Review Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

[chainsaw_metal1]

Very interesting stuff. While my two main nitpicks were not knowing Snoke's backstory and that 20 minutes more could have been excised from the film, I was very entertained by it. I'm also giddy, because I've been reading a lot of bitching and bellyaching from the internet trolls who are still upset about how "white folks are villains" and "Now Star Wars is too PC". Whiny assed babies need to get back to their moms' basements before they have full-blown meltdowns.

 

[ant-mac]

For me, I'm more interested in how the film looks onscreen. Does it have the same sort of appearance and feel that it's predecessors have?

So far, I've only seen one continuation that actually managed to look like its original counterpart - STAR TREK CONTINUES. Nothing else has come close to that sort of accuracy, detail and effort.

It's the sort of thing that warms my OCD heart...

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

In many ways, it still looks like the old SW. In other ways, it looks much different, mainly due to better special effects. The one thing that the new films are getting right is utilizing as many in camera effects and traditional effects as possible, and making things look as close to the original trilogy as they can. Lucas, in making the prequels, tried too hard to make everything as pretty and spot free as possible. It was all too obvious they were on green screen sound stages.

So far, I've only seen one continuation that actually managed to look like its original counterpart - STAR TREK CONTINUES. Nothing else has come close to that sort of accuracy, detail and effort.

What are you talking about? TNG looked just like TOS! Except for the wood paneling on the ship. And the carpeted bridge. And the touchscreen controls. And the jumpsuits. And a Klingon officer. And an android who looked less human than Mudd's Women. And a lack of toupees. And Romulans who were pussies. And Troi's cleavage. And a woman doctor. And a bar. And...

 

[ant-mac]

In many ways, it still looks like the old SW. In other ways, it looks much different, mainly due to better special effects. The one thing that the new films are getting right is utilizing as many in camera effects and traditional effects as possible, and making things look as close to the original trilogy as they can. Lucas, in making the prequels, tried too hard to make everything as pretty and spot free as possible. It was all too obvious they were on green screen sound stages.

That's good to hear.

I must get around to watching one of these "new" SW films one of these decades.

What are you talking about? TNG looked just like TOS! Except for the wood paneling on the ship. And the carpeted bridge. And the touchscreen controls. And the jumpsuits. And a Klingon officer. And an android who looked less human than Mudd's Women. And a lack of toupees. And Romulans who were pussies. And Troi's cleavage. And a woman doctor. And a bar. And...

In some sense, ST: TNG was a continuation, but it was more of a sequel or a spin-off.

Although it still managed to capture the essence of the original.

However, STAR TREK CONTINUES literally is a continuation and it absolutely buries the alternative time-line ST films.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

I still haven't delved into STC, but it looks really great. There had been another continuation series a few years back that was...lacking, if you will. However, I have too many things I am trying to get caught up on at the moment, so it's on my "I will watch this before I die" list.

 

[TheIrishAvenger]

Here's a link to an in-depth discussion I wrote about The Last Jedi for anyone who wants to check it out. But it's spoiler heavy, so I recommend only reading it if you have already seen the movie -

https://davecsimpson.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/star-wars-the-last-jedi-an-in-depth-discussion/

 

[Doctor Omega]

Thanks Dave. I have yet to see the film, but will be checking out your review as soon as I have.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Johnson Responds To “Last Jedi” Backlash





Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” raked in $494 million worldwide by the end of Monday after its first weekend of release, a stellar start for a franchise film that serves as the direct follow-up to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the second entry in a trilogy.

While critical reviews have been strong, and exit polls from professional regulated independent pollsters like comScore’s PostTrak and CinemaScore have seen audiences give it high marks (5 stars/89% and an ‘A’ respectively), the online and social media reaction has told a different story – one of a highly divisive film that’s generating a lot of passionate discussion that isn’t dying down.

In this day and age of immediate reaction, extreme fandom and crowdsourced campaigning, the polarised reaction is seemingly getting more extreme as people dig their heels in for their ‘side’. There’s no question Johnson shook things up with his film and those expectation-defying decisions are behind much of both the joy and irritation with it. Now Johnson has addressed the wave of backlash, saying in an interview with Business Insider:

“Having been a Star Wars fan my whole life, and having spent most of my life on the other side of the curb and in that fandom, it softens the blow a little bit. I’m aware through my own experience that, first of all, the fans are so passionate, they care so deeply – sometimes they care very violently at me on Twitter.

But it’s because they care about these things, and it hurts when you’re expecting something specific and you don’t get it from something that you love. It always hurts, so I don’t take it personally if a fan reacts negatively and lashes out on me on Twitter. That’s fine. It’s my job to be there for that.

Every fan has a list of stuff they want a Star Wars movie to be and they don’t want a Star Wars movie to be. You’re going to find very few fans out there whose lists line up. And I also know the same way the original movies were personal for Lucas.

Lucas never made a Star Wars movie by sitting down and thinking, ‘What do the fans want to see?’ And I knew if I wrote wondering what the fans would want, as tempting as that is, it wouldn’t work, because people would still be shouting at me, ‘F— you, you ruined Star Wars,’ and I would make a bad movie. And ultimately, that’s the one thing nobody wants.

And let me just add that 80-90% of the reaction I’ve gotten from Twitter has been really lovely. There’s been a lot of joy and love from fans. When I talk about the negative stuff, that’s not the full picture of the fans at all.”

The response comes as, according to Bleeding Cool and Movieweb, users on Facebook and 4chan are taking ‘credit’ for using bots and other techniques to knock down the audience score for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on the likes of the IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. At the same time a Change.org petition is online calling for Disney to remove “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” from the official canon.

Disney president of theatrical distribution Dave Hollis has also responded to the backlash, saying: “This a Star Wars film like audiences have never seen – it’s got people talking, puzzling over its mysteries, and it’s a lot to take in, and we see that as all positive, that should help set the film up for great word-of-mouth and repeat viewing as we enter the lucrative holiday period.”

 

[Doctor Omega]

Rotten Tomatoes Denies “Last Jedi” Interference





The first real indicator that set off the now week long debates amongst fans regarding “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” wasn’t the film’s strong 92% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, but rather its surprising 54% audience score on the same site. Despite frequent talk of critics and audience tastes differing on many films, the difference in their RT approval ratings is rarely so massive.

As ComScore and CinemaScore polls tracking audience members exiting the cinema have come in and shown a score much closer to the critics ones, there’s been an understandable suspicion that organized voting campaigns and even possible bot targeted interference was responsible for the RT user score being so skewed.

Fandango’s Vice President of Communications and Rotten Tomatoes spokesperson Dana Benson has now come out and verified the authenticity of the audience score in an interview with Forbes, saying the film ratings site goes to great lengths in order to ensure the authenticity of their scores:

“We have several teams of security, network, and social database experts who constantly monitor reviews and ratings to ensure that they are genuine. They haven’t seen anything unusual with The Last Jedi, except that there has been an uptick in the number of written user reviews submitted.

Aside from that, everything is normal and we don’t see any unusual activity. We looked at The Last Jedi compared to other blockbusters and it has been consistent with those past films. We’ve been working around the clock to get the numbers right.

Authenticity is very important to us. We have security teams, network teams, database teams who work so hard, it’s a little disheartening for them to see people make such [accusatory] claims without knowing the facts.”

Benson adds that the latest Star Wars film has received a ‘comparable number of reviews to The Force Awakens’ at the same point in the film’s cycle. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is now playing in cinemas.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

@TheIrishAvenger Beautifully written. You said everything I thought about the movie. The only thing I thought is that

Spoiler

I absolutely love the idea of Rey coming from nothing, and not having a connection to the past. One of the things that annoys me about the prequels (and prequels in general), is how everyone and everything has to be connected in some way. It's one of those things that I'm sure is just an issue for me, but it's something that just bugs me.

Excellent review, thought, mate!

 

[Doctor Omega]

Hamill Says “He’s Not My Luke Skywalker”





The Luke Skywalker we meet at the beginning of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is quite different from the one we last met at the end of “Return of the Jedi”. In the three-decade span between the trilogies, Luke has shut himself off from the galaxy and has no interest in helping the Resistance due to his lack of faith in the ways of the Jedi.

He’s a grump, bitter and defeated with regrets a mile long over failures in his past. That’s a bold decision for a character, making what was an iconic hero into something much more human and flawed – fitting with the themes of the film about perceptions of legacy and deconstructions of the very myths the series was built on.

In the complaints against the film online, its treatment of Luke is one that comes up a lot and it turns out the actor who plays him – the one and only Mark Hamill – feels the same way. He tells Youtube channel Jar Jar Abrams:

“I said to Rian, ‘Jedi’s don’t give up.’ I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong. So, right there we had a fundamental difference, but it’s not my story anymore. It’s somebody else’s story – and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective.

…That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry. Well, in this version, see I’m talking about the George Lucas Star Wars. This is the next generation of Star Wars, so I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s Jake Skywalker. He’s not my Luke Skywalker, but I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.

But listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely. But it’s only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don’t get upset, and I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man that they need for this job.”

You can see his answer in the video below. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is now in cinemas.

 

[potoooooooo]

At the last scene one of the child jockeys is telling the story of Luke Skywalker to the other 2.It did not sound like he was speaking English.What language was it?

 

[TheIrishAvenger]

@TheIrishAvenger Beautifully written. You said everything I thought about the movie. The only thing I thought is that

Spoiler

I absolutely love the idea of Rey coming from nothing, and not having a connection to the past. One of the things that annoys me about the prequels (and prequels in general), is how everyone and everything has to be connected in some way. It's one of those things that I'm sure is just an issue for me, but it's something that just bugs me.

Excellent review, thought, mate!

Thanks man, glad you liked the review and the movie. I agree on your own thoughts about

Spoiler

connections. I wouldn't say it annoys me, but I definitely don't think it's necessary to tell a good story.

 

[JohnnyL REACTS]

Boy oh boy, where do I begin with this. I have a spoiler free reaction to the RT score AND a spoiler filled review on my youtube channel if anyone wants to check it out.

I will say I have seen the film twice. Once on opening night (the 14th), and then the Sunday following. Both times in Ultra AVX. I will say that I really enjoyed the film. It was an impactful experience filled with excellent moments and poorly executed ones as well. Poor decisions.

This post could go on for pages so I'll keep it short. I did not feel Rian took enough care with the material, the universe, the lore so to speak at his disposal. In his attempt to provide shocks, he disappointed fans and confused them. In his attempt to bring humour, he took you out of the moment. His decisions with Luke, could have been better. His decisions with Rey and her arc, could have been better. How he juggled the other characters and their stories, again, I feel improvement was needed.

STILL, many powerful moments that really landed. Luke and Rey's moments on the Island were very good. Rey and Kylo force connects and interactions were exceptional and intriguing. Snoke was portrayed powerfully. Action scenes had impact. Throne room scene is an all timer. Ending is fantastic with a powerful twist from Luke.

But still, the actual story of the rebels and their fleeing was week. Luke tossing the sabre. Blasphemous. The jokes mostly. Stupid. Rian's choice for how to portray Luke. I disagree. Finn, should have died. Poor character. Rose dido. Canto bight. Cut it all and give us more Rey and Luke on the Island training. ALL MAJOR theories unanswered or spat on.

Very mixed feeling towards this one. Have never been this torn towards a Star Wars movie before, maybe any movie. I will need a 3rd/4th viewing. Awaiting Blu-ray now..

 

[croft_alice]

I was at the premiere of this movie,the movie seemed boring,even sg 1 and antlantis have better space battles,the only scene that i laughed was when i saw Kylo's face when Luke tricked,that was a badass scene.

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[The Seeker]

I finally saw it. It didn’t resonate much with me because I sort of wrote Star Wars off after Rogue One. That said, aside from being too long it wasn’t a bad movie. I missed Luke's dying moment because I was looking for my mom, who went to the bathroom and never came back (turned out she sat in a first row seat so as to not disturb anyone by coming back up). I still think Kylo Ren is a little bitch but at least he has some complexity to him. The heroes were fun to watch. Yoda was superfluous. Overall it was very OK.

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Last Jedi” Comics, Cut Scene Talk & More





Last week came word that the upcoming novelization of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on March 6th will include deleted scenes not in the film, indeed it has long been known that the Blu-ray release of the movie is said to contain around 20 minutes of cut scenes as an extra.

Now comes word that “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” scribe Gary Whitta will pen completely new scenes for the story for the upcoming graphic novel adaptation. IGNreports the six-issue series, with art by Michael Walsh, will provide a new perspective on events we saw unfold on the big screen. The comic will likely include one scene that is confirmed for the novelization but won’t be in the disc cut scenes – Han Solo’s funeral.

Johnson recently spoke with Comicbook.com about one key scene that made it into the movie – Rey entering the Dark Side pit and finding a long line of mirror images of herself. Johnson said the image was in his head before he began serious work on the film:

“It was just an image that came into my head of this infinite line of, you know, possibilities of self in this infinite line of possibilities of identity and the notion then of playing with which one is the quote-unquote real her. Which one is going to be her and where does it end, and it does end someplace. It ends at a place that shows her basically her kind of worst fear which is that it’s just her.”

He also tells Collider that at one point the visit to Canto Bight would’ve been Finn and Poe rather than Finn and Rose:

In the very first draft I wrote of it, Poe went with Finn on the mission to Canto Bight, and the two of them were going to be together on the mission. And it didn’t work at all because those two get along so well and so it was just really boring.”

Johnson revealed that the cut scenes on the disc will include two key extended sequences. One has Rey and Luke visiting a village where the Caretakers (the Nun Fishes) live, the other is a sequence where Rose, and Finn, and DJ are sneaking through the Mega Destroyer.

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Last Jedi” Blu-ray Has 14 Deleted Scenes




Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Pictures have announced the details of the home video release of Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” which will come to Digital HD on March 13th and to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray/DVD on March 27th.

The big news is the disc will include approximately fourteen never-before-seen deleted scenes with an introduction and optional commentary by Johnson with the director also doing a commentary track for the entire film. There’ll also be two further exclusive scenes featuring Andy Serkis as Snoke prior to his digital makeover.

The film will also be Disney’s first title available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos immersive audio.

Other extras include a feature-length documentary, scene breakdowns, and featurettes exploring the film’s take on Star Mythology along with the space battles, the Crait sequence and the crafting of the character of Supreme Leader Snoke.