[Spoilers from second post]
God damn. I mean, God DAMN.
Sorry, I’m still processing here. Or at least, trying to process. Star Wars has been a cornerstone of my spiritual existence since I was four years old, and this was… Well, it’s what I wanted. Even the parts of it I didn’t know I wanted.
Especially the parts I didn’t know I wanted.
What a wonderful movie. Sure, there were a few flaws - a wonky timeline, some dubious technology, a slightly overlong midsection - but flaws do not preclude greatness. All the Star Wars movies are flawed to one degree or another; few if any are this good.
This was possibly the most beautiful-looking SW movie yet. Luke’s island, the salt flats, the Akira-Kurosawa-by-way-of-Fritz-Lang throne room fight - it was just a joy to look at.
Luke’s final gambit was great, but I suspected it was coming - I was looking at his feet.
Snoke was a bitch, and he died like a bitch.
Great space battles. Great all battles, really.
The reveal about Rey’s parenthood was just perfect. Enough Skywalkers, enough Chosen Ones!
Yes, Luke died. But he had to die, and he died well.
Just great acting all around.
The midsection had a bit of a Harry Potter vibe to it, didn’t it? Also, Yoda was more Muppety than in the prequals, which I appreciated.
Another Kurosawa reference - the Rashomon-like depictions of Kylo’s turn to the dark side.
In short, as some reviewer said, if Ep7 stole from the original trilogy, this film stole from everything - just like the original trilogy did.
Now that we are doing spoilers, there was one thing where I first thought it was a continuity error, then thought it made sense… but now think Kylo Ren should have noticed.
When Luke was doing his astral projection bit on the salt flats (and indeed, retroactively the feet and lack of prints was a give away) he was using his blue light saber… the one Rey had taken and which was split in two between her and Kylo Ren (We see the green Return of the Jedi saber in the flash backs when Luke wants to kill Ben). It makes sense that Luke didn’t know about the destruction of the blue saber… but you would have expected that Kylo Ren might have noticed Luke was fighting him the saber he saw being annihilated.
Loved Ben’s and Luke’s view of the force and Jedi vs Sith. Only Rey seems to really believe… and remember she didn’t get to hear Luke’s turn on a last Jedi existing.
One last thing I was left wondering about, was Rey going into the “dark side pit” on the island… but apparently without much effect on her.
Loved the ride… have to rewatch the movie a few times to draw a definitive conclusion about the movie. Really want to see episode IX now…
Yeah, Luke stating that the Force will continue to exist whether or not there are Jedi was perfect. As was his admission that the Jedi weren’t all that great to begin with.
We saw the movie last night Australian time, just after midnight.
Damn, just damn. That was good.
In random order:
It’s a gorgeous movie, just beautiful.
The porgs were very background - I was worried about them taking over a la Minions, but they were there basically for one good joke with Chewie and that was about it. (The vulptexes are way more appealing too.)
Great to see Poe Dameron on screen more.
Where The Force Awakens retrod plot beats, The Last Jedi subverted them, always going off in unexpected directions.
Touching and fitting farewell to Carrie Fisher - the lines where Luke was saying goodbye to Leia felt like the Star Wars world saying goodbye to Carrie.
Damn, Mark Hamill’s come a long way as an actor.
Luke’s always had a little showman - the little shoulder-flick after Kylo Ren’s initial attempt at killing him was perfect.
So much to think about. But here are a few highlights.
[ul]
[li]I liked how in Luke’s astral projection he was thinner, with tidier hair that was less grey.[/li][li]The humour was strong throughout, coming from both sides, Hux particularly, and especially surprising when coming from Kylo Ren.[/li][li]There were some similarities to Empire Strikes Back, but they couldn’t avoid that as the ANH similarities provided by The Force Awakens forced them to. But they made up for it by rearranging them into a different order, cribbing from both the Prequels and Return of the Jedi too, and then drawing to different conclusions, and just taking them all to a whole new level.[/li][li]The porgs were fine. I could’ve lived without them, but they didn’t outstay their welcome.[/li][li]The Canto Bight scene was a bit crap really. I suppose it was the Cloud City-esque scene that they thought it needed, but it really didn’t add much and felt a bit clumsy.[/li][li]Was hoping for an Obi-Wan appearance, but Yoda was plenty enough, and beautifully done.[/li][li]I liked all the new characters. They kept me guessing, I didn’t know who to trust.[/li][li]I hope Phasma survived. She probably didn’t.[/li][li]Even though it went a bit weird and esoteric in places, and had a lot of flashbacks, it really felt like Star Wars[/li][li]There were too many endings.[/li][/ul]
I think this was the first time since 1983 that I found myself watching a Star Wars film and having no idea what was about to happen. Such a strange feeling.
I’ve seen it twice now, and the thing that really stands out is the acting. I try not to crap on Hayden Christensen and (especially) Jake Lloyd, who was just a kid after all, but they really hurt the prequels - which had enough problems on their own. But Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver are simply fantastic together. I have no idea where their relationship is going, but they made me care. The reveal of Rey’s parents scene is magic.
I liked it a lot, and it was very beautiful. But, to be cranky about some things:
As GuanoLad said, too many endings. Really, there were just too many “escape in the nick of time” moments, and it started to get repetitive. And, let’s make sure we have every kind of Star Wars combat covered. Light saber duel. Blaster fight. Millenium Falcon through some narrow caves. X-Wings getting close and low on capital ships. Land speeders. AT-AT walkers. Giant mega guns. It was just too much.
Poe’s character is developing all of the dickishness of Han Solo, with none of the charm. I also felt a little let down by the fact that they set up this great “women can lead just fine, thankyouverymuch” plot, and then Poe stages a mutiny, and afterwards the women are like, “oh, what a scamp! Boys will be boys!”
But, I did love it. Ray is great! Kylo Ren is much less annoying with his helmet off. A fun time, and I like where the plot/arc has gone.
The chemistry between Rey and Kyle Ren. I especially enjoyed the fight scene just after Snoke died, when they were fighting together against the imperial guards.
The relationship between Finn and Rose was really good to. Even with the other unfinished things I note below, the main thing I hope that episode IX reveals is that Rose survives.
Seeing Luke get to meet the old crew one last time.
The brief moment when Rey used Kyle Ren’s lightsaber.
Rey being revealed to have ordinary parents.
There are lots of other great scenes and the special effects, visuals, and music were all great. Now for a few minor things that bugged me.
The astral projection Luke using a blue lightsaber. I wanted to see the green one.
The casino scene was too much James Bond and not enough Star Wars.
We probably will never find out where Snoke came from. I still think he was Darth Plagueis, but we’ll probably never know for sure. This part bugs me the most. Snoke was obviously around during the time of the original trilogy. Either the rule of two is completely busted and the Emperor and Vader missed a Sith Lord that was right under their nose, or Snoke was really Darth Plagueis. I don’t see any other option.
I suppose I did overlook one possibility regarding Snoke. Maybe Vader had an apprentice that we didn’t know about. I still wonder how he got so powerful. It seems he was more powerful than even Palpatine was.
Awesome pic though very very dark. The audience applauded when Snoke got half yarded, which says a lot about Kyle and Rae characters. Epic battle scenes. Mark Hamill was epic.
I strongly disagree with critics who say the movie doesn’t move the plot along…in fact many issues of the core religious mythology of the series was resolved.
I also thought the reaction to Po’s mutiny a bit odd, though I disagree with the previous criticism of the character. He provided a lot of comic relief. No idea what the point of the black hole scene was.
Am I missing something about Rae’s parental reveal? OK so her parents were low life drunks. Why is everyone raving about it?
The black hole scene was the equivalent of the scene in Empire Strikes Back when Luke goes into the swamp, fights Vader, only to see his own face. In this case Rey was looking for similar answers and only saw her own face. The very same idea also happens in an episode of Rebels. It’s a rite of passage, though I guess open to interpretation.
Just saw it. Loved it. So many amazing movie aspects, regardless of the saga. Also great from a saga standpoint.
The red salt was one of the best cinematic things I’ve ever seen.
I want a collection of those red guards outside my house as Christmas decorations, stat!
And is everyone’s phone fixing Kylo’s name to Kyle? Cuz that’s hilarious!
I think this is the second movie I’ve ever seen that made me want to see it again right away (the other is Mad Max:Fury Road). I’m not that kind of movie fan usually. But damn.
I think the reveal about Rey’s family was awesome because it was built up so much and it turns out they were nobodies. JUST LIKE YOUR PARENTS TOO! We can all be Jedi!! Woo!
I spotted that Luke didn’t leave any red foot prints on the salt plains, but I just thought his fighting style was lighter on his feet than Ren’s. Along with the more youthful appearance and surviving a sustained heavy laser barrage I really should have twigged sooner.
Was really quite surprised at Leia’s survivial of being deep spaced. Given that we all know Carrie Fisher has passed, I honestly thought that was Leia’s death scene.
The most strained plot points of the movie for me was the active tracking thing and the mad rush to the casino planet. The traitor code breaker guy was good though. Wonder if we’ll see him again. Don’t think he’s redeemable Lando Calrissian style as Lando had much nobler motives for his actions and helped put things right by aiding the Han rescue. This guy has caused several transports worth of rebels to be killed for nothing more than money.
I had to sit in the front row thanks to a last minute work trip that I took since I am evacuated due to the Thomas fire anyway. I was only able to get a front row seat, and that’s too close for the 3D to work correctly. I¡m going to have to see it properly soon.
Here’s my question. What the hell was going on with Leila unfreezing and flying back to the ship? In the moment, I guessed she had turned into a force ghost, but that clearly wasn’t it. Baffled by that part.
ETA: I’m also still pissed at that asshole that posted spoilers in the thread titles here yesterday. What a dick.
Just got out of it. Simply amazing. I don’t think any Star Wars movie has had such a lingering feel of doom as this one, with the Resistance shrinking from an entire fleet to enough people to fit onto the Falcon, and nobody left to help when they sent out their signal.
I was a little thrown by Po’s use of the phrase “big-ass door” and the Vice Admiral wishing “Godspeed” to the rebels. Seemed a little out of place for the setting.
I guess the “theme” of the movie is that heroes are fallible and Bold Heroic Gestures won’t always save the day. Luke created Kylo Ren through his own fear. Po’s plan to save the fleet nearly got them all killed. Rey’s attempt to save Kylo wound up making him Supreme Leader.
