Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

[BootsToAsses]

Just got back from seeing it for the third time. It was my brother's first time, and he loved it. He said he'll sleep on it and let me know more detailed thoughts tomorrow

Also, Rey/Kylo vs the guards in Snoke's throne room might be my favourite SW moment ever.

Would love to hear your thoughts post sleep.

Rey kylo and Snoke in the throne room is the best sequence in all Star Wars for me. No even small doubts about it l. No other sequence in Star Wars is built and painted and portrayed so perfectly. It’s stunning.

My brother just messaged me his thoughts, and they seem consistent with the public reaction. Overall, he absolutely loved it and really appreciated the changing of the guard to focus on the new characters going forward.

He was shocked at Snoke's death, but he can appreciate it.

The throne room scene blew him away.

He hated Leia in space moment. I explained about how the expanded material stuff shows Leia to be quite powerful, but he still thought it was a reach to have it in the film.

When all the guns shoot Luke, and the dust settles and he's still stood there, my brother laughed and said "fuck off" in the cinema. I couldn't help but smile because I knew he'd love the reveal of Luke still being on Ahch-To. Sure enough, he absolutely loved that Luke projected himself from the island.

Third time for me, and I got way more goosebumps this time. Yoda made me almost tear up. It was very moving, funny, and his final line, "We are what they grow beyond" is one of the greatest Star Wars lines ever. No question about it. What a poignant way to sum things up. And then the last shot of them from behind, sat together watching the tree in flames. That whole scene with Yoda is magic

The throne room scene is beyond perfect. Snoke is insane levels of confident, creepy, and powerful but in his hubris he misreads Kylo and it backfires. One little thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE, is after the lighstaber stabs Snoke, Kylo summons it back and it cuts right through Snoke and flies towards him and all we see is Rey's arm raise up and catch it. The music swells, they look at each other like they want to fuck, and we Kylo ignites his lightsaber out of frame but you can see the red light up his face. Then, you know they're about to fuck shit up in a major way. Fuck, I'll keep going to see the film just for this sequence.

[stip]

Guys, it's time to admit that Disney fucked up Star Wars.

I've never been a bigger fan of Star Wars.

Though, I'm not sure if that makes or disputes your point.

[dimejinky99]

With Snoke gone I can see Kylo being obsessed with finding Rey. Could we finally get Thrawn onscreen? Kylo leaves the running of the first order in Thrawns hands while he’s scouring the galaxy for Rey?

[dimejinky99]

This was exactly what I wanted to say about this but couldnt

One scene I was iffy about first time around was the Yoda one: this time it was oddly affecting. Two old friends talking about rejecting the 'sacred texts' and looking forward - the film's metatextual, analytical nature rising from 'subtext' to a more surface text. I can see why some are cynical about the film's willingness to disregard the past, in a franchise Disney seem eager to cash in on until the end of the time - that's a fair reading. But I read something more personal in it: a filmmaker acknowledging a fondness for the past while urging a new generation of directors & audience to look beyond it. The film is purposely cruel with its dismissal of Star Wars lore & rules at first, but I think by the end it has found more of a 'balance' - echoing, of course, what the characters go through here.

I think this scene had the themes truly laid bare, not to mention showings its full hand to the intended audience (Kylo's speech about killing the past notwithstanding) and encapsulated a broader success of the film in that it WASN'T as cruel as it could have been: we had first and second acts that laboured on the notion that perhaps an obsession with legend, nostalgia & lineage is a poison and we should look to our own horizons instead of trying to wallow in past glories or myths.

Dunno about others, but to me that felt incredibly pertinent in a current culture that champions nostalgia as its entertainment comfort blankets (and that's speaking as someone who loved Strangers Things I should add); equally, it came off as being aimed towards the hardcore Star Wars fans who might have been rooted into this notion of what Star Wars IS, should & always be. Johnson wanted to move on from all this, burn it all down, but I think he wanted us to welcome the match instead of anger at it.

There were a half-dozen ways any other writer or director could have torn up the continuity of Star Wars, and all of them about 10 times more obnoxious and insulting to fandom. Personally, Star Trek 2009 remains the sh*tty gold standard in taking a cherished continuity and borderline laughing at it; sure the actual movie was ostensibly entertaining, but the script fell over itself in trying to subvert tonal / character continuity in a fairly mean-spirited fashion IMO.

Divorcing the knowledge of the studio who owns the Star Wars franchise, this was about the kindest way a Star Wars movie could purposely jettison its own history and move into the future, all the while asking its audience to come along with it; after all, who else to hold out a hand but Yoda - a 1980s, puppet Yoda at that?

[stip]

no. rebels is canon

[dimejinky99]

We’re a very small microcosm but looking at the poll here we’re not as totally divided on it as others seem to be.
I wonder how many of us are changing our minds?

[dimejinky99]

This gif is great and was totally inevitable

[Anders]

Even the polling options are misleading. ROTS is a better movie, and it’s listed as the bottom option.

[dimejinky99]

Even the polling options are misleading. ROTS is a better movie, and it’s listed as the bottom option.

I’m not falling for that. I don’t believe in comparing movies at all in any way.

[epilogue]

no. rebels is canon

Are you saying you think Thrawn won't make it out of Rebels? Or that you don't think Thrawn could live long enough to still be around? Or that you think Thrawn, though still around, wouldn't have any interest in participating in a "new" Empire rip-off?

[epilogue]

Even the polling options are misleading. ROTS is a better movie, and it’s listed as the bottom option.

I have no idea what this is in reference to.

[Anders]

Even the polling options are misleading. ROTS is a better movie, and it’s listed as the bottom option.

I have no idea what this is in reference to.

The polling option in this thread. The bottom rating is for missing the prequels.

[epilogue]

Even the polling options are misleading. ROTS is a better movie, and it’s listed as the bottom option.

I have no idea what this is in reference to.

The polling option in this thread. The bottom rating is for missing the prequels.

Oh, oh, oh. I gotcha. Sorry.

Carry on.

[stip]

no. rebels is canon

Are you saying you think Thrawn won't make it out of Rebels? Or that you don't think Thrawn could live long enough to still be around? Or that you think Thrawn, though still around, wouldn't have any interest in participating in a "new" Empire rip-off?

i am assuming he dies but i havent seen the season yet.

plus it begs the ‘where has he been’ question

[blueviper]

Took my kids tonight. They loved it. They laughed at Snoke getting annihilated. They were in awe at the throne room scene. They thought Luke was a badass in his final act.

Second viewing for me, and I still really enjoyed it.

We'll probably go see it again after Christmas.

This reminds me, when I went to see it...during the throne room fight.

At the end of the fight, when the lightsaber goes through the guards head, and you see the hole...a young kid (7-8?) behind me and my brother chuckled. That's messed up.

[blueviper]

You're not alone, EJ. There's a huge split among viewers. It'll be interesting to see if this is really "the new Empire" in that it's the follow up film that everybody hates upon release and then comes around to love and revere.

I loved it. It's certainly flawed. And there is some outright stupid shit in the movie, for sure. But there's dumb shit in every Star Wars movie. I think this will end up settling in my top five SW films for sure. Might even make that top spot. We'll see.

But after one viewing, I'm a fan.

What dumb shit is in each of the OT movies?

[blueviper]

If force projection is one of the ultimate jedi powers, I have no problem with that. But I think it's executed poorly in the movie for shock value.

Would it have worked better if there were a few cuts back to Luke on the island, on the rock, sweating and struggling with keeping the projection going? With his theme building to a crescendo as he's facing off with Kylo, etc...?

Then we'd see, "oh dang, Luke is doing this with the force?" And then we're rooting for him to keep it going?

*shrug*

[VinylGuy]

What the fuck were those guards? The sound when they kill those guys was so fucking weird.

[dimejinky99]

‘I’m not listening to any dumb fucks opinion on this unless they’ve seen this movie at least twice!!!’

[blueviper]

With Snoke gone I can see Kylo being obsessed with finding Rey. Could we finally get Thrawn onscreen? Kylo leaves the running of the first order in Thrawns hands while he’s scouring the galaxy for Rey?

This may have worked for the entire trilogy. Thrawn took some remnants of the Empire to unknown space. No super weapons, just loads of star destroyers that were leftover. He has his scientists working on cloaking technology. This would allow the new empire to strike at republic outposts, bases, etc. without being seen. Instead of a super weapon, the republic has to deal with this hidden enemy. The only caveat is that the new empire cloaking technology has to be disabled to use weapons, so it also gives the Republic a chance to fight back (if they happen to have forces in the sector)

Now, that's the "evil threat" the Republic has to deal with throughout the trilogy, it's not the main focus, but could be used to propel some action and whatnot.

Then you plug in the main story of Luke/Han/Leia/Rey/Kylo and slowly build to the new characters being the focus towards the end of the trilogy.