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Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

***** The Last Jedi Strikes Back

3 votes

**** A Last Jedi Hope

5 votes

*** Return of the Last Jedi

3 votes

** Attack of the Last Jedi

2 votes

* The Last Jedi Menace

0 votes

metsmarathon Dec 15 2017 06:57 AM

space wizards return with their laser swords. hilarity ensues. your thoughts?

TransMonk Dec 15 2017 11:56 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

I saw with my step-dad this morning, which has become an annual tradition. My first impression was that it was good, not great. Better than the prequels, but not on par with IV, V or even VII. Without giving too much away: I know there were those that thought Episode VII was a ripoff of IV, but I don't think this one mirrored the Empire story much if at all. There is the parallel that Rey is off doing Jedi stuff while the rest of the gang is being chased by evil (it even shares the perplexing time-warp where what seems like days for Rey and Luke is merely hours for the rest of the cast). But I can honestly say, the trailers don't give much of the actual plot away and there were things I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the new characters and wish I could have seen more of the Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro roles...even if it were to have been at the expense of screen time for some of the main characters. [BIGGEST-BITCH SPOILER]:This one did not have a cliffhanger ending. I'm sure Episode IX will feature the final remaining good guys beating the final remaining bad guys, but I'm not looking to it for too many answers to too many questions from its predecessors. I left this one with much of the same feeling I had when leaving Rogue One. It was undeniably a Star Wars film and its canon fed into/out of the surrounding canon, but too much of the time the action got in the way of (or downright eliminated) the storytelling.

metsmarathon Dec 15 2017 01:47 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

so, i fucking loved it. i gave it 4 stars just because i might simply be too giddy about it to be objective. to be honest, one of the things that i loved the most was that i could see that there was a thread connecting from this movie all the way back to some of what's been going on in star wars rebels. in a general sense, the way the force connects with all living things, not just jedi. also the thing with the lightspeed carries forward an echo from the past. my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. also, the resistance really needs to work on the tactical employment of those things - yeesh! ever think that maybe, just maybe, ach-to has radically shorter days than the galactic standard?

TransMonk Dec 15 2017 02:44 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

metsmarathon wrote: ever think that maybe, just maybe, ach-to has radically shorter days than the galactic standard? Don't we see Rey wake up more than once on the planet? Do humanoid sleep rhythms auto-adapt to the shorter days? Or maybe Rey takes catnaps. Or maybe I'm mis-remembering. I'll likely go see it again before Xmas to catch more detail. Either way, it's forgivable in Empire, so it's certainly forgivable here.

metsmarathon Dec 17 2017 09:55 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

the more i think about this movie, the more i love it, and the more i want, need to rewatch it. to me, the fundamental thing about the movie is to subvert the idea that what the galaxy needed, what everybody needed, was the jedi - the heroes - to return. that waiting for your legends to come back and solve your problems does nothing but lead you into failure. it sets up not that teh force is for but a special few, the exceptional, the jedi. rather, it binds us all, all living things. it flows through us, around us. it is in us all. our salvation is not in our heroes, but in ourselves, in even the least among us. the force is there for us all, if only we can tap into it. you don't need to be the son, or daughter, of the most powerful badass in the galaxy to shape its future, to defeat the great evil. you can be some nobody scrap scavenger on a dust planet, or an invisible orphan stable boy. the light belonging to everybody, not a few singular point of brilliance, is how the darkness is to be eradicated.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 18 2017 08:39 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

All the below is gonna be spoilers. *** I thought it was frustratingly mediocre. Poe Dameron, Jesus what a liability that guy is. He decimated like 85% of the rebel fleet on his own with all his swash-buckling, and 10 minutes after he pulls a gun on his own commanders, he offers to lead the last of the rebels through the ice caves, and Leia's, like, "what are you lookin at me for? follow that guy." I thought the super, slow-mo chase of the rebel ship by the empire was also frustrating. "Let's not blow it out of the sky, guys, let's just sort-of tail it til it for the next 18 hours til it runs out of gas, then they'll be ours!" Doesn't Admiral Ginger Bad-Guy even say at one point something to the effect of "lets just shoot at them once at a while to remind them we're still here"??? And Laura Dern. I guess planning the sacrifice the whole time then? Except for the obvious 'we have to make it fit in the movie timeline', why would she stand around in silence and wait til the very end? Load up the escape pods and kamikaze that shit as soon as you realize they can track you through hyper-speed, no? Other shit that kinda bugged me: -Episodes 4-6 were great at sexual tension. This movie was devoid of it til the last 3 minutes where there was this awkward Finn/Rose kiss and then a creepy "hello" from Poe to Ray. What the crap. -Cute creatures. Seems like you have to have a cute new thing to sell a billion plush toys and Doritos bags. The crystal fox things were alright, but just eat the adorable furbie thing, Chewbacca. Eat it. On screen. -Tupac hologram Luke Skywalker. metsmarathon perfectly hit on the overall theme, and as such, Luke didn't need to hang around anymore just because he's a Jedi. I thought he was gonna go full Obi-Wan and let Kylo strike him down, but why just teleport and disappear? His actual disappearance/Copperfield farewell was somehow a little anti-climactic for me. Good stuff: -Snoke is dead. Yay, he sucked so much. Snoke's palace room was awesome, his guards kicked ass, and the Kylo/Rae team-up was very cool. The tribute and good-bye to Carrie Fisher was touching and was done pretty well, I thought. Flying through space was kind of a reach, but it was alright still. 5 light sabers out of 10! Maybe the 5th best Star Wars movie? 4th tops.

metsmarathon Dec 19 2017 08:22 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

The empire and its remnants have always been dominated by those who’ve managed to fail upward. I found hux to be believably over the top. IMO, while there’s a considerable backlash against wasting time in canto bight, I think that segment raised the stakes beyond just a handful of resistance fighters on a ship to really the whole galaxy, and will have been a very necessary slice of world building that sets up the futurre of the franchise. It’s not just the good guys against the bad guys, but the rich and gray against nameless powerless multitude. Plus riding the force-attuned megafauna follows a thread laid by rebels. (A show very much worth watching). I agree that it took Holdo too long to make the light speed jump in-theater, but in universe, I don’t think much time passed at all. Remember that the plan was for the escape pods to be unnoticed and for raddus to be the distraction I don’t think there was much of a backup plan in place, and I don’t think that many admirals have “ram my ship into theirs at speed” as one of their principal courses of action. The thoughtful contemplation seemed legit. She was resigned to her own demise. Then she saw that it was to be for naught. She would watch her firends die, and then they would come for her and there was little she could do. And then she realized that she had one last arrow in her quiver, if she wasn’t destroyed first. Driving her ship into the he dread naught must seem in hindsight to have been the only, obvious play, but few successful officers rose through the ranks when their first fallback plan is a kamikaze attack. It was also yet another tremendous beat carries over from rebels (seriously, love that show), where Hera had engaged hyperspace as she was about to pass through a hanger of an orbital station to escape a blockade. Obviously not the same effect, but it helped TLJ feel more of the same universe. If cute critters are a problem, then we’ve got a problem from the jump. R2 and a pile of jawas are the original Ewoks. Also, and let’s be honest here. If uneven acting and odd pacing are dealbreakers In a movie undone by pointless side quests, magically instant Jedi training and light saber mastery, dubious space physics and questionable military tactics with deeply flawed and oddly specific implements of war, unearned relationships, with space battles between improbably close ships with terrible aim, and timelines that fall apart under scrutiny, then I dont think we saw the same version of empire strikes back. By the way. Luke was a badass. I’m glad he wasn’t some all-powerful all-conquering infallible and invincible Jedi super-wizard. The whole point of the movie, and indeed most of the whole damned saga, is that the Jedi are flawed. An impossible and impossibly rigid standard responsible for their undoing. Luke saw that at long last through Rey, and it saved the resistance and lit that damned spark. He redeemed the galaxy by finally accepting his imperfection and that of the Jedi order.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 19 2017 11:20 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

metsmarathon wrote: Also, and let’s be honest here. If uneven acting and odd pacing are dealbreakers In a movie undone by pointless side quests, magically instant Jedi training and light saber mastery, dubious space physics and questionable military tactics with deeply flawed and oddly specific implements of war, unearned relationships, with space battles between improbably close ships with terrible aim, and timelines that fall apart under scrutiny, then I dont think we saw the same version of empire strikes back. I don't believe I made any of those fine points and I love Empire... Sounds like a dude might be to convince himself the movie was better than his deep-down inner-force is telling him it is! :)

metsmarathon Dec 19 2017 10:33 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

No, that’s not it at all. I’ve seen those things all said about TLJ, and it strikes me that the same people who would criticize these movies for those points must be those who’ve never critically viewed the original trilogy. Because while those movies were awesome, they were also rather imperfect. The idea that these movies don’t feel like Star Wars movies is , well, odd to me too. Because the prequels aren’t really Star Wars movies. While these latest three installments in the galaxy seem to me at least to better fit in with the whole space. Maybe it’s because I never read the EU catalogue, so I have no preconceived notion of what these movies are supposed to be about. I’m sure hats a large part of this. These movies were made by Disney, so everything we see, be it a retread of a beat from the originals or a subversion or diversion from that same beat is seen as evidence of the house of mouse’s destructive influence on the stories we most held dear. Because know Lucas never fucked these things up at all. Nope. Not one bit. The prequels sucked ass so hard, but we’re made by the same guy who made the originals so any subsequent movie that doesn’t seem like what Lucas would have done is somehow... wrong...? Shit, if these last three movies are what Disney does to Star Wars, well, shit, can they do a reboot of the prequels too? Or are they only supposed to be picking over the volumes and volumes and volumes of intersecting, conflicting, frequently incongruent, and often uneven EU back catalogue to find the stories that the super duper fans already know and that box in any newcomer from being able to tell anything new or interesting or mysterious.

Mets Willets Point Dec 22 2017 08:44 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

TransMonk wrote: There is the parallel that Rey is off doing Jedi stuff while the rest of the gang is being chased by evil (it even shares the perplexing time-warp where what seems like days for Rey and Luke is merely hours for the rest of the cast). We see Rey meet with Luke in "The Force Awakens" and then again intercut with scenes of what is happening with the rest of the Resistance in "The Last Jedi." My thought is that what is happening in Rey & Luke begins several days/weeks before the other events of the movie rather than simultaneously even though it's intercut.

Mets Willets Point Dec 22 2017 08:51 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

metsmarathon wrote: so, i fucking loved it. i gave it 4 stars just because i might simply be too giddy about it to be objective. to be honest, one of the things that i loved the most was that i could see that there was a thread connecting from this movie all the way back to some of what's been going on in star wars rebels. in a general sense, the way the force connects with all living things, not just jedi. also the thing with the lightspeed carries forward an echo from the past. my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. also, the resistance really needs to work on the tactical employment of those things - yeesh! ever think that maybe, just maybe, ach-to has radically shorter days than the galactic standard? ^^^THIS. I'm on team metsmarathon. I'd give it 4.5 stars, but since that's not an option I rounded up.

TransMonk Dec 22 2017 11:00 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

I watched it again and feel better about it, but I'm still nowhere near where Willets and marathon are. Stuff still bugs me *SPOILERS BELOW*: [indent]Who is Snoke? Where did he come from and how did he rise to power? How is he connected to the rest of the story? It's doubtful we'll ever know. Rey's ancestry? What a letdown.[/indent] This movie would have been far better, IMO, had it ended 15 minutes earlier than it did. Leaving the story hanging when Luke walks out of the cave to confront Kylo Ren with the fate of the Resistance in the balance would have made me excited to see the next episode. As it is, I'm not sure where they go from here. The Force Awakens left a lot of hanging questions out there. The Last Jedi dismissed those questions with unsatisfactory resolutions and left nothing to really consider for the next two years going into the next film.

metsmarathon Dec 22 2017 12:26 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

TFA left too many questions unanswered, in hindsight. so much so that the next movie was overly encumbered with answering them all. and i think it answered them in the best way possible, and in line with the whole movie, really - to stop looking to the past for answers. i'm ok with snoke not having a backstory. you know who else didn't have a backstory? palpatine. the emperor is a master of the dark side of the force - how did that come to be? nobody fucking knew! and it took three shitty movies to tell us! how much backstory do we really need? i'm also more than okay with the new force powers invented for this movie. because, seriously, the original saga kept on inventing new force powers to the point where, by the time we got into the prequels, jedi were all-powerful superheroes who were also masters of parkour and all manner of martial arts. backstory is how we got fucking midichlorians. i'm okay without backstory. besides, i'm cool with it being fleshed out in the accompanying literary material. as far as the new force powers, is luke's projection really all that much out of line with the idea of force ghosts? if the spirit of the dead can manifest itself in a physical representation, then why cannot the spriit of a living, sufficiently meditative force master? we've already established that force users have telepathic links - is the ForceTime(tm) connection between rey and kylo really all that far out of bounds, especially if we allow that it has been set up by a seemingly old, powerful master of the dark side? sure, both take the force in new directions and expand on it some, but it's not like we're jumping from force choking and jedi mind tricks to future-seeing and lightning bolts, dammnit! i'm also totally down with the daughter of the chosen one, he who was immaculately conceived by the force, and the twin of the last true jedi master, being able to call on a very limited force tug in her time of greatest personal need, having spent most of the past 30 years knowing that she, too, had some force sensitivity. she'd meditated on it, and exhibited some inklings of ability as shown in her telepathy with luke in the original trilogy. and luke even told her that she has the power of the force within her, or words to that effect. so i'm really truly cool with her drawing on it when it was all she could have. it's not like she's catching blaster bolts or pulling down a star destroyer! it doesn't take a lot of force (pun) to move an object floating in the microgravity of space. and it sure seemed to drain her, too, though being in space might also have contributed just a tad. so what if porgs were invented to sell soft plushy toys. george lucas brought us ewoks and jar jar binks. fucking hell, internet people everywhere! it was by no means perfect, and there were things i wasn't crazy about. but i'm a lot more mature and jaded than i was way back when i first watched the original saga. that said, i'd put the last jedi at about the same level as return of the jedi, maybe even slightly higher. it was not at the level of empire, and it's hard to top the original. but its worst moments are parsecs better than even the best moments of the prequels. it also lacks the retread problem from the force awakens. it gave us a deepening of the force mythology, had truly breathtaking visuals, and had a fairly mature message that lays the foundation for a future in that galaxy, and ho-lee-shit luke brushing off his shoulder. yeah, i guess luke could've been the super-duper infallible space wizard who was a complete and total badass, against whom no dark side user could even stand a chance. and the leader of a whole new generation of super, ultra-enlightened jedi. but where does that leave us, story wise? where's the tension? he could blink any enemy out of existence, if he wanted. any new threat would have to be just preposterously massive to even merit a story-telling. and then it's superman against thanos. and is that really the same star wars as a story of an unknown farm boy who saved the day against immeasurable odds?

Mets Willets Point Dec 22 2017 05:40 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

metsmarathon wrote: my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. Two thoughts on this: 1. Perhaps starships give off a gravitational force. After all, people are walking on decks inside the ship not floating around, so they must have invented an artificial gravity source. Perhaps the gravity extends outside of the ship a short distance, explaining why they had to get so close for it to work. 2. Perhaps they're not gravity-operated, but magnetic and were drawn to the metal of the hull.

metsmarathon Dec 22 2017 08:06 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Mets Willets Point wrote: my biggest bitch is that they have gravity-operated bombers in space. the physics don't work one bit, despite the fact that they're cool AF. Two thoughts on this: 1. Perhaps starships give off a gravitational force. After all, people are walking on decks inside the ship not floating around, so they must have invented an artificial gravity source. Perhaps the gravity extends outside of the ship a short distance, explaining why they had to get so close for it to work. 2. Perhaps they're not gravity-operated, but magnetic and were drawn to the metal of the hull. the internets tell me they're not gravity operated, that they are indeed forced out of the bottom of the bombers. i do think they need to work on the implementation of those things though, because it looked like most of the bombs that were dropped detonated sympathetically, not via contact with the target. i guess if the ships were moving faster there would've been a better spread....?

Edgy MD Dec 23 2017 02:44 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

I gave it three, but I switched to two. I'm kind of tired of being generous. YOU be generous, Disney, and stop disguising dumping a whole bunch of everything into the film as story.

Edgy MD Dec 29 2017 08:18 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

When you guys get the physics of the bombers figured out, I hope you can explain Leia's magic ride through space.

metsmarathon Dec 29 2017 07:39 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Um. The force. Also, magnets.

Edgy MD Dec 29 2017 09:16 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Force, my hairy ewok butt. She's never demonstrated that sort of facility with the Force. You know that. I know that. Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes all know that. The best she ever did was have a psychic phone call or two. And that was Luke calling. She just answered. Hell, Yoda himself never went spacewalking. Anakin/Vader never went spacewalking. Come on, admit it. That was, like, stupid goofy. And apart from copping a look from the early 90s cocktail party set, where does Laura Dern get off making the sacrifice play. That was Leia's move to make. She was supposed to say, "Somebody has to save our skins," launch a kamikaze counter attack, and bow out of the serial a hero. And for all Disney's careful gender and ethnic casting, why is the Resistance suddenly like 90% humanoid? Very little key action goes to any non-humanoid. Chewbacca gets treated like an old handbag, and apart from BB-8 pulling a half dozen deus ex machina plot saves, our old droid buddies C-3PO and R2-D2 are treated as old karma that the serial has to drag along. Even Yoda. EVEN YODA! They tried to touch on the grave and wise side of his personality and they tried to touch on the playful, winking side, and they absolutely got neither. He has a few minutes of ghost time, and he just comes across as a little green dick with a combover. Sheesh. Do I have to write everything?

metsmarathon Dec 30 2017 09:36 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

she also felt han's death. in the string of (canon) novels leading up to the latest two installments of the movie enterprise, it's clear that leia has a connection to the force. she'd never been seen to manipulate objects explicitly, of course, just that she felt the ebb and flow of the force, instinctively, and used it to guide her. that said, does it not seem a little plausible that in the 30 years since return of the jedi that luke might've taught her even a little bit about how to use the force, and she'd just never taken up the opportunity to go flaunting various jedi tricks? indeed it's mentioned in one or more of the lead-in books that leia had been getting some training from luke. actually, if you think about it, prior to her spacewalk, leia'd used about as much of the force as luke did before he found himself hanging upside down in a wampa cave on hoth. and what did he do then? reached out with the force and gave a pull. also, in the microgravity of space, it doesn't take a whole lot of force to move an object, and the vacuum of space isn't an instantaneous death. it was hardly a herculean feat to tug on a distant doorknob. i also have to think that carrie fisher's untimely passing might've prevented some tidying up of that scene, perhaps with a better blue screen effect. yoda lifted an x-wing out of a swamp, and bounced around like a pinball prior to an unfortunate run-in with force lightning. obi wan and anakin leapt and tumbled around like spiderman. and leia can't give a tug on a lifeline? some punk stablesweep kid can make his broom dance, but leia can't induce a little f=ma? as far as leia being the sacrifice instead of holdo, well, sure, i guess that might make sense, if the plan wasn't for leia to be the big key central character of IX, as had been reported. i mean, yeah, in hindsight, her passing irl would have then made for a lot of sense having her be the one to make the ultimate sacrifice leaving, i guess, luke to carry on the skywalker name. but that wasn't the plan. agreed about the non-humanoids. though c3p0 has really never done anything but bitch and whine, and pulling deus ex machina out of your plothole has always been r2's bag. chewie is massively underserved, like, seriously, thoughout the whole saga. especially considering he was supposedly some big time wookie general (i think), and friend of yoda from back in the prequel days.

Edgy MD Dec 30 2017 01:00 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

metsmarathon wrote: that said, does it not seem a little plausible that in the 30 years since return of the jedi that luke might've taught her even a little bit about how to use the force, and she'd just never taken up the opportunity to go flaunting various jedi tricks? You've got to at least hint at that sort of thing, no?

metsmarathon Dec 30 2017 01:50 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

it's mentioned in at least one of the books in the force awakens prequel set. i do concede that, in movie, it could've been talked about just a smidge. a side discussion between her and holdo, afterwards: "you can do that?" "apparently... luke tried to teach me, but i thought i'd never picked up on it" "you never cease to amaze me" could have been helpful.

Edgy MD Dec 30 2017 02:48 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

And of course, because it's Disney, she has to fly exactly like Mary Poppins, even if she's a popsicle.

Mets Willets Point Dec 30 2017 10:20 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Isn’t the entire message of the movie “the Force works through all beings not just through *special* people” or did I see a different movie?

metsmarathon Dec 30 2017 11:10 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Edgy MD wrote: And of course, because it's Disney, she has to fly exactly like Mary Poppins, even if she's a popsicle. I.... I mean shit, if you think Disney orchestrated that scene to look like Mary poppins, then, well, damn. I ain’t got nothin.

Edgy MD Dec 31 2017 05:30 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

And why does Rey not seem to give a shit when she messes up all the nuns' stuff?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 01 2018 09:42 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Callowness of youth? Edgy MD wrote: metsmarathon wrote: that said, does it not seem a little plausible that in the 30 years since return of the jedi that luke might've taught her even a little bit about how to use the force, and she'd just never taken up the opportunity to go flaunting various jedi tricks? You've got to at least hint at that sort of thing, no? Like Obi Wan's ghosting? Or force choking? I mean, you want hints? We're talking about a series that barely uses establishing shots, and completely eschews scene-setting captions. The Leia thing is a LITTLE goofy, granted. But give me this sort of thing a thousand times over rather than reverent rehash. This movie genuinely surprised me two or three times, and for that alone, I give praise; that most of the outcry from "diehards" seems to stem from the fact that this one subverts expectations seems utterly confounding to me.

Vic Sage Jan 02 2018 07:47 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Callowness of youth? Edgy MD wrote: metsmarathon wrote: that said, does it not seem a little plausible that in the 30 years since return of the jedi that luke might've taught her even a little bit about how to use the force, and she'd just never taken up the opportunity to go flaunting various jedi tricks? You've got to at least hint at that sort of thing, no? Like Obi Wan's ghosting? Or force choking? I mean, you want hints? We're talking about a series that barely uses establishing shots, and completely eschews scene-setting captions. The Leia thing is a LITTLE goofy, granted. But give me this sort of thing a thousand times over rather than reverent rehash. This movie genuinely surprised me two or three times, and for that alone, I give praise; that most of the outcry from "diehards" seems to stem from the fact that this one subverts expectations seems utterly confounding to me. yup

Edgy MD Jan 02 2018 08:32 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Callowness of youth? Edgy MD wrote: metsmarathon wrote: that said, does it not seem a little plausible that in the 30 years since return of the jedi that luke might've taught her even a little bit about how to use the force, and she'd just never taken up the opportunity to go flaunting various jedi tricks? You've got to at least hint at that sort of thing, no? Like Obi Wan's ghosting? Or force choking? I mean, you want hints? We're talking about a series that barely uses establishing shots, and completely eschews scene-setting captions. Obi Wan is a Jedi Knight, a master. As for Vader's choking, that is the hint. That's the introduction of the powers. Folks talk to him of his extinct religion (set up) and he demonstrates its power (establishment). Stuff that follows escalates from there. Super sword play, telekinesis, electro-shock powers. Projecting from the beyond, or floating through space, that's the sort of coup de grace that makes little sense, and offers little dramatic satisfaction, without a prior introduction. If you didn't think it was goofy, then you didn't. I thought it was totally goofy.

metsmarathon Jan 02 2018 11:36 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

it's not like she floated her way from one ship to another. she moved maybe 10 feet? (i do need to rewatch it. maybe it was 20. i'm not sure i'd call that a lengthy excursion either way) mere mortal humans can survive 15 seconds in the vacuum of space before losing consciousness, and won't be dead if they're repressurized within about 90 seconds. i don't think that more than 15 seconds elapsed i the movie, and if they did, i guess maybe the force gave her an extra second or two of alertness. hardly the most magical thing it's done! so if the not dying for 15 seconds isn't too far fetched, and using the force to gently tug on something is well within the bounds of the expected, then what's really so hard about not dying while trying to pull a doornob? the effect could have been better. sure. give them more time in post. but the act itself, i've no issue with. also, it's been established that the force can be used to extend life. otherwise vader would be really quite dead, and luke & leia would've grown up with a mom.

Ceetar Jul 20 2018 03:10 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

hey guys, i finally watched this. I kinda loved it. But can we talk about how the 'seed of rebellion in all of us' stuff and how that kid at the end can use the force? There was a little too much "Okay, okay, he/she is dead. that's sad. OH WAIT NO" I assume the same will happen with Rose? I'm glad this didn't mirror episode 5 the way 7 mirrored 4. At least, it's framed as the good guys 'winning' even though like 95% of the resistance was wiped out and the outer reaches didn't answer the call. But they got the propaganda out about Luke facing off against the First Order and winning. But at the end of 5, Luke is beaten back by Vader physically and mentally but in 8 Rey is already making herself a legend. There's a lot that goes unsaid and I think that made the movie play well. Luke never delivered the 'third lesson' right, the one that would supposedly make Rey realize the Jedi were bad or whatever? Also the astral projection stuff was super obvious once Luke decided to walk out. Thought I don't understand why he didn't tell them to escape rather than so the movie could have plot growth for Poe to not just want to shoot things. and yeah, Chewbacca should've eaten the Porg. It would've been like in Moana when she's all like "MMmm, delicious pork!" in front of her pig friend

metsmarathon Jul 25 2018 02:40 PM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

the more i think about the movie, the more i process it, and the backlash, the more i love what they did. i'm curious and excited about what comes next, provided the whiny fan-babies don't ruin it all. i mean, shit, even if TLJ was a pure shitshow, it's a hell of a lot better than what's going on over in DC-movie land. the third lesson (actually, wait, internet sleuthing has determined that it is not in fact the third lesson. but merely a thing that happened and then she left, presumably before receiving the third lesson. but it's still a thing that happened between luke and rey) is described in the book; pretty sure it's not in the movie. i read it literally just last night. haven't checked to see if its in any deleted scenes anywhere (internet sleuthing confirms it is a "deleted scene"). spoiler alert: some boats head towards the island. luke tells rey that it's raiders coming to attack the caregivers; explains that he allows it to happen, as any true jedi knight would - allow what is, to be, or some such. rey is incensed, angry, and desperate to help. she runs down the mountain, bursts into the village where the boats have already landed. and interrupts a party for the fishermen... fishergivers... carefishers...? fishing party... that just returned. luke catches up to her. and explains. what the resistance needs is not a husk of a legend, and old jedi knight. but a fierce, determined warrior ready and willing to take on the enemy and save the imperiled galaxy. this convinces rey what she already knew - that she would not rely on luke skywalker to save the galaxy, but must do it herself.

RealityChuck Aug 03 2018 09:27 AM Re: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Flat, dull and even more predictable than the previous one (which copied the original beat for beat). It was a franchise, not a movie. Better than any of the prequels, but still not particularly good.