

Me either. I blinked at that moment and wondered if I saw what I thought I saw. My guess is those dice will make an appearance on May 25, 2018.

I would agree with that. I think they used a puppet nearly the whole time but they probably used CG to animate or give a little more life to the face of the puppet.

I thought it was actual footage of the puppet from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

Mark Hamill was great as Luke, but the part wasn't written very well. Why was he in exile? What did he intend to do there? Was he going to leave all his friends in the alliance to die?

I think the entire trilogy suffered because Abrams had the dumb idea of "Who is Luke Skywalker?" He wanted that to be a mystery to Rey. And what it essentially did is take Luke out of the first film (mistake) and then put him in this contrived position for the second film (mistake). I really thought Johnson did his best to right the contrived ship given to him by Abrams. Johnson did everything he could to escape Abram's self-absorbed conceits, which Johnson was stuck with, one after another. I can see why Johnson wants (and deserves) his own trilogy that he can stamp from the beginning with some rationality and dimensional thinking.

I didn't like "Godspeed" or Poe's use of "ass." Lucas always made a point to try and keep contemporary things like that out, but I guess Disney didn't get the memo. I need to see it again before I decide if the Force was overused, which was another fear of Lucas that I think by and large has come true.

My theater was half empty and they didn't even cheer when the Leia hologram came on, so that was disappointing. One of the reasons I like to go opening night is for the vibrant audience.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I believe Yoda was a puppet.

Also at both my screening last night and this morning the crowd cheered when the film started and when it ended.

Also it was Rey who said her parents were nobodies first, NOT Kylo.

Liked it more on the second viewing.

Same here, I liked it more with my second viewing. I am now resolve with Rey's parentage situation especially if the next film is the last one dealing with the Skywalker blood line. I found nothing wrong with the humor. Last night's viewing confused me somewhat about Luke's fate, but after seeing it again, it makes more sense to me. The only real issue I have with this film and the previous film is how much align Rey is with the Force than any of the Skywalkers at this early stage of her development.

 

[TravisR]

I thought when they were in the prison cell it was going to turn out to be Lando as the master thief. So it was a letdown, but my own letdown since I had no real reason to expect Lando other than I wanted it to be him.
Me either. I blinked at that moment and wondered if I saw what I thought I saw. My guess is those dice will make an appearance on May 25, 2018.

I expected Lando too but I wish they had gone with Justin Theroux's "master codebreaker" character because he looked crazy. That might have been too weird even for this very strange Star Wars movie.

My guess is those dice will make an appearance on May 25, 2018.

I would be very surprised if they don't.

Same here, I liked it more with my second viewing.

Me too. Since I knew where it was going this time, I think it was easier to sit back and enjoy it.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It felt VERY odd to hear someone say "Godspeed" in a Star Wars film. That one little word really took me out of the film. It was very un-Star Wars-like.

Godspeed, little doodle!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Can anyone tell me what scenes were IMAX ratio?

And did these open to 1.90:1 on "LieMAX" screens?

I saw it "LieMAX" and never noticed any change in aspect ratio. Dunno if that mean the AR changes only on "real IMAX" screens or I simply missed it - or the theater screwed up!