Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Reaction and Discussion *CONTAINS SPOILERS*

[rteetz]

DIS review of TLJ

 

[Disneymom1126]

R2-D2 was there the Falcon was there his x-wing fighter was there, yet he dies from an astro-plaine. Bound to self exile after saving the galaxy and he doesn't even get a proper send off.

And ffs how can the Republic be the Resistance and Rebels..but still seeing it again tomorrow...go Disney.

Yoda also sent himself into exile ("Into exile I must go, failed I have") after he failed to defeat Palpatine...and stayed there till he died (after training Luke/passing along Jedi knowledge to him - with Obi Wan gone, Yoda was the Last Jedi before Luke came along). This seems like a parallel storyline to me.

 

[BrianL]

Okay, that was purely edited to make it seem like Hamill was negative in all of those interviews. That was not the case. I saw the full interviews of many of those edited clips.

Yes, he did say he had misgivings about the direction they took his character, but that he trusted Rian and that Rian was correct in the end. I think it was unexpected for him, and he believes that is a good thing for the movie and the audience.

 

[LSLS]

There were things I didn't like and kept me from thinking the movie was great. What they did with Luke really wasn't one of them. I thought it was cool how they had him portrayed, but maybe that's just cause I'm just a casual Star Wars fan.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

One quick thought...I loved that Leia is still the best shot with a blaster in the entire saga!

 

[mcjaco]

I think that’s why this intriguing. The Force Awakens was very familiar and many criticized it as a remake. The Last Jedi was definitely not a remake and helps make this trilogy stand out on its own more.

And yet, now the haters of TFA, are now saying it's way better than the TLJ. Can't please fanboys. Ever.

Yeah that was a bit disappointing.

Was it? I thought it was perfect. Like Anakin coming from really nowhere. Power can come from anyone.

This was one of my main gripes - don’t set something up as a mystery just to say it never was one. And she was plenty old enough in those memories to have, well, remembered it - I was expecting a more complex explanation for why it only came back to her when she touched the lightsaber.

You forget the line where Kylo says, "but you already knew. You remember."

I didn’t think she needed to be from the Skywalker family but to me saying she was from nobody’s was a thoughtless way to handle the backstory.

Again. Thought it was perfect.

TLJ did one thing very well. It's moving us past the Skywalker saga, and onto a new set of characters. I didn't like everything in the movie, but I thought there were some strong underlying storylines, like above (power can come from anyone), and the Jedi may not have been on the right side, and need to be reborn in a new light. Basically start from scratch. And the Sith may be no more, so a new order of Dark, Light and maybe Grey need to rise.

 

[Grand Admiral]

There were other times in episodes 1-6 where Jedi were in trouble and could have used this power. Never saw it done. Luke was hanging upside down under cloud city and he called leia, why not just float up? Why not just hover above the rancor? Why do that crazy flip off of the skiff on Tatooine? Why not just hover above? It was terrible. I liked the movie but that was terrible.

As someone already said, GRAVITY. Leia wasn't "flying through the air" she was pulling herself back into the window in zero G. She was only in vacuum for about 30 seconds. And if you want to get all sciencey about Star Wars, here's an article.

The first thing you would notice is the lack of air. You wouldn't lose consciousness straight away; it might take up to 15 seconds as your body uses up the remaining oxygen reserves from your bloodstream, and -- if you don't hold your breath -- you could perhaps survive for as long as two minutes without permanent injury.

I'm an original fan who grew up with the OT and I still enjoyed this movie a lot.

I did feel like it dragged through the casino bit and could have been done a bit more efficiently somehow. But the point of that whole sequence is passing the "spark" of rebellion to the downtrodden.

I was fine with Old Luke. So many of the people who think he was "out of character" seem to be forgetting that he has lived 35 years of life between ROTJ and this movie. He watched his nephew fall to the dark side, he lost his school that he built, and he has retreated from the Force. So yeah, his reaction to the lightsaber is "oh this thing again." It's very much in character with who he is NOW, not who he was 35 years ago.

 

[Mr. Mickey]

MAJOR news regarding low Rotten tomatoes scores

 

[Spyral]

The Skywalker storyline is still continuing. I mean, we still have Kylo Ren after all. Maybe not a Skywalker by name, but still in the bloodline.

Plus whatever they have planned for Leia in ep 9. I really hope it isn't just some mention of her passing off screen. They have said no CGI for her. Would they consider re-casting her with an actress that could do justice to the legacy of Carrie Fisher's portrayal of Leia? Perhaps someone like Sigourney Weaver?

 

[Aron1012]

There were other times in episodes 1-6 where Jedi were in trouble and could have used this power. Never saw it done. Luke was hanging upside down under cloud city and he called leia, why not just float up? Why not just hover above the rancor? Why do that crazy flip off of the skiff on Tatooine? Why not just hover above? It was terrible. I liked the movie but that was terrible.

I didn't like the scene with Leia either and agree it would have been a fitting end for her run. BUT....I didn't take it as she had the ability to fly through space. Rather I thought she used the force's ability to pull things to them (ie a lightsaber stuck in the snow). But with her floating in gravity-less space it actually brought her to the blast door. That was at least my attempt to rationalize how this could work in the land of Star Wars.....where most reality is suspended anyways.

I was thinking in another movie or Clone Wars episode a Jedi used a similar trick to propel him/her self towards an object?

 

[mcjaco]

I didn't like the scene with Leia either and agree it would have been a fitting end for her run. BUT....I didn't take it as she had the ability to fly through space. Rather I thought she used the force's ability to pull things to them (ie a lightsaber stuck in the snow). But with her floating in gravity-less space it actually brought her to the blast door. That was at least my attempt to rationalize how this could work in the land of Star Wars.....where most reality is suspended anyways.

I was thinking in another movie or Clone Wars episode a Jedi used a similar trick to propel him/her self towards an object?

The outcry after the Jedi showed more powers in the Prequels, was equally as high at that time. The special effects technology at the time of the original trilogy wasn't good enough. It's really as simple as that, and Lucas has said so.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

I have read here, and elsewhere about people being disappointed in the Snoke story...Why? He had about as much character development and screen time as the Emperor did by the time he was killed in Return of the Jedi, and in 1983 people weren't saying "we didn't know enough about him!" We had to just fill in the story with our imagination.

Sure NOW, we got the prequel trilogy to fill in the gaps in the story (though I think we were better off before the whole "only two Sith" and "The Force is all about parasites in the bloodstream" junk of the prequels) but at the time, Lucas was saying they would never get made...and we didn't knock the series for that gap.

At least we got the same actor playing him in back to back movies and didn't have them switch out for a new actor like they did with the Emperor.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

As for Rey's parentage...I think this was the best choice. Having her be some long-lost Skywalker didn't make sense, being a Palpatine or Kenobi was also cliche. If Anakin could come from nowhere to rise to the most powerful being in the Universe, why not Rey?

I know it isn't what Lucas would have done...he would have made her Kylo's twin, even with the clear age difference in the actors. And written off Han and Leia never mentioning a lost kid to "a certain point of view"

 

[tjkraz]

I have read here, and elsewhere about people being disappointed in the Snoke story...Why? He had about as much character development and screen time as the Emperor did by the time he was killed in Return of the Jedi, and in 1983 people weren't saying "we didn't know enough about him!" We had to just fill in the story with our imagination.

In fairness, viewer expectations have risen across the board in the last 35 years. I'm not just talking about Star Wars. Back in 1983, Dukes of Hazard and The A-Team were considered quality entertainment.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

In fairness, viewer expectations have risen across the board in the last 35 years. I'm not just talking about Star Wars. Back in 1983, Dukes of Hazard and The A-Team were considered quality entertainment.

And The Love Boat...so yeah...good point.

But I still think in the fandom, it is a myopic complaint...driven from the NEED to have a back story for everyone and everything on screen even if it really doesn't matter for the larger story. This fandom has gotten to the point where that want to know everything about every background character. Like at Maz's Castle, do we really need this guy's full backstory other than he vapes and was once the First Sword of Braavos?

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

So, I saw it for a 2nd time yesterday, and it has taken me a while to process. Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1) If you are on the fence or just don't like this movie, go see it again. I enjoyed it so much more the 2nd time. It was a lot easier to follow to story, and I was able to enjoy it a lot more than have people screaming and cheering at many parts of the film.

2) Luke's lightsaber...It was green, and now it is blue. When Luke faced Kylo Ren, it was blue, but in the flashbacks it was green. I know Luke was a hallow gram so basically we don't know if he could change his color since he was there but not physically. When Rey found the lightsaber in TFA, it was blue. When did it change colors?

3) The only scene that I can really not stand is when they find the red flower bloom dude. That is one of the cheesiest acting scenes I have ever seen in a Star Wars film. I just don't like the whole casino island scene anyways.

4) I really want to know how Rey found Chewie after fighting Kylo Ren. Like, we never saw her leave the ship, and they magically appear on Crait.

5) The Porgs are still the cutest things ever.

6) I enjoyed and understood Mark Hamill's acting/story a lot more the second time around.

7) I still feel the story moves really quick in some places, and I just wish they could have made a longer movie to make us understand some of the plot holes.

So, this movie has definitely grown on me after seeing it a 2nd time. After the first time I saw it, I would have given it a 6/10. I now feel like it is a 7.5 or 8/10. I still have issues with this film, but I'm happy that I can actually enjoy it. I don't know where I would rank this in terms of all of the Star Wars films, but I would probably rate 4, 5, and 6 above The Last Jedi still. I just don't know which order I would rank each film with this new installment into the franchise.

 

[BrianL]

2) Luke's lightsaber...It was green, and now it is blue. When Luke faced Kylo Ren, it was blue, but in the flashbacks it was green. I know Luke was a hallow gram so basically we don't know if he could change his color since he was there but not physically. When Rey found the lightsaber in TFA, it was blue. When did it change colors?

4) I really want to know how Rey found Chewie after fighting Kylo Ren. Like, we never saw her leave the ship, and they magically appear on Crait.

I can address the two items above.

Luke's original lightsaber was blue (Anakin's) and he lost that on Bespin. That is the one Rey has. Luke's second lightsaber is green. That is the one he has in his possession. The Force projection is just an illusion, so it can be any color it wants to be (he changed his clothes and hair too). The fact that it is blue is a tell to the audience along with his feet not leaving red marks on the ground that something wasn't right here. Honestly, Luke didn't know that Kylo had just destroyed the blue lightsaber. If Kylo had recognized that he might have seen through the illusion. Don't worry, Kylo, I didn't pick up on it either.

I do not know how they met up, but Rey does tell Chewie to meet her at a predetermined rendezvous spot, so it's not like it was serendipitous that she'd get back to the Falcon. It was planned.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I can address the two items above.

Luke's original lightsaber was blue (Anakin's) and he lost that on Bespin. That is the one Rey has. Luke's second lightsaber is green. That is the one he has in his possession. The Force projection is just an illusion, so it can be any color it wants to be (he changed his clothes and hair too). The fact that it is blue is a tell to the audience along with his feet not leaving red marks on the ground that something wasn't right here. Honestly, Luke didn't know that Kylo had just destroyed the blue lightsaber. If Kylo had recognized that he might have seen through the illusion. DOn't worry, Kylo, I didn't pick up on it either.

I do not know how they met up, but Rey does tell Chewie to meet her at a predetermined rendezvous spot, so it's not like it was serendipitous that she'd get back to the Falcon. It was planned.

Thanks for the clarification on the lightsaber. It has been a while since I have seen Empire Strikes Back so I completely forgot about that.

I know they coordinated a meeting place, but it would have been nice to see either the escape from Snoke's ship or Rey meeting back up with Chewie saying they need to go real fast. It just seemed odd to me.

 

[BrianL]

Thanks for the clarification on the lightsaber. It has been a while since I have seen Empire Strikes Back so I completely forgot about that.

I know they coordinated a meeting place, but it would have been nice to see either the escape from Snoke's ship or Rey meeting back up with Chewie saying they need to go real fast. It just seemed odd to me.

I still want to know how Maz Kanata found the blue lightsaber and if there was still a hand holding it!

 

[umichigan10]

I still want to know how Maz Kanata found the blue lightsaber and if there was still a hand holding it!

She definitely stopped by the galactic pawn broker for that