Star Wars Thread - Spoilers, yo.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I've seen it twice now, both times while watching it I've utterly loved it - then, when it's settled in my mind I start thinking about things and questioning some decisions made in it - but then I'll watch it again and none of that will matter and I'll love it again.

I laughed, more than I expected to, which was a nice surprise because it's great they didn't feel they had to do the standard "THIS ONE'S DARKER" sequel thing. I cried, because Carrie Fisher; that scene with Leia and Luke will never not get me (ditto her dedication in the credits). I was stunned by some of the visuals, from the Dreadnought at the beginning to Luke stepping through the flames on Crait. And I didn't feel its length at all (a need for the toilet during most of the midnight showing aside - a pint of Coke had kept me awake, but bad move for the bladder) and it held me gripped all the way through, both times.

I was surprised by Snoke on a few levels - I was very happy that he was just some bloke, because I'm very much of the school of thinking where a big reveal of "he's somebody we already know" wouldn't mean anything within the context of the film. It'd feel like pandering to the fanbase rather than the film itself. "I'm actually Mace Windu / Darth Plagueis / etc" when said in front of someone like Rey or Finn isn't going to mean a thing to them, even if it does to us. Even Luke's not likely to have heard of someone like Windu, even if he does know the name Darth Sidious (which was cool, shows he's been doing his research since the original Trilogy). So that was cool. Having him killed so abruptly, without any elaboration on how he came into such power ... it was certainly a surprise. I'm a little bit annoyed we don't know more, but hell, it's not like we really knew much about the Emperor (officially) until the prequels. I've got no idea where they'll go from here, which is a nice position to be in.

The Rey's parents reveal was definitely the right thing to do - it means far more for her to be somebody who is "no one" to have become a hero and to have power than if she'd also been connected to the whole thing. I liked that a lot - she's done what she's done herself, and not because her grandad was Obi-Wan or some shit.

On first viewing it felt a little weird that they'd bring back Phasma only to kill her off soon after, but on second viewing I can appreciate that she got a very nice fight scene, and helped solidify Finn's character development when he proudly calls himself "rebel scum" and labels himself officially part of the Resistance. (One of the criticisms I've seen is that Finn gets nothing to do in the film, which I don't think is quite true. The same people also think Rose was added just to appeal to the Chinese market, which I think's unfair - she could have been a super annoying companion character but I actually liked her a lot more than I thought I would.)

I was also surprised to see Luke and Holdo go, but both of those are in light of Carrie Fisher's death. I'd expected Luke to stay in it as the main 'legacy' character, and Holdo to take on Leia's role in the Resistance. Again, I really don't know where they'll go from here. Open IX with a sombre and grand funeral for Leia, and it's her memory that inspires the new rebellion, rather than her in person? I don't know. Feels a bit like Johnson's dug a hole for JJ to dig back out of, in a way.

I love Porgs. Loads of fun creatures in this one.

Thought Luke's character was handled excellently, Hamill was very good indeed. Yoda appearance was super - "we are what they grow beyond" - but I'm so glad the Jedi texts weren't actually destroyed. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver were both great too.

The final final scene felt like a post-credits sting, but because they don't do those in Star Wars they had to put it before the credits. I wasn't sure about it either, but there's enough intrigue in it that it'll grow on me (even the idea of the kids playing with a Luke Skywalker toy - one review I read said that it reminds you who these films are really for, and I think that's right.)

I'm glad I've been more than once because frankly, there was a lot to take in - you barely remember that awesome opening battle by the end of the film!

Edited December 15, 2017 by HarmonicGenerator
overuse of the word 'awesome'

[Merzbow]

One thing, I'm surprised by the amount of what were pretty much suicide bombings. You had the woman near the start, Holdo and an attempt by Finn. It makes sense as it shows the desperation of a losing Resistance but it's not something I'd expect from a mainstream movie.

[ColinBollocks]

4 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

I was also surprised to see Luke and Holdo go, but both of those are in light of Carrie Fisher's death. I'd expected Luke to stay in it as the main 'legacy' character, and Holdo to take on Leia's role in the Resistance. Again, I really don't know where they'll go from here. Open IX with a sombre and grand funeral for Leia, and it's her memory that inspires the new rebellion, rather than her in person? I don't know. Feels a bit like Johnson's dug a hole for JJ to dig back out of, in a way.

 

Yeah, I've been ruminating about this too. I imagine they'll still have Luke around as a ghost, in the same way Obi was for Luke. Although, they did make it rather clear at the end it's about the new characters now. Thankfully the new characters are good fun.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Just came across a few comments on the Den Of Geek review post on Facebook:

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Fuck the Disney Star Wars franchise now, seeing this arse makes the prequels look good.

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After that horror show Last Jedi. Disney not getting this star wars fans money anymore

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awful awful movie

they finally broke Star Wars

Wowzer.

 

Edit: and some more. To paraphrase Pitcos, you must get Internet Points if you make sure you hate everything.

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Lazy, terribly paced and weak in terms of acting, plot and logic.

Overall...shite

Tone deaf and bloated with half baked ideas and deadweight characters. It's bad in all the ways the prequel trilogy is bad, and then also the lightsaber battles are trash.

 

Sigh.

Edited December 15, 2017 by HarmonicGenerator

[Guy Bifkin]

Surely they liked the bit where Luke enjoys a nice glass of milk?

[Carbomb]

Just been to see. Fuggin' great stuff. Echoing the love for Rey being nobody special; it's good to see the messianic narrative being dispensed with for once. Apart from being hackneyed and cliché, it's also subliminally pernicious IMO.

What I'm loving in particular about these new films is that they're not focused on one protagonist; sure, Rey is pretty much the main character, but Finn gets a lot more than a standard supporting character usually does, as does Poe Dameron. It's becoming less about Jedi/Sith/Force and more about the people involved, which is the right idea, as there's always a danger of over-reliance on Force tricks and light-sabre battles, which I feel is something that affected the prequels (in addition to many other shit things).

[bAzTNM#1]

I'm sad that Mark Hamill hasn't had some sort of career resurgrance from these. In my opinion, "Slipstream" was a great film. Then Jerico "Big Area" was also a great soundtrack song from it.

Edited December 16, 2017 by bAzTNM#1

[HarmonicGenerator]

Great stuff johnnyboy. I’m going again with the other half tomorrow, this is the “really pay attention to stuff” viewing for me!

In this, as in many things, I’m so glad the UKFF exists. I’ve seen so much of this film being shit on on social media and it’s bloody lovely that here exists a place where people can, yes, acknowledge flaws but also still enjoy something and be happy to like things.

 

On the Praetorian Guard, I’m fairly sure they weren’t the Knights of Ren but that’s something the DK Visual Dictionary will confirm when I hopefully get it for Christmas.

I wonder if the Knights will be antagonists in the next film. Kylo by himself is a shit leader but a group of them hunting down the future of the Force could be something for Rey to reckon with.

Edited December 16, 2017 by HarmonicGenerator
Knights

[seph]

4 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

I wonder if the Knights will be antagonists in the next film. Kylo by himself is a shit leader but a group of them hunting down the future of the Force could be something for Rey to reckon with.

Whoever it is Hux will be all-in with him/them the first chance he gets. He revelled in Ren's failure to wipe out the Resistance, but can make no play against Ren or even put himself in place where he could say "We've done it your way, now let's do it mine".

 

[ColinBollocks]

9 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

I wonder if the Knights will be antagonists in the next film. Kylo by himself is a shit leader but a group of them hunting down the future of the Force could be something for Rey to reckon with.

Indeed. It's the biggest "oo, wonder how that plays out" in the film, for me. Hopefully JJ isn't spiteful and has Ren kill them all in their first act.

Honestly, I'm surprised at some of the criticism the film has received. Personally, I thought it was a great film juxtaposed with some really terrible scenes/ideas, but overall it was gripping enough and the 2 and a half hours zipped right by, which is proof enough the good outweighed the bad.

[BrodyGraham]

I loved it.

I think a lot of the bitching is tied into the nature of fanboyism. People who feel ownership of the stories just objecting to the fact that they haven't been given the exact story they've been writing in their head the last two years.

That said Leia Poppins was fucking pony, wasn't it?

[Merzbow]

It's a very vocal minority too, I'd expected there to be a super low score on IMDb but it's sitting at a solid 8.0. The funniest thing I've been reading is that the franchise has been dumbed down by Disney for the "mass consumers" as if it was all written by David Lynch before this.. it's bloody Star Wars, it was always dumb as a rock.

[BrodyGraham]

The hilarious thing is that most of the whinging seems indicative of an inability to understand or even just watch the movie.

The Finn and Rose subplot serves as a thematic counterpoint to Poe's story in that it's about giving him reasons to stand and fight as opposed to Poe who needs to learn when and how to fight. It all also plays heavily into the films second theme which is the idea of the spark of rebellion. 

The bitching that people are doing regarding Snoke completely ignores the fact that we knew absolutely nothing about the Emperor after Jedi for nearly 15 years.

The fact that it's THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY seems to have passed people by as well. It's a miracle it's as concise as it is to be fair.

Also, can you imagine what would've happened if David Lynch had actually accepted the offer of Return of the Jedi? 

Edited December 17, 2017 by BrodyGraham

[LaGoosh]

I saw this Friday morning at the BFI IMAX and found it absolutely overwhelming. A second viewing in a normal sized cinema will definitely be required to get a proper thought on it. My initial thoughts were all positive and I loved it, but oddly over the past few days some of the story choices have been niggling at me which hasn't happened with the other two new ones. But overall I think it's very good. I could have done with perhaps 10-20% less comedy perhaps.

I was very intrigued by Snoke but think him being killed off is the right move. Do we really need another all powerful evil overlord character in Star Wars? The thought of the First Order being run by a completely unpredictable nutjob like Kylo Ren is far more interesting and pushes things in a new direction. Likewise moving away from the force being all about the Skywalkers. In many ways this film felt like a critique of all the past films but in a positive way.This film felt both traditional Star Wars and also like it was pushing the series in a new direction. I love the old movies with all my heart but if we're getting a Star Wars film every year now then they need to start freshening things up and taking risks.

I can't wait to see it again. It isn't perfect but I cried twice from the sheer fucking joy of the thing (when Yoda turned up and the classic theme kicking in when the Millenium Falcon was being chased through the salt crystal chasm) and no other movie series but Star Wars could do that to me. All the frickin' nerds throwing their toys out the pram about it can fuck off.

[The King Of Swing]

Enjoyed it well enough but didn't blow my mind. Might enjoy it more on a second viewing.

Snoke's death was a bit meh for me, but I love the idea of Ren taking control of The First Order and Hux in the mix could be interesting.

Space Dubai was probably the low point for me. And I find myself agreeing that there was a bit too much comedy.

The Ren/Ray scenes were the highlight for me. Great chemistry.