Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Reaction and Discussion *CONTAINS SPOILERS*

[umichigan10]

Makes me wonder if they might consider splitting into two like the did with the last Harry Potter

Shhhhh don’t give them any ideas

 

[kenthanson]

We obviously watched a different movie. I enjoyed it immensely.

Who cares about him milking a space walrus? How could that possibly lessen someone's enjoyment of the movie?

IMO, anyone who is worried about that scene after watching this movie is trying way too hard to critique and were never going to enjoy this.

Pretty much every movie made these days has plot holes if you want to look for them hard enough.

No we watched the same movie, that was only one of very very many ridiculous things that happened in the movie that led it to be a not good movie.

 

[Dentam]

I saw the movie today in 3D. I avoided all previews, reviews, and this thread up until seeing it, so I didn't know what to expect really. I was excited to come home and read this thread at last. It was such a roller coaster for me watching this one. It started out great aside from some weird comedy that didn't quite seem to fit. I went from feeling like, "wow, this movie is awesome" to "oh lord, this is pointless/corny/ugh" a few times throughout watching it.

Anyway, I read through this entire thread and chose some comments I wanted to highlight as I went. Forgive the mass of quotes here...

The casino heist just felt out of place though, but I understand what they were trying to do with it (war is a machine .. is there really good guys or bad guys when it comes to war) .. just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie.

I felt like this part of the movie could have been edited down a lot or even cut out. It just felt very weird to me and I also felt it was trying to make a political statement.

Leia floating herself through space is probably the worst-ever Star Wars scene.

Agreed. People in my theater were snickering at that scene, including me. It was a general feeling of not being able to believe that they turned a scene that at first felt like a touching send off for her character into something really corny and hokey looking.

-the scene of the Resistance transport going into the destroyer that's completely silent

People were cheering during that scene in my theater. I loved how it was silent at first. Very well done.

-Falcon sequences (kept thinking of the upcoming ride in SW:GE - particularly those red crystal caverns on Crait)

I had the exact same thoughts during those scenes! I can't wait to see them in the new ride! I also heard that scenes from this movie have already been added to Star Tours?

So, wasn't perfect, but really enjoyed it - definitely better than The Force Awakens, but probably doesn't topple Empire or Rogue One for me

To me, Rogue One was amazing and the best Star Wars movie aside from Empire... it's a tie for me. I loved it so much that I saw it FOUR times in the theater! I really wish they would have had that director do this movie as well. He is a Star Wars super fan and has such an amazing knowledge of and respect for the franchise. I don't think some of the cornball stuff would have been included if he was the director.

-I was not a fan of throwing away much of Force Awakens. Phasma, Snoke, ect. This did not feel like the second part of a trilogy. It felt like the first part of a new trilogy, only with with just one more movie.

I agree - it seemed very odd to get rid of two of the main villains before reaching the final film in the trilogy.

When I first watched, I thought he had just cut his hair and trimmed his beard, but on second watch I realize it was actually not grey, plus trimmed.

I was thinking the same thing... wondering at first why he looked younger there. It did not occur to me that he was projecting himself into that scene, mostly because that's never been shown to be a Jedi ability prior to this movie, has it? I admit I never watched the second two films in the prequels after really disliking the first one, so maybe I missed something there.

- I’m glad Mark Hamill finally learned to act.

Going into this movie, I was dreading watching his acting because I thought it would be really bad. I was so pleasantly surprised to see how well he did and I really felt like he carried the movie.

- Rose is the single most boring character I’ve ever seen. I thought her storyline with Finn was boring and unnecessary. The casino scene was awful.

I agree and also felt she was the weakest actor in the movie. I was expecting that honor to go to Mark or Carrie, but they both did really well I thought. Carrie really seemed to be more comfortable in this movie and I felt like we saw some of Leia's old spunk that had been missing from the previous film.

And I thought it was so out of the blue how Rose says she saved Finn because it's about who you love or something like that and then she kisses him. Where the heck did that come from? At the end they made it seem like they might turn it into a love triangle with her and Finn and Rey. Although there also seemed like there might be something between Rey and Poe... huh. Just odd to me. I guess Finn's attention is easily swayed from one woman to another?

People were clapping, cheering and laughing throughout the movie at my theatre. Pretty much a standing O when the movie ended. People were very excited leaving the theatre.

My theater was full, and there were definitely moments like that. There were cheers for the opening music and scroll of text, laughter at the porgs (and many awws) and loud laughter when Luke brushed dust off his shoulder near the end. But... when the movie ended only a few kids clapped. The rest of the theater was fairly quiet and I heard comments of "well, that was alright" from a few people.


For me, like I said, it was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions. I felt like some parts really brought the movie down but then other parts were outstanding. I will be seeing it again, probably in a week or so. I know just from reading this thread that there are some details I missed... like, I didn't even notice the boy at the end using the force?

Oh, and I think that Rey's parents have to be more than just horrible people who ditched her. Nope, that explanation will NOT fly with me.

Looking forward to seeing it again, but I won't be seeing it four times in the theater like I did Rogue One. That movie was far and away better in my opinion. It didn't introduce too many random characters, kept the story line more straightforward, had excellent music throughout, I could go on and on... lol.

 

[splash327]

I had the exact same thoughts during those scenes! I can't wait to see them in the new ride! I also heard that scenes from this movie have already been added to Star Tours?

The falcon going through the red caves is part of star tours. You jump right into the battle and then follow the falcon.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Great posts here.

Some brief comments

Regarding how do they deal with Leia in 9....Leia living was a surprise, but as I understand it both 8 & 9 were filmed mostly together. A lot of 9 may already be done and so it makes sense they could say that there will be no CGI of Leia in 9 since they may still have film of her living.

From a Star Wars fan standpoint I didn't like the movie. The movie felt rushed to me and very contrived. I enjoyed "watching" it and was entertained by it. There was just a lot of silly things: Leia flying in space was stupid. The casino scenes were so bad that I got up and got another beer and went to the bathroom. I came back and my buddy said I did not miss anything. Snoke was kind of pathetic in the present. The best part of those little flying creatures on Luke's island was when Chewy was eating them.

I would have preferred they took this movie and split it in two and just have four movies. They could have done a lot more with the story lines. This movie was all over the place.

The best way I can sum up how I feel is this:

Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski:
This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head.

Episode 9 has not begun filming yet.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I loved this movie!!

The first Star Wars movie I ever saw in the theater was Return of the Jedi when I was about 6 years old. It has always been my favorite. I've read the old Timothy Zahn novels (Heir to the Empire, etc...), watched the vhs versions of the originals until they wore out, and loved From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga. No, it's not as simple as saying younger people are the ones who like this movie and the older folks are the ones who seem to hate it (strongly dislike, if you prefer), or hardcore fans vs. casual fans either (I'd place myself closer to the "hardcore" end of the continuum, but there are certainly a lot of people who get into SW a lot more than I do). For whatever reason, it seems to hit some just the right way and others aren't buying what Rian Johnson is selling. That's okay!! We don't all have to agree.

I really enjoyed watching Collider Jedi Council's spoiler review and found myself nodding in agreement with a lot of their points, so maybe check that out on Youtube if you want to dive into the details for 1 1/2 hours.

 

[TomServo27]

http://www.thisisinsider.com/star-wars-the-last-jedi-princess-leia-space-scene-2017-12

Quote from above article about Leia using the force.

Johnson said the reason she didn't show her powers until now may be because he viewed them as something that would awaken during an emergency.

"I liked the idea it would be an instinctual thing. This would be more like stories you hear about parents of toddlers who get caught under cars and they get Hulk strength and lift the car up," he said. "It would be something in these final moments to show that she's not done with the fight. And like a drowning person pulling herself back, that's how it manifests itself for the first time in her."

 

[TomServo27]

I loved this movie!!

The first Star Wars movie I ever saw in the theater was Return of the Jedi when I was about 6 years old. It has always been my favorite. I've read the old Timothy Zahn novels (Heir to the Empire, etc...), watched the vhs versions of the originals until they wore out, and loved From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga. No, it's not as simple as saying younger people are the ones who like this movie and the older folks are the ones who seem to hate it (strongly dislike, if you prefer), or hardcore fans vs. casual fans either (I'd place myself closer to the "hardcore" end of the continuum, but there are certainly a lot of people who get into SW a lot more than I do). For whatever reason, it seems to hit some just the right way and others aren't buying what Rian Johnson is selling. That's okay!! We don't all have to agree.

I really enjoyed watching Collider Jedi Council's spoiler review and found myself nodding in agreement with a lot of their points, so maybe check that out on Youtube if you want to dive into the details for 1 1/2 hours.

I am old to have seen the first run of every Star Wars movie and I really liked TLJ. I also really liked Timothy Zahns novels should reread them it’s been so long ago I hardly remember them.

 

[umichigan10]

http://www.thisisinsider.com/star-wars-the-last-jedi-princess-leia-space-scene-2017-12

Quote from above article about Leia using the force.

Johnson said the reason she didn't show her powers until now may be because he viewed them as something that would awaken during an emergency.

"I liked the idea it would be an instinctual thing. This would be more like stories you hear about parents of toddlers who get caught under cars and they get Hulk strength and lift the car up," he said. "It would be something in these final moments to show that she's not done with the fight. And like a drowning person pulling herself back, that's how it manifests itself for the first time in her."

I can buy that theory, id just rather she not be Mary poppins in space (or yondu if you prefer, they’re both under the Disney umbrella)

 

[splash327]

Yoda was not CGI...

http://ew.com/movies/2017/12/16/the-last-jedi-spoiler-yoda-star-wars-surprising-return/2/

"The scene actually reunited him with iconic Muppets puppeteer Frank Oz, who performed Yoda back in The Empire Strikes Back. Creature shop supervisor Neal Scanlan used the original molds to create a replica of the original Yoda, and the two got back to work for one final lesson."

 

[Chef Louis]

My 3 cents.
1. Loved the scene with Rey and Kylo vs the First Order. The lightsaber to the brain was just all kind of crazy.
2. Didn't realize that if you made money that makes you a horrible person and justification for dying. just the whole casino story was horrible and dampered the movie.
3. Luke's death was terrible, just as bad as or worse than Padame's.

4th cent. Disney has no idea what to do with these movies and I kind of hope they just stop, just so I can stop but I'll continue to watch as they release them.

My order.
1. A New Hope
2. Empire
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Sith
5. Menace
6. Clones
7. TFA
8. Last Jedi
9........
10. Rogue one

 

[paradesintherain]

My 3 cents.
1. Loved the scene with Rey and Kylo vs the First Order. The lightsaber to the brain was just all kind of crazy.
2. Didn't realize that if you made money that makes you a horrible person and justification for dying. just the whole casino story was horrible and dampered the movie.
3. Luke's death was terrible, just as bad as or worse than Padame's.

4th cent. Disney has no idea what to do with these movies and I kind of hope they just stop, just so I can stop but I'll continue to watch as they release them.

My order.
1. A New Hope
2. Empire
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Sith
5. Menace
6. Clones
7. TFA
8. Last Jedi
9........
10. Rogue one

Really surprised to see the prequels ranked before... anything, really.

And the casino stuff wasn't because the people were rich but because they got rich selling weapons to the Dark Side (though they didn't realize they also sold to the rebels)

 

[Disneymom1126]

I watched Friday night and am taking my daughter today. I had to reflect a bit on my thoughts. Overall I really liked the movie and do like the direction things are heading. It’s the middle movie in the series so I expected there would be more questions leaving the theater. The things I like that it set up are:

The dissonance between good/evil in the battle set up through the casino scenes - people profiting off the war by selling things to both sides, etc. I disagree with those who said those scenes were pointless...they were planting the spark of hope in the next generation of the resistance...I think this will be important moving forward - it was important for Rose and Finn to meet and help those kids.

I thought they did a good job of showing the conflict in Kylo...he reminds me a lot of Anakin, he is impulsive, etc. the scene when Rey is trying to get him to come back to the light after the throne room fight reminded me of the scene when Anakin tells Padame they can rule the galaxy together (right before the Anakin you’re breaking my heart line).

The biggest thing that I thought was missing - and maybe will be dealt with in 9- is Snoke’s background...to be powerful enough to plant a flase narrative in rey and Kylo’s head and connecting them, etc. he was very powerful..I want to know what his deal is

 

[TheMaxRebo]

My 3 cents.
1. Loved the scene with Rey and Kylo vs the First Order. The lightsaber to the brain was just all kind of crazy.
2. Didn't realize that if you made money that makes you a horrible person and justification for dying. just the whole casino story was horrible and dampered the movie.
3. Luke's death was terrible, just as bad as or worse than Padame's.

4th cent. Disney has no idea what to do with these movies and I kind of hope they just stop, just so I can stop but I'll continue to watch as they release them.

My order.
1. A New Hope
2. Empire
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Sith
5. Menace
6. Clones
7. TFA
8. Last Jedi
9........
10. Rogue one

I took the Casino scene to show people who are willing to make profits while others are suffering

The Star Wars movies often are commentaries of the times they are made and that scene reflects the consolidation of wealth and like representing the 1%

I agree it is a bit preachy and those people don't necessarily deserve to die or anything - so obviously a bit heavy handed ... but to, say Rose, she saw her sister die and herself putting her life on the line to do what is right while these people are in a position of privilege to be able to ignore that and not have to "do what is right"

 

[rileyz]

I saw it again last night and love it even more. Even Leia flying was still fun. My husband feels the same way. I guess we just love the movies for the fun and fantasy of them all. The only one I’ve never really liked is Phantom Menace and that was mainly because of Jar Jar, too much CGI and some bad acting.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I watched Friday night and am taking my daughter today. I had to reflect a bit on my thoughts. Overall I really liked the movie and do like the direction things are heading. It’s the middle movie in the series so I expected there would be more questions leaving the theater. The things I like that it set up are:

The dissonance between good/evil in the battle set up through the casino scenes - people profiting off the war by selling things to both sides, etc. I disagree with those who said those scenes were pointless...they were planting the spark of hope in the next generation of the resistance...I think this will be important moving forward - it was important for Rose and Finn to meet and help those kids.

I thought they did a good job of showing the conflict in Kylo...he reminds me a lot of Anakin, he is impulsive, etc. the scene when Rey is trying to get him to come back to the light after the throne room fight reminded me of the scene when Anakin tells Padame they can rule the galaxy together (right before the Anakin you’re breaking my heart line).

The biggest thing that I thought was missing - and maybe will be dealt with in 9- is Snoke’s background...to be powerful enough to plant a flase narrative in rey and Kylo’s head and connecting them, etc. he was very powerful..I want to know what his deal is

I saw one you tuber comment that Rian Johnson has said that Snoke will be in episode 9 - so could be a flashback

Also think the whole "Luke's Training Accademy" would make for a great book if not side movie where you see Ben turning over time and the influence Snoke had on him, how he made contact, etc

 

[akadada]

Episode 9 has not begun filming yet.

Interesting. Are you certain of that? I'm wondering if there is a difference between production and filming? I see online that they haven't started filming 9, but I also see that they started production for 9 when they started filming 8...wondering if they could still use filming from both?

Also one of my friends is a writer for one of the major studios and he said that they filmed scenes to be used in 8&9 together. That said, as seems to be the case in Disney-rumor-mill, anyone that works for Disney probably doesn't really know!

Cheers

 

[TomServo27]

Yoda was not CGI...

http://ew.com/movies/2017/12/16/the-last-jedi-spoiler-yoda-star-wars-surprising-return/2/

"The scene actually reunited him with iconic Muppets puppeteer Frank Oz, who performed Yoda back in The Empire Strikes Back. Creature shop supervisor Neal Scanlan used the original molds to create a replica of the original Yoda, and the two got back to work for one final lesson."

Speaking of yoda. One thing that was odd about that scene was the ghost aura around yoda seem to disappear. Wasn’t sure if was the angle or if there was some significance to that not sure I need to see it again.

 

[BigRed98]

Just saw Last Jedi last night and finally read through this entire thread. Ovarell I really enjoyed the movie. There were some parts in the beginning that I thought they could've done without but thats with every single movie. The last hour in the movie was absolutely awesome. Since I'm only 19 I obviously wasn't around when the originals came out, so in a way I feel like this new trilogy is the Star Wars movies that I'm growing up with. I know some don't like how it's completely different then the originals because probably of nostalgia but for me I don't mind that it was completely different. Many also don't like that Rey came from a "nobody" family but that was one part I loved because everyone thought she was going to be connected with Kylo or Luke so they threw us a curveball there. I'm definitely going to see this again but ovarell first impressions were positive.

 

[Flyerjab]

So I saw it last night and I have to admit I don't know how I feel about it. It is the first time I left a Star Wars movie feeling undecided, which is really odd for me. I loved the first 3, and with the exception of Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul I could not stand the sterile prequels. I really liked The Force Awakens and Rogue One might be might favorite Star Wars movie of them all.

I am conflicted over the choices made for this movie. Don't get me wrong, I am not picking on plot holes as I detest that approach to movie critiquing. This is more just simply choices that were made for the story. Snoke is dead - Snoke - the supposed big supreme antagonist from the first movie. I did not like that (although I did enjoy how it was done - that was pretty awesome). Also, it will be even worse for me if he is not discussed more in Episode 9. If the next movie moves on without any exposition on his character I will be even more disappointed with how his character was handled. He will have become the biggest plot device in Star Wars movie history, even more so than DJ and the entire Canto Bight scene. Very strange choice to end a character like that midway through the movie with no depth or character building.

And regarding the Canto Bight scene, I found that a bit unnecessary. This is where having so many characters in a movie becomes challenging to find meaningful things for them to do. What can Finn and Rose do? Oh, we can have them go to a casino city where wealthy people seem to use children as slave labor (again, a sociological commentary that is reflective but pretty much goes no where) just so we can show off our makeup and special effects prowess. Also, a rebellion made up of all types doesn't have a code hacker capable of doing what DJ could do? That was also a stretch, but again served only as a plot device to give Finn and Rose something to do. Very weird choice for the direction of the story.

Leia floating through the vacuum of space seemingly saved by the instinctive power of The Force. Hmmm……..

Now, there were definitely parts of this movie that I truly loved. And to no surprise it involved Rey, Kylo/Ben and Luke. That part of the story returned to the mysticism of The Force which I loved. No more of this midi-chlorian BS. The connection between Ben and Rey was fantastic, providing a different platform for characters to interact within the force. They saw and felt each other across light years which I thought was fantastic. That light saber fight…wow! And Ben's character saw a lot of growth in this movie which was great. Also, Mark Hamill knocked it out of the park as Luke. I never found him to be a good actor before, but I guess having decades to ruminate about this character and working with Rian Johnson produced some of the best acting of the movie.

Holdo slamming Snoke's ship at light speed was fantastic (for the record, I turned to my friend in the theater and called that one before it actually happened). But they way it was composed - split second strike with no sound - was incredible. However, to have a support character that appears for less than half the movie fulfill that role was an odd choice. In my mind, Leia should have taken on that responsibility as leader of the Resistance. It was still a great moment though.

The humor did not bother me at all, nor did I find it obtrusive in any way. The movie was a bit weightier so some levity was definitely welcomed.

Something that I did not know how to feel about was Rey's past. She essentially was described as no one coming from horrible people that abandoned her. I see some people stating that Anakin was a poor slave kid on Tatooine so her beginning was no different than his. The one big difference there is that, well, Anankin's father apparently was The Force itself! Slightly different than what we were given for Rey. However, upon reflection, many have suggested that this entire nine part story arc should not be centered on only a few people from the same family line. That opinion does have merit, but to have the first 7 movies focus on the Skywalker family only to have it potentially end with Rey - a character with no significant heritage at all - seems like an odd choice. Again, this also falls back to my comment regarding story choices that I have problems with or question.

Anyway, I can sum it up by saying I did not love it or dislike. I think I need to see it again to build a stronger opinion on it. I can say, however, that I did not enjoy initially enjoy it as much as I thought that I would.