Star Wars reactions

[luzula]

So I finally watched The Last Jedi last night.

It took me a while to digest it. I definitely enjoyed it in the moment, but I also left the theater feeling more down at heart than with the two previous movies, and I think it's my least favorite of the three new ones. With TFA, I was just delighted and happy with the new characters and with seeing the old ones again. With Rogue One, I know a lot of people died, but it felt like it was for a purpose, that they sacrificed themselves to pass on the flame. With TLJ, so many people died, but it was because of blunders and stupid accidents.

I do appreciate the point that I assume they were making about a reckless mission not actually always succeeding! But that's an awfully high price to pay. : ( And I sort of liked the subplot about Poe and Holdo (obviously I liked seeing competent and brave middle-aged women bonding with each other!), but I think it could've been better done. They could've clashed over an actual disagreement and not over withheld information, in a way that made both Poe and Holdo look better. Now it felt a bit contrived.

About Finn, I don't like that he was going to run away. Didn't he already decide in TFA that he was going to fight for the Resistance? And the stuff with the casino felt a bit off in tone--I mean, I like fun adventures as well, but the stakes were a bit high for that here. I liked the more consistently dark tone in Rogue One better.

Rey was awesome though! I like her a lot, and Leia obviously. Also the stuff with Luke at the end. Kylo Ren, I am less interested in him.

I'd be interested in a Star Wars story where they're not actually a small band fighting desperate odds (although I do like that story as well!), but where they're winning and have to think about building up things (rather than blowing up things) and how they're going to organize themselves for a lasting peace, and handling internal differences. But I guess that's what fanfic is for, and I have read and enjoyed some stories like that.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Lin-Manuel Miranda puts it succinctly in HAMILTON:

"Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder"

[nonesensed]

I too just saw The Last Jedi and I have to agree with you - there was so much pointless death that I got close to Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy after the first hour.

Rey was great, Rose was great, and Leia was great (and we got to see her use the Force, whoop!). What they did with Luke and Kylo Ren's backstory was interesting, in my opinion, though I don't care as much about whether Kylo ever gets "redeemed" or not as I suspect the writers want me to.

As for the rest...yeah, like in the last movie (though even more so this time) there is a lot of people dying for no good reason. Rogue One works better, I think, because the tone and the time it is set in prepares you for it being a Rocks Fall All Die situation. But, as you said, they all died for a purpose! And when they die, they die because there's no other way out. Sometimes characters in that movie even last beyond the impossible to do one final super important thing before they die, even though it shouldn't have been possible.

But in TLJ there are so many lives lost because people were too slow to react or withheld information from each other. I too was miffed at the Holdo vs Poe situation being based not on different views but on Holdo simply not telling Poe her plan - and then it's even shown Holdo likes Poe, so it makes zero sense! And when the rebels' escape pods began to get blown up, why did it take Holdo like five to ten exploded pods before she rammed the enemy ships with her own? Her mission was a suicide mission anyways, and she was doing them no good just sitting there once they'd been discovered, so why the hesitation???

At the end of the movie we have, what, 15 surviving rebels on a transport, no republic, no back-up, and nothing won but the hope of children. Felt like a super downer because of that, despite the movie trying to show it off as a happy ending. It's such an odd mixture of "heroes barely surviving" and "heroes victorious" that I almost got whiplash.

It would have been so interesting to see what the Star Wars universe is like when it's at peace! Instead of rehashing the same old plot from the original trilogy I would have loved to see the characters re-build, maybe dealing with some smaller conflicts. What would the new governments be like post-Sith rule? What conflicts and challenges would rise from Darth Vader's ashes? Etc. etc.

But there were many cool characters doing cool stuff. That's always a plus :)

[blnchflr]

It's my most favourite of the three new ones, after the two first not working particularly well for me.

Not that it doesn't have tons of issues, but it had EMOTIONS and CHARACTER INTERACTION and awesome SOUND DESIGN and visuals - and reading fan interpretations and theories really help sell me on the characterizations and themes on second watch.

Which on one hand, a movie should be able to explain itself, and on the other, I appreciate a movie taking some thinking over.

With Rogue One, I know a lot of people died, but it felt like it was for a purpose, that they sacrificed themselves to pass on the flame.
I couldn't recount the plot of RO if my life depended on it. A girl has a father, and yeah, a lot of people die, and in the end they have to get to a tower, maybe? For … reasons? Apparently to pass on a flame :) !!

Rey was so awesome! Everything else aside, It's still amazing that a blockbuster movie dares make so many central characters female - as evidenced by Danish reddit whining about how those parts belonged to WHITE MALES (you know, like in … the books??), and (at least!) one US redditor calling Rose the worst Star Wars character ever. Yes, worse than Jar Jar Binks by far. I'm willing to bet a substantial amount of money that this redditor is a white male, and yes, I think you can hate Rose as a character and not be a white male, but I still bet he's a white male and that that isn't an irrelevant contributor to his view of Rose.

TLJ showed me why Kylo Ren is in these movies. I still feel I should apologize to everyone who got it in TFA - especially the Rey/Kylo fangirls, whom I rudely dismissed, when they totally got his character when I didn't!

ETA: Finn wasn’t running away as such, he just cared more about saving Rey’s life by going away with the transponder than anything else.

[luzula]

Ha, yes, that is one way to put it.

[luzula]

It's such an odd mixture of "heroes barely surviving" and "heroes victorious" that I almost got whiplash.

Yes. I mean, I liked those kids, but...so much lost as well.

But there were many cool characters doing cool stuff. That's always a plus :)

It is! : )

[luzula]

I did appreciate all the female characters, yes! It's better than the previous two on that account, especially Rogue One.

Other than that you and I seem to have almost opposite experiences as to which of the movies we resonate with most! I mean, I was deeply moved by Rogue One which you hardly remember. But hey, I'm glad you're feeling fannish about it, and it's not like I didn't like it at all--I mean, I'll probably rewatch at some point. I only critizice because I care. : )

[helens78]

That is EXACTLY what I want to think about in Star Wars, yes!!

[blnchflr]

And there's nothing worse than being disappointed by something you care about (I mean, famine and war and everything obviously is - I'm talking in a fannish context, obviously)!

I also expect to watch RO again at some point - not least to see if I can see what so many other people see in it: I don't doubt that it's me, not just the movie :)