The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS ** — Page 80

I don’t think Hamill has actually changed his mind on “Jake Skywalker”. He’s continually maintained he disagrees with Ryan’s take on Luke, and to this day views him not to being entirely consistent with the Lucas era Star Wars. However, he’s also maintained it’s no longer about that era and those heroes, and that Luke had to be this way for Ryan’s story to work, and has praised the film. So, it appears he feels TLJ is a great film, and necessary for taking Star Wars in different directions AND still disagree with the way Luke was depicted in the film if he compares that version of the character with Lucas’ version. He simply didn’t want his criticisms of Luke in TLJ be taken out of context, or used as some indication that he hates the film.

NeverarGreat said:

Even George Lucas admitted that becoming a parent changed the way he made movies. You’re no longer a rebel fighting the system, but a responsible adult and a role model for your kids. I do not doubt that Hamill’s view of Luke is filtered through this lens. Who wants to be a parent who even for a moment contemplates the murder of a relative? Anyone would rightfully be uncomfortable with such an idea, so sometimes it takes an outsider to admit unsavory elements of a character that have always been there.

Yeah but I personally don’t think some of the elements have always been there, like you’re saying.

Collipso said:

DominicCobb said:

Hamill on twitter

I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public.Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that- @rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one! #HumbledHamill

https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/945784443964309505?ref_src=twcamp^share|twsrc^m5|twgr^email|twcon^7046|twterm^3

Though of course he was forced by Disney to say this!

Hamill never really took back what he said about not liking what was written for his character. He said he regretted saying those things. He has always said that the movie is fantastic, he never said otherwise. What people are highlighting in videos, etc. is how he didn’t like the character of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, and I don’t think that’s something hard to believe. In fact that’s in several ways what I think. And he didn’t take that back here, he simply stated that he regrets voicing it in public.

Yes, Hamill was saying that he regrets making public what should have remained “private” with regards to his disagreements about how the Luke character was portrayed in TLJ.

Mavimao said:

^^ I was just about to say: this is space, she’s in zero G. She is not flying!

I don’t think I am going to stay on this thread for too long because I feel like it’s the same regurgitated opinions cycling through. I will say that I am a bit disappointed that people are not opening their minds to the idea that people can experience dramatic experiences that drastically alter their viewpoints on the world. Has no one ever been in a funk after a bad breakup or the death of a loved one? Ever seen a person suffer from PTSD? These are not foreign concepts, but people seem to live in a bubble where all the football stars from high school are playing in the NFL. Luke’s character makes absolute sense based on what he’s experienced and he even finds redemption when he allows himself to become entirely consumed and part of the very thing he had sworn off at the beginning of the film.

He may make absolute sense to you, but not to me. The change in Luke character is severely underdeveloped in my view. It’s given a single scene, which lasts 30 sec. We get next to no development of Luke’s relationship with Ben, his sister, and Han. We learn nothing about Luke’s character post-ROTJ, and the situation surrounding Ben’s turn. Like so many things in TLJ, story and character development is sacrificed for shock value, in order for Rey to have her confrontation with Luke. As it stands now Luke made a mistake, which seems out of character, and then went to hide under a rock, while the galaxy suffers for his mistake, which seems even more out of character.

So I saw this again with my parents last night (my fourth viewing). Interestingly enough, they both loved the DJ character and are hoping Del Toro comes back for IX, which is an opinion I haven’t really seen much. Overall, my mom had no problems with the story but preferred the simpler, more restrained style of TFA. My dad had no problems at all. For context, they were 15 and 14 in 1977 respectively, loved the originals, and hated the prequels. They both really liked TFA and my mom adores R1.

As for me, I was able to really lose myself in it again. After my third viewing I was worried that it didn’t have the same kind of endless rewatchability that TFA does for me, but now I’m pretty sure I was just over-tired for that screening. I think I agree with my mom about TFA being the more elegantly executed film, but I haven’t decided yet whether I value that more or less than TLJ’s ambition. In any case, I love them both.

joefavs said:

So I saw this again with my parents last night (my fourth viewing). Interestingly enough, they both loved the DJ character and are hoping Del Toro comes back for IX, which is an opinion I haven’t really seen much. Overall, my mom had no problems with the story but preferred the simpler, more restrained style of TFA. My dad had no problems at all. For context, they were 15 and 14 in 1977 respectively, loved the originals, and hated the prequels. They both really liked TFA and my mom adores R1.

As for me, I was able to really lose myself in it again. After my third viewing I was worried that it didn’t have the same kind of endless rewatchability that TFA does for me, but now I’m pretty sure I was just over-tired for that screening. I think I agree with my mom about TFA being the more elegantly executed film, but I haven’t decided yet whether I value that more or less than TLJ’s ambition. In any case, I love them both.

That is interesting that they liked the DJ character, as i haven’t picked up on that from anyone yet either. but maybe that is because i dismissed him almost immediately because i am annoyed by his stutter (annoyed that it was given to the character, i feel that stutters are only added for gimmicy ‘realness’ and usually detract rather than add to a performance).

I saw it for my third time this past Saturday and I am definitely in love with this film. hoping to find a way to see it in proper 2D IMAX, as there are limited showings in that format in my area.

I loved DJ any time he wasn’t stuttering. I still don’t get that any more than I got Grevious’ cough.

I figured it was just Benicio Del Toro being Benicio Del Toro.

joefavs said:

I figured it was just Benicio Del Toro being Benicio Del Toro.

being Roger Rabbit 😀

joefavs said:

I figured it was just Benicio Del Toro being Benicio Del Toro.

Someone should have stopped him then. Great character otherwise.

Clickbaity headline aside (“Is ‘Star Wars’ Doomed?”), TLJ box office is doing fine.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/12/27/as-the-last-jedi-tops-800m-is-star-wars-beyond-saving/#609eb5e69626

It’s still probably going to cross $600 million domestic (if not closer to $650m). It’s still probably going to clear $1 billion worldwide by the end of the year. And it’ll likely still end its run with at least $1.3b, or enough to put it over Beauty and the Beast worldwide and again make Star Wars the year’s biggest domestic grosser for the third consecutive year.

JEDIT: I’ve never heard of Wolf Warrior 2 (unsurprising I guess since it’s made no money in the US) but it’s made $870m worldwide, which is pretty amazing.

Deleted scene description from TLJ (source: /Film):

"The scene in question involved a prominent bit of Jedi training between Luke and Rey that occurred right after the two’s talk inside the cave where Luke mentions Darth Sidious. Rey notices a big fire on the beach and is told by Luke that it’s a group of invading bandits who regularly come to the island to steal from and kill the caretakers.

Rey’s hero skills immediately kick into action, although Luke warns her that helping the caretakers now will only result in the bandits coming back stronger at a later date. Luke tells Rey that a true Jedi acts only to maintain the balance, even if that means people get hurt. Rey ends up ignoring Luke’s advice, however, and she springs into action.

The scene cuts to Rey running towards the beach with her lightsaber. The Force propels her to run even faster. Luke yells for her to wait but she doesn’t stop. When she gets to the beach ready to defend the caretakers, she realizes the fire is not from a bandit attack but from a celebration the caretakers are having on the beach. Both Chewbacca and R2-D2 are taking part in the celebration, as are the native porgs.

Rey returns to Luke angry at him for lying, but he tells Rey that this was simply another task as part of her Jedi training. Her decision to spring into action is what the Resistance needs right now, Luke argues, not the old Jedi order he represents. He lied to prove to Rey that he Resistance needs her, not him. Rey breaks down, saying, “That old legend of Luke Skywalker that you hate so much, I believed in it.” Luke realizes he pushed her too far as Rey storms away.

The scene was cut from the movie because Luke ended up coming off as an even bigger curmudgeon, /Film says."

This entire sequence re-enforces the idea, that RJ went out of his way to to put both Luke and the Jedi in the worst light possible, an aspect of the film I truly despise.

… but they cut it. For exactly that reason.

joefavs said:

… but they cut it. For exactly that reason.

Yes, but it betrays RJ’s feelings and intentions going into this. So, he’s taken off some of the sharper edges, but he still turned the Jedi’s 1000 generation legacy of peace and justice, and the OT’s theme of hope and redemption into a legacy of failure for both the Jedi and Luke personally. It’s more revisionist than Lucas has ever done.

So even though he ultimately decided the scene didn’t work and changed the film accordingly, you’re still upset at him for having the idea in the first place? I’m sorry, but that’s pretty weak.

i am curious, how trustworthy is this scene description?

dahmage said:

i am curious, how trustworthy is this scene description?

It’s in the official Art of The Last Jedi book.

joefavs said:

dahmage said:

i am curious, how trustworthy is this scene description?

It’s in the official Art of The Last Jedi book.

gotcha, i just was googling for deleted scene info and didn’t see that one described.

joefavs said:

So even though he ultimately decided the scene didn’t work and changed the film accordingly, you’re still upset at him for having the idea in the first place? I’m sorry, but that’s pretty weak.

Not at all, the scene lines up very well with the rest of the film, and is perfectly consistent with the complaints that some of us have expressed about the film, and the depiction of Luke and the Jedi in particular.

DrDre said:

joefavs said:

… but they cut it. For exactly that reason.

Yes, but it betrays RJ’s feelings and intentions going into this. So, he’s taken off some of the sharper edges, but he still turned the Jedi’s 1000 generation legacy of peace and justice, and the OT’s theme of hope and redemption into a legacy of failure for both the Jedi and Luke personally. It’s more revisionist than Lucas has ever done.

In my opinion, you put your view of the OT on too high a pedestal.

1000 generation legacy of peace and justice? isn’t that a PT thing? The OT’s theme of hope and redemption was not ruined by this film. In fact this film as a lot of Hope in it. We see how there is hope for the galaxy outside of just the skywalker family. It just is taking that hope out of the close confines of a ‘religion’ and growing it into something else. Which i think is needed for Star Wars.

JEDIT: ok, before you all try to take away my star wars fan badge, i suppose old Ben Kenobi did say something about the peace the Jedi brought about, before Darth Vader. meh