Movies: Star Wars VIII The Last Jedi, for those who have seen it! (SPOILERS)

[MadDevil]

Saw it tonight and I pretty much loved everything except the Finn/Rose storyline. The characters themselves were fine and there was clearly chemistry there, it just felt like there was too much convenience going on with them meeting and figuring out how the ship was being tracked at the exact same time, and then stumbling upon a master hacker while in jail. The whole Canto Bight sequence just felt kind of off to me.

Also, Leia's flying through space with the Force felt more like something from a Harry Potter movie. Although maybe after getting used to it it won't feel quite so out of place.

I do like that Johnson took some risks with this film though. Obviously not everything is going to work for every viewer. For me the strongest parts of the film were Kylo, Snoke, Rey, and Luke. Which, given the title of the movie, is a good thing. It'll definitely be interesting to see where Abrams takes it in Episode IX.

 

[Arizonan God]

Saw it tonight and I pretty much loved everything except the Finn/Rose storyline. The characters themselves were fine and there was clearly chemistry there, it just felt like there was too much convenience going on with them meeting and figuring out how the ship was being tracked at the exact same time, and then stumbling upon a master hacker while in jail. The whole Canto Bight sequence just felt kind of off to me.

Also, Leia's flying through space with the Force felt more like something from a Harry Potter movie. Although maybe after getting used to it it won't feel quite so out of place.

I do like that Johnson took some risks with this film though. Obviously not everything is going to work for every viewer. For me the strongest parts of the film were Kylo, Snoke, Rey, and Luke. Which, given the title of the movie, is a good thing. It'll definitely be interesting to see where Abrams takes it in Episode IX.

Agreed, RE: Finn & Rose. I actually liked their subplot on a thematic level, and I’m one of the few people that was looking forward to the over the top prequel-ish design of Canto Bight, but it was executed a bit poorly, specifically with DJ’s character.

Also, wasn’t a huge fan of Rose stopping Finn from destroying the battering ram.

 

[Garo]

Her stopping him was the main thing that worked for me in all of this. Her sister died at the beginning for... essentially nothing. She'd rather have her sister than one less Dreadnought. It's also a sort of call for Finn to start thinking of living.

It's also a stop to the notion of sacrifice that we've been seeing since Rogue One. In fact the opening sequence could have been pulled almost entirely off that movie. But while it made some sense there, it's an horrible strategy for the Resistance, and doesn't allow them to hope for a better day.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Just got back.

Great stuff! I love how they played on everyone expectations and really went to town with them.

Now I see why "user reviews" are so critical of the film: people react very poorly when what they think should happen doesn't happen. I love the fact that Rey's parents were nobodies who don't matter and I love that Snoke was just an incredibly powerful Sith who was betrayed. My friends who I saw the movie with held those up as two really big sticking points for them but I was overjoyed when they came to pass: Hollywood went off the beaten path here.

The movie had too much humour/snappy one-liners and was a bit too long considering there is quite a bit of stuff that doesn't end up mattering like the entire "let's screw up the tracking device". Having the heroe's fail in the mission was nice but it also makes the viewer feel like they wasted their time.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Rey:

Luke doesn't know her. Leia doesn't know her. Han Solo didn't know her. Snoke didn't know her. It's not in episode 7 but in the Novel when Rey force grabs the lightsaber from the snow Kylo states "It is you.". Did he only know her through some force visions the same way she first saw him? Who knows? If Rey is indeed a nobody why does anyone care about her? How does being a nobody help her character in the Star Wars saga? JJ Abrams specifically said this about Kylo and Rey "“They’ve never met but he’s heard of this girl.”". That doesn't really fit with Kylo just having force visions of her before actually meeting her.

Rey is the manifestation of the Force, that is the awakening in "The Force Awakens". Snoke asks Kylo if he felt the awakening and Kylo says he did in TFA.

The rest of the post is the perfect example of how people react when movies do not fulfill their expectations: people tend to feel dumb and react violently to it,

The only plot hole is Benecio Del Toro betraying the escape transports since we weren't show any way he could have known about it. People throw the term "plothole" around far too easily when in fact, they simply failed to grasp something that was shown or said before.

 

[Pirate King Luffy]

The movie was a rollercoaster. Up and downs for me. For the most part, it was okay I still enjoyed it. The only goofy thing to me was the Leia floating in space thing. Oh well haha.

 

[heynowbababooey]

Don’t understand people complaining that Rey is no one. That’s kind of the point. Anakin was no one, yet possessed great power that he could have used for great things. That’s the whole point of the ending scene at the end with the kid and the broom - to show that heroes can be from any background.

But anakin was a virgince of the force.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Yes I watched it. The problem wasn't the new direction, actually I came up open minded to see it. It's just a bad movie, plain and simple. Everything about is bad... main problem being I didn't give two ****s what would happen to Rey/Kylo/Fin/Violet haired Admiral/that asian chick or Poe. I find character development to be one pf the most important part of the movies and this movie just lacked it... a lot.

You really didn't pay much attention if you think there wasn't much character development going on.

 

[MadDevil]

You really didn't pay much attention if you think there wasn't much character development going on.

Yeah that might be one of the worst criticisms I've heard about this film. Finn goes from essentially being a coward to being willing to die for the Resistance. Poe goes from being a fighter jock to Resistance leader. Kylo goes from Snoke's lapdog to becoming his own man (although clearly still unstable). Rey basically went through the same character development Luke did in Empire. Luke himself went from disillusioned old man telling Rey to get off his lawn to galactic hero and legend Luke Skywalker again. The characters are pretty much the last thing I would criticize about this film.

I do think there were some plotting issues, but not really any worse than most Star Wars movies. There were a few moments that felt a little un-Star Warsy, but didn't people complain about how safe and un-original TFA was?

 

[Burnoutboi]

The only thing that dissappointed me was that we didn’t learn anything about Snoke. I was afraid the Porg thing was going to go full Ewok, but I’m glad it didn’t.

 

[Morbo]

you could drive a fleet of spaceships through the plot holes in this one.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I do think there were some plotting issues, but not really any worse than most Star Wars movies. There were a few moments that felt a little un-Star Warsy, but didn't people complain about how safe and un-original TFA was?

You can never please hardcore nerds unless you give them exactly what they want and how they want it.

TFA was "too much of the same" and now TLJ is "not enough of the same".

There is an entire cottage industry of YouTubers who were just completely ridiculed by this movie (nice theory bro!) and now we all have to deal with their wrath.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The only thing that dissappointed me was that we didn’t learn anything about Snoke. I was afraid the Porg thing was going to go full Ewok, but I’m glad it didn’t.

I get and don't get it at the same time.

Honestly Snoke simply did not matter in the grand scheme of things: his only purpose in the plot is to push Kylo.

Once that purpose is fulfilled, he becomes disposable and I LOVED that the film wasn't coy about it.

I get that back story is cool but it wasn't needed at all.

 

[Burnoutboi]

I see what you’re saying and somewhat agree. Snoke was somewhat of a disposable character. There’s a parallel how we didn’t really know anything about the Emporer in the OT that he compares to.

I’m just saying that me personally, I wanted to know who he was and who messed him up so bad. It didn’t take anything away from the film, as you said, but the whole Snoke thing left me wanting a little more.

 

[MadDevil]

I was worried for a second when Kylo and Rey were in the elevator that they were going to go straight up ROTJ. I'm glad they didn't have Kylo turn completely back to the light, and with Snoke out of the way we can get a 1-on-1 showdown in IX between him and Rey.

One minor gripe, is it just me or does Chewie look younger in every movie?

 

[Bryanbryoil]

The 3 biggest questions I had going into this movie:

1) Who in the hell is Snoke, he is clearly an older person so he must've been alive at the same time as Vader and Palpatine. How did he get such powers and who was his mentor?

Answer-No one knows, he's dead now.

2) Who are Rey's parents?

Answer-If you are to believe Kylo, just some random people. He could've been feeding her BS but it remains to be seen and almost doesn't matter at this point.

3) What part would Luke play in this movie?

Answer-He played a big role but didn't train Rey much at all, yet she is Kylo's equal with next to no training, while Kylo has been trained by Luke and Snoke.

Prediction for the next movie: Rey saves Kylo and they run off together because she is scorned by Finn falling for Rose. They have quite a connection together IMO (Rey and Kylo).

This movie could've been so much more.

 

[Billy Crawford]

The movie does explain why Rey is so strong: Snoke explicitly says it has to do with the balance of the Force, and as Kylo got stronger his opponent would rise.

Speaking of Snoke, the movie basically tells you his background doesn't matter with the "out with the old in with the new" theme. Who knows, maybe Disney will elaborate on Snoke in a book or something, but for what the movie was going for that kind of information was unnecessary. He served his purpose, which was to be the last obstacle Kylo Ren had to face, as well as the entity that makes Rey and Kylo come together (both literally with the Force connection and figuratively as they are both against him).

The theme of the balance of the Force resonates throughout the movie in very interesting ways. The complex relationship between Kylo Rena nd Rey, a mix of empathy and fundamental disagreement, is fascinating and they are Mirror images of each other. In similar fashion, Luke's death may be seen as a balancing act in the Force, only Luke chose to go on his own terms while Snoke was betrayed by his creation. They too are mirroring each other through the lense of the balance of the Force.

I could go on, about the Force or about the many other topics the movie tackles. Point is, The Last Jedi is an interesting movie with a (few) deeper meaning(s) and that's what will allow it to stand the test of time better than every Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back.

 

[third man in]

I was worried for a second when Kylo and Rey were in the elevator that they were going to go straight up ROTJ. I'm glad they didn't have Kylo turn completely back to the light, and with Snoke out of the way we can get a 1-on-1 showdown in IX between him and Rey.

One minor gripe, is it just me or does Chewie look younger in every movie?

I hear porgs are good for the fur.

 

[Player big P]

I would've rather the Porgs gone "full Ewok" and been valuable contributors to the plot instead of just an incredibly obvious "These plushies will fly off the shelves."

 

[Cloned]

Liked a lot of it, although I felt it dragged in some parts. Plot seemed a little too unfocused to me, even for a SW movie, and I didn't like some of the character choices, but overall it was a good SW movie for me.

What I didn't like as much as I thought I would have is the score. I usually love John Williams' scores, but this one just felt repetitive and without a strong thematic connection to me.

Biggest problem is that I went in with huge expectations given who was directing. Not sure if it was realistic to expect the world, but it under delivered anyway.

tl;dr - good, not great.

7/10.

 

[KingBran]

Agreed, RE: Finn & Rose. I actually liked their subplot on a thematic level, and I’m one of the few people that was looking forward to the over the top prequel-ish design of Canto Bight, but it was executed a bit poorly, specifically with DJ’s character.

Also, wasn’t a huge fan of Rose stopping Finn from destroying the battering ram.

The problem is that story is completely pointless. It accomplishes nothing and puts Finn and Rose in tons of danger. All Laura Dern's character had to do was tell Poe her plan (and there was 0 reason not to) and the whole Finn / Rose going to the casino scene doesn't even have to happen.

Not to mention all the cliché plot holes of the entire thing.

 

[Aladyyn]

Since KOTOR was mentioned earlier, I'd like to mention the serious KOTOR2 vibes I got from the movie and segway it into a random theory about Rey's power level.

K2 and TLJ parallels:
the Force bond between 2 people
a disillusioned Master with extreme opinions about the Force and its users who gets his views changed by the MC
a supremely powerful villain defeated with surprising ease
The Dragon developing strange feelings for the MC
Luke cut himself off from the Force, which was a general major plot point in KOTOR2 with multiple people experiencing it

Now for the theory, which is another possible parallel: Rey drains Force power from the people around her, just like Meetra Surik did (and Darth Nihilus too, in a more twisted way). The source of Rey's mysterious power level has been a source of annoyance for a lot of people, me included, but this theory really makes sense in my head. Does Rey have any impressive Force feats without a powerful Force user (Kylo, Luke, Snoke) in her presence? I can't think of any! Snoke also said that as Kylo gets stronger, Rey will as well, to match him. How is that possible without proper training? By draining Kylo's power from him! Rey is a natural foil to Kylo the same way Surik was a natural foil to Darth Nihilus. Now it all makes sense. Until Episode IX ruins the whole thing at least.

 

[613Leafer]

The only thing that dissappointed me was that we didn’t learn anything about Snoke. I was afraid the Porg thing was going to go full Ewok, but I’m glad it didn’t.

Yea, this was a problem for me. I don't mind that Kylo Ren killed him, and in fact think it's a nice story arc considering how it's referenced as a thing that the Sith regularly do (apprentice kills their master to take over).

But there was just zero context around Snoke, so there wasn't a ton of gravity to him being killed. Same thing for Admiral Holdo doing the kamakazee run - would that not have been a more meaningful scene if it had been someone like Admiral Ackbar (who they just killed off-screen and barely mentioned). It was a beautiful scene, I just think it would have meant more if it were Ackbar, Leia, etc who did that.

I'm still mulling the movie over. Some parts were GREAT - Kylo Ren's development I really liked, and Rey's interactions with him as well. The Yoda scene was quite good, and the battle on the salt planet was a beautiful shot with a great climax in Luke v Kylo Ren.

On the other hand I really didn't like the Leia flying through space part, just seemed unnecessary, gimmicky, and goes against her history of being someone that is force sensitive (can feel things about people she cares about) but also entirely untrained. I also find General Hux isn't nearly intimidating enough and is more of a screaming sidekick (e.g. similar to Starscream from Transformers), and Poe while flying an X-Wing is just a little too Samurai-Jack/Legolas style overpowered. Also a few too many jokes at what should be some of the more dramatic moments (e.g. Rey mentioning Ren has no shirt, the "I'll hold for Hux" part - which again comes across similar to an autobot messing with stupid StarScream, etc).

 

[613Leafer]

Now for the theory, which is another possible parallel: Rey drains Force power from the people around her, just like Meetra Surik did (and Darth Nihilus too, in a more twisted way). The source of Rey's mysterious power level has been a source of annoyance for a lot of people, me included, but this theory really makes sense in my head. Does Rey have any impressive Force feats without a powerful Force user (Kylo, Luke, Snoke) in her presence? I can't think of any! Snoke also said that as Kylo gets stronger, Rey will as well, to match him. How is that possible without proper training? By draining Kylo's power from him! Rey is a natural foil to Kylo the same way Surik was a natural foil to Darth Nihilus. Now it all makes sense. Until Episode IX ruins the whole thing at least.

Lifting the huge rocks at the end. Depends on how you see Leia though (she's force sensitive, but untrained, and was also extremely fatigued/injured at that point. Not sure if that was someone Rey could have drained power from).

Interesting theory though.

 

[Cloned]

Lifting the huge rocks at the end. Depends on how you see Leia though (she's force sensitive, but untrained, and was also extremely fatigued/injured at that point. Not sure if that was someone Rey could have drained power from).

Interesting theory though.

She did manage to fly herself through the vacuum of space, haha.