Star Wars Episode VIII - The Last Jedi *spoilers from Post 2857*

david75

Drumpot wrote: »

Just saw it for second time. Much better on second viewing.. 8-9 out of 10

really is..the shocks and wtf doesnt hit at all and the truly great moments and they are many, get their full room the shine.

this is why i think thjis will be seen as probably brilliant, in time

BlitzKrieg

david75 wrote: »

really is..the shocks and wtf doesnt hit at all and the truly great moments and they are many, get their full room the shine.

this is why i think thjis will be seen as probably brilliant, in time

I had a similar reaction to the force awakens, I hadnt seen it since it came out and remember liking it but finding its similarities to A New Hope grating.

Coming back to it 2 years later I found it's characterisations much stronger and it was very enjoyable film over all.

That also fed into The Last Jedi as I saw them in a double bill so it running so immediately off the first film actually made the opening much stronger then I think it felt for others.

constitutionus

well back from this just now.

i liked it !

its a solid 7/10 like others have said.

im NOT a huge star wars fan, transformers was more my thing (G1 not the bay trash) , but i was around for the original trilogy onwards and this is a good entrant to the series.

i DO think its a bit all over the place in the first 2 acts. it just kinda "happened" without any real weight to it and the rose character bugged the hell out of me in a "mary sue" kinda way. but by GOD is this the most badass luke skywalker has ever been.

that final act was just heroic fantasy made manifest.

theres about 3 really really good stand out moments of "wow" in this that make me forgive its flaws. they do a great job of portraying how people like leia and luke are regarded by the average rebel and the awe they inspire in them which really helps you understand why they'd die for em.

in fairness something ive not seen in the other films.

all in all its got the visuals you expect from a SW flim, the characters worked great for me and developed well - particularly kylo and rey- and there was some lovely call backs to earlier films that didnt seem like overt fan service.

honestly i can see myself going again.

david75

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

I had a similar reaction to the force awakens, I hadnt seen it since it came out and remember liking it but finding its similarities to A New Hope grating.

Coming back to it 2 years later I found it's characterisations much stronger and it was very enjoyable film over all.

That also fed into The Last Jedi as I saw them in a double bill so it running so immediately off the first film actually made the opening much stronger then I think it felt for others.

thats interesting..i hadnt thought about how TLJ will reframe TFA..they definitely have a smiliar high energy but TLJ ramps it up to 11

Saruhashi

david75 wrote: »

probably cos an overwhelming amount of people like it?

its a very challenging film and some people dont like being challenged on one hand, yet b!tch and moan when they think something too safe like TFA in their view..

no pleasing some people.

Sorry but I completely disagree with this. The film has 2 or 3 occasions where characters explicitly tell the audience exactly what is going on.

I don't think questionable dialogue or plot or design choices should automatically be seen as challenging. It's not challenging at all and, to be fair, that argument could be used to dismiss almost any criticism.

Sure they could just have Episode IX end with young Anakin waking up on Tatooine and saying "Threepio, I just had the strangest dream".

Would that be challenging? Could we dismiss people who don't like that ending with "some people don't like to be challenged"?

I think it says a lot when we're effectively saying "some people just can't handle they challenge" to dismiss criticism of the movie.

Sure that Midi-chlorian stuff was just "challenging" and some people just don't like sand being challenged.

Kirby

david75 wrote: »

some people dont like being challenged on one hand, yet b!tch and moan when they think something too safe like TFA in their view..

Whether you like or dislike THIS film has nothing to do with TFA being too safe. TFA was too safe.

TFA is a decent watch and I enjoy it more through repeat viewings but that doesn't detract from the disappointment of the first viewing. It's a complete rehash of a new hope.

The Last Jedi has a few faults and a few choices I don't agree with but its a far superior film if only for the fact that it's a new film. People talking about it being similar to Empire Strikes back is bizarre. Okay,we have an old jedi master training a student in both.....and that's about it. Some people seem to think cloud city is the same as the casino planet......but thats really stretching it.

Empire and this movie are very, very different from a visual standpoint, a tonal one, a pacing one....the list goes on.

david75

Saruhashi wrote: »

Sorry but I completely disagree with this. The film has 2 or 3 occasions where characters explicitly tell the audience exactly what is going on.

I don't think questionable dialogue or plot or design choices should automatically be seen as challenging. It's not challenging at all and, to be fair, that argument could be used to dismiss almost any criticism.

Sure they could just have Episode IX end with young Anakin waking up on Tatooine and saying "Threepio, I just had the strangest dream".

Would that be challenging? Could we dismiss people who don't like that ending with "some people don't like to be challenged"?

I think it says a lot when we're effectively saying "some people just can't handle they challenge" to dismiss criticism of the movie.

Sure that Midi-chlorian stuff was just "challenging" and some people just don't like sand being challenged.

again, read back through the thread..'made a balls of it' and comments like it,its challenged what star wars is to people. its a totally different new approach to star wars. therefore, it is challenging them.

irishthump

david75 wrote: »

probably cos an overwhelming amount of people like it?

its a very challenging film and some people dont like being challenged on one hand, yet b!tch and moan when they think something too safe like TFA in their view..

no pleasing some people.

What are you trying to say here?

I have no problem being "challenged" by a film. Let's be clear, I had no problem with the direction the characters and plot took in TLJ. My problem was with the execution which was piss-poor.

david75

Going in for a third viewing. cover me.

irishthump

david75 wrote: »

again, read back through the thread..'made a balls of it' and comments like it,its challenged what star wars is to people. its a totally different new approach to star wars. therefore, it is challenging them.

Please don't misquote me. I said Johnson made "an unholy balls of it".

irishthump

david75 wrote: »

Going in for a third viewing. cover me.

Someone should cover your eyes and ears. Maybe even the cost of a shrink....

david75

irishthump wrote: »

Someone should cover your eyes and ears. Maybe even the cost of a shrink....

you dont seem to be able to read complete sentences, but if you want to go the hostile route bring it.

bennyl10

irishthump wrote: »

Believe me I'm as surprised as you to hear me say that!

What baffles me is the OVERWHELMING amount of positive reviews.

It's nowhere near as bad as the prequels for one would be why..

It's a very well shot movie, it's a well acted, for The most part movie, and the story, while fine pissing off a few die hards, who would have found something to bitch about anyway, is actually quite good for the majority!

Yes Johnson made some choices that people aren't overly happy with, but they could well end up being essential for the growth of the franchise as a whole.

It's a good movie on first viewing, it's a thinker,

And it's one I imagine that on second viewing will be fantastic!!

Saruhashi

david75 wrote: »

have you read this thread?

This is such a kop out. Effectively saying that people who don't like the movie just aren't able to appreciate or understand it.

What I'm seeing is that Star Wars is this massive cultural event and maybe people feel a lot of pressure to not ruin it.

Even on this thread I almost feel like by not enjoying the movie I'm like some guy running into a kids birthday party destroying the cake and stealing the presents.

I understood the movie perfectly fine and I understood it's motivations. I just also thought it was crap.

irishthump

david75 wrote: »

you dont seem to be able to read complete sentences, but if you want to go the hostile route bring it.

Wow. Looks like some people can't handle being challenged.

irishthump

Saruhashi wrote: »

Even on this thread I almost feel like by not enjoying the movie I'm like some guy running into a kids birthday party destroying the cake and stealing the presents.

I feel your pain. On this forum the policy seems to be to try to shut down anybody who expresses a negative view on this movie. I wanted this movie to be good more than anything in the world but I'm sorry, it didn't work for me.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan. But my opinion is not me throwing my toys out the pram because I think Disney has just ruined my precious franchise. I was quietly optimistic when Disney took over as I've always felt that George Lucas needed to be reigned in to really make his vision shine. Like I said the new direction for the trilogy is fresh and exciting and I'm all for it but Rian Johnson did a poor job of realising it.

geecee

Kirby wrote: »

People talking about it being similar to Empire Strikes back is bizarre. Okay,we have an old jedi master training a student in both.....and that's about it.

Errm:

Rebel ice base being attacked by Giant mechanical walkers

rebel transports being pursued by star destroyers

Reluctant good guy (finn/han) being shamed into staying with the rebels when the going gets tough

Treacherous guy selling out the good guys to the empire for wads of cash

There are a hell of a lot of similarities for me... although thankfully not as many as TFA with ANH

Saruhashi

david75 wrote: »

again, read back through the thread..'made a balls of it' and comments like it,its challenged what star wars is to people. its a totally different new approach to star wars. therefore, it is challenging them.

I think claiming he "made a balls of it" is an acceptable point of view.

The tone was all over the place.
Some of the acting was atrocious (Hux in the opening scene for exapmle).
A lot of the humor just doesn't land and for some will be groan inducing and eye-rolling probably at the same time.
There is a side plot that drags the movie significantly.

For the SW purists, if we want to call them that, there are decisions regarding the force and aspects of SW tech that would raise an eyebrow.

You admit that it's a totally different new approach to Star Wars so in that respect I would say that you probably agree with the other poster.

Where you disagree is whether or not you think the new approach is a good one. Plenty of people think it is, plenty of people think it isn't. Many more people will be somewhere in between.

It's not fair, I think, to equate not liking the movie with not being able to handle the "challenge" of the movie.

Just as it wouldn't be fair to say that some people will watch the movie 3 or 4 or 5 times in the first weekend trying to convince themselves that it's actually good. Don't you agree?

A lot of the initial buzz for this movie, and many of the reviews, contained a certain word. "Divisive".

For me this is enough of an acknowledgement that there are things in the movie that some SW fans will love and things in the movie that some SW fans will hate.

Inviere

I'll keep it short & sweet (I avoided all spoilers, went in cold, and have avoided ALL reviews/thoughts on it since seeing it)...

It's not the best since Empire, it's the best of them all. I say that as a 25 year fan of the franchise, I grew up as a kid watching the OT, & pardon the hyperbole, but this film could have been written for me. I enjoyed every single second of the 2hr 30 minute runtime. In my humble opinion, they absolutely nailed it. The one part of it that for me was questionable, was when Leia took herself back onto the destroyed bridge...even for Star Wars, that was fantastical.

TL:DR, pretty much perfection. The real problem for me now, is trying to envisage how IX can top it.

Saruhashi

irishthump wrote: »

I feel your pain. On this forum the policy seems to be to try to shut down anybody who expresses a negative view on this movie. I wanted this movie to be good more than anything in the world but I'm sorry, it didn't work for me.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan. But my opinion is not me throwing my toys out the pram because I think Disney has just ruined my precious franchise. I was quietly optimistic when Disney took over as I've always felt that George Lucas needed to be reigned in to really make his vision shine. Like I said the new direction for the trilogy is fresh and exciting and I'm all for it but Rian Johnson did a poor job of realising it.

Same here. I was definitely one of those who just didn't want to accept that the prequels were awful and to some extent I still don't. I'll defend them for expansion of the Star Wars universe and the amount of creativity on display.

When I came out of TFA in 2015 I realized in the first few scenes that it wasn't going to be rubbish and that Kylo Ren and Poe and Finn were great and I was delighted by how funny and fresh and exciting it all felt. I bounded home excited about the possibilities and I defended that movie from people who I thought just didn't "get it". It has 81 on Metacritic, I argued. It has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. How could people possibly think it was a load of old rubbish?

Now it's my turn to be that voice of disagreement. From the first scene of TLJ things felt "off". At points I felt the film was being deliberately obnoxious. I simply didn't enjoy it and the more I think about that the more I am raising an eyebrow at the enthusiastic review scores on sites I was using as "proof" that TFA was awesome just 2 years ago.

AMKC

Well I went a seen it today in the Savoy and there was a good crowd there even for the early time it was. I enjoyed the movie. I liked the way there was some humour in it but it was very dark in places too. There was certain parts of it I was not to keen on and I would not say its my favorite Star Wars movie ever. A lot of things in it are very similar to T.E.S.B I think think certain parts of it were very repetitive. I have to say I preferred The Force Awakens more. The Return of The Jedi is still my favorite Star Wars film do.

brevity

Hmmmm....

Sad Professor

A reminder to please keep it friendly everyone. Take the bickering to pm. Thanks.

furiousox

I'm old enough to remember going to the original in the Savoy back in 1977/78 and there is NO cinema experience (then or now) like when the lights go down, that music kicks in and the SW logo appears on the screen!

Sadly, this was a bit of a let down for me, it's been well and truly Disneyfied now.
Some overacting, clunky dialogue and pointless plot diversions (casino section) outweighed the positive opening and closing sections for me.

DrWu

Going through the reviews today and almost all of them are extremely positive. The only ones with a whiny tone were the Irish Times and Irish indo. There's a kind of snobbery about both pieces. Anyway the review in the Telegraph just about sums up how I felt about TLJ:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/star-wars-last-jedi-critics-review/

NIMAN

furiousox wrote: »

I'm old enough to remember going to the original in the Savoy back in 1977/78 and there is NO cinema experience (then or now) like when the lights go down, that music kicks in and the SW logo appears on the screen!

Sadly, this was a bit of a let down for me, it's been well and truly Disneyfied now.
Some overacting, clunky dialogue and pointless plot diversions (casino section) outweighed the positive opening and closing sections for me.

These are in the original films aplenty.

radonicus

I thought it was appalling, an unbelievable disappointment.

The plot, how they went about it, the amount of humour (and especially when it was used. I appreciate there was humour in the originals, but it was judiciously applied. With this, no. For comparison sake, it would be like in the original trilogy adding slapstick to the Emperor scene in Empire, or during the desert scene with Jabba, totally out of place and therefore removing any tension in the scene), the porgs. They even screwed up the showpiece battle scenes.

Very disappointed, after seeing the Force Awakens and Rogue One.

And one scene in particular has killed Star Wars as we have known it. Gobsmacked.

Will be interested to see how this is received.

AMKC

Tylerdurex wrote: »

david75 wrote: »

The sheer effort of what he had just done..projecting himself across the galaxy to face his nephew, but he chose to die..jedi can choose to

I would say it took a lot out of him too.

For me the way Luke was done was this movies biggest disappointment. I like many have for years imagined how powerful could have become and really wanted to see him kick Ass

Yes I agree with you here that to me was also a disappointment. I so wanted to see what you said.

tony stark

That was phantom menace bad. I think at one stage a little kid even had a cheesy line a la jake Lloyd . Apart from the terrible dialogue it suffered from being disjointed. A movie made by a committee. It didn't join together. Hamill and Driver were wasted. Two great performances pity about the script, story, terrible computer effects and direction. I really tried to make it work, I kept rooting for it. What did Johnson do that was so divisive? Disney obviously has a heap of critics on payroll. I'm super sad now!!!

emo72

Disappointing. I ****ing hate Disney.