Star Wars VIII [Spoilers]

[Penfield]

Why has nobody complained about an unnecessary scene of Luke milking an alien seal?

excellent world building

 

[tzznandrew]

Why has nobody complained about an unnecessary scene of Luke milking an alien seal?

Why haven't you complained about the unnecessary scene where Aunt Beru drinks blue milk? Scenes like that are short, weird, but make the world feel more real.

 

[Penfield]

I read an interesting take that this is the Millennial Star Wars, and it's a rebuke of the Boomers. Basically saying you guys thought you were going to save the world, but you really just left a terrible mess that we need to fix.

 

[SubbaBub]

There is an oped by a Yale Law professor that dives a bit under the surface.

Yale Professor: 4 Curiosities In "The Last Jedi"

 

[Scalito]

I read an interesting take that this is the Millennial Star Wars, and it's a rebuke of the Boomers. Basically saying you guys thought you were going to save the world, but you really just left a terrible mess that we need to fix.

Lol. That is an awful take, but it is so egocentric I applaud the author.

 

[Penfield]

Lol. That is an awful take, but it is so eccentric I applaud the author.

Well actually Mark Hamill said something similar when talking about coming to grips with Johnson's take on Luke Skywalker. He said he created his own backstory for the character that related to his life and reflected on how his generation thought they were going to save the world with Peace and Love, and that there would never be another pointless war after Vietnam.... obviously that didn't come true.

Later in the interview, Hamill discussed how he got back into Luke’s mindset, sussing out his own reasons for why the formerly involved character now lives in exile. The actor found his answers after watching a Beatles documentary and pondering the temporal hippie revolution. “I was hearing Ringo talk about ‘Well, in those days, it was peace and love.’ And how it was a movement that largely didn’t work. I thought about that,” Hamill recalled. “Back in the day, I thought, by the time we get into power, there will be no more wars. Pot will be legal. I believed all that. I had to use that feeling of failure to relate to it.”

 

[Scalito]

Well actually Mark Hamill said something similar when talking about coming to grips with Johnson's take on Luke Skywalker. He said he created his own backstory for the character that related to his life and reflected on how his generation thought they were going to save the world with Peace and Love, and that there would never be another pointless war after Vietnam.... obviously that didn't come true.

That is called maturity---realizing that the struggle always continues because of man's fallen nature---not the Millenial's Revenge.

 

[SubbaBub]

It also means that intentions are nice but results matter.

The Jedi claim to have been the agents of peace for a millennim but in reality they were celebrities in a small part of galactic society while the rest was the wild west or worse.

Their actions led to some of the worst suffering and according to Luke, there is no way to know if they were a net positive.

 

[Scalito]

"If we take the widest and wisest view of a Cause, there is no such thing as a Lost Cause because there is no such thing as a Gained Cause. We fight for lost causes because we know that our defeat and dismay may be the preface to our successors’ victory, though that victory itself will be temporary; we fight rather to keep something alive than in the expectation that anything will triumph."

T.S. Elliot

 

[Penfield]

That is called maturity---realizing that the struggle always continues because of man's fallen nature---not the Millenial's Revenge.

yeah. When Generation Z gets their Star Wars movie it will be a rebuke of the dumb Millennials thinking everything was all about them being special snowflakes or whatever, and how they didn't fix anything either.

 

[Mano]

Why has nobody complained about an unnecessary scene of Luke milking an alien seal?

Cuz it was hawt.

 

[tzznandrew]

yeah. When Generation Z gets their Star Wars movie it will be a rebuke of the dumb Millennials thinking everything was all about them being special snowflakes or whatever, and how they didn't fix anything either.

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the movie, usually a good thing. I'm coming around on it, but need to see it again. I thought this was a good take:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-last-jedi-killed-my-childhood-and-thats-exactly-wh-1821429836

 

[August_West]

Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones > The Force Awakens/ The Last Jedi

 

[Penfield]

Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones > The Force Awakens/ The Last Jedi

how high were you when you saw the prequels?

 

[August_West]

how high were you when you saw the prequels?

I was very high and very meh about the prequels when I first saw them. But I went through all 7 movies in the last 5 weeks again in anticipation of TLJ and stand by my statement. Theyve grown on me. Especially in juxtaposition of the mess we get now.

 

[Penfield]

I was very high and very meh about the prequels when I first saw them. But I went through all 7 movies in the last 5 weeks again in anticipation of TLJ and stand by my statement. Theyve grown on me. Especially in juxtaposition of the mess we get now.

Attack of the Clones is unredeemable. Obi-Wan goes to visit an alien that owns a 50's style diner, who has a terrible attempt of a brooklyn accent, and has extra arms which seem to exist soley to hold up his pants or scratch his butt. Oh and his Droid is named FL-O. That doesn't even get into the insanely stupid plot or the terrible acting

 

[August_West]

Attack of the Clones is unredeemable. Obi-Wan goes to visit an alien that owns a 50's style diner, who has a terrible attempt of a brooklyn accent, and has extra arms which seem to exist soley to hold up his pants or scratch his butt.

LOVE Dex. Love his moustache

 

[Penfield]

LOVE Dex. Love his moustache

Troll

 

[August_West]

Troll

No, seriously I love Dex.

If you want to bash JarJar I can accept that, although him being a Sith is kinda cool. But Dex is the tittays.

 

[Penfield]

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the movie, usually a good thing. I'm coming around on it, but need to see it again. I thought this was a good take:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-last-jedi-killed-my-childhood-and-thats-exactly-wh-1821429836

So this is basically where I've come down. I like what Rian Johnson did. I like the big ideas in this movie even if he stumbled a bit in the execution.

I think the characters, acting, special effects, practical effects and attention to details in this trilogy have been great.

What I don't care for as much is just how this story was set up and where we stand after 2 movies. They did a pretty bad job of explaining who the First Order and Resistance are. What the New Republic is like. I get that they didn't want to repeat the issues of the prequels but we need a little explanation here.

There is this entire Galaxy to play with and it feels like all the action is happening in close proximity to each other over the course of about a week. In the OT they never really showed this but it felt more like there was a huge war being faught across the Galaxy. I liked the idea that we didn't see all of our heroes journeys. The prequels despite their issues made the Galaxy feel even bigger. This trilogy makes it feel small. It is still mind boggling that the Resistance could really be down to a hand full of people and one ship. Seriously? There were no other bases out there? Is the First Order really big enough to take over the Galaxy the way the empire did? Is this really going to be resolved in one movie?What we are left with now is essentially the rebels vs the empire again.

I think I would have enjoyed both movies a little more if they had just put more thought into what had happened over the past 30 years and allowed some time to pass between episodes.

 

[tzznandrew]

I think I would have enjoyed both movies a little more if they had just put more thought into what had happened over the past 30 years and allowed some time to pass between episodes.

Rian Johnson was sort of handcuffed, though, with the way Abrams ended TFA. How could he possibly avoid having Luke and Rey start together. Which means he had to start where it ended.

 

[traitor71]

This video pretty much sums up how I feel about this film in terms of execution. He's kinder to the film than I am, but I think he sums up some of the issues pretty well.

 

[Penfield]

Rian Johnson was sort of handcuffed, though, with the way Abrams ended TFA. How could he possibly avoid having Luke and Rey start together. Which means he had to start where it ended.

Yeah totally agree. I think he also got handcuffed by the whole Luke is missing thing.

Mark Hamill has expressed his displeasure with the way Luke was handled in the two movies. With TLJ it seemed to stem from his belief that Luke wouldn't just give up on his family and the Jedi Order. With TFA he said he had gone to JJ and said he really felt that Luke would have sensed his friends were in danger, and would have gone to help them. Even if he didn't make it in time he would have tried. I am not sure why JJ made the decision he did but he did. I think he likes mysteries, he just doesn't like to give answers.

So Rian was saying he had to come up with a story that explained why Luke had secluded himself on an island, and why he wouldn't have felt that Han was in trouble. I think he did ok based on what he had to work with.

Speaking of JJ and mysteries, people are saying that he and Lawrence Kasden had decided not to make any decisions about Rey's parentage. Rian was free to make that decision. I was kinda hoping she wasn't part of some lineage so I am happy with that, but I can understand why some people felt the way TFA focused on the question meant it must have been important. I have a feeling Snoke was a similar situation.

The trilogy definitely could have used a better framework before these guys started writing scripts for each episode, but let's not kid ourselves, this is exactly how the OT was made too.

 

[tzznandrew]

The trilogy definitely could have used a better framework before these guys started writing scripts for each episode, but let's not kid ourselves, this is exactly how the OT was made too.

Wait, you mean Lucas didn't know Leia and Luke were siblings when they made out?

But, yeah, you nailed it here.

 

[huskypantz]

I finally saw TLJ last night. I'm still absorbing it, but overall I thought it was good. I liked the Ren-Rey connection and how it developed over the course of the movie. I agree that the "can you hear me now" joke with Hux was cheesy but otherwise I liked the humor scattered in. Snoke's fall was definitely a surprise and I would have enjoyed getting into the backstory of his connection to the first order, so I was a little disappointed that he was essentially glossed over. Didn't really care about the Phasma death. Canto Bight was disappointing - possibly the most vanilla world in the Star Wars multiverse. I would have been fine without the Leia spacewalk. My other impressions:

• This furthers Darth Sideous's legend as the most badass Sith ever - from the creation of the empire to his prowess in the field of battle. Snoke was playing checkers. Sideous invented chess.
• I enjoyed Rogue One, but this movie made me appreciate it even more. The character development was worlds better among other things.
• I'm worried that the Leia situation is going to tarnish episode 9, whether it be CGI or a bad casting decision. All we really know about Ep 9 right now is Rey vs Ren and some final battle of FO vs resistance. I hope they can add some depth to the final chapter. What path do the three episodes take us to - what were we building toward? Just don't let it drill down to a "final battle between the resistance and FO while Rey and Ren duel". If that's the best they can do with this trilogy, crap.