Star Wars VIII : The Last Jedi [WARNING: SPOILERS]

Just seen it,my thoughts (a lot of which reflects existing comments from others):
I think the plot was actually really interesting, deep down, but it was buried in a lot of unnecessary side crap. They've acknowledged that the way the Jedi have been trying to run things for centuries simply doesn't work, and seeing things as exclusively good or evil is actually quite destructive. Rey accepts that the dark side has it's temptations, but she's embraced it without fear, and come out of it without being turned as a result. She is the embodiment of the balance that the Force is all about.
I think that Kylo/Ben is more difficult to understand, it seemed like they were working towards a similar thing with him, but then changed their mind, so god knows how his character will develop now.
Regardless, that element certainly felt progressive, and I like that.
There was a lot wrong with the film though:
No Snoke backstory
Hyperdrive ramming - never thought of that before then?
Finn - every side quest he goes on turns out to be entirely irrelevant - what is the point of him?
Tension - There wasn't any. Any point where some might build up, they'd throw in a humorous comment or moment to ruin it.
Acting - Generally poor at the start of the film, but got better as the film goes for some reason, and is actually pretty good by the end.
Score - Pedestrian, easily the least exciting music of the Star Wars franchise.
Pace - The whole thing felt rushed, like they were desperate to get through it and on to the next film.
Ending - It didn't feel like there was any hook to make you look forward to the next episode.

On the upside, I liked Luke's vulnerability, it fits with Luke's failings when he was originally training.
Which leads on to my favourite part; Yoda. That scene felt very much like back on Dagobah, Luke still seeking guidance, with Yoda nudging him in the right direction. I had no issue with Luke's ending either, I don't think it would have looked right for him to go out in a flurry of light sabre combat.

All in all it's decent, but it lacks the Star Wars magic for me, which I've felt when watching all of the other films (to varying levels).
 
+Luke / Rey Island scenes all good
+opening battle was quite good
+liked the luke flashback, not what I expected
+rey / kylo stuff was ace, especially when they team up vs the lobster dudes
+the kylo switch after killing snoke. loved how you thought he was good but then oh no! he is just going to take over instead :D
+liked how kylo killed snoke, very well done
+liked the yoda stuff
+liked the luke vs kylo "strike me down" stuff
+falcon tunnel chase with the ROTJ death star music made me squeek with joy
+rey parents being no-one is perfect
+lukes character points about nearly killing ben solo in the flashback was really interesting, also how we are expecting luke to be a god (like the EU) but actually all he did was beat vader in a fight and vader was the one who killed palps (he is a good jedi but not a god - we have seen nothing to suggest otherwise, but sort of wrongly expect him to be superpowered)
+that luke thinks the jedi order sucked in the prequels (spot on!)
+holdo lightspeed ramming shot was amazing (shame it wasnt leia as it would have been perfect, or even ackbar would have been a better choice than holdo)

-hated the leia superman bit, just because it didnt look very good, she could have just been on the bridge in a coma after surviving the explosion (with a force shield or something), that would have looked fine, but mary poppins just looked bad thats all
-all the canto bight stuff was pointless
-no info about snoke, not a sausage
-main thing I dont like though was luke sacrifice, not a sacrifice, but then oh he just dies anyway - would have been better for luke to sacrifice himself vs the kylo saber, or with the walker fire (so he can haunt kylo in next film) but why not kill him only for him to die 10 seconds later anyway? odd choice I thought


i liked a lot of it a great deal, just didnt like the leia flying and luke death bits thats all, and thought the canto stuff that could have been cut down
 
gettothechopper said:
+Luke / Rey Island scenes all good
+opening battle was quite good
+liked the luke flashback, not what I expected
+rey / kylo stuff was ace, especially when they team up vs the lobster dudes
+the kylo switch after killing snoke. loved how you thought he was good but then oh no! he is just going to take over instead :D
+liked how kylo killed snoke, very well done
+liked the yoda stuff
+liked the luke vs kylo "strike me down" stuff
+falcon tunnel chase with the ROTJ death star music made me squeek with joy
+rey parents being no-one is perfect
+lukes character points about nearly killing ben solo in the flashback was really interesting, also how we are expecting luke to be a god (like the EU) but actually all he did was beat vader in a fight and vader was the one who killed palps (he is a good jedi but not a god - we have seen nothing to suggest otherwise, but sort of wrongly expect him to be superpowered)
+that luke thinks the jedi order sucked in the prequels (spot on!)
+holdo lightspeed ramming shot was amazing (shame it wasnt leia as it would have been perfect, or even ackbar would have been a better choice than holdo)

-hated the leia superman bit, just because it didnt look very good, she could have just been on the bridge in a coma after surviving the explosion (with a force shield or something), that would have looked fine, but mary poppins just looked bad thats all
-all the canto bight stuff was pointless
-no info about snoke, not a sausage
-main thing I dont like though was luke sacrifice, not a sacrifice, but then oh he just dies anyway - would have been better for luke to sacrifice himself vs the kylo saber, or with the walker fire (so he can haunt kylo in next film) but why not kill him only for him to die 10 seconds later anyway? odd choice I thought


i liked a lot of it a great deal, just didnt like the leia flying and luke death bits thats all, and thought the canto stuff that could have been cut down
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got to agree about the ramming scene. Would have been an amazing ending for Leia. It’s left me wondering how they’ll write her out now unless she had happened to do the scenes for 3 already (which is highly unlikely)
 
No1newts said:
got to agree about the ramming scene. Would have been an amazing ending for Leia. It’s left me wondering how they’ll write her out now unless she had happened to do the scenes for 3 already (which is highly unlikely)
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If they had known it would have been a good ending, they could even done a 'that's impossible to do on the fly unless you're a living supercomputer etc' and she'd go 'it's fine, trust me'. And of course has a 'Force moment' ala Luke in New Hope.
 
A solid 6/10 for me. I was entertained but I was far from blown away.

+ The interplay between Rey and Kylo/Ben was genuinely interesting to see.
+ Kylo taking his helmet off, for a character that relies on emotion so much its better to see his face and become less 'emo'

- Snoke's non existent back story.
- Leia Superman Scene
- The opening joke between Poe and Hux 'I will hold'
- Finn's role is pointless
- The cantina/casino/camel racing plot. Pointless and very very 'phantom menacey'
- Yoda felt crowbarred in for an audience reaction
- It would have been great to see Luke going nuts with a lightsaber at least once. Similar to the Rogue One Vader scene. He felt like an old hermit.....hard to imagine him being a bad***
- Luke's death. WTF? An epic and legendary character truly wasted. There is so much that could have been done with him. I hope Hamill returns in 'blue ghost' form in Episode IX
 
I don't expect it to be terrible, just don't expect it to be star wars.

I'm expecting a slightly better version of valerian with a star wars veneer.

I'll see it eventually, just not for the £20 they want at the cinema.
 
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Quite a few folks saying that Finn’s plot thread was pointless. But didn’t his mistakes (walking out on the rebels to try and find Rey, getting arrested by landing on a beach, recruiting dodgy crypt guy he knows nothing about, telling crypt guy the plans to evacuate), lead to the rebels getting virtually wiped out! Even when he landed at the rebel base near the end of the film he crash landed in the hanger bay seemingly without any concern about who/what may have been there!
 
I thought it was good, but there is a LOT going on in this movie, maybe too much. It seems to go from one scene to another very quickly and leaves a lot of un-answered questions. I suspect it was supposed to be even longer but they had to edit it down or they are trying to set up side plots for future spin-offs.

The original movies moved a lot slower and have a very different feel to them.

I think they killed off Luke to early as well. Should have waited until the next movie for a proper throw-down.
 
I assume everyone noticed the Jedi Order books that were in the tree made it onto the ship when Finn *iirc* went to grab a something from a drawer at the end of the film?

So Rey does has something to learn from, although training from Luke may have been better. Could be the first Grey coming up.
 
My thoughts on Snoke in spoilers. But ultimately fans are very hung up on the wrong focus and character.

Snoke is a hugely important lesson in the dark side. Massively so and I am surprised so many don't seem to get this was his sole purpose. His history, rise to power and life is totally irrelevant compared to his death. None of this is about Snoke, it's all about Kylo Ren. Snoke is still simply part of Kylo's backstory, a minor character in the scheme of things.

He and his death are the embodiment of the dark side and the paradox that surrounds it. All powerful master is vulnerable to their apprentice. It's how the emperor came to power and was defeated. Same as Kylo.

But most pertinent is that it shows how easily the Skywalker men are seduced and how petulant the are.

All of them from Anakin to Luke & Ben and remember there are only these generations of force user Skywalker men. Kylo is conflicted and possibly darker than Anakin. Luke may not have turned but he has, from the first encounter in ANH through to TLJ, has shown he is foolish, impatient and not wise. He has also shown great conflict. Rey however, as Yoda has identified is the future of the Jedi.

Rey is the perfect parallel to Anakin. She came from nowhere, her linage is irrelevant as was Anakin's (a slave boy). Instead it's her future that is important. Difference is she embraced the dark side and it didn't control her.

Great life lesson that.

Also potentially hugely sexist undertone where it's the men who turn to the dark side only yet the women haven't in the films.

 
Flibster said:
I assume everyone noticed the Jedi Order books that were in the tree made it onto the ship when Finn *iirc* went to grab a something from a drawer at the end of the film?

So Rey does has something to learn from, although training from Luke may have been better. Could be the first Grey coming up.
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Yea there's subtle things like that planted all over the movie.
 
Just came out of the cinema - I don’t even know where to start... which I think is a great indication of how sprawling it was, in a good way! I had no idea where it was going a number of times which made for an intriguing watch.

Much better than I expected and probably my second favourite of the series :)
 
Nitefly said:
Just came out of the cinema - I don’t even know where to start... which I think is a great indication of how sprawling it was, in a good way! I had no idea where it was going a number of times which made for an intriguing watch.

Much better than I expected and probably my second favourite of the series :)
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Fleshing our my views a bit:

- really liked the general story
- NONE of the characters annoyed me (Kylo was so much better this time)

I suppose I better use spoiler tags for other thoughts...

I liked the intro sequence and then the driving plot of the rebel needing to keep their distance... the first order felt totally overpowering and the rebellion pathetic, which kept the stakes relatively high.

I also liked the theme of ‘who is actually good and bad’ that mostly came from del torros scenes.

The kylo / Luke relationship was interesting and well done, although it didn’t really say how snoke got to Kylo.

When they spoke to the big eyed lady from episode 7, was there a subtle dig about episode 1 being about a trade dispute? :p

I though Kylo’s invitation to Rey was tempting - might have taken it myself!

Puppet yoda!! Yes!

I didn’t really understand the steer towards the red emblem and how that James Bond type was supposed to be involved... I suppose it was a red herring.

Finally three really weird things that were out of place but not essential to the story so they didn’t bother me, but bemusing.

Luke milking green milk from a massive boob. Wut!!

Leah surviving the vacuum of space. Wut!!

Some henchman getting shredded With strong implied violence. Wut!!

I’d probably give it a modest 8.5... or a liberal 9 :)
 
Just got in from watching it again, yup, definitely the best Star Wars film for me.
 
I enjoyed the spectacle, as ever. Didn't like the direction it is going though and it was mostly a massive cop out.

Reys parents, what a massive let down.
Snoke, well that went nowhere.
The whole idea of light meeting darkness. Well it will never end then.
The next story focussing on getting rid of the final skywalker. What the actual ****.

Loved the final scene though and the death star music. Brilliant! Oh, and Yoda!!! Especially when he was like, it's just a tree tbh.

Let's just skip the next episode tbh.
 
Flibster said:
I assume everyone noticed the Jedi Order books that were in the tree made it onto the ship when Finn *iirc* went to grab a something from a drawer at the end of the film?

So Rey does has something to learn from, although training from Luke may have been better. Could be the first Grey coming up.
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Doubt it and I doubt the writers are bold enough. We seem to be going back to the Jedi, although a grey Jedi does seem like the only solution to the current problem of darkness rising up
 
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Heisenberg said:
I actually cannot believe how anyone can come to that conclusion.
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That's the good thing about people, we're all different and are looking for different things from the franchise :)

For me, the fact they have killed off all but two of the original characters is the main plus point for me[/spolier]

My eldest son is 10, and he can't stop talking about it. In that way, I'm glad they made Star Wars for him, and not for me. That's another reason why I think it's the best Star Wars film.

IvanDobskey said:
I don't expect it to be terrible, just don't expect it to be star wars.
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It's 100% Star Wars.
 
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gettothechopper said:
+Luke / Rey Island scenes all good
+opening battle was quite good
+liked the luke flashback, not what I expected
+rey / kylo stuff was ace, especially when they team up vs the lobster dudes
+the kylo switch after killing snoke. loved how you thought he was good but then oh no! he is just going to take over instead :D
+liked how kylo killed snoke, very well done
+liked the yoda stuff
+liked the luke vs kylo "strike me down" stuff
+falcon tunnel chase with the ROTJ death star music made me squeek with joy
+rey parents being no-one is perfect
+lukes character points about nearly killing ben solo in the flashback was really interesting, also how we are expecting luke to be a god (like the EU) but actually all he did was beat vader in a fight and vader was the one who killed palps (he is a good jedi but not a god - we have seen nothing to suggest otherwise, but sort of wrongly expect him to be superpowered)
+that luke thinks the jedi order sucked in the prequels (spot on!)
+holdo lightspeed ramming shot was amazing (shame it wasnt leia as it would have been perfect, or even ackbar would have been a better choice than holdo)

-hated the leia superman bit, just because it didnt look very good, she could have just been on the bridge in a coma after surviving the explosion (with a force shield or something), that would have looked fine, but mary poppins just looked bad thats all
-all the canto bight stuff was pointless
-no info about snoke, not a sausage
-main thing I dont like though was luke sacrifice, not a sacrifice, but then oh he just dies anyway - would have been better for luke to sacrifice himself vs the kylo saber, or with the walker fire (so he can haunt kylo in next film) but why not kill him only for him to die 10 seconds later anyway? odd choice I thought


i liked a lot of it a great deal, just didnt like the leia flying and luke death bits thats all, and thought the canto stuff that could have been cut down
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Would agree with most if not all of these tbh. I also really like the porgs :D
 
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