Saw it last week with two of my teenage sons. We were all underwhelmed to varying degrees. I liked all the callbacks to earlier SW movies, enjoyed the interplay between Poe and Finn, and was impressed by the sfx and alien worlds (especially the mountainous seas on the Endor moon), but thought it was very implausible (even for SW!) at times.
Some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff, I thought, from Wiki and IMDB:
[spoiler]From Wiki:
Denis Lawson and Warwick Davis briefly reprise their roles as Wedge Antilles, a veteran of the Rebel Alliance; and Wicket W. Warrick, the leader of the Ewoks, respectively.
Composer John Williams cameos as Oma Tres, a Kijimi bartender, and Lin-Manuel Miranda cameos as a Resistance trooper.
Director J. J. Abrams also provides the voice for D-O [the little one-wheel droid].
Ed Sheeran, Dhani Harrison, Nigel Godrich, J.D Dillard, and Dave Hearn cameo as stormtroopers.
After Boyega [Finn] accidentally left a copy of the script in his hotel room, it was listed on eBay for around £65. A Disney employee identified the script as authentic and purchased it from the seller for an undisclosed sum.
A shot near the end of the film, featuring two female Resistance members kissing, was cut in Dubai and Singapore.
From IMDB.com:
During the massive crowd celebration scene, C-3PO says that this event happens once every 42 years. This was the time between the first Star Wars movie to be released in 1977 and this film.
Footage of Carrie Fisher from the prior two films was incorporated through the process of rotoscoping, or digitally removing the background of footage and superimposing it elsewhere. Visual effects were also used to change her wardrobe and add gray to her hair so the footage from the films would match.
Producers had a bigger role planned for Leia prior to Carrie Fisher’s death. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy remarked, “(Carrie) grabbed me and said, ‘I’d better be at the forefront of IX!’ Because Harrison was front and center on VII, and Mark is front and center on VIII. She thought IX would be her movie. And it would have been.” After her death, family members Todd Fisher and Billie Lourd granted Disney and Lucasfilm permission to use Carrie’s likeness in the form of unused footage…
With a gap of thirty-six years, the return of the characters Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles marks the longest time for any original actors to reprise his role.
Following a large Twitter campaign, this film was privately screened to a terminally ill man from the Rowan Hospice in Waterlooville, Hampshire, [England] on November 29, 2019. At his own request, the patient’s name was not made public.
The design of Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) repaired mask is possibly based on kintsugi, a centuries-old Japanese art to repair broken pottery by joining them together with a golden lacquer, giving the fractures a unique golden pattern. In Japanese culture, the kintsugi technique also stands for highlighting imperfections and giving new life to a broken object, which may be symbolic for the character: By repairing his mask, he attempts to revive his Kylo Ren persona, despite the failures he had endured in his past.
When Rey finds the second Sith Wayfinder in the secret room at the Emperor’s throne room of Second Death Star, she briefly fights against her Sith version. It mirrors the battle between Luke Skywalker against his evil version in the cavern of Dagobah seen in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) is the only actor who appeared in all 9 official Star Wars saga live action films (as well as the various spin-offs). His involvement goes back to the very first film in 1977, and it is widely believed (but unconfirmed as of November 2019) this may be both his and his character’s farewell appearance in the series.
C-3PO’s last line of dialogue, “Did you hear that?” was also his first line in Star Wars (1977), making a perfect bookend to the character.
Ian McDiarmid had reservations about coming back to the Star Wars universe, especially since he (and the rest of the world) thought the Evil Emperor was dead at the end of Jedi: "According to Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid, however, it was never Lucas’ intention to resurrect the villainous character. “I thought I was dead!” McDiarmid told Digital Spy in a recent video interview. “I thought he was dead. Because when we did ‘Return of the Jedi,’ and I was thrown down that chute to Galactic Hell, he was dead. And I said, ‘Oh, does he come back?’ And [George] said, ‘No, he’s dead.’ So I just accepted that. But then, of course, I didn’t know I was going to be doing the prequels, so in a sense he wasn’t dead, because we went back to revisit him when he was a young man. But I was totally surprised by this.”
Among the Jedi voices Rey hears during the “all Jedi” scene are: Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Luminara Unduli (Olivia d’Abo), Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Aayla Secura (Jennifer Hale), Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), younger Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), older Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Yoda (Frank Oz), Adi Gallia (Angelique Perrin), Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
When Rey has her first vision of the Jedi on Takodana in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you can hear Obi-Wan Kenobi’s voice saying “Rey, these are your first steps.” Towards the end of this movie, you can hear his voice saying “Rey, these are your final steps.”
The ship “Ghost” (Star Wars Rebels), can be seen multiple times in the final battle. This is not the first appearance of the ship outside the series. The ship can also be spotted in Rogue One: a Star Wars Story.
Firefly Easter egg: in the scene where ships from across the Galaxy come to help the Rebellion, Serenity is very visible, center of the screen, obstructed slightly by the ship the camera is following.
Luke Skywalker’s final triumphant feat at the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga is to lift his X-Wing from its sunken state, a feat he could not accomplish in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). This moment serves to prove how strong he has become as a Jedi Master.
The saga ends on planet Tatooine, where it started on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). [/spoiler]
