Star Wars: The Last Jedi (December 15, 2017)

[Eddie1]

Think I am going to have to agree with Traxx...new films are interesting but do not have the same impact; of course I'm also 35 years older.

[jn1780]

New films will never be able to compare with the originals. The audience their trying to reach are a lot different then a 1970's audience who haven't seen anything like Starwars before. There has been over 30 years of Scifi history since the premier of Starwars.

[bchris02]

The Empire Strikes Back for the original trilogy and Revenge of the Sith for the prequels. I liked Rogue One better than the Force Awakens, but I am super pumped for the Last Jedi.

[bchris02]

New films will never be able to compare with the originals. The audience their trying to reach are a lot different then a 1970's audience who haven't seen anything like Starwars before. There has been over 30 years of Scifi history since the premier of Starwars.

The original Star Wars was what it was because not only did it have a captivating story and universe, but in 1977 nobody had seen anything like it. Star Wars revolutionized the film industry and was a huge leap forward in terms of what was possible.

Today, it is still very popular. As somebody who grew up during the time the prequels were coming out, I remember them a lot more fondly than a lot of older people do. I never hated the prequels and never knew I was supposed to until I started getting into Internet forums, which was around the time Revenge of the Sith came out. Even then, I remember loving it and everybody who I was in the theater with loved it. It wasn't until a few years later that it became "cool" to hate all things prequels. So far, I think at my age this new series is more like a lot of older fans thought of the prequels when they were coming out. I don't hate the new series (at least they didn't pull a Jar Jar) but it's just not the same as the six films I grew up with.

[traxx]

The original Star Wars was what it was because not only did it have a captivating story and universe, but in 1977 nobody had seen anything like it. Star Wars revolutionized the film industry and was a huge leap forward in terms of what was possible.

There's some truth to that. But as someone who grew up with the originals it goes deeper than that for me.

In the prequels, digital effects weren't quite there but George thought they were. When I watch those, I feel like I'm watching a cartoon. It doesn't even feel like the same universe as the originals. Nearly everything in those movies was against a green screen. I can imagine that that would be incredibly difficult to act against. I really like how Chris Nolan uses effects. He uses practical effects where he can and as for his digital effects, he uses them as an accent or where a any other type of effect isn't practical. His digital effects are invisible for the most part.

When watching the originals, by the end of Star Wars I knew who Luke, Han and Leia were and what they were about. I cared what happened to them. In these new movies that's not the case. We are now at a time where we can do amazing things with effects but the filmmakers forget that the movie needs a soul to it. I don't know or care who Rey is. She's an unlike-able Mary Sue character. She's already the best at everything. There's no learning curve for her, no story arc for her. I don't know who she is as a character and I really don't care. That shouldn't be the case. I should care what happens to these characters. In fact, there was little to no emotion from me when [SPOILER]Han died[/SPOILER]. He really wasn't the same guy he was in the originals. JJ even managed to mess that up.

And in Rogue One, I didn't care if any of them lived or died. Well, except for the robot played by Alan Tudyk. I like him. I didn't care about any of it. The last act was the best part but it still felt empty. The part where Vader showed up and started slicing people in half was the best part. It's actually my favorite part of both TFA and RO. So out of four and half hours of movies, I like 2 minutes of it.

[whorton]

All things considered, it's way past time to move on. I stood in line at the old Almonte to see the original movie back in 1977 as a new high school graduate. Here it is, some forty years later, and now Disney is keep the franchise alive? I lost interest years ago . . .

But then, Hollywood having an original and interesting idea for a reasonable priced movie seems far removed.

[G.Walker]

Went to go see this last night, don't want to give any spoilers, but in my opinion:

Not as good as The Force Awakens
No "epicness"
Still a lot of questions about Kylo Ren, Snoke, & Rey left unanswered.

I give it 3 stars out of 5...it was ok.

[BBatesokc]

All things considered, it's way past time to move on. I stood in line at the old Almonte to see the original movie back in 1977 as a new high school graduate. Here it is, some forty years later, and now Disney is keep the franchise alive? I lost interest years ago . . .

But then, Hollywood having an original and interesting idea for a reasonable priced movie seems far removed.

And yet, the reality is the 40-year old series is a huge success. This old, worn out, non-original franchise continues to set records. The Last Jedi premiered to the second biggest opening in North America. Guess what movie is #1? Yeah, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

Movies are made for audiences and audiences LOVE it.

[jn1780]

It has the marketing of Disney behind it. As long as things blow up and kids love it, it will continue to do great.

[dankrutka]

I’ll just say that I thought it was okay and somewhat disjointed, but then saw it again and liked it a lot more the second time.

[rte66man]

I’ll just say that I thought it was okay and somewhat disjointed, but then saw it again and liked it a lot more the second time.

Agreed. Since it wasn't what I expected when I saw it the first time, I got distracted and didn't appreciate it for what it is. Sure, it doesn't meet fanboy expectations, but IMO it is a very good movie.

[Urbanized]

Many, MANY spoilers. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE:

https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/a-...lde-1821396631

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/...sh-controversy

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood...tomatoes-score

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertai...vation/548609/

[G.Walker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_PLxzm6uJQ

[hoya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_PLxzm6uJQ

What does it say? I listened to 20 seconds and stopped because that woman has the most annoying voice this side of Fran Drescher.

[Jake]

There are some things I absolutely loved about The Last Jedi and things I absolutely hated about it.

I'd give it a C+.

[BBatesokc]

What does it say? I listened to 20 seconds and stopped because that woman has the most annoying voice this side of Fran Drescher.

Exactly my experience when I went to that link.

[Eric]

The thing that stood out for me were the strangely timed one liners. I mean, these people are facing annihilation (as they always are) and they are making stupid jokes and puns? The phone connectivity thing at the beginning, brutally bad.

It wasn't serious. And I understand you have to suspend reality when watching movies, but I just felt they broke some of their own rules just to keep the movie under 4 hours.

That and Finn is nearly as annoying as Jar Jar Binks.

Needless to say I was disappointed, probably only because I thought they actually did a pretty good job with Force Awakens and Rouge One and I was expecting better. The previous two weren't the best, but I thought they were good.

Again have to mention that the parallels between Force Awakens/New Hope (blowing up death star) and Empire Strikes Back/Last Jedi (finding master to teach them and snow like battles with literally the same bad guy machines). I hope they can depart a bit from the framework of the original series in the last installment.

[traxx]

The thing that stood out for me were the strangely timed one liners. I mean, these people are facing annihilation (as they always are) and they are making stupid jokes and puns? The phone connectivity thing at the beginning, brutally bad.

I haven't seen the movie (probably won't until it hits Netflix) but I think this is part of Disney's one size fits all strategy. Everything has to be like Marvel. They seem to be putting the Guardians of the Galaxy humor in all their movies now. They don't care if it fits the character or the universe that's been established over 40 years, they think if it worked for one successful franchise then why can't it work for all of them.

Lucas never thought Star Wars would be what it became. He was an artist wanting to tell a story. Same with John Lassiter at Pixar. And Stan Lee at Marvel. Now Disney runs all these and it's being run by bean counters. Not artists. If something is successful, Disney will ride that horse until it's dead and then some. That's why all their franchises have become like old TV sitcoms; Nothing that happens changes or affects anything permanently, everything resets at the end of the episode, there's no set story arc so it can continue on ad infinitum and make more and more money. Stories need to end. They need a beginning, middle, and end. But Disney doesn't seem to recognize that. That's why Toy Story, with a clear ending in it's third and final act, is now going to have a 4th installment.

In Disney's hands, Breaking Bad would go on for 15 seasons and some guy that got called three episodes ago would show up again because he's funny and nothing ever changes.

[BLJR]

Exactly my experience when I went to that link.

I third the motion, thats difficult to watch. I even tried to tuff it out for about 30 seconds, but no bueno.....

[SoonerQueen]

We went Friday to see the movie. We actually enjoyed it a lot. I always hate to say which movie I liked the best. All have good and bad parts. I hated that it was Carrie Fisher's last movie. I missed Harrison Ford, but was happy to see Mark Hamil. We had a nice family movie night.

[Eric]

I haven't seen the movie (probably won't until it hits Netflix) but I think this is part of Disney's one size fits all strategy. Everything has to be like Marvel. They seem to be putting the Guardians of the Galaxy humor in all their movies now. They don't care if it fits the character or the universe that's been established over 40 years, they think if it worked for one successful franchise then why can't it work for all of them.

Lucas never thought Star Wars would be what it became. He was an artist wanting to tell a story. Same with John Lassiter at Pixar. And Stan Lee at Marvel. Now Disney runs all these and it's being run by bean counters. Not artists. If something is successful, Disney will ride that horse until it's dead and then some. That's why all their franchises have become like old TV sitcoms; Nothing that happens changes or affects anything permanently, everything resets at the end of the episode, there's no set story arc so it can continue on ad infinitum and make more and more money. Stories need to end. They need a beginning, middle, and end. But Disney doesn't seem to recognize that. That's why Toy Story, with a clear ending in it's third and final act, is now going to have a 4th installment.

In Disney's hands, Breaking Bad would go on for 15 seasons and some guy that got called three episodes ago would show up again because he's funny and nothing ever changes.

Don't hold out for Netflix. Starting soon not much from Disney will be making it's way to Netflix as they will have their own streaming service that you will "be able to" pay for separately. It's how I was able to see Rogue One for the first time. Enjoyed it pretty well, but did think it a bit strange that I thought the saddest part was when the robot died.

[traxx]

Don't hold out for Netflix. Starting soon not much from Disney will be making it's way to Netflix as they will have their own streaming service that you will "be able to" pay for separately. It's how I was able to see Rogue One for the first time. Enjoyed it pretty well, but did think it a bit strange that I thought the saddest part was when the robot died.

Yeah, the robot played by Alan Tudyk was the only character that I cared if they lived or died. Ironic.

[FighttheGoodFight]

The Red Letter Guys summed it up for me pretty well **SPOILERS**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9hwGZFPSmw

[Johnb911]

After how fun Force Awakens was and how fantastic Rogue One was, this was fairly disappointing to me. Had some fantastic moments, especially with Rey and Kylo (chemistry isn't the right word, but those two together were great) and everything else for me was disappointing. Some stuff that felt straight out of the prequels, in a very bad way. Finn's arc was dumb and his little switcharoo at the end less believable than Harvey Dent's. Eric up above said the same thing I've been thinking since I saw it, which was they tried to Guardians of the Galaxy the humor here. GotG are great movies. But they're different movies. And I didn't feel like the humor there works here.

I will likely see it again and give it another chance but you won't catch me paying for another ticket

[bchris02]

For me, this movie was a "jump the shark" moment for Star Wars. I think the movie was almost as bad as it possibly could have been and it totally ruined Luke Skywalker. Even Mark Hammil has expressed dissatisfaction with it. It pains me to say that as Star Wars has been a huge part of my life since 5th grade when I saw the original trilogy for the first time. While I understand the criticism that the prequels receive I have never thought they were that bad and have always appreciated what they brought to the Star Wars universe. This movie on the other hand...was the first time I've ever left the theater after a Star Wars movie in disappointment. What a wasted opportunity it was.

At this point I don't really care about Star Wars Episode IX. Star Wars for me will always be Episodes I-VI, The Clone Wars cartoon, and the EU. Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels are the only things that have come out of the Disney era thus far that I think are worthy contributions to the galaxy. The new trilogy should have never been made.