Star Wars May the 4th be with you (Spoilers)

JimmyV

With lowered expectations you might enjoy it more. There is some really good to great stuff here. My theater cheered out loud when a certain something happened about halfway through the film and I did too.

MayDay10

JimmyV said:

I'm struggling with this one. There was a lot I liked. Adam Driver's performance as Kylo blew me away. The fight scene in Snoke's throne room was awesome. I really like the dynamic between Kylo and Rey and am excited to see where it goes. Chewbacca busting through Luke's door and (IMO) basically telling him to stop acting like a little bitch was great. Yoda looked a little weird at first but I enjoyed seeing the character and hearing Frank Oz. I'm glad we got one last Luke Skywalker as hero moment, even though his "death" was a little strange given how he had just "survived" the battle that he actually wasn't even really in. It's probably a fitting end to the character and he was true to his word. He went to that island to die. It was just jarring to lose him and to know we've actually already lost Carrie Fisher too.

There is a lot that I didn't like and I worry that on repeat viewings I will like parts of the film even less. The opening space fight was great - even though Poe's humor at first felt like a reach - and I enjoyed the Battlestar Galactica-esque tracking through light speed bit. But the long, slow speed chase that followed really bothered me. Snoke's kickass ship couldn't catch up to or shoot down a handful of slow moving rebel ships? It was like OJ in the white Bronco only in space. That felt so forced and was a HUGE plot element in the film. I liked Fin and Rose, but there entire mission to the casino just felt shoehorned in.

So...Rey's parents don't matter and neither does Snoke's origin? C'mon.

When the two tie fighters fired on the bridge and Leia was sucked out into space I was SHOCKED. Bolted upright in my seat. I very much thought she might die in this one, but not that early and not like that. Then...weirdness. To go from seeing her only feel the force a few times to flying through space like a superhero was a WTF moment.

There's more obviously but these are the moments that stood out. I'm sure I'll see it again in theaters but probably not until after Christmas. Overall I guess I am disappointed even though there were parts of the film I enjoyed very much.

*Spoilers below, dont read unless you have watched*





The humor at times I thought was over the top.  Star Wars, by definition requires some relief, as originally brought by Han... but there were actual comedy bits that lasted long.  Also, some poorly times ones.  Luke picking the spec of dust off his robe at the end, after getting shot by 20 imperial walkers for 5 minutes was unnecessary and brought unnecessary mood-killing levity into the climax of the movie.

I agree that the snoke chamber was a high-point... although I thought Snoke was eliminated rather easily and too neatly.  He was a real badass and I was interested in learning some of his backstory and also see a bit more of what he was capable of power-wise.  They might as well had him slip on a banana peel and die.

Kylo and Rey was overdone a bit and I got bored with it after the first "force" interaction.   

Carrie Fisher was just awful and her screen presence makes every scene uncomfortable.  She was such a major character and it degraded the movie.  I didnt know she was alive so late into the creation.  I thought she was going to die early on.  I was actually surprised when she floated back (horribly cheezy) and again when she woke up.  

The Luke scene at the end was awesome, although I thought that focusing on his shoe not removing the salt was too obvious of a tell.  It brought everything a sky high money shot.... but then he died.  Just kind of evaporated?  WTH?  The main protagonist for the galaxy/series.  The guy that everyone in the galaxy was hunting for, sacrificed himself so that he can delay an attack on a rebel base for 5 minutes?  I get the whole 'inspiring the resistance' thing.... but IMO, they could have/should have back-shelved him on the Island-Planet. alive.  If they needed him to communicate with Ray in IX, they could have utilized that new Force travel-telepathy trick.  Being a ghost jedi is a waste... so now out of the original cast, the only one 'living' is the one who is dead in real life and is a scene-killer on screen.

And the fact that the movie centered around this low-speed chase is an extremely tiny scope.  Not much happened at all in this movie really.

Benicio Del Toro and his character was a bright spot.

Finn and that Asian girl were insufferable.  I was actually disappointed when she saved him.  He is such a nothing character.  It was also lazy when they were getting executed and a hangar full of storm troopers was eviscerated and they were unarmored and unscathed.  I hate it when people nitpick movies for this sort of thing, but this was exceptionally unbelievable.

And Poe is just so one-dimensional for me, and it was magnified in this movie to the point of eye-rolling.  I liked him in TFA, but at this point I am fatigued.  

Rey also didnt get any real development in this movie.  I really am kind of left out there not looking that forward to IX.  Kylo Ren is great, but he is the bad guy/New Republic. I actually also like General Hux too.  The protagonists punched themselves out with me in this movie and I dont have strong positive feelings about any of them.  

I am actually relieved Rey's parents were nobodies.  I thought any route they went with an existing character being a parent would be forced/cheesy.... and probably not make much sense chronologically.  

Oh yeah, and if they can just take a ship, turn it toward the fleet and destroy it by shifting into hyperspace, why wouldnt they have just weaponized that earlier in the movie?

The speed/glossing over of Rey's training required too much suspension of belief as well.  That bothered me too.  It was like one or 2 lessons that she failed with flying colors, nearly falling into the dark side, then "all set.... Master!".

And I get the appetite to cast a woman in a lead/powerful role(s).  But jesus christ.  So many women in top/authority roles providing common sense, while the male cast are bumbling 2-dimensional apes.  Just seems transparent and forced

JK_Livin

Was that gold chain that Luke took from The Falcon in any of the other movies?

JojoRice

JK_Livin said:

Was that gold chain that Luke took from The Falcon in any of the other movies?

I noticed that as well and couldn't remember it being in any of the other movies. 

JimmyV

JojoRice said:

JK_Livin said:

Was that gold chain that Luke took from The Falcon in any of the other movies?

I noticed that as well and couldn't remember it being in any of the other movies. 

I wondered the same. I have no memory of it appearing before but the way it was treated makes me think it must have.

dankind

All Han's dice!

polaris_x

The film to me was a bit disjointed but overall I really liked it.  I do think this film is not going to appeal to the masses.  I, personally, enjoy fils that have subthemes related to class, the military industrial complex and the concept of democracy.  I also think the construct of "ego" was also front and centre in this film.  If you're looking for a hollywood film that doesn't touch upon current social-political issues  and would just prefer fantastic effects and fantasy - you will be disappointed. 

dankind

polaris_x said:

The film to me was a bit disjointed but overall I really liked it.  I do think this film is not going to appeal to the masses.  I, personally, enjoy fils that have subthemes related to class, the military industrial complex and the concept of democracy.  I also think the construct of "ego" was also front and centre in this film.  If you're looking for a hollywood film that doesn't touch upon current social-political issues  and would just prefer fantastic effects and fantasy - you will be disappointed. 

Wait a minute. This sounds more up this Trekkie's alley now. 

JimmyV

dankind said:

polaris_x said:

The film to me was a bit disjointed but overall I really liked it.  I do think this film is not going to appeal to the masses.  I, personally, enjoy fils that have subthemes related to class, the military industrial complex and the concept of democracy.  I also think the construct of "ego" was also front and centre in this film.  If you're looking for a hollywood film that doesn't touch upon current social-political issues  and would just prefer fantastic effects and fantasy - you will be disappointed. 

Wait a minute. This sounds more up this Trekkie's alley now. 

Maybe, but The Last Jedi is more Star Trek into Darkness than it is Wrath of Khan. I enjoyed both Trek films but also fully understand why one is beloved and one is not. Admittedly, that's not a perfect analogy. Still, my problems with TLJ aren't about its themes or any of the risks it takes. It's how it goes about tackling those themes and taking those chances that was hit or miss for me. Maybe a better analogy is a power hitter who strikes out a lot. When he makes contact, awesome. When he swings and misses, ugh.

dankind

JimmyV said:

dankind said:

polaris_x said:

The film to me was a bit disjointed but overall I really liked it.  I do think this film is not going to appeal to the masses.  I, personally, enjoy fils that have subthemes related to class, the military industrial complex and the concept of democracy.  I also think the construct of "ego" was also front and centre in this film.  If you're looking for a hollywood film that doesn't touch upon current social-political issues  and would just prefer fantastic effects and fantasy - you will be disappointed. 

Wait a minute. This sounds more up this Trekkie's alley now. 

Maybe, but The Last Jedi is more Star Trek into Darkness than it is Wrath of Khan. I enjoyed both Trek films but also fully understand why one is beloved and one is not. Admittedly, that's not a perfect analogy. Still, my problems with TLJ aren't about its themes or any of the risks it takes. It's how it goes about tackling those themes and taking those chances that was hit or miss for me. Maybe a better analogy is a power hitter who strikes out a lot. When he makes contact, awesome. When he swings and misses, ugh.

Bellhorn is a curse word in my household—kind of like Seinfeld’s Neuman but said with more rage. 

Thoughts_Arrive

I just came home from seeing it. I did not expect to read an avalanche of hate towards this movie here.
I enjoyed it.
Sad about Luke's death.

SVRDhand13

This movie is awesome and Star Trek sucks

JimmyV

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I just came home from seeing it. I did not expect to read an avalanche of hate towards this movie here.
I enjoyed it.
Sad about Luke's death.

No hate on my end. Just disappointment.

vduboise

Not hate- but I have to agree on the disappointment. My husband loved it- he said there was flaws, but overall a good movie. I felt it was lacking....something....it had really good moments but.... 

MayDay10

vduboise said:

Not hate- but I have to agree on the disappointment. My husband loved it- he said there was flaws, but overall a good movie. I felt it was lacking....something....it had really good moments but.... 

i agree...

not much really happened or was accomplished story wise.  

elvistheking44

After processing for a day or so my reactions are still the same.  There are some amazing moments in this movie, and some really not so amazing moments.  I wish Disney would slow this up a bit.  No need for a new film every year at this point.

JimmyV

One thing I can't quite figure out is how to reconcile this movie with the choice of JJ Abrams to direct the next movie. There are major elements in TLJ that feel like a course correction from The Force Awakens. Snoke's death, Rey's parents, etc. From the outside looking in it almost looks like Disney was unhappy with TFA. I personally love that movie and am happy JJ is coming back. But if Disney felt they needed to course correct then why bring him back? It's strange.

eeriepadave

I saw a 7:15 morning show today (didn't feel like dealing with too many people).  I liked it a lot, very satisfied.  Still need to digest it more.  I'll probably definitely see it again.  Agree with majority were some great scenes.

RiotZact

As someone that is a major nerd, but has never been able to catch the Star Wars bug, this was possibly my favorite one. TFA blew my mind, it was literally a carbon copy of New Hope, but with different characters and different names for stuff. “Resistance” instead of rebellion? “Star Killer” instead of Death Star? Really?? Give me a break. The ONLY thing that saved it for me was the characters, as they were all pretty well done. I was completely baffled at how it did so well with critics. 

And halfway through this movie, I was thinking the same exact thing. Carbon copy of Empire. Rey is Luke, Luke is Yoda, Kylo is Vader, Snoke is the Emperor, the other guys are the other guys, off doing their own thing. They even went to a fancy city and got betrayed by someone that they thought they could trust! I’m sitting in the theater thinking to myself “how are they going to get away with this again?? How are even the critics eating this up AGAIN?!?!” I came to the conclusion that Star Wars was the ultimate exception to the rule, the nostalgia factor was just SO HIGH that even the snobbiest of film critics couldn’t resist it, as long as it sticks true to their beloved original trilogy. 

But then they started throwing curveballs in the last 1/3 of the movie. Starting with the Rey/Kylo/Snoke scene, which is easily my favorite Star Wars scene of all time. From there on out the movie was almost entirely original and well done. Luke’s Iron Man Mark 43 armor badassery, Kylo’s surpassing of Vader in the sense that he’s overthrown the leader and become the leader himself, and also his abandonment of trying to fill Vader’s shoes and just being his own self. The Laura Dern kamikaze move! 

Still really loving the the new characters too, especially Poe. Even though I ripped on TFA and half of TLJ I really feel like this is “my” cast since I didn’t grow up with Star Wars like
most did. 

HesCalledDyer

I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did all 14 of us that went last night. It wasn’t perfect but it was still a very entertaining film. I liked it a lot more than The Force Awakens. Leave it to Pearl Jam fans to nitpick the holy fucking shit out of it and be disappointed.