Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

[Pyroxian]

I was surprised that [spoiler]Leia survived - I assumed they would re-edit to show her dying in the final battle - expect a CGI heroic death in the next one[/spoiler]

[spoiler]They've already said that they're not going to use her likeness (CG or otherwise) in ep IX. I'm hoping she'll just always be the general in the background - 'General Organa has given us orders to do blah' etc.[/spoiler]

[Theblazeuk]

One thing about Star Wars is that yes, it's just a movie, but take it away from Star Wars and it becomes a really bad movie rather than a fun but flawed one.

[Apestrife]

Wish they'd simplified the threat a bit. For example [spoiler]making the fuel-gage into "lots of astroids in the area, which is why we need to tread lightly but still can move a bit faster than the first order[/spoiler] and [spoiler]skipped the tracking stuff, and just gone for a tractor beam or whatever.[/spoiler]. Also scenes like the [spoiler]prison break[/spoiler] could'v benefitted from getting trimmed. For example if [spoiler]DJ-Toro showing them he has a key, then cut to them crawling up from a man hole in the stable. Go for moments instead of a bunch of move from A to B.[/spoiler]

Regardless. I hope kids enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Star wars as a kid

[TordelBack]

I was surprised that [spoiler]Leia survived - I assumed they would re-edit to show her dying in the final battle - expect a CGI heroic death in the next one[/spoiler]

[spoiler]They've already said that they're not going to use her likeness (CG or otherwise) in ep IX. I'm hoping she'll just always be the general in the background - 'General Organa has given us orders to do blah' etc.[/spoiler]

My guess is a decent time jump and a memorial service at the start of IX. Which I've just realised is 2 years away. Arse!

[TordelBack]

Incidentally, I love the idea [spoiler]that the FO are somehow useless in this flick. From where I was sitting they recovered from losing their superweapon and obliterated the Resistance base with two shots, then over a day or two hunted down and destroyed their entire fleet, all their starfighters, Admiral Ackbar and all but a dozen of their members, exhausting Luke Skywalker to death in the process. At the end, Kylo Ren was unopposed Emo ruler of the galaxy [/spoiler] Sounds a hell of a lot more success in a short time than the Empire ever managed.

[radiator]

Wish they'd simplified the threat a bit. For example [spoiler]making the fuel-gage into "lots of astroids in the area, which is why we need to tread lightly but still can move a bit faster than the first order[/spoiler] and [spoiler]skipped the tracking stuff, and just gone for a tractor beam or whatever.[/spoiler]. Also scenes like the [spoiler]prison break[/spoiler] could'v benefitted from getting trimmed. For example if [spoiler]DJ-Toro showing them he has a key, then cut to them crawling up from a man hole in the stable. Go for moments instead of a bunch of move from A to B.[/spoiler]

I know what you mean - for me a lot of the issues I had with plot stuff are a result of simply too much plot. Imo it was overly complicated for what I feel should be a pretty straightforward A to B story - too many maguffins, too many characters etc to the point where I occasionally struggled to follow exactly what was happening at any one time and why, which isn't what I want to feel during a 'kid's space wizard movie'. It was overall badly in need of some paring down and streamlining, though that's a criticism I'd level at 90% of modern blockbuster/genre movies.

To be positive for a minute, having had a little more time to think it over, though I still have a lot of issues with the execution of the ending, I for one am really relieved that [spoiler]we didn't see Luke marching out into the battlefield, pulling down AT-ATs and slaughtering hundreds of Imperials in a blaze of glory. I know that's what a lot of fans wanted to see, and that would have been the easy way for the filmmakers to go, but I'm really glad they instead embraced the pacifist/spiritual side of Luke - and of the principles of the Jedi in general - to resolve the situation, which seemed so much more in keeping with the Luke of RotJ in my mind.[/spoiler]

I've long had a major problem with how the prequels portrayed the Jedi as sort of campy lightsaber-twirling acrobats, whose abilities are drawn from a firmly established moveset of powers including Force Push™ and Force Lightning™. My perception of the Jedi as per the OT was that they are much more mystical, kind of zen warrior monk figures, who would only ever use violence as an absolute last resort, and are much more likely to use their enemies' own aggression to defeat them. If they go around solving every problem with the pointy end of a lightsaber, then what exactly separates them from the Dark Side? Imo one of the best things TLJ did was embrace this more spiritual, almost magical aspect of the Jedi.

[TordelBack]

Spot on about Luke there. [spoiler]Here we see the Jedi genuinely using the Force for 'knowledge and defense' at long last, not to mention the ironic apotheosis of Luke's tendency to always look towards the horizon, his mind truly not on where he is.[/spoiler] So much better and wilder than a my-Schwartz-is-bigger-than-yours beat down. As you probably know, the original ending to RotJ hado Ben's force-ghost protect Luke from Palp's lightning, fulfilling his promise to become 'more powerful' rather literally. [spoiler]Luke's solution was a more subtle realisation of this thread.[/spoiler]

[JamesC]

Incidentally, I love the idea [spoiler]that the FO are somehow useless in this flick. From where I was sitting they recovered from losing their superweapon and obliterated the Resistance base with two shots, then over a day or two hunted down and destroyed their entire fleet, all their starfighters, Admiral Ackbar and all but a dozen of their members, exhausting Luke Skywalker to death in the process. At the end, Kylo Ren was unopposed Emo ruler of the galaxy [/spoiler] Sounds a hell of a lot more success in a short time than the Empire ever managed.

Well the resistance are even worse than they are!

[Professor Bear]

Hmmm.  I didn't like that at all.
Some of it was stupid ([spoiler]Mary Poppins space Leia[/spoiler]), some of it was superfluous (everything featuring Del Toro), some of was immersion-breaking ([spoiler]starting the film with a "Hold the line" joke whose punchline is "YO MOMMA"[/spoiler]), and I got the impression that a lot of it was just reactive to criticism of TFA and second-guessing the expectations of fans, particularly Kylo's [spoiler]heel/face/heel[/spoiler] schtick or Rey's parents [spoiler]being "nobodies"[/spoiler].
Rose seemed okay until she turned into yet another avatar character for SW fandom, when arguably we already have Rey for that, but hey, at least it was worth Mark Hamill's time turning up - but poor old JJA is [spoiler]running out of OT characters to kill off in part 9[/spoiler], so expect to see Billy Dee Williams signed up for that any day now.

[radiator]

Doubt we'll see Lando, isn't Billy Dee in his 80s now? He was looking pretty rough in an episode of Modern Family last time I saw him, and that was 5+ years ago.

[The Legendary Shark]

Just sat down in the cinema to watch this.

Shush now...

[JamesC]

Hmmm.  I didn't like that at all.
Some of it was stupid ([spoiler]Mary Poppins space Leia[/spoiler]), some of it was superfluous (everything featuring Del Toro), some of was immersion-breaking ([spoiler]starting the film with a "Hold the line" joke whose punchline is "YO MOMMA"[/spoiler]), and I got the impression that a lot of it was just reactive to criticism of TFA and second-guessing the expectations of fans, particularly Kylo's [spoiler]heel/face/heel[/spoiler] schtick or Rey's parents [spoiler]being "nobodies"[/spoiler].
Rose seemed okay until she turned into yet another avatar character for SW fandom, when arguably we already have Rey for that, but hey, at least it was worth Mark Hamill's time turning up - but poor old JJA is [spoiler]running out of OT characters to kill off in part 9[/spoiler], so expect to see Billy Dee Williams signed up for that any day now.

Chewie, Threepio or Artoo?

[Dandontdare]

Just remembered another thought I had - In the middle of a desperate war and evacuation, why is one of the rebel commanders coming to work in an evening gown? Was she at a dinner dance when the baddies attacked and didn't have time to change?

[Steve Green]

Guessing that it's so [spoiler]Poe's comment that he's surprised she's the vice-admiral doesn't come off as too Roger Moorish "A woman/raised eyebrow?" when he's been serving under Leia for a good few years.

Not sure it exactly works[/spoiler]

[Pyroxian]

Just remembered another thought I had - In the middle of a desperate war and evacuation, why is one of the rebel commanders coming to work in an evening gown? Was she at a dinner dance when the baddies attacked and didn't have time to change?

Well, if it worked for Mon Mothma...