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Episode VIII : The Last Jedi - Discussion * SPOILER THREAD * — Page 92

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I cant wait to do a “British TV Comedy” fanedit of this film. I will add a fake laugh track & sound effects whenever hux is choked or thrown around. Maybe even redub Ade Edmondson lines with ones from bottom.

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Saw the movie yesterday in Germany.
What can I say? Way too much Disney, not enough Star Wars. Basically they made a MARVEL movie out of it.
Flat characters. Everybody is trying to explain what’s happening on screen. What happened to the rule “show, don’t tell”? Is the normal Disney viewer to stupid? Pointless Casino Story (during the horse scene I thought we are getting a second Pod-Race) And then the childish jokes. Some of them are ok but Luke milking an alien. C’mon it’s not Harry Potter. Also no detail about Snoke, where is he from? What is he? What’s his Plan in all of this… nothing gets answered. And his death also pointless. I´m really disappointed.
I hope Yoda was right when he said “Sometimes the best teacher failure is”
BTW Mark Hamill was great

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Just came from the theater. All I can say is that I’m excited about JJ Abrams coming back for IX. Also very excited for the future fan edits with all the f****ng porgs removed. It seems that the best part about TLJ were the trailers. Maybe I just need to see it again and lower my expectations significantly for the next one.

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I haven’t seen this film yet, but from everything I’ve heard it would seem to be an incredible let down (an understatement?) that tries as hard as it can NOT to be a Star Wars film by trying to be anything but. I get the impression that more than anything this needs a fanedit, a complaint that TFA didn’t elicit from me. So I guess main trilogy wise we’re 0/2 right now.

TFA: Although a love letter to Star Wars fans, and the most like the original trilogy since ROTJ, doesn’t break any new ground and is instead a “greatest hits” of the OT.

TLJ: A film that tries so hard to not be a Star Wars film it utterly falls flat on its face. It disappoints both fans and people who love good, well constructed storytelling with huge plot holes (some filled, most not), events that happen just because, and both fan favorite woefully underdeveloped characters being killed off just because. In addition, there is a lot more “humor” in this film, but rather than the dry situational comedy of the OT it’s been “Marvelized”. And look, I like Marvel films, but I don’t want their style of storytelling getting involved with this franchise.

So far there has been almost no meaningful or interesting change to the status quo, and most importantly nobody has learned anything or grown as a character. Luke grew more within 30 minutes of screen time in ESB than some of these characters have in nearly 5 hours. And it’s a shame, especially since I think that the teaser trailer to TLJ was one of the most beautifully done I have ever seen. It would seem as though the brilliant movie people imagined existing in between those moments never existed in the first place, but instead it was betrayed for what it really was: a nice short teaser made to generate hype.

As for people’s expectations not coming true, I don’t think that is the problem here. Rather, I think it’s just an average to below average movie that is not AOTC bad, but isn’t ESB good either, and tries to do so much that it doesn’t really do anything at all.

I was slightly disappointed by TFA, but all signs point to this one being my least favorite of the two so far. It will be interesting to see what people think of this film once enough time has passed; I think rather than it starting off with a lukewarm response and then being acclaimed years later like ESB it’s going to take the opposite trajectory. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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OK so I saw the movie with my 11 year old son this morning. As always after a new Star Wars movie I need to let it percolate before deciding how much I like or dislike it. However at this point I think I really like this one. There are only two things that annoy me about this movie 1) The Mary Poppins Leia in space which is just ridiculous looking and 2) Luke doesn’t get off the island and join the adventure. I would have loved to have seen Luke rediscover his old self earlier and getting off Ach-To and going on a mission rather like Obi Wan does in ANH or Luke himself does at Jabbas palace in ROTJ.

There are a couple of bits that I think have been harshly criticized in some of the reviews so far, the Porgs, they are hardly in the movie and not in any meaningful way and I actually think the Yoda scene is pretty good we get the original Yoda personality back from Empire, not boring Yoda from the Prequels and while not exactly matching Yoda from Empire appearance wise I actually think it’s the closest yet.

I guess most importantly my son loved it and was straight out with the Star Wars lego when we got home.

Plus we should get force ghost Luke in episode 9!

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MaestroDavros said:

I haven’t seen this film yet, but from everything I’ve heard it would seem to be an incredible let down (an understatement?) that tries as hard as it can NOT to be a Star Wars film by trying to be anything but. I get the impression that more than anything this needs a fanedit, a complaint that TFA didn’t elicit from me. So I guess main trilogy wise we’re 0/2 right now.

First of, watch the movie. I’ve watched the movie twice. Many things mentioned - and I mean many, are not plotholes, and are either overlooked or missed by first-time viewers. I myself am guilty for not understanding half of the things going on until my second viewing. Some people will probably also expect the movie to be an action feast full of Luke kicking ass and Snoke being the Emperor V2. It is a way deeper movie than that. And some people, of course, will just plainly not like it at all. Even after that very important second viewing.

Second off, I didn’t like TFA either by exact reasons you mentioned. It was a best-of, did not break any new ground - and lacked pacing and originality. Even lacked in the character department for me.

I think it is important to emphasize that in the same way people praised TFA when it came out for later to realize it for its faults, the same way people might bash The Last Jedi until they realize it for its greatness. There things take patience and understanding before we really know if we liked them or not, because we have fantasized about every new entry for two years. Our mind is set to expectations we make for ourselfs - and sometimes if we feel the movie did something more underwhelming than what we ourselfs imagined, we get disappointed and irritated. This clouds our judgement until we understand what the director did and/or tried to do, rather than what we hoped he would do. Then we replace expectations with facts, and know if we like it or not - respect it or not - or just simply love or hate it.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?
The Ancient Lore
Kenobi: A Star Wars Story
Harry Potter Revisited
Game of Thrones Film Edits
Titanic Restructured
… and more.

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I had to sstop reading, I didnt want to completely reveal the entire movie to myself. I see several of you saying you liked TFA better. WHY?? I will be seeing tomorrow afternoon, so Ill definitely post my opinions. One last question though, out of all these first impressions, is it the you of now? Or the 12 yr old you? Everytime one of these films approaches I try and emulate the excitement 10 or 13 yr old me had when ESB & ROTJ came out. Its tough, but I try.

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BobaJett said:

I had to sstop reading, I didnt want to completely reveal the entire movie to myself. I see several of you saying you liked TFA better. WHY?? I will be seeing tomorrow afternoon, so Ill definitely post my opinions. One last question though, out of all these first impressions, is it the you of now? Or the 12 yr old you? Everytime one of these films approaches I try and emulate the excitement 10 or 13 yr old me had when ESB & ROTJ came out. Its tough, but I try.

It will probably take some more viewings of TLJ before I can say which I prefer of the sequel movies. But ultimately, TFA was more of an adventure whereas TLJ more or less told you at the start that they need to just keep the ship alive long enough to escape the enemy. They set up and play out differently so it’s difficult to compare them.
I’m a 19 year old who vaguely remembers when the prequels came out. I have no nostalgia for any Star Wars movies but have been swept up in the culture of the franchise due to sequel movies so I might be a bit bias towards the sequel trilogy.

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I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew someone would eat a porg! Fat little birds look tasty!

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I just got back and throughly enjoyed the movie. I will have to go see it again to really digest it, like I did for TFA and Rogue One.

It seems like people are really embracing the new characters. In fact, the big question people ask me now about Star Wars is, “Are Finn and Poe gay lovers?” And really how the f*ck would I know? My second husband left me for a man, so my gaydar isn’t exactly what you’d call Death Star level quality. ----Carrie Fisher

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I liked it a lot, but I would rank them like this:

  1. The Empire Strikes Back
  2. Star Wars
  3. Return of the Jedi
  4. Rogue One
  5. The Force Awakens
  6. The Last Jedi
    huge gap
  7. prequels

I kept seeing all the marketing showing the new walkers, but they didn’t actually walk anywhere. They should be called standers.

Yoda looked really bad. So bad it took me right out of the movie.

I don’t mind it when characters like Finn have humor in The Force Awakens, but not sure I like my Jedi masters cracking jokes at serious moments.

I still liked it very much. I am going to see it again 8:30am tomorrow in Dolby Atmos. I have a feeling it will grow on me now that I know what to expect. We’ll see.

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It’s just dawning on me now that Yoda knew Rey had stolen the books when he destroyed the tree. “That library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess” was meant literally. I love that so, so much. Quality of the puppet aside, I’m so happy we got playful OT Yoda and not dour PT Yoda.

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FIVE STARS

  1. The Empire Strikes Back
  2. Star Wars
  3. Return of the Jedi
  4. Rogue One
  5. The Force Awakens
  6. Rebels (animated tv show)
  7. The Last Jedi
  8. Ewoks (animated tv show)

FOUR STARS
9. Droids (animated tv show)
10. Caravan of Courage (Ewoks tv movie)
11. The Battle for Endor (Ewoks tv movie)

THREE STARS
12. Star Wars Holiday Special
13. The Phantom Menace
14. Attack of the Clones
15. Revenge of the Sith

TWO STARS
16. The Clone Wars (animated tv shows/movies)

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I can honestly say I was very disappointed with The Last Jedi. Let me be clear, it was a GREAT film, but it was just an “eh” Star Wars film in terms of the overall plot. I went in expecting to love it… and it just didn’t feel like a Star Wars movie to me. I want to like this movie, but I am still conflicted as to whether or not I can.

Besides Luke’s story arc, it felt like no characters grew or changed throughout the events of the movie, Ben Solo is still bad, Rey is still unsure and confused of her powers, and Finn… is still Finn. The characters are also in the same place at the end of the film as they were in the beginning: on the run (even more) outnumbered by the First Order, without Luke and his guidance, and uncertain about their future as the First Order gains more power.

Furthermore, every major plot thread that was created by J.J. has been dropped only for him to get it back for Episode IX. It gives the impression that Disney does not even know where to take these characters. Snoke and Phasma have now just become useless characters with no real in-film backstories. I get that Palpatine did not have much of a backstory in the OT, but we at least had enough information to piece together what he was and his role in the story. By leaving Snoke as an ambiguous character, we are just left with more questions as to what his role in this trilogy was. Maz Kanata also appears to be a waste as well. All the buildup for her character only to be trimmed out of TFA and only to be in a hologram in TLJ.

The scenes on Canto Bight (PETA advertisements) were totally pointless as in the endgame of the movie its content served no purpose. Finn and Rose’s mission solves absolutely nothing and appears as if it was written in hindsight to give the characters something to do. Benicio Del Toro is the Max Von Sydow of TLJ, a great actor wasted on a useless character. The whole "running-out-of-fuel’ plot thread felt strange too as it has never been a problem in any other film. I guess that just means the spaceship gas station from Spaceballs is now canon.

It also seemed to me that the movie only took place over a few days, and it just seems strange. So far this new trilogy has only spanned a couple weeks, the galaxy’s biggest month… ever! The writing was also strange as R2-D2 just disappears from the movie and Chewbacca is gone for quite a while with no explanation. Rey just appears on the Falcon with no explanation as to how she got there.

The editing just felt off. Where were the wipes? The pacing also felt weird, some scenes went too long and some felt way too short.

And lastly, the last shot of the movie is by far the most upsetting in the whole saga. I get what Rian Johnson was trying to accomplish by it, that the force is alive in anyone and that hope is still out there, but it just didn’t feel earned by the end of the movie and feels like it was a Marvel-style post-credits scene tacked on before the end of the credits.

The main positive of the movie for me was John Williams score, amazing as always. I was also very pleased with Luke’s story (expect that his green lightsaber was barely utilized… another missed opportunity!). The movie would have been much stronger if more focus was given to it. I am excited to see what Episode IX holds for his character.

I was so excited to hear that Rian Johnson was directing this film, but now, I am very nervous for what his new trilogy holds.

Onward to the unwanted Han Solo movie we go…

The Skywalker Saga:
I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX
This is the way.

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I really really enjoyed it. Nothing more from me till I see it again. It’s hard to know how you really feel after one viewing, when your mind is on overdrive and you pay attention to every little detail.

And mods, thanks for editing those early spoilers, I didn’t expect that anyone would be such a jerk to come in here and start their post with “Luke died” well before the film was screening for the general public.

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I don’t fully understand space technology in Star Wars universe, but if the Rebels need to be able to send out a distress call but can’t until they get to the not so hidden base how can Finn and Poe communicate via ship to ship while Finn is elsewhere in the galaxy. Furthermore, why didn’t the Rebels escape small group by small group on the ship Finn and Rose take.

Or why didn’t Maz send help?

This film should be better.

The Jedi are all but extinct.......
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Hello,

can anybody tell me how the First Order Heavy Scout Walker looks in the film?
The LEGO-thing looks very weird.

“LUKE… I’M SEEING HIM.
HE’S COMMANDING THE IMPERIAL FORCES… LIKE OUR FATHER!
I FEAR WE LOST HIM, HAN… I FEAR WE LOST EVERYTHING.”

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The Dark Empire said:

Hello,

can anybody tell me how the First Order Heavy Scout Walker looks in the film?
The LEGO-thing looks very weird.

Are you talking about the spider-looking thing? Because that never appeared in the film (or at least it wasn’t very noticeable). The “new” AT-ST’s however looks pretty much like the OT ones, only a tad bulkier.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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I advise everybody to just relax, go see the movie, and decide for yourselves. Your own opinion is what should matter to you, not that of me or anyone else here.

And did I see a Hardware Wars reference, or was I dreaming?

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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Hardcore Legend said:

I don’t fully understand space technology in Star Wars universe, but if the Rebels need to be able to send out a distress call but can’t until they get to the not so hidden base how can Finn and Poe communicate via ship to ship while Finn is elsewhere in the galaxy. Furthermore, why didn’t the Rebels escape small group by small group on the ship Finn and Rose take.

Or why didn’t Maz send help?

This film should be better.

Maybe the requirements for a general distress call to the outer rim is different than a specific point to point communication?
Finn and Rose’s ship looked awfully small to be cramming people into.
Maz looked like she had problems of her own, and she’s not part of the Resistance, so even if she knew who to contact, would they listen to her?

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:
And did I see a Hardware Wars reference, or was I dreaming?

If you’re talking about the iron, it is a reference or a coincidence, but it is (IMHO) a huge mistake.

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Why? You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to press a uniform.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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ZkinandBonez said:

Are you talking about the spider-looking thing? Because that never appeared in the film (or at least it wasn’t very noticeable). The “new” AT-ST’s however looks pretty much like the OT ones, only a tad bulkier.

Not in the film? I’m a bit disappointed.
Thanks for the information.

“LUKE… I’M SEEING HIM.
HE’S COMMANDING THE IMPERIAL FORCES… LIKE OUR FATHER!
I FEAR WE LOST HIM, HAN… I FEAR WE LOST EVERYTHING.”