Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi

[huskypantz]

They have built a blockbuster movie around Mark Hamill. We will find out just how indestructible this franchise is.

Well they built the first 3 around him and survived. At least he's a great voice actor.

 

[coachcap]

Why is it time for the jedi to end? I don't like this sentiment, I don't want it to end.

I took the title to mean that Luke Skywalker is the lone Jedi alive after the purge of the Jedi by the Emperor & Vader after the death of Obi Wan & this film will be an homage to how Luke tries to regain balance in the Force through coming out of self imposed exile & training future Jedi starting with Rae. (I could be totally out in left field).

 

[intlzncster]

Terrible joke that made me laugh...will leave it here:

 

[auggie22]

A young Harrison Ford carried the first three movies. And of course the Ewoks.

 

[HuskyHawk]

A young Harrison Ford carried the first three movies. And of course the Ewoks.

It was an ensemble cast. Ford was key, and Fisher, but the single most brilliant piece of casting was Alec Guinness. He was a known actor of great talent and serious roles. I read long ago that he was chosen so that people would take this story set in space a bit more seriously. He added weight to it. Today...it's not needed, but times were different then. Hamill was the weakest link, but he's not a kid anymore and is better than he was in the 70's. I think Daisy is basically carrying this one.

 

[intlzncster]

It was an ensemble cast. Ford was key, and Fisher, but the single most brilliant piece of casting was Alec Guinness. He was a known actor of great talent and serious roles. I read long ago that he was chosen so that people would take this story set in space a bit more seriously. He added weight to it. Today...it's not needed, but times were different then. Hamill was the weakest link, but he's not a kid anymore and is better than he was in the 70's. I think Daisy is basically carrying this one.

Hamill being the weakest link was perfect in an unplanned way. His bumbling, naivete shown threw, something that wasn't even really 'acted'. Fit with where the character was in the narrative of the whole.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

A young Harrison Ford carried the first three movies. And of course the Ewoks.

I agree about Harrison Ford. Alec Guinness looked on screen like the that he apparently was off screen. Fisher was solid. Hamill had issues even in the early ones.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I have been confused on a plot point of VII. If Snoke is some kind of super Sith, why wasn't he in charge of the emperor in the IV through VI? Also, how come there are basically two movies (Rogue One and IV) about the efforts to steal the plans of the Death Star, but the New Order turns a planet into a super weapon and nobody has a clue it is happening?

This gets to a side point, worth its own thread, which is that Leia Organa may be one of the worst fictional generals in movie history.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I have been confused on a plot point of VII. If Snoke is some kind of super Sith, why wasn't he in charge of the emperor in the IV through VI? Also, how come there are basically two movies (Rogue One and IV) about the efforts to steal the plans of the Death Star, but the New Order turns a planet into a super weapon and nobody has a clue it is happening?

This gets to a side point, worth its own thread, which is that Leia Organa may be one of the worst fictional generals in movie history.

But she bounced nicely in Episode IV.

 

[huskypantz]

I have been confused on a plot point of VII. If Snoke is some kind of super Sith, why wasn't he in charge of the emperor in the IV through VI?

My opinion on Snoke is that he's the reincarnated Darth Plageuis. He either had not completed his return during the heyday of the Empire or was still building strength up to the creation of the New Order. As he was purportedly killed by Darth Sideous, he'd be careful to return without having sufficient resources. I'm curious whether the form presented on the holo image is actually him. It's not true canon but I'm eventually going to read the Darth Plageuis novel this summer.

 

[huskypantz]

This gets to a side point, worth its own thread, which is that Leia Organa may be one of the worst fictional generals in movie history.

The canon novels do a good job of continuing that theme. She is a savvy politician but can't keep her hands out of the kitchen. She's more of a captain than a general - she'd rather lead a team than direct it from afar.

 

[CL82]

I started reading the canon novels at the beginning of this year and I've been ripping through them to the point where I'm almost caught up to current releases. I am finishing up Life Debt now. I have Thrawn and Empire's End arriving in the next week or so (I read books not kindle). I even ordered season 1 of Rebels. We have Rebel Rising on the way in May and Inferno Squad in July. I am hoping that there will be enough content to tide me over until December. I've been pleasantly surprised with the canon novels - even the first person Heir to the Jedi didn't really deter me.

Are the cannon novels better than the movie novelizations? I read TFA and R1 and wasn't really a fan of them.

 

[August_West]

I pray its better than TFA.

 

[huskypantz]

Are the cannon novels better than the movie novelizations? I read TFA and R1 and wasn't really a fan of them.

The movie novelizations are essentially just rehashing what you already know. I think TLA had one additional snippet with Poe on Jakku and some extra conversations along the way, but if you've seen the movie multiple times there's just not much to gleam. The canon novels bring unique storylines, new and existing characters and they often (but not always) tie together various snippets of history in the Star Wars Universe timeline. Because they all have different authors they take different slants and different writing styles, which keeps things fresh. My opinion is that they stay true to the personalities of the known characters. Catalyst dives into Star Wars science. Tarkin studies the psyche and origination of the third most powerful being in the Empire. Battlefront is a cover-to-cover war novel. I think they're great. I have (almost) all of them and would be happy to pass them along to anyone who wants them (I am not in CT).

 

[CL82]

The movie novelizations are essentially just rehashing what you already know. I think TLA had one additional snippet with Poe on Jakku and some extra conversations along the way, but if you've seen the movie multiple times there's just not much to gleam. The canon novels bring unique storylines, new and existing characters and they often (but not always) tie together various snippets of history in the Star Wars Universe timeline. Because they all have different authors they take different slants and different writing styles, which keeps things fresh. My opinion is that they stay true to the personalities of the known characters. Catalyst dives into Star Wars science. Tarkin studies the psyche and origination of the third most powerful being in the Empire. Battlefront is a cover-to-cover war novel. I think they're great. I have (almost) all of them and would be happy to pass them along to anyone who wants them (I am not in CT).

I may give them a tumble. I'm reading a series of novels now and I half about a half dozen to go. Then I want to read Endurance based upon BY recommendations, so maybe by the summer.

[full disclosure, my only true "canon" (although I don't think it is) type novel is Splinter of the Minds Eye, which wasn't great, although that may be where Kaiber crystals were introduced.]

 

[huskypantz]

I may give them a tumble. I'm reading a series of novels now and I half about a half dozen to go. Then I want to read Endurance based upon BY recommendations, so maybe by the summer.

[full disclosure, my only true "cannon" (although I don't think it is) type novel is Splinter of the Minds Eye, which wasn't great, although that may be where Kaiber crystals were introduced.]

Technically that is not canon, although parts of it are probably in line with canon. The books will be there if you want them. If you wait for football season, it will be much easier to hand them off unless you happen to be in the boston area.

 

[zyron]

Technically that is not canon, although parts of it are probably in line with canon. The books will be there if you want them. If you wait for football season, it will be much easier to hand them off unless you happen to be in the boston area.

What books are canon now? I read a ton of them when I was a kid like the Thrawn Trilogy and all the books that came out for a few years after that. Those aren't canon anymore right?

 

[huskypantz]

What books are canon now? I read a ton of them when I was a kid like the Thrawn Trilogy and all the books that came out for a few years after that. Those aren't canon anymore right?

All canon books are fairly new, they basically needed to be blessed by the Disney crew. I like this website canon list because you can hide everything except for film, television and novels. This includes young reader/junior novels as canon, but my understanding is that they really don't count. The true canon novels have a canon timeline page in them that includes the movies, adult novels and Clones/Rebels TV shows - that is it.

 

[John]

serious unrelated, yet related, question:

The Star Wars and BSG universes utilize the fighter as key tech and military components. Why doesn't the Star Trek universe use fighters? At the very least, stash a couple in the shuttle bays?

 

[HuskyHawk]

All canon books are fairly new, they basically needed to be blessed by the Disney crew. I like this website canon list because you can hide everything except for film, television and novels. This includes young reader/junior novels as canon, but my understanding is that they really don't count. The true canon novels have a canon timeline page in them that includes the movies, adult novels and Clones/Rebels TV shows - that is it.

So are these novels worth the effort? Where you you start?

 

[huskypantz]

So are these novels worth the effort? Where you you start?

You're reading a star wars thread 8 months before the movie is released, so you're obviously a fan. If you like to read in general, it's worth your effort. The novels aren't hugely sequential, other than the Aftermath trilogy. I think it's better to read Tarkin before Catalyst, but by no means a requirement. If you wanted to cherry-pick, I'd choose among Bloodlines, Twilight Company, Dark Disciple or A New Dawn. If you want to go through them all, start from the beginning (Dark Disciple).

 

[traitor71]

serious unrelated, yet related, question:

The Star Wars and BSG universes utilize the fighter as key tech and military components. Why doesn't the Star Trek universe use fighters? At the very least, stash a couple in the shuttle bays?

I remember seeing some of them in some Deep Space 9 episodes that featured large battles. It was just a quick flash, but it made me wonder why we never saw more of it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You're reading a star wars thread 8 months before the movie is released, so you're obviously a fan. If you like to read in general, it's worth your effort. The novels aren't hugely sequential, other than the Aftermath trilogy. I think it's better to read Tarkin before Catalyst, but by no means a requirement. If you wanted to cherry-pick, I'd choose among Bloodlines, Twilight Company, Dark Disciple or A New Dawn. If you want to go through them all, start from the beginning (Dark Disciple).

Thanks. I'm bummed that none of the ebooks are at my online library. The most unforgivable thing Apple ever did was collude with publishers on book pricing, forcing Amazon to let publishers set prices on books. Now Kindle versions are more than paperbacks and rarely less than $10.

 

[huskypantz]

I have been confused on a plot point of VII. If Snoke is some kind of super Sith, why wasn't he in charge of the emperor in the IV through VI?

I just finished reading the Aftermath trilogy.

Spoiler: Possible Snoke origin from Aftermath

In the final novel of Aftermath, the backstory is that Palpatine had been searching out new galaxies but the path of space travel was fairly difficult. He hinted at a larger force presence in a distant land. As the Empire was defeated, the remaining fleet was programmed to journey to the remote location. I am guessing that these troops go and meet Snoke. One of the generals who is named is a character in TFA, so it's definitely connected. This doesn't answer your question other than Snoke might not have had the technology to reach their galaxy or the knowledge of its existence.

 

[huskypantz]

Just want to add some release dates for future movies:
Han Solo movie: May 25, 2018
Episode 9: May 24, 2019