STAR WARS VIII (spoilers!!!)
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I enjoyed it a lot. Liked how they look into the "gray" area between good and bad. The old movies tended to focus on the only good vs. only bad (black vs. white) type characters, whereas Last Jedi focuses on both Rey and Kylo (Ben) and how they are trying to deal with that confusion.
Surprised with what happened between Kylo and Luke in the training, what Luke tried to do. Would've liked to see more of who Snoak was and how he became a Sith Lord, but that seems like it won't be answered lol.
Also enjoyed being taken by surprise more than once. Didn't predict to see some of the results based off previous actions too.
Porgs were fine, being puffin marmots.
Did feel slow at times, and felt like a Marvel movie at times with the amount of one-liner jokes.
Surprised with what happened between Kylo and Luke in the training, what Luke tried to do. Would've liked to see more of who Snoak was and how he became a Sith Lord, but that seems like it won't be answered lol.
Also enjoyed being taken by surprise more than once. Didn't predict to see some of the results based off previous actions too.
Porgs were fine, being puffin marmots.
Did feel slow at times, and felt like a Marvel movie at times with the amount of one-liner jokes.
I liked how they played with the Leia dying thing. But now what the hell do you do with the character in the next film?
Also, look how depleted both armies have become. The Rebels have nothing anymore but maybe 50-100 soldiers (if even) and no large ships. And what do the First Order have? Looked to me like 3-4 loaded Star Destroyers. I liked what you said about the gray, because both armies are close to wasting away and the whole universe is about to descend into anarchy.
Snoke was a real tease.
Also, look how depleted both armies have become. The Rebels have nothing anymore but maybe 50-100 soldiers (if even) and no large ships. And what do the First Order have? Looked to me like 3-4 loaded Star Destroyers. I liked what you said about the gray, because both armies are close to wasting away and the whole universe is about to descend into anarchy.
Snoke was a real tease.
Big disappointment for me, some rambling thoughts
The can you hear me gag had me cringing
Does a character entering the vacuum of space for an extended period and demonstrating unheard of force powers really elicit basically no comment from anyone?
The “Marvel” qualities of it is a good call, the dust my shoulder off bit was painful
The whole chase was like a cribbed Battlestar Galactica episode. The whole movie seemed like a bunch of quick setups and resolutions, significantly less real plot than Ep 7
Somehow the CGI creatures come off much worse than the 40 year old muppets and puppets of the original trilogy
On the plus side a lot of the actors are really likeable I just wish they’d had more weighty and interesting things to do.
The can you hear me gag had me cringing
Does a character entering the vacuum of space for an extended period and demonstrating unheard of force powers really elicit basically no comment from anyone?
The “Marvel” qualities of it is a good call, the dust my shoulder off bit was painful
The whole chase was like a cribbed Battlestar Galactica episode. The whole movie seemed like a bunch of quick setups and resolutions, significantly less real plot than Ep 7
Somehow the CGI creatures come off much worse than the 40 year old muppets and puppets of the original trilogy
On the plus side a lot of the actors are really likeable I just wish they’d had more weighty and interesting things to do.
I loved it, really wish they would let Rian do episode 9 instead of giving it back to JJ Abrams. I liked how they teased us with the mystery of Snoke and Rey's parents. Also the cinematography of the scene where Kylo and Rey team up against Snoke's elite guard was great, really well done. There was some bullshit like Leia surviving in space, don't really understand that. It would've been a good way to end her character, who knows what they do now since Carrie Fisher isn't with us anymore (RIP). Overall I really enjoyed it. I said this on Twitter, it had the perfect balance between serious tone and light-heartedness.
The whole Finn subplot was a tacit admission that they have no idea what to do with the character.
Also, if he mopped floors on the planet killer, why is he such a good hand to hand fighter.
Also, why hire Brienne of Tarth if you're literally not going to show her face at any point in the film.
Also, why wasn't emptying the command ship and using it to ram Snoke's ship something they did much earlier.
Also, what was the point of Benicio del Toro's character/subplot.
Also, if he mopped floors on the planet killer, why is he such a good hand to hand fighter.
Also, why hire Brienne of Tarth if you're literally not going to show her face at any point in the film.
Also, why wasn't emptying the command ship and using it to ram Snoke's ship something they did much earlier.
Also, what was the point of Benicio del Toro's character/subplot.
There's a good chance they do what happened with the other trilogies, and have the next film be set a good few years later. After all, there are no hanging plot points like there were at the end of episode 7, when Finn was in a coma and the film had literally just ended with Rey standing in front of Luke, having travelled half way across the galaxy to find him. The only real outstanding question is Rose being injured, but she's clearly not even in as bad a condition as Finn was so I'm sure that a little handwavium can dictate that she made a full recovery off-screen without it being necessary to see.
Also, about the grey side of things - it's good they dipped into it, because that was the whole point of the Jedi Prophecy. The whole reason that it was Anakin, not Luke, who was the Chosen One who was prophesied as bringing balance to the Force was because he was supposed to be the instigation and the culmination of the end of both the Jedi and Sith Orders. The whole idea was that every Jedi after Anakin was supposed to be a Force user who knew how to use both Light and Dark equally, without giving in wholly to either. This was the whole reason why you saw Luke, when he made his off-screen transition to Jedi Master in between ep5-6, dropped his white robes - the colour of purity, innocence, goodness, and wore instead the black robes which suggested a somewhat darker influence, which would then be reflected through the rest of the film in his story arc.
Ugh, that scene wasn't for me. Leia Force-pulling herself through space felt like it had a real Nosferatu tone to it - I could utterly picture her as a Christopher Lee Dracula, gliding across the floor to suck the innocent girl's blood.
I went to the cinema with a friend who is a massive film buff - the kind who typically can recite not just the actors and directors but the film's producers, directors of photography, etc - and he was adamant even before he saw the film that these things would happen because it's just Rian Johnson's MO. Evidently Rian Johnson is a director who really hates things like everyone being descended from famous and powerful persons, everyone who seems irrelevant destined for greatness, etc and he reckons that as a result Johnson really wanted to use his time in charge of ep8 by "setting the record straight" with actions like making Rey's heritage unconnected to the wider universe, killing off Snoke and then not giving his backstory any attention in order to chop off any potential links between him and previous characters and so on.
That said, we are back to JJ Abrams for the final chapter, so expect to find that that child who wore the ring at the very end turns out to be the third descendent of Qui Gonn Jinn's love child with Yaddle, and who is fated to be an even greaterer Jedi than Luke!!!111
Just to be clear I hated the execution of how they didn’t kill Leia. (Reminded me of an 80’s fantasy film). But I did like them screwing with our expectations.
Is your assumption that Abrams just handed off a cliffhanger to Johnson and let him write from there? It's hard for me to believe that the three movies weren't plotted out in advance by Abrams, with Johnson being left to write the screenplay for VIII, much like the way Lucas plotted Empire but the screenplay is credited to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.
I know that Disney have a team who have the job of controlling Star Wars canon, just like Marvel have a guy doing the same. My assumption is that that team sat down with a couple of other key individuals and laid out the groundworks of how the trilogy would go, what the baseline would be for how each character would develop etc. But I also assume that they have to allow directors to have a considerable scope to change details as directors will generally not sign onto projects if it doesn't match their "vision" etc, and that some directors are sufficiently high-profile that they can insist on increased levels of creative control, especially when Disney realise that they have upset enough other people that they are having to start offering ever better contracts to entice new people in.
That's not how the Lucasfilm folks (or Disney folks for that matter) have traditionally done things. They insist on approval for anything. No Director is bigger than the franchise -- especially Rian Johnson. I'm sure he was allowed latitude with dialog and some point details, but the general plotting was surely out of his control.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
I was so pumped to see this film (especially after seeing how well it was doing at Rotten Tomatoes).
What a let down. Especially when you stack it up against The Force Awakens. I’m happy to hear it will now go back too JJ Abrams.
Just saw it. Really enjoyed it.
The whole theatre seemed to be having fun.
The whole theatre seemed to be having fun.
It was terrific. Much better than Episode VII, which was fun, but very derivative of Episode IV, and completely unrealistic with that planet weapon, etc.
To be fair, there were a couple of unrealistic notes early in this new movie - such as why bombs fall out of a bomber in the middle of space. These culminated in the farcical sequence with Leia. After that, however, the movie settled down and was top notch.
It was densely packed, like the prequel trilogy, but without its heavy handidness or seriousness. The different storylines were all compelling, and there were many terrific touches - the room where Rey encounters herself, the casino city where they chase a code-breaker, the linkages between Rey and Ben. There were enough surprises and twists to keep things compelling, but none were ridiculous or contrived. And, the whole thing was well leavened with humor - not so much as to distract from the proceedings but the right amount to carry them along and keep the franchise focused on its core mission - to be fun.
Overall, the best of the movies since Empire Strikes Back.
To be fair, there were a couple of unrealistic notes early in this new movie - such as why bombs fall out of a bomber in the middle of space. These culminated in the farcical sequence with Leia. After that, however, the movie settled down and was top notch.
It was densely packed, like the prequel trilogy, but without its heavy handidness or seriousness. The different storylines were all compelling, and there were many terrific touches - the room where Rey encounters herself, the casino city where they chase a code-breaker, the linkages between Rey and Ben. There were enough surprises and twists to keep things compelling, but none were ridiculous or contrived. And, the whole thing was well leavened with humor - not so much as to distract from the proceedings but the right amount to carry them along and keep the franchise focused on its core mission - to be fun.
Overall, the best of the movies since Empire Strikes Back.
In interviews with Johnson, he has said he had free reign to take the story where he wanted it to go. I can't believe this is entirely the case, but it does seem that he had more latitude than Abrams - I would certainly hope so, for Abrams' sake, since this movie is so much fresher.
I am struck by how many tropes of Episode VII were summarily discarded by Episode VIII.
I am struck by how many tropes of Episode VII were summarily discarded by Episode VIII.
- In VII, Kylo Ren was derivative of Vader; in VIII he destroys his mask.
- In VII, Snoke was derivative of Palpatine; in VIII he is dispensed with.
- In VII, Rey hands the light saber to Luke in a grandiose gesture; in VIII, he casually tosses it over his shoulder.
- Rey's unresolved backstory at the end of VII led to many discussions; that backstory is revealed as a Macguffin.
man, BB-8... that astromech deserves Jules' "Bad Mother Fucker" wallet
good! keep it fresh - VII was too safe (although, I feel it needed to be), then VIII threw it all out the window
All of the points you outlined are the big reasons why I really disliked this movie.
I heard audible laughs in the theater when Leia flew through space.
There were a lot of add ons that were most likely intended to be merchandizing opportunities.
- the porgs
- the rebel alliance rings
- the yin and yang necklaces
- the new horse like racing animals from the casino planet
- the dice
- the first order bb-8 model
- the ice cat creature things
etc. etc.
The biggest issues for me were the fact that we don't know anything about snoke and we find out that rey's parents just random people.
Do we know that for sure though? I mean, how much would you trust anything Kylo Ren says? I know what we were told, but I'm not sure we're done with that part of the story.
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