The Last Jedi: Here There Be Spoilers

[Jace, Extat]

Relic seems to share my position, so I'll be brief.

The first 30 minutes were horrifyingly not good and derivative of ESB to the point that I was worried for the viability of the film.

Luke and Rey was gold, Daisey Ridley is amazing.

Casino thing and Finn was awful, which is a shame 'cause I loved him in episode 7. I agree with former posters, he could have been left out of this film entirely. Seriously, the 2nd act slows to a dreadful crawl with the Snoke Ship plan. When Finn and his buddy walked out onto that balcony I was expecting podracers, and in hindsight would have preferred them to those sad creatures.

I cannot emphasize enough how bad the whole Rebellion 2/3rds of the narrative was. Poe was useless, Carrie Fisher's badassness was wasted, Finn and whatshername were pointless, and... oh, that's it. That's like 2 hours of this film, Poe wandering around on a ship throwing a fit while Carrie Fisher takes a well deserved power nap, and Finn goes gambling.

Kal was the one who raised my attention to the possibility of Finn and we thought Poe going to a Casino planet and I was SOOOOOOO excited for that, but it was a waste of film to shoot those scenes. I also couldn't stop asking myself 'is this a shitty disney movie?' during that horse creature escape chase and had to repeatedly remind myself 'no, this is supposed to be a good disney movie.'

 

Anyways, Hammill was even better than Fischer and really brought a certain level of humanity to the role of Jedi mentor that has been absent since Alec Ginnis (Yoda doesn't quite count).

I totally wanted Rey and Ren to team up, but was super excited when they didn't. I was not ready for any of that shit that went down in the Throne Room, and made the mental note during Rey's surrendering of herself to the FO that it was appropriately respectful to Luke's capture in RoJ without failing to have its own unique feel.

Ren was great, I've done a 180 on that character since I first saw him.

I could do with Hux being less useless, but I enjoy him too.

Snoke was a fun little villain. I loved things like his shocking of Ren at the beginning and Kylo casually moving his head when Rey tries to snatch the lightsaber so he doesn't get doinked. I actually wonder if Snoke did that on purpose to make sure Kylo was paying attention.

The Red Guards were I think not the Knights of Ren, I think those guys (wherever they might be) are going to be our mini-bosses when Kylo takes over the FO. I wouldn't be surprised if he spends most of Ep 9 on some kind of quest while the Knights of Ren spend the first and second act challenging our hero's. Also, I totally expect Ren to use the Force Projection that Luke just inadvertently taught him. Either by fucking with people, or in combat by 'splitting' himself. It'd be a pretty cool shot that we've seen dozens of times before, but never in Star Wars.

-Kylo Ren faces down Rey across the shattered bridge, blood flowing from his temple where Finn had struck him earlier with his makeshift weapon.

Kylo Ren: You think Luke taught you how to defeat me? He couldn't, that's why he wouldn't face me in person.

As Ren says 'face', four identical versions of himself will walk in different directions, mocking Rey as they surround her.

-

 

Right? C'mon, that'd be great!

Anyway, I liked how little lazer swording there was, I've always felt that when that snap-hiss breaks across the speakers then shit should be about to get fucking real, and this movie kept the faith.

Others have talked about how stupid and nonsensical the entire Resistance plot was, so I'll leave it to them.

Final word, it's a real shame that I feel like all of the characters I liked so much last film (Finn, Poe, Leia, Chewie) had absolutely nothing to do and the overall product would have been better if they weren't even present. But the parts I enjoyed, I REALLY enjoyed.

6 faulty laser swords out of 10

[Jace, Extat]

Fuck 'em, 5 lazer swords but a strong recommendation.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Ironic that the one main character killed off in in the EU (Chewie) is the last one left still breathing.

 

[ljkeane]

Lando's still alive!

Maybe.

[Jace, Extat]

4 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Ironic that the one main character killed off in in the UE (Chewie) is the last one left still breathing.

 

I was gonna say Ackbar, but then I realized that he dies on Mon Calamari during the 'Vong invasion...

[ljkeane]

1 minute ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I was gonna say Ackbar, but then I realized that he dies on Mon Calamari during the 'Vong invasion...

Plus he died in this film when the bridge gets blown up.

[Rhom]

7 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

Plus he died in this film when the bridge gets blown up.

Yeah, I didn't even know that was Ackbar until they listed his name.

Call me racist if you want, but one Mon Calamari has always looked the same as another. 

[Jace, Extat]

5 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Yeah, I didn't even know that was Ackbar until they listed his name.

Call me racist if you want, but one Mon Calamari has always looked the same as another. 

There are many sides to the Kashyyyk issue...

[Rhom]

You know what folks... I’ve gotten more and more bummed as the day goes on.

Maybe it’s the three hours of sleep talking, but as people have come in the office that know I went, they ask “How was it?” and I avoid the question.  I don’t want to be responsible for them going in with expectations.  

I didn’t read any reviews, but the headlines were unavoidable and almost universally they were positive.  Look in this thread and we have @Kalbear who loved it and basically everyone else saying “Eh... it was aiight.”  I don’t understand how that happens.

[Ran]

People like what they like, and they have different levels of tolerance for different things.

 

I liked the kids at Canto Bight, more so for the end scene than the beginning, but @dog-days and @Slurktan not so much (as I said in FB, I saw this as a pretty sweet homage to THE PHANTOM MENACE, namely enthusiastic slave-boy Anakin dreaming of a better world... there was a lot wrong with execution of that film, and it's all down to Lucas, but his desire to show a fundamentally innocent kid who wants to lead a better life was not a mistake in and of itself; I hope Lucas appreciated the nod that I think was squarely aimed at him)

 

[Crazydog7]

24 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

There are many sides to the Kashyyyk issue...

 

When the Wookies come join the resistance they are not sending their best and their brightest  hey're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good Wookies.”.

[Derfel Cadarn]

50 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I was gonna say Ackbar, but then I realized that he dies on Mon Calamari during the 'Vong invasion...

Actually he dies of old age just as the Alliance launches its big attack on the 'vong at the end of that series.

Wedge is maybe still alive

[Jace, Extat]

1 minute ago, Crazydog7 said:

 

When the Wookies come join the resistance they are not sending their best and their brightest  hey're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good Wookies.”.

MAZ KANATA!

Maz Kanata! Who is this woman? She comes out of these horrible crime ridden cantinas! She loves wookies! We know that...

Yeah she loves those wookies more than she loves actual people! I think she should be investigated, I do... I mean she had dealings with people, very bad people, and I think this needs to be looked at okay. There was no collusion! Everybody is trying to find collusion, and there's! There's none, even all of these people they come out of the meetings and there's no collusion! But they want to keep looking, because they're wasting millions of dollars on, on a witch hunt.

 

[Rhom]

Speaking of Maz Kanata... was the slick dude at the casino supposed to be their slicer?  Or was it always Benicio Del Toro?  At first, I thought maybe he was thrown in jail and the slick dude just took his pin or something; but later I thought maybe there were two guys who could get it done.

[Ran]

Apparently...

Justin Theroux is listed as Master Codebreaker in IMDB, at least.

DJ was one of those big Hollywood coincidences, they just happen to end up in a cell with a guy who could have escaped whenever he liked.

(I, too, wish they had referred to the business as code slicing and slicers, as a little sliver of a nod to Zahn. Oh well. The closest we get, I think, is DJ referring to making a little slice in the ship's shield to slip into it.)

[Relic]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

You know what folks... I’ve gotten more and more bummed as the day goes on.

Maybe it’s the three hours of sleep talking, but as people have come in the office that know I went, they ask “How was it?” and I avoid the question.  I don’t want to be responsible for them going in with expectations.  

I didn’t read any reviews, but the headlines were unavoidable and almost universally they were positive.  Look in this thread and we have @Kalbear who loved it and basically everyone else saying “Eh... it was aiight.”  I don’t understand how that happens.

I want to like it,  and at first I did simply for the experience watching it for the first time. But there is noooo denying that this movie makes even less sense than the previous one. And God damnit,  I don't need my childhood heroes dying in every movie. 

[Martini Sigil]

So much in this movie just made no sense... Rogue One remains the best --and only good-- thing they've done since the original trilogy... I am brokenhearted over how gratuitous and poorly written this franchise has become... I had high hopes after R1

[dog-days]

I'm pretty sure we're going to see BDT again, unless JJ really takes a dislike to the character. (And I doubt he would, he's too much of a pro). I mean, it could make the whole Canto Bight diversion seem somewhat worthwhile if it's seen as building up to something else in Ep. IX. 

Predictable route: BDT backstabs the FO to balance out backstabbing the Resistance. Or just backstabs everyone at once for the hell of it. A Star Wars fan on dreamwidth compared BDT to Hondo from Rebels. Though BDT has already been more lethal than Hondo - he got a lot of FO people killed. Lando looks like a saint in comparison. 

Less predictable route: BDT's point about the X-wings and TIE fighters being built by the same people gets enlarged on/explored as part of Episode IX's engagement with the question of the future of the Galaxy. The boundaries between dark and light, Jedi and Sith, First Order and Republic are questioned, and a new status quo is established. (Na, not gonna happen. Though I thought it might be heading that way in the dialogues between Ren and Rey - they surprised me, and I appreciated them, and not solely because of the shirtless Adam Driver factor).  

With Han and Luke out of the way and Leia (very sadly) unable to play a role, I'm hopeful that Episode IX will allow Rey, Finn, Rose, Poe et al to come into their own rather more.

ETA: I liked TLJ much better than Rogue One, which I felt was dreary garbage with few if any redeeming features. Not sure if I'd rank TLJ above or below TFA. I'll wait till the DVD becomes available, then watch it again and see. 

[felice]

[contentless paragraph]

6 hours ago, Relic said:

Why did Luke decide to give up his physical body and become a Force Ghost? Cuz that makes zero sense to me.

I got the impression he over-exerted himself with the interstellar projection and died because of that.

5 hours ago, Relic said:

I figured they showed his X-wing in the water for a reason, but i suppose it was just to fake us out with his projection at the end. 

I took it as evidence that he had no intention of ever leaving the island.

5 hours ago, Relic said:

Ugh, the more i think about the plot of this movie the less sense it makes. Still visually stunning, but is some substance too much to ask for these days? 

Apparently so

4 hours ago, Ran said:

Folks, please bear in mind that your first paragraph will show up when someone uses the Unread Posts button to browse new posts in the forum.

Then that's a stupid feature and nobody should use it?

Lots of individually nice moments, but overall a pretty shoddy film. There was way too much comedy throughout, undercutting the drama and tonally jarring with what was actually happening. 95% of the rebels got killed, and the handful of survivors lost everything except the Falcon. When the AT-AT shoots at Luke's position and he disappears in a red mist, I really though for a moment he could have been blasted to bits.

I wonder if there'll be a big time jump for the next film? Give the casually force-using kid at the end time to grow up, and Leia time to rebuild a real rebellion offscreen.

[Rhom]

12 minutes ago, felice said:

I wonder if there'll be a big time jump for the next film? Give the casually force-using kid at the end time to grow up, and Leia time to rebuild a real rebellion offscreen.

I wondered the same.