I cheered every time The Last Jedi killed a Star Wars sacred cow.
I cheered every time The Last Jedi killed a Star Wars sacred cow.
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Many Bothans died.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. As I think back a few days when I saw it, one thing I liked about it is that (much like Rogue One) parts of The Last Jedi didn't have the expected feel of a Star Wars movie...
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about the film, the more I (mostly) liked it. Some of the humor was kind of jarring, but other than that... pretty dang interesting.
ReplyDeleteRian Johnson is just the right amount of weird.
ReplyDeletePaul Vermeren The Marvel films have gradually made me accept anything short of outright farce as just part of the language of modern action/adventure film-making. It's almost invisible to me now.
ReplyDeletetrey causey I know what you mean. None of the jokey stuff in The Force Awakens bothered me. I accepted it as the standard rhythm of post-2010 film dialogue. For some reason some of the silly parts of The Last Jedi bothered me, though. Possibly because they abruptly came at points of high drama.
ReplyDeleteI read a review that argued that TLJ has more Japanese (and other Asian) cinema influence than any other Star Wars film (which is saying a lot) and it was pretty convincing. Apparently Johnson was fairly upfront about it in interviews. That would go a long way to explaining some of the tonal shifts.
I thought Luke was in full-on Kung-Fu mentor mode more than Obi-Wan or Yoda.
ReplyDeleteGreat things (spoilers, obvs):
ReplyDeleteSnoke making fun of Ren’s helmet
Kylo smashing helmet
Luke’s lessons are about how the Jedi suck
“scum and villainy” scene is rich people
Brash pilot hero is totally wrong
Hero’s crazy plan is crazy and fails
New Force stuff – it’s fucking magic, so why not?
Rey’s parents being nobody
“Can you put a towel on?”
Killing off the generic supervillain
Hux being a whipping boy
Hux is just in the tradition, though. Vader used to choke out a dozen Huxes per episode.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a Imperial Martinent Academy for Young Men with Delicate Windpipes
ReplyDeleteHux is comical though, instead of just incompetent. More Spaceballs than Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteThe part where Snoke makes fun of Kylo Ren's helmet reminds me of the scene in Spaceballs where Skroob says something like - "Never leave that damned thing down in front of me! How do I know you're not making faces at me behind it?"
ReplyDeleteRichard G I also liked that main action was pretty much a stern-chase with a 5th rate and two frigates running from a squadron of 1st and 3rd rate men-o-war.
ReplyDeleteWas that the first time we actually saw shields blocking fire? (If it was seen in the prequels, forgive me -- I've pretty much blocked them out.)
ReplyDeleteI felt like The Last Jedi opened up the universe of the films to more mystery and surprises since Empire.
ReplyDeleteAside from the planetary shield in Rogue One, I think so.
ReplyDeleteShields in the prequels block fire.
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ReplyDeleteI must have blocked it out too. I remember little Anakin in the Naboo fighter turning on his shields now when the roller-droids start shooting at him. And of course, those droids had visible shields.
ReplyDeleteRight, right. I remember that much, but I didn't remember seeing ships' shields in action before. They were mentioned, of course.
ReplyDeleteActually, the only super-nerd thing that sticks in my craw is how fast everything happens, and hyperspace travel being “at the speed of plot.” But it’s been that way since Empire. WEG Star Wars ruined me for that.
ReplyDeleteCasey G. A lot of Star Wars bitching about how thing X "doesn't work that way" is based on info from the RPG, not the movies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess the WEG Star Wars is just my preferred fan-fiction / expanded universe.
ReplyDeleteFor a minute there, I thought Rey was going to stick her lightsaber onto the end of her staff, which I have to admit I thought would have been cool. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she still will! I had a light-spear in one Star Wars game.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're killing sacred cows, I'd like to see Finn starting using a lightsaber on the regular, without being a Jedi or a Force guy at all, just because it so happens that he's skilled with melee weapons (and good enough at using one to hold his own against a wannabe Sith for at least a little while).
ReplyDeleteGood thing from Prequels: General Greivous using lightsabers. Maybe that's an unpopular opinion.
ReplyDeletethose red guards are pretty handy in a fight. Best of all, their Kurosawa gravitas makes superheroes forget they can swat then out of the way telekinetically.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s because they’re trained in Immovable Stance.
Richard G Th-they weren't prepared, or something! I dunno, leave me alone!
ReplyDeleteMaybe resisting Snoke had drained their Jedi Juice for a bit.
ReplyDeleteI lurved the tooling of Hux.
ReplyDeleteFirst thing Poe does when he encounters a space fascist shithead is to turn on the snark, this is just the natural evolution of "I talk? you talk?"
I'm hopeful the third movie will continue the tradition of Poe mocking a fascist first thing.
ReplyDeleteThe main joke that bugged me was Luke brushing his shoulder off. It was a bit much for me.
ReplyDeletethere's a post right above this one expressing the exact opposite sentiment. my reaction is a bit more in line with yours.
ReplyDeleteLoved every minute of it. Hamill milked those sacred cows for all they were worth. LITERALLY. EVEN.
ReplyDeletethat bit where Luke and the cowthing STARE AT REY like "yeah, you have something to say?" while Luke drinks its blue milk. I'm sure that was supposed to mean something and I can only assume it was aimed right at the fans, because I had no idea what it was about.
ReplyDeleteRichard G Nobody knows. At least, I certainly don't. I was mystified.
ReplyDeleteUnless the joke was "if you were wondering where the blue milk Luke drank in the original Star Wars came from, now you know."
ReplyDeleteAll Star Wars milk is blue, but that was obviously unpasteurized, and a direct shot at big-brother USDA who won’t let small farmers sell unpasteurized milk to consumers.
ReplyDeleteThe internet says it was green milk and blue milk comes from Banthas.
ReplyDeletehttps://plus.google.com/photos/...
Having got the visual guide and seen their little chicken feet I think these guys are even more awesome.
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Casey G. this is why we need an outsider like Kylo Ren in charge! He'll deconstruct that pushy administrative state...
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought the movie played it way too safe.
ReplyDeleteStill disappointed that snake wasn't a giant.
ReplyDeleteI wanted Snoke to be a giant too. Instead he was compensating.
ReplyDeleteSnoke was Hef.
ReplyDeleteKylo I find kinda boring. Not necessarily boring as a character but boring to watch, at least compared to a cacklingly evil giant space wizard. Watching kylo feels like watching napoleon dynamite or something, it's not a super villain but someone making a string of stupid decisions. Which I guess is the point.
ReplyDeleteBen Ojanen Yep, that's the point.
ReplyDeleteThe tone in which this is written is kinda crap, but it does a pretty good job of cataloging the various sacred cows that TLJ slew. theconcourse.deadspin.com - A List Of Some Of The Times The Last Jedi Told The Older Star Wars Movies To Eat Shit
ReplyDeleteI wish the themes of this movie killing its heroes was the theme of Force Awakens. Then we could have two more movies with all the past movies baggage done with.
ReplyDeleteItalian Jar Jar Binks was by far my favorite character.
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