Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Spoilers)

some interesting theme analysis:

Got tickets to see it again on Saturday!

It is absolutely not overkill. Think of all the things you “should” be doing with your free time. Do any of those provide as much stimulation or joy as sitting down for two-and-a-half uninterrupted hours dissecting a piece of art? I absolutely love watching movies multiple times for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. You can really pay attention to different things each time, and, consequently, you may notice something you never had before. A truly great piece of art will always have something new to give you, even if you’ve seen it 99 times before.

…Also, MoviePass. It’s a wallet saver for those of us that still love the theater experience.

plus, you never know who will be at the next table when your discussing the film after :smiley:

So. We’re sitting in the pub post Star Wars, discussing the film in minute detail as we are wont to do … AND THE WOMAN FROM THE NEXT TABLE TURNS TO US AND SAYS “OH HI, I’M ROSE FROM THE FILM AND I’VE LOVED LISTENING TO YOUR CONVERSATION FOR THE LAST HOUR.” THIS LITERALLY JUST HAPPENED. @kellymarietran you are the loveliest and the coolest. #starwars #starstruck #leicestersquare #thelastjedi #asifthisjusthappened

The movie was confused and messy. There were too many things happening that didn’t push the plot forward. What was the point of the entire side-plot where they go to the Vegas planet? What did we learn from it? How did it help to develop the characters? So after 30 minutes of watching this semi-boring side plot, all that happens is they get betrayed by some guy that we don’t really know or have any emotional investment in? Is the lesson in that whole thing to have blind faith in your purple-haired leaders who won’t tell you anything about their plans? There are many other examples of this, but the Vegas side plot is the most prominent example.

The comedy was poorly timed and inappropriate. The comedic element works in other star wars movies, but not in this one. There’s this emotional moment happening, and then they totally undercut it with some joke that falls flat.

Also, some of the other lines were SO CRINGEY!!! When the girl says to Finn, “We don’t destroy what we hate, we save what we love!” as the battering ram opens the gate, exposing the entire rebellion to imminent danger, I almost laughed out loud.

The most interesting thing in the movie was about what would happen to Kylo and Rey, and they even botched that.

I liked The Force Awakens (episode 7). I fully understand that it was basically a remake of A New Hope, but it served its purpose of introducing new characters and building a world to build new ideas upon. I fully praise Rian Johnson for trying new things and trying to build on the old…but there were just so many things that didn’t make sense. Even though this movie has probably been written and revised for years, it just felt like the plot and characters were half-baked and undeveloped…like he wrote the script in a day or two, and didn’t even bother to revise it.

There was no emotional climax in the entire movie. Just a bunch of space explosions and people dying.

totally agree.

Mark Hamill - MSN

Luke’s role was also a let down and it felt like the typical cookie cutter relationship of wise old character and young impulsive new character. He has given up and refuses to help…but at the end agrees.

I would have rather seen him come back and kick some a&$ leading to a proper climax. Even when he said, “if you strike me in anger I will become more powerful” was a disapointment…If he was going to die anyways, why not do it in person. I will spend all my energy creating this magical illusion just to buy time (like Poe awkwardly had to explain out loud so that everybody understood what was going on) and then when I’m done I will die anyways. Let down.

I totally understand Mark Hamill’s protest of that plot choice. However, I do think that the idea of Luke becoming old and bitter and hesitant is interesting and maybe even plausible. But the way it was executed in the movie seemed weak…maybe because the actor didn’t totally believe in it?

Once again, I see TLJ as a series of really visually dramatic scenes cobbled together rather than a structured movie with a plot and story line. I had very little to no emotional investment in the story, characters or plot. Any investment that I did have in the characters was from the prior movies, rather than anything happening in this specific movie/story.

One positive thing that I do have to say about the movie is that I was at least entertained. Visually beautiful movie, too. As someone else mentioned, that explosion sequence with the purple hair lady was unreal. Really impactful and well done.

Saw it for a second time tonight and I think it hangs together on a second viewing. Of course there are always different ways you could resolve something or take a story but I respect the decisions they made and I think they worked.

Someone told me a funny story about the Porgs… apparently the island they filmed the Jedi first temple scenes was overrun by puffins that time of year. They couldn’t get rid of them so they came up with the Porgs as a fix that they could do digitally in post.

Random thought, but I was just wondering, who do you think the audience is for Star Wars?

For those of us who grew up with is in the 70’s or 80’s it is never going to be as gritty or nuanced as say a Blade Runner, which is more of an adult movie. A drama set in a future world.

At it’s core it is basically a youth oriented morality play, but for kids maybe there are a lot of other options to choose from these days with a lot of nostalgia baggage to carry around?

So is it for nostalgic Gan X’ers to enjoy with their kids?

I’m always a little light in judging them, because I feel like when I go back and watch the original trilogy, the movies just aren’t that good (please don’t egg my house). I love them, they are super fun, the effects were amazing for the times, but it is an incredibly complex story and other than the casual coolness of Han Solo, the acting isn’t stellar. I guess I see them more as cultural events rather than ‘great movies’. Maybe that is why the prequels didn’t sit well with me. maybe they were trying too hard to be movies?

I wonder what it would be like if Christofer Nolan did a Star Wars? I just rewatched Batman Begins and that holds up for me (other than Katie Holmes)

Yes. It is a new Christmas tradition for me and mine the last 2 years. We all went and saw the last 3 movies.

As for all the hand wringing here and other places on the interwebz, i find it amusing. This is not high art. This is not a complex tale. It is a plot line that has existed for several millennia. It is only an escape. Do you want to know the outcome of 9? Because if you don’t know now, you have other things to worry about.

For my .02, 7 & 8 are on par with 4,5 & 6 and are superior to 1,2 & 3.

If you really like the hand wringing, why didn’t the first rebel ship to run out of gas do a kamikaze light jump?

Ha! excellent point.

…and in case you are interested. The Physics Behind The Last Jedi’s Coolest Scene! (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)

The audience is kids. PG13 but I’m sure they know Gen X’ers will take their younger kids (7+) to watch it.
It still bothers me that the toys are on sale before the movie comes out. And then they have toys for little kids even though they can’t really watch or understand it.
They probably know “adults” will watch the movie and buy the toys for their kids. I found myself doing that and having to explain to my kids who the characters were. Now I have an x-wing and a tie fighter that my son barely plays with, but I had fun opening it…
Disney Marketing trumps plot.

Interesting analysis. I find that flying Leia thing harder and harder to deal with, but overall I still liked it.

In hindsight, to bad they didn’t have Leia pilot the ship into Snoke’s command ship.

This was my favorite moment of the movie. Absolutely jaw-dropping, in terms of visual effect and the silence was incredible.

I actually just finally watched TLJ for the first time last night. (I’m a huge fan, but I’ve had a lot going on the last 4 months…) I really liked it. I had heard it was divisive, and was able to stay away from almost all spoilers. I have to say, knowing that there were many people who didn’t like it, may have helped me enjoy it more. I could lower my standards a bit, and just go to be entertained. Was it cheesy in parts? Of course. Was it amazing at times? Yes! iab is right. It’s not high-art. It’s a good story that was totally off the wall corny to begin with in 1977. We’ve allowed it to consume us for 40 years…

I place it thus:

  1. Empire
  2. Force Awakens
  3. ANH
  4. Rogue One
  5. TLJ
  6. Jedi
  7. Ep 3
  8. Ep 2
  9. Ep 1

Yes to this. Exactly how I feel after watching it. Yes, space flying Leia is an odd choice, but she’s Luke’s sister! She’s got the Force, too! We didn’t know they could manifest nearly perfect in the flesh versions of themselves on distant worlds until this movie! (Gasp! Unless that’s how Obi-wan really dies!! HOLY SHIT!) But 3PO got it… with the cheesy wink Luke gave him as he was walking out. Still, bad ass.

dang dude, TFA in the number 2 slot, bold move. :slight_smile: I agree with you listing but I’d swap Rogue 1 with TFA… though maybe I need to watch them back to back. Rogue one does have a few cheesy lines in there about hope, though I think the last 30 minutes is some of the best Star Wars ever.

Just saw Solo, I enjoyed it, fun movie, don’t expect anything overly moving or earth shattering, but fun… the first 30 minutes got off to a bit of a rocky start for me, but once we had Woody Harrelson, Chewy and Donald Glover in the mix I was entertained. Not a spoiler, but I’ll just say “Han shot first!”… if you saw it you might get what I mean :slight_smile:

As years pass and more Star Wars films get made, the more diverse the fan base will be. Subsequently, the more criticisms these films will get, because they’re not like the ones they grew up with. You HAVE to have deeper layers or the story will become monotonous and boring. I was there when the original Star Wars premiered in ‘77, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. I loved TLJ, and I loved it even more the second time. At first I was a little taken aback by some of the additions, but as I meditated on it and saw it again, I really appreciated the new direction.

some interesting analysis… super nerdy BTW, not only on a star wars level, but also on a film analysis and theory level.