Last Jedi *SPOILER* thread

[tower912]

So those who have seen it won't ruin it for those who haven't.......
Things that bothered me......
Snoke died too quick and easy.  And a movie too soon. 
Didn't like much about the side trip to the casino.
How does Kylo Ren get redeemed if there isn't a bigger baddie?
Things I liked....
Humor.
Interplay between Rey and Ren.
Yoda.
Luke's weakness was that he was a whiner.
The twist at the end.  I remember Ren's feet in the salt.  Did they show Luke's?

A-

I'm going to have to see it again to get the exact wording of the quote, so forgive me if I am off by a little,  but how long until we get a "Everything you said in that last statement is wrong" gif and meme on scoop?

[cheebs09]

I thoughts Snoke and Phasma were kind of wasted. I was hoping to learn more about them and how they came to be.

I actually thought the humor was a little too much. It felt forced and came at some pretty serious times.

The Superman Leia part was pretty tough for me.

All in all, I thought as a stand-alone movie, it was exciting and had a fun adventure. I think TFA set it up for some very cool places it could go, but this went in a different direction. I think I’ll enjoy it more after a second viewing.

That scene where the lightsaber called out to Rey in TFA was kind of forgotten about. There were also some scenes that seemed like they were plucked right out of Empire or ROTJ. It has set things up to where I have no clue where they go for Episode 9 and that’s exciting.

[mu03eng]

I really liked it and I think I will like it more with each watch.

Howeva...the big plot point I'm struggling with is Holdo taking the cruiser into hyperspace and wiping out the First Order fleet. Like how? And if that's a thing why aren't there hyperspace based weapons that do that stuff???

[mu03eng]

Also, I'm confused as to how this sets anything up for IX and the Leia problem is glaring. They are going to have to advance the timeline at least a couple of years prior to IX, Yes?

Also, am I crazy or were the original Jedi books in the Falcon at the end(in the draw Finn took a blanket out of for Rose)

[🏀]

Here's my big issue with it.

The Force Awakens set up the trilogy to answer two major questions:
1. What is Rey's lineage?
2. Who is Snoke?

The Last Jedi answered those deliberately setup questions with:
1. It doesn't matter
2. It doesn't matter

TFA has been completely deemed irrelevant by TLJ. Maybe that's the plan, make A New Hope clone to re-engage the fan base and then take it in a different direction. If that's the case, the Snoke/Rey foreshadowing in TFA didn't need to be included.

Minor complaints:
1. Mary Poppins Leia, dumb dumb dumb. Why is she alive? I feel like there's either some CGI Leia coming in 9 that's necessary (Rey's mom) or there's going to be a large time jump and she's going to pass during.

2. R2 and Luke reunion was hot garbage. Poe molested BB8 everytime their apart, but Luke and R2 are less than excited? Luke lectures R2 on language? R2 has always been the wiser one. R2 was literally in a coma when Luke went missing, but whatever in TLJ. Also, where was R2 at the end?

3. Phasma totally got Fett'd. Awesome armour gets no story, no presence.

4. Casino/Finn/Rose was necessary social commentary, UNLESS that force kid at the ends up being a big role in 9.

5. Chewbacca has a moral issue with eating Porgs? He's a goddamn Wookie, unnatural carnal knowledge Porgs. Chewy with some badass flying, but another original character that continues to get marginalized.

6. Speaking of original characters, Admiral Ackbar gets smoked with no fanfare? A brief mention? Get out of here. After Ackbar dies, the Resistance literally keeps falling into traps. Instead of purple hair Jurassic Park lady lightspeed attacking, let Ackbar go out with that glory, which brings me to...

Things I loved:
1. The Lightspeed attack was brilliant cinema. The silence, my theater was actually silent. It was chilling and fantastic.

2. Kylo and Adam Driver. The best acting Star Wars has had. (Period). The performance in TLJ makes his acting in TFA even better. Kylo does become Vader's successor. He did what Vader couldn't, overthrow his master and become Supreme Leader.

3. The Imperial Guard fight scene was fantastically done and shot. Could have been out of a Tarantino movie it was that well put together.

4. The Luke ending. I'm not personally happy with the ending of Luke, but it was interesting. Yoda made him think Rey knew everything, but she stole the books. The haircut, hair dye and no footsteps in the salt were nice teasers for those looking for it. Could have done without the shoulder brush.

5. The direction for 9. While unsatisfied between TFA and TLJ, I think Rian has setup JJ for a fantastic ending of the Rey and Kylo arc.

[mu03eng]

Here's my big issue with it.

The Force Awakens set up the trilogy to answer two major questions:
1. What is Rey's lineage?
2. Who is Snoke?

The Last Jedi answered those deliberately setup questions with:
1. It doesn't matter
2. It doesn't matter

TFA has been completely deemed irrelevant by TLJ. Maybe that's the plan, make A New Hope clone to re-engage the fan base and then take it in a different direction. If that's the case, the Snoke/Rey foreshadowing in TFA didn't need to be included.

I'll have to watch again but are we sure that Ren was telling the truth, or at least not telling the truth from a certain point of view? If he was, when you combine it with this legend talk and the kid at the end with force powers, I wonder if they are setting up this narrative that democratizes the force that anyone can be special and the de-emphizing of the Skywalker line because they are clearly flawed

Also mark me down as not one who cares about Snoke. It's weird that they made him out to be something that could have been interesting but basically threw him away. I'm a little curious how he could be so powerful yet defeated so easily.

[mu03eng]

Minor complaints:
1. Mary Poppins Leia, dumb dumb dumb. Why is she alive? I feel like there's either some CGI Leia coming in 9 that's necessary (Rey's mom) or there's going to be a large time jump and she's going to pass during.

2. R2 and Luke reunion was hot garbage. Poe molested BB8 everytime their apart, but Luke and R2 are less than excited? Luke lectures R2 on language? R2 has always been the wiser one. R2 was literally in a coma when Luke went missing, but whatever in TLJ. Also, where was R2 at the end?

3. Phasma totally got Fett'd. Awesome armour gets no story, no presence.

Agreed on all counts. I'm final with limiting 3PO's role, but they wildly under used R2 in TFA and TLJ

[🏀]

I'll have to watch again but are we sure that Ren was telling the truth, or at least not telling the truth from a certain point of view? If he was, when you combine it with this legend talk and the kid at the end with force powers, I wonder if they are setting up this narrative that democratizes the force that anyone can be special and the de-emphizing of the Skywalker line because they are clearly flawed

Oh no, we're not sure at all. I hope it's still out there because I'm a drooling idiot Skywalker fanboy.

However, the 'everyone has the Force' narrative would destroy the franchise. The original trilogy is about those who are powerful with the Force. I could however get on board with finding all the people that are Force sensitive like the narrative before the Clone Wars.

[mu03eng]

5. Chewbacca has a moral issue with eating Porgs? He's a goddamn Wookie, unnatural carnal knowledge Porgs. Chewy with some badass flying, but another original character that continues to get marginalized.

6. Speaking of original characters, Admiral Ackbar gets smoked with no fanfare? A brief mention? Get out of here. After Ackbar dies, the Resistance literally keeps falling into traps. Instead of purple hair Jurassic Park lady lightspeed attacking, let Ackbar go out with that glory, which brings me to...

I get why a lot of OT characters are marginalized (RIP Carrie, but the actors are literally dying) but characters like Ackbar, Chewie, R2, etc can almost live forever within the Star Wars universe. I guess they had to kill Ackbar to pave the way for Hondo to conflict with Poe to advance Poe's character but I still hate killing him off....have him somewhere else in the galaxy for god sake.

Also, why is Chewie taking orders from Rey, she has what experience that Chewie would be like "ya know, I've been in hundreds of scraps and fights but ya know what this kid is a tactical genius" Also how does everyone all know Shyriiwook all of a sudden???

Lastly, at what point can they stop creating new aliens and reuse some of the classic ones? How has it been at least 6 movies since we've seen another Wolfman or Hammerhead??

[🏀]

I get why a lot of OT characters are marginalized (RIP Carrie, but the actors are literally dying) but characters like Ackbar, Chewie, R2, etc can almost live forever within the Star Wars universe. I guess they had to kill Ackbar to pave the way for Hondo to conflict with Poe to advance Poe's character but I still hate killing him off....have him somewhere else in the galaxy for god sake.

Also, why is Chewie taking orders from Rey, she has what experience that Chewie would be like "ya know, I've been in hundreds of scraps and fights but ya know what this kid is a tactical genius" Also how does everyone all know Shyriiwook all of a sudden???

Lastly, at what point can they stop creating new aliens and reuse some of the classic ones? How has it been at least 6 movies since we've seen another Wolfman or Hammerhead??

Yeah, that Rey/Chewie thing didn't get me during the movie but now that you bring it up, that's irritating.

Another note I forgot, Benicio Del Toro's DJ was a great character. I want more of him.

[mu03eng]

Oh no, we're not sure at all. I hope it's still out there because I'm a drooling idiot Skywalker fanboy.

However, the 'everyone has the Force' narrative would destroy the franchise. The original trilogy is about those who are powerful with the Force. I could however get on board with finding all the people that are Force sensitive like the narrative before the Clone Wars.

#I'mwithSkywalker

Maybe I should rephrase a little bit....i think they are going with a narrative that you have to be your own hero, you can't count on special people all the time.

I do suspect that IX will advance a number of years and Kylo and Rey will have built opposing force armies and if so I'm very down for that. Only issue I have is Kylo is now irredeemable so the Skywalker lineage is dead after IX

[🏀]

#I'mwithSkywalker

Maybe I should rephrase a little bit....i think they are going with a narrative that you have to be your own hero, you can't count on special people all the time.

I do suspect that IX will advance a number of years and Kylo and Rey will have built opposing force armies and if so I'm very down for that. Only issue I have is Kylo is now irredeemable so the Skywalker lineage is dead after IX

Be your own hero makes sense. I can get behind that and it opens up the SWCU for Disney. I think Poe having a big role is part of that potentially.

Maybe Kylo and the Knights of Ren (BTW, where were they?) are out slaying all the different races both violently and sexually? 

I don't think Snoke facilitated the Rey/Kylo connection as they connected after he was murdered. Snoke knew they were communicating and claimed it. I think they will ultimately be siblings still...we didn't know about Luke/Leia until ROTJ.

Also, the new trilogy has been setting up the female narratives. Leia is more powerful than Luke, Rey is more powerful than Ben...

[mu03eng]

Another observation, while this did have a lot of Empire call backs they were A) very well done (see Leia/Kylo mirror Vader/Luke call and response) and were mixed in with a lot of RotJ call backs....makes me think IX will escape a lot of the retread of previous story arcs and be largely original.

Also did anyone else catch all the binary references at the end of the movie, both visual and audio?

[🏀]

Another observation, while this did have a lot of Empire call backs they were A) very well done (see Leia/Kylo mirror Vader/Luke call and response) and were mixed in with a lot of RotJ call backs....makes me think IX will

Another observation, while this did have a lot of Empire call backs they were A) very well done (see Leia/Kylo mirror Vader/Luke call and response) and were mixed in with a lot of RotJ call backs....makes me think IX will escape a lot of the retread of previous story arcs and be largely original.

Also did anyone else catch all the binary references at the end of the movie, both visual and audio?

Also did anyone else catch all the binary references at the end of the movie, both visual and audio?

So no Ewoks then?

You referring to the dual sun's? And the force kid staring at the stars?

We're nerds.

[mu03eng]

Be your own hero makes sense. I can get behind that and it opens up the SWCU for Disney. I think Poe having a big role is part of that potentially.

Maybe Kylo and the Knights of Ren (BTW, where were they?) are out slaying all the different races both violently and sexually? 

I don't think Snoke facilitated the Rey/Kylo connection as they connected after he was murdered. Snoke knew they were communicating and claimed it. I think they will ultimately be siblings still...we didn't know about Luke/Leia until ROTJ.

Also, the new trilogy has been setting up the female narratives. Leia is more powerful than Luke, Rey is more powerful than Ben...

Makes sense and I really like the idea of Snoke being the bad guy version of a certain point of view.

Rey as more powerful then Ben I buy, but Leia more powerful than Luke? Dude astral projected himself across the galaxy and fought his own nephew while convincing everybody but his own sister(and maybe even her) that he was actually there. Leia force pulled herself 100 yards through space....not the same level

[mu03eng]

Also did anyone else catch all the binary references at the end of the movie, both visual and audio?


So no Ewoks then?

You referring to the dual sun's? And the force kid staring at the stars?

We're nerds.

Porgs = Ewoks

Yes the twin suns and then there were two stars more promenint in the night sky then the rest of the star field.

And I thought entry into this thread was guarded by some sort of nerd sensing device???

[🏀]

Makes sense and I really like the idea of Snoke being the bad guy version of a certain point of view.

Rey as more powerful then Ben I buy, but Leia more powerful than Luke? Dude astral projected himself across the galaxy and fought his own nephew while convincing everybody but his own sister(and maybe even her) that he was actually there. Leia force pulled herself 100 yards through space....not the same level

Yeah, but she was dead! If she was dead, that's more impressive.

Also, Leia's been dealing with crap. Resistance, dead husband, pretty boy son. Luke's been chilling on a mountain chugging green milk and brushing up on things.

[mu03eng]

Yeah, but she was dead! If she was dead, that's more impressive.

Also, Leia's been dealing with crap. Resistance, dead husband, pretty boy son. Luke's been chilling on a mountain chugging green milk and brushing up on things.

Eh, you can survive in the vacuum of space for a minute or two so I'm not sure she was actually dead. I think she's a stronger person(also she had a lot more non-force training than Luke) but he's more powerful in the force in my opinion.

Would have liked to seen Leia throw down lightsaber style tho

[chapman]

The set-up and speculation around Snoke, Rey, and to a lesser degree, Phasma amounting to nothing.  To pick one, I actually thought it was great that Snoke was killed.  Probably the most unexpected thing, and opens up so much more while making everything less predictable going forward.  But not giving anything on who he is before killing him off is difficult to accept.  The Empire was reduced to nothing, yet this dark side force user who seems old enough to have been around since Episode 1 comes and essentially re-conquers the entire galaxy, builds a new Death Star equivalent, and gets the strongest force user of the next generation as his apprentice. 


I feel like we're going to need something along the lines of "A Phantom Edit" to remove almost all of the casino world sequence.  Actually, they could probably remove the Rose character entirely.  The Benicio Del Toro character didn't do anything for me either.


Where TFA and the prequels didn't age well, this one will get better with time (and episode 9). 

[mu03eng]

The set-up and speculation around Snoke, Rey, and to a lesser degree, Phasma amounting to nothing.  To pick one, I actually thought it was great that Snoke was killed.  Probably the most unexpected thing, and opens up so much more while making everything less predictable going forward.  But not giving anything on who he is before killing him off is difficult to accept.  The Empire was reduced to nothing, yet this dark side force user who seems old enough to have been around since Episode 1 comes and essentially re-conquers the entire galaxy, builds a new Death Star equivalent, and gets the strongest force user of the next generation as his apprentice. 


I feel like we're going to need something along the lines of "A Phantom Edit" to remove almost all of the casino world sequence.  Actually, they could probably remove the Rose character entirely.  The Benicio Del Toro character didn't do anything for me either.


Where TFA and the prequels didn't age well, this one will get better with time (and episode 9).

See, I liked DJ. Thought they did a good job of keeping us guessing as to what side he was on.

[Galway Eagle]

Porgs > Ewoks

Wayyyy overrated.

Liked the surprise of the killing of snoke and hope that he comes back (if he is Darth Palagius) and that settles that mystery.

That random kid at the end better have some role in the next one.

You can’t have a story like Rey’s parents be set up as a big mystery then just swipe it aside like they did, hope it’s not be the final answer.

Liked the Yoda appearance but would’ve preferred Obi Wan (even if it was young obi wan)

[Benny B]

Just walked out of the theatre and I’m deliberately making my family wait so I can post this:

Disappointed.

I’ll elaborate later.

[Benny B]

Ok that wasn’t fair. 

LJ was a good movie.  I’m disappointed because I wasn’t expecting a good movie.   I was expecting a traditional sci-fi, THX, CGI, action movie - maybe with a little darkness to it (not a force reference, no pun intended) - whose best hope for an Oscar nomination would be a technical award.  Not some well-written, character developing artistic piece that excites even the elitist snobbish critics.

Guess I should have seen that coming. 

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Finally saw it today.  I'll post more when I let my thoughts settle.  Quick version: Good, not great. Too long.  I was expecting more back story and didn't get it.  I did like the struggle to get Luke to act.  Force ghost Yoda was one of my favorite parts.

OT>ST>PT

[SaveOD238]

Here's my big issue with it.

The Force Awakens set up the trilogy to answer two major questions:
1. What is Rey's lineage?
2. Who is Snoke?

The Last Jedi answered those deliberately setup questions with:
1. It doesn't matter
2. It doesn't matter

So it was “Lost”?  As someone who loved the ending of Lost because I cared more about the characters and less about all of the mysteries I guess I don’t really care who Rey’s folks were or where Snoke came from.  Sure, it would be nice to know the “answers” but I’d rather feel out the story.

The Rey-Luke-Ben arc in this movie was pretty stupendous, I thought, but the Leia-Poe-Rose-Finn story line felt wasted.  I’m looking forward to seeing the whole new crew (Rey Finn Poe and I guess Rose) together for once in IX.

[chapman]

You can’t have a story like Rey’s parents be set up as a big mystery then just swipe it aside like they did, hope it’s not be the final answer.

A theory could be that it's true her parents were nobodies, sure.  Because the famous name theories mostly revolve around her grandparent being someone relevant.  Like Obi-Wan or Palpatine weren't exactly taking care of their kid, if they even knew of its existence. 

Good news for some of these things is that Abrams is back for the next one, and might not be too content with stopping at the "answers" for some of the story points he set up in TFA.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Here's a review that pretty much nails my viewpoint:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2017/12/15/review-star-wars-the-last-jedi-delights-and-disappoints/#2eb339844400

I will say I nailed two things about this movie.  One, the appearance of a force ghost.  Force ghost Luke should be appearing in IX, right?

Two, Rey's parents being nobody.  I still think there's more to her story.  My theory was that her parents were nobody but she was training to be a Jedi at Luke's Academy and either Luke or Kylo Ren dropped Rey off on Jakku.  In the KR scenario, Ren was hoping to stash Rey to eventually be his apprentice after overthrowing Snoke.  If Luke dropped her off, he was hoping to save her from Ren.  Either of these could have given Rey a backstory for why she's so skilled at Jedi stuff and tied her into the Luke-Ren story arc.  But neither appear to be the case.

[MU82]

My thoughts ...

1. Killing of Snoke was ridiculous. All-powerful being who can see into everybody's minds is caught by surprise like that? Weak. I liked both the character and especially the acting by Serkis. I do like the theory that he was just saying he set up the convo between Rey and Kylo; reminds me of another bully who claims things he has nothing to do with!

2. I simply don't like Poe and Finn. Don't like the actors portraying them or the characters. I wish they'd both be killed yesterday.

3. I left the theater scratchin' my head about Rey's parents. I like some of the theories about maybe she's Obi-Wan's granddaughter or something like that.

4. I have to admit that every time Leia was on screen, I was wondering how they were going to kill her. So I was amazed that when they had the chance to kill her ... she effen floated through space and knocked on the door. Really? I'm not sure Fisher ever was much of an actress but she was terrible in this. Wooden, unbelievable, seemed like lines were fed to her seconds before she recited them. The franchise will be better without her.

5. Meanwhile, I was convinced Hamill was a complete hack but I actually liked his work here, and I mostly liked the arc of his character. He was a little whiny in the first 2/3 of the movie, as has been mentioned, but I like the last third, after Yoda's visit. I thought him brushing off his shoulder was great. Hokey, but fun.

6. Agree with those praising Adam Driver's work. Very talented actor, and he brought great depth to Kylo. Definitely my favorite character.

7. I enjoyed the movie. I still haven't seen anything I've liked as much as ANH or ESB, but this one and the previous were good entertainment. I saw it in a PDX theater (not 3D, which I hate), and the extra-wide screen and sound were outstanding. Looking forward to seeing what J.J. does with the next one.

[StillAWarrior]

Generally, I liked it.  Early on, it seemed like it was a little "Disneyfied" but that didn't carry through.  I thought the scene of him milking the thing, the sea beast in the background on one shot, the porgs and the scene with Max just felt too Disney to me.  And seriously, all those professional writers and film-makers and the best the could come up with was "crystal critters" for those animals on the salt planet?

The biggest plot hole that bothered me was how Red ended up in the MF again at the end.  Did I miss something?  She left on Snoke's escape pod, and then she showed up in the MF.  I guess she just went and found them.


My sort-of funny, too long story about getting to see the movie.  I planned to go with three of my kids, my brother and one of my son's friends.  Six of us for the 4:00 PM movie.  Assigned seats.  I purchased the tickets on Friday online.  So, we get there, buy our popcorn, etc.  Try to enter and my ticket won't scan.  Uh oh.  The guy says to just go ahead.  As we're walking to the theater, I'm thinking, "I hope nobody is in our seats."  Sure enough, our seats are occupied.  I leave everyone there and walk back out to the guy to tell him.  He looks at the email/ticket and we realize that I had purchased tickets for Friday, not Saturday.  Totally my fault.  I figured I was screwed and that was $60 down the drain and we weren't going to get to see the movie.  He calls a manager who comes over.  He asks if I'm alone, and I tell him there are six of us.  The manager says that there is no way he can get six in (it was actually a pretty small theater), but he'll see what he can do.  He comes back in five minutes and tells me that actually, if we don't mind splitting up and have four of us sitting in handicap seats, he can get us in.  I think it's awesome and thank him.  Then he says, "and if you come out to the box office afterward, I'll refund your tickets."  I ask him, "refund my tickets?" and he says yes, that he'd let us in for free.  I guess because we can't sit together?  So, he walks us down to the theater and shows us to the seats.  Previews still haven't started.  He told me to go to the box office after the movie.  Since it hadn't started, I told him I'd go right then.  I head to the box office and see the manager and thank him for helping us out and apologizing for the inconvenience.  He says no problem.  They have trouble at the box office and can't issue the refund, but tell me if I call corporate they can see that I didn't use my pass and will issue a full refund.  As I'm walking back to the theater, I see the manager again and thank him again.  He said, "no problem, you're the most pleasant person I've dealt with all day."  Then he handed me six passes and said, "next time you come to a movie, it's on us."  So, to recap:  I totally screwed up purchasing tickets -- 100% my fault.  They would have been perfectly justified in telling me I was out of luck.  But they let me into the movie for free; personally showed me to my seats; refunded my tickets; and gave me six free passes for future movies.  After the movie, by brother joked that I should see if we could get a refund for the popcorn.  Thank you Cinemark.  Way, way above and beyond on customer service.

[mu03eng]

I think this article does a great job articulating why TLJ was what it was and I think I'm getting on board with this. Sure there were flaws but in some ways, flaws are core to Star Wars otherwise we wouldn't debate this crap endlessly. I'll see it again in a week or so but the more I think about it, the more I think I really loved TLJ.

http://www.slashfilm.com/the-last-jedi-defense/

[Benny B]

My thoughts ...

1. Killing of Snoke was ridiculous. All-powerful being who can see into everybody's minds is caught by surprise like that? Weak. I liked both the character and especially the acting by Serkis. I do like the theory that he was just saying he set up the convo between Rey and Kylo; reminds me of another bully who claims things he has nothing to do with!

2. I simply don't like Poe and Finn. Don't like the actors portraying them or the characters. I wish they'd both be killed yesterday.

3. I left the theater scratchin' my head about Rey's parents. I like some of the theories about maybe she's Obi-Wan's granddaughter or something like that.

4. I have to admit that every time Leia was on screen, I was wondering how they were going to kill her. So I was amazed that when they had the chance to kill her ... she effen floated through space and knocked on the door. Really? I'm not sure Fisher ever was much of an actress but she was terrible in this. Wooden, unbelievable, seemed like lines were fed to her seconds before she recited them. The franchise will be better without her.

5. Meanwhile, I was convinced Hamill was a complete hack but I actually liked his work here, and I mostly liked the arc of his character. He was a little whiny in the first 2/3 of the movie, as has been mentioned, but I like the last third, after Yoda's visit. I thought him brushing off his shoulder was great. Hokey, but fun.

1. Of course, everyone knows that force-based telepathy has very narrow bandwidth.  It's hard to detect and separate the thoughts when your subject is actively using a force-telekinesis channel.

2. With you on Finn.  John Boyega is a great example of bad casting; it seems like he's really stretching more than one typically should in a Star Wars movie.  Donald Glover would have been 100x better, and heck, he might have taken the role for scale if you caught him six years ago.

3. This is what I really hated about the movie... TFA went out of its way to highlight the "who's your daddy" question, whereas ANH talked about Luke's parents briefly and then let it go.  The fact that nothing was answered in TLJ makes me feel like I just got duped by some clickbait.  Again, something else I should have seen coming... classic example of what happens when the Mouse takes over: everything they sell you gets you hooked on the next thing they're going to sell you.

4. I'm not going to badmouth the dead; however, I do feel sorry for the seventeen hundred CGI artists who are already working on Leia's appearance in Episode IX.

5. My wife leaned over to me during the movie and said "he's really starting to look like Skips," a reference to a cartoon where he voiced a 500-year old yeti.


Other thoughts:

Seeing it in 3D wasn't so bad.... I feel they really toned down the novelty of 3D and used it simply for effect rather than embellishment.

Reserved seating in movie theaters is awesome.  Show up twenty minutes after showtime, catch one trailer, and the movie starts.  No time wasted and my dead-center-of-the-theater seats were still waiting for me.

Biggest surprise of the movie.... we didn't see another 'Dilemma' thread from 82 asking us whether he should stay and watch the rest of movie or leave when they mentioned the force being a religion.

[chapman]

2. With you on Finn.  John Boyega is a great example of bad casting; it seems like he's really stretching more than one typically should in a Star Wars movie.  Donald Glover would have been 100x better, and heck, he might have taken the role for scale if you caught him six years ago.

Well, we do get




Apparently they're all wrapped up and the Han Solo movie is scheduled for May 25.  Thought that was weird.  Was expecting a new film every December. 

[🏀]

I think this article does a great job articulating why TLJ was what it was and I think I'm getting on board with this. Sure there were flaws but in some ways, flaws are core to Star Wars otherwise we wouldn't debate this crap endlessly. I'll see it again in a week or so but the more I think about it, the more I think I really loved TLJ.

http://www.slashfilm.com/the-last-jedi-defense/

Part of this reflects Johnson’s interest in Ben Solo and his lack of interest in Snoke (can you blame him?), but it’s also a perfect reflection of the grander ideas at work in The Last Jedi. Luke Skywalker loomed large, but in the end, he was just a bitter old man with a chip on his shoulder. Snoke loomed large, but in the end, he was just an vicious old bastard whose backstory is unimportant and who gets stabbed in the back by his angsty student. In a universe where everything is connected, where we’ve been trained to expect greater meanings and profound truths, this is a punch to the gut. Not everything is connected. The mightiest can fall. And at some point, they probably should.

Episode IX might be the most important movie in the franchise then. JJ has some big writing and developing on his plate. Outside of Ben, do we have a stable of decent characters?

• Rey -Sure, but as Ben's Resistance opposite, she's no comparsion.
• Finn - Hot garbage, no interest.
• Poe - Fun in his minor role.
• Rose - This is not the story line you are looking for.
• Maz Kanata - Hopefully they shoehorn her in again to fill a plot hole. Why was she in a middle of a fight instead of tending bar somehwere? Probably the most frustrating character in the modern trilogy.
• Force Ghost Luke - I'm down with that.
• Leia - Is there really a future here?
• Hux - Absolutely.

I'm not seeing it. Honestly, the two best characters are Ben & Hux.

[drewm88]

Complaints first:
--Too much humor. Way too much. The opening scene with Poe and Hux was funny and almost shocking that they would get that silly, but I wish they had pulled back on the rest of it. Seemed like it went far beyond the rest of the franchise in that regard.
--The casino scenes were unnecessary, or at the very least, poorly done.
--The entire Finn/Rose storyline could have been better. Her backstory/motivation were especially shoe-horned in.
--I hated Superman Leia/Mary Poppins Leia as one of you put it. I would have killed her off there. If you're not going to kill her there, make it so she doesn't get blasted out of the ship. If it's all to show her abilities with the force, don't make it look so ridiculous.

That being said, I really liked the movie.
--Kylo Ren was the best throughout. The character and the performance were excellent.
--We all expected him to turn on Snoke, just maybe not this soon. I was actually kind of hoping in the moment that he would kill Rey because it would be so shocking and turn everyone's expectations on their head. However, I loved his pitch to Rey to destroy everything and create something new together. I didn't see that idea coming, and it made perfect sense with his character and the film.
--At first I was bummed they killed off Snoke without us learning who he is, but then I realized that I don't really care about the character beyond that question. Unless we learn more in IX, he'll probably be a Dooku-esque forced character, but I'm way more interested in Kylo.
--100% on board with how they handled Luke.
--Overall, I liked the theme of burning down all the old ways/old guard and making your own path, even if you're a nobody desert cast-off or force-sensitive Oliver Twist. Somewhat meta with how Johnson took the saga.

[Hards Alumni]

Perhaps Snoke wanted Kylo to kill him.  Makes Rey gain faith in Kylo's redemption with the possibility that they form a relationship to continue the Sith ways.

Or he is Darth Plagius (sp) and taught Kylo how to bring him back... which would explain what I said above.

[barfolomew]

I enjoyed the film, but only because I knew that Johnson was going in a different direction. I was actively expecting him to intentionally piss on some of the canon, and so was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't more of that. My wife and kids were disappointed with the film, though, expecting more of a TFA look and feel.

As a few others did, I thought the humor was kind of clumsily done and my theater hardly laughed at any of it.

Kylo stole the whole movie -- he is really the only character I'm interested in moving forward. And I'm intensely interested. Loved the apparent "joining" then "splitting" of Kylo and Rey. I'm predicting more to the story of Rey's origins, but maybe not in the way we're expecting. As the characters themselves said repeatedly, Abrams will continue to kill the past in Ep 9.

They lost me for a good 10 minutes after that Leia force flying scene. Just a bridge too far. Her tunic was even flapping in the breeze... of outer space. Minus-450-degree-Fahrenheit outer space. Cmon man.

[mu03eng]

Episode IX might be the most important movie in the franchise then. JJ has some big writing and developing on his plate. Outside of Ben, do we have a stable of decent characters?

• Rey -Sure, but as Ben's Resistance opposite, she's no comparsion.
• Finn - Hot garbage, no interest.
• Poe - Fun in his minor role.
• Rose - This is not the story line you are looking for.
• Maz Kanata - Hopefully they shoehorn her in again to fill a plot hole. Why was she in a middle of a fight instead of tending bar somehwere? Probably the most frustrating character in the modern trilogy.
• Force Ghost Luke - I'm down with that.
• Leia - Is there really a future here?
• Hux - Absolutely.

I'm not seeing it. Honestly, the two best characters are Ben & Hux.

IF they had known Poe would survive TFA, I think they screwed up the casting because I think Boyega and Issac should have reversed roles.

Can't stand Hux by the way.

I want to see Force Ghost Luke so bad and I really really really hope they were setting up the ending of TLJ to give us that as part of Luke mentoring Rey as a Force Ghost, especially since Ghost Yoda (who was awesome) made reference to failures being the best lesson that Luke could pass on.

[mu03eng]

1. Of course, everyone knows that force-based telepathy has very narrow bandwidth.  It's hard to detect and separate the thoughts when your subject is actively using a force-telekinesis channel.

2. With you on Finn.  John Boyega is a great example of bad casting; it seems like he's really stretching more than one typically should in a Star Wars movie.  Donald Glover would have been 100x better, and heck, he might have taken the role for scale if you caught him six years ago.

3. This is what I really hated about the movie... TFA went out of its way to highlight the "who's your daddy" question, whereas ANH talked about Luke's parents briefly and then let it go.  The fact that nothing was answered in TLJ makes me feel like I just got duped by some clickbait.  Again, something else I should have seen coming... classic example of what happens when the Mouse takes over: everything they sell you gets you hooked on the next thing they're going to sell you.

4. I'm not going to badmouth the dead; however, I do feel sorry for the seventeen hundred CGI artists who are already working on Leia's appearance in Episode IX.

5. My wife leaned over to me during the movie and said "he's really starting to look like Skips," a reference to a cartoon where he voiced a 500-year old yeti.


Other thoughts:

Seeing it in 3D wasn't so bad.... I feel they really toned down the novelty of 3D and used it simply for effect rather than embellishment.

Reserved seating in movie theaters is awesome.  Show up twenty minutes after showtime, catch one trailer, and the movie starts.  No time wasted and my dead-center-of-the-theater seats were still waiting for me.

Biggest surprise of the movie.... we didn't see another 'Dilemma' thread from 82 asking us whether he should stay and watch the rest of movie or leave when they mentioned the force being a religion.

Whether intended or not, the TFA build up of legacy/legend/who's your daddy feeds into to TLJ perfectly from the thought that you can't depend on the past to see you through the current. Also it is echoing the theme from Dark Knight "you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain". Luke's failing was that he thought he had become infallible and become an authority all to himself.

I think IX will be all about burning it down to build it back up but to what purpose (Kylo's nihilistic vision or Rey's unicorn vision)?

[MU82]

Biggest surprise of the movie.... we didn't see another 'Dilemma' thread from 82 asking us whether he should stay and watch the rest of movie or leave when they mentioned the force being a religion.

My biggest fear realized: I am effen slipping!

Maybe I'll just go float through space until I bump into a spaceship. I don't need no stinkin' Force!

[drewm88]

I really liked it and I think I will like it more with each watch.

Howeva...the big plot point I'm struggling with is Holdo taking the cruiser into hyperspace and wiping out the First Order fleet. Like how? And if that's a thing why aren't there hyperspace based weapons that do that stuff???

I heard a theory that you need to have a really big ship to do any damage this way, and to be successful, you have to be in the range of the other guy's weapons. Those two together make it a costly, risky proposition.

[🏀]

I want to see Force Ghost Luke so bad and I really really really hope they were setting up the ending of TLJ to give us that as part of Luke mentoring Rey as a Force Ghost, especially since Ghost Yoda (who was awesome) made reference to failures being the best lesson that Luke could pass on.

Luke pretty much said he was coming back for Kylo, right? Maybe Yoda and Luke train with a bit of hubris and Rey develops the Gray Force. The Jedi have always been a cocky, self-righteous bunch.

I'm excited where it can go.

[jesmu84]

Luke pretty much said he was coming back for Kylo, right? Maybe Yoda and Luke train with a bit of hubris and Rey develops the Gray Force. The Jedi have always been a cocky, self-righteous bunch.

I'm excited where it can go.

Eh.

It was a parallel of what obi wan said to Vader.

[chapman]

Luke pretty much said he was coming back for Kylo, right?

Was there a thing earlier where the ghosts are only visible for light side users?  Like why Obi-Wan said he couldn't interfere if Luke faced Vader.  Not that they showed much care for the "rules" in this one, but it would be a cool thing if Luke "haunts" Kylo, and the only reason Kylo can see or hear him is that he can't fully let go of the light.

[WarriorDad]

When Leia got blown out from the bridge and then somehow made it back in, my youngest turned to me and said that was the lamest scene she could remember in any movie in a very long time.

Hard to disagree.  Overall the movie had its moments, but that was bad.

[StillAWarrior]

I really thought Leia would stay behind on the salt planet to confront Kylo Ren...try to bring him over to the light side. They need to kill her off anyway, and that seemed a reasonable way to do it that could “fit” with the story. Perhaps it would have been too much of a rip off of Han Solo’s death.

Also, she could have just died when blasted out into space, and the movie really wouldn’t have suffered much (except for missing the reunion between Leia and the force-projected Luke).

[barfolomew]

Can't stand Hux by the way.

Just out of curiosity, how come?

[cheebs09]

I really thought Leia would stay behind on the salt planet to confront Kylo Ren...try to bring him over to the light side. They need to kill her off anyway, and that seemed a reasonable way to do it that could “fit” with the story. Perhaps it would have been too much of a rip off of Han Solo’s death.

I for sure thought she was going to confront Kylo in a scene or two and that was going to be how she died.

I am just having a tough time being invested in the new characters. Kylo has the most compelling story.

[chapman]

Just out of curiosity, how come?

Wasn't addressed to me, but I don't care for him either.  Like...he's loud and cruel.  So one-dimensional.  Missed opportunity for me was when he gave right in and named Kylo the new Supreme Leader the second he started force-choking him.  If it were Vader and Tarkin, Tarkin would have had some blackmail/insurance and he'd neither be dead nor taking orders from Vader he didn't agree with.

[hdog1017]

Didn't that movie used to have a war in it?

[Benny B]

Wasn't addressed to me, but I don't care for him either.  Like...he's loud and cruel.  So one-dimensional.  Missed opportunity for me was when he gave right in and named Kylo the new Supreme Leader the second he started force-choking him.  If it were Vader and Tarkin, Tarkin would have had some blackmail/insurance and he'd neither be dead nor taking orders from Vader he didn't agree with.

I hate how Kylo Ren is such a bad guy.  Like evil bad.  Sort of like Darth Vader.... like really, that bad.

Why can’t movies just be filled with multi-dimensional good guys?  Why have bad characters in movies at all?  You can still get the PG13 rating with a couple topless women, so why can’t everyone just be nice, and naked?  But not too naked. 

[🏀]

I hate how Kylo Ren is such a bad guy.  Like evil bad.  Sort of like Darth Vader.... like really, that bad.

Why can’t movies just be filled with multi-dimensional good guys?  Why have bad characters in movies at all?  You can still get the PG13 rating with a couple topless women, so why can’t everyone just be nice, and naked?  But not too naked. 

+100%. More boobs.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Alright finally saw it. Again I'm the worst movie critic ever so bear with me.

1. Leia flying through space was so, so, dumb. I mean hell, I'm a big Doctor Who fan and can suspend disbelief about space more than most, but that was just silly.

2. I really hope that they stick with the fact that Rey's parents were nobodies. Lineage isn't everything.

3. Don't get the John Boyega/Finn hate. Really enjoyed Finn in TFA. Think they kinda let us story go in TLJ because of the Luke return.

[mu03eng]

Just out of curiosity, how come?

And I mean only slightly insultingly, because he is the ultimate millennial. He can make a great speech, but has zero competency when it comes to what he is doing. I loved the Poe/Hux interchange because it showed what a moron Hux is. What galls me more than anything is that Hux would long be dead if he worked for Vader. Admiral Ozzel brought the fleet out of hyperspace too close to the system....Hux made about a billion tactical mistakes in TFA and the evacuation of D'Qar and survives. Just a stupid character to have such prominence, for f'ingsake how did the First Order take over the galaxy with this clown show in charge?

[Galway Eagle]

Anybody thinking the next one might be the next movie to be split into a pt1 and pt2 finale? The way the last Harry Potter, the last hunger games, twilight (they should have just not made those movies).

[wisblue]

Anybody thinking the next one might be the next movie to be split into a pt1 and pt2 finale? The way the last Harry Potter, the last hunger games, twilight (they should have just not made those movies).

I would guess not.

Disney has already announced that they are doing another trilogy that will explore a different part of the galaxy and be outside of the Skywalker saga. They can get their audiences and money without dragging out this particular sub story.

[drewm88]

Anybody thinking the next one might be the next movie to be split into a pt1 and pt2 finale? The way the last Harry Potter, the last hunger games, twilight (they should have just not made those movies).

Those were based on books that were deemed too long (and too profitable) to cover in one film.

IX will be based on a script written for the movie. I don't think it's getting split.

Also, they did the same for Divergent. Third movie did so poorly they held off on the 4th and are instead trying to make it a TV show, but the lead actress has pulled out. Not necessarily relevant for this conversation, but a hilarious result for an attempted money grab.

[Benny B]

And I mean only slightly insultingly, because he is the ultimate millennial. He can make a great speech, but has zero competency when it comes to what he is doing. I loved the Poe/Hux interchange because it showed what a moron Hux is. What galls me more than anything is that Hux would long be dead if he worked for Vader. Admiral Ozzel brought the fleet out of hyperspace too close to the system....Hux made about a billion tactical mistakes in TFA and the evacuation of D'Qar and survives. Just a stupid character to have such prominence, for f'ingsake how did the First Order take over the galaxy with this clown show in charge?

On top of that, I hear that Hux's favorite Christmas song is "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

[mu03eng]

On top of that, I hear that Hux's favorite Christmas song is "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

He also repurposed Vader's hyperbaric chamber and turned it into a safe space.

[CreightonWarrior]

Leia in space was lowest point although I read the reason they didn't kill her off was because Johnson thought it would be disrespectful to her and legacy with Star Wars to waste all the footage they had of her.

That being said, I do think she's done and would probably wager that the IX opens at her funeral. Resistance is down to just a few and they need time to build back up before the last film. Timeline of starting at her funeral where she dies of natural causes makes sense to me.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Saw it today and enjoyed it.

Sometimes I feel like diehards look for things to pick apart and it takes away from the enjoyment of the movie.

Maybe it'll change in IX but I felt that Rey's parents were nobodies was a refreshing development.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

And I mean only slightly insultingly, because he is the ultimate millennial. He can make a great speech, but has zero competency when it comes to what he is doing. I loved the Poe/Hux interchange because it showed what a moron Hux is. What galls me more than anything is that Hux would long be dead if he worked for Vader. Admiral Ozzel brought the fleet out of hyperspace too close to the system....Hux made about a billion tactical mistakes in TFA and the evacuation of D'Qar and survives. Just a stupid character to have such prominence, for f'ingsake how did the First Order take over the galaxy with this clown show in charge?

Good point. Incompetent idiots never end up in positions of power.

[Stronghold]

Leia in space wasn't a great scene for me but I'll give them a pass for anything related to Carrie Fisher.  What killed me was the humor they tried to impose (and failed in my opinion) and the lack of backstory we got about Snoke. I have no problem of them killing him off but give us some history/lore. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Leia in space wasn't a great scene for me but I'll give them a pass for anything related to Carrie Fisher.  What killed me was the humor they tried to impose (and failed in my opinion) and the lack of backstory we got about Snoke. I have no problem of them killing him off but give us some history/lore.

It's still possible they address that in IX.  It'd be nice but it didn't really bother me.

Did we really get much of a back story on the Emperor in the first trilogy? 

[MU82]

Good point. Incompetent idiots never end up in positions of power.

I laughed.

Then I cried.

[mu03eng]

Good point. Incompetent idiots never end up in positions of power.

I suppose Hux could have been voted in as military leader....having said this it's still a funny reply well done

[Stronghold]

It's still possible they address that in IX.  It'd be nice but it didn't really bother me.

Did we really get much of a back story on the Emperor in the first trilogy?

I guess that's a good comparison.  Hopefully they touch on some more of it.  He was obviously a very powerful force user and physically mangled so it would be nice to know how he came to be. 

[SaveOD238]

I suppose Hux could have been voted in as military leader....having said this it's still a funny reply well done

I think some of the books/comics have introduced Hux’s father as an Imperial leader post-ROTJ, so Hux is in power due to daddy’s influence.

[GGGG]

I think this article does a great job articulating why TLJ was what it was and I think I'm getting on board with this. Sure there were flaws but in some ways, flaws are core to Star Wars otherwise we wouldn't debate this crap endlessly. I'll see it again in a week or so but the more I think about it, the more I think I really loved TLJ.

http://www.slashfilm.com/the-last-jedi-defense/

So I finally saw it today.  Then I read this article, in particular this paragraph:

"But with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson wants to burn Star Wars to the ground. Not because he harbors ill will toward it, but because he loves it. He loves it so much that he wants to cleanse the garden and allow something fresh and new to grow. The Last Jedi is not concerned about what you, the moviegoer and fan, thinks about Star Wars. It wants to challenge you and make you question what Star Wars is and what it can be."

Parallels to Yoda burning up the Jedi texts?  Maybe the point is that the whole Star Wars "canon" can be burned down and not be a burden to the future story line?

BTW, I thought it was OK.  Not great.  I preferred Rogue One.

[mu03eng]

Just watched in again last night, and I think it is a very good movie which I really really like AND the more you watch the more any "plot holes" go away for the most part. As an example, I definitely think Snoke was lying about creating the skype call between Kylo and Rey, as they had another call at the very end of the movie after Snoke was dead(unless Snoke isn't dead). Also Kylo had a line during the first call that set up the Luke ending "you can't be doing this, the effort would kill you". Does a good job of setting up just how powerful Luke has become.

Only things that really haven't been satisfied for me is who is Snoke (I don't need it but I completely understand the folks that demand a backstory on him) and where the f does the First Order get it's money?

[StillAWarrior]

So I finally saw it today.  Then I read this article, in particular this paragraph:

"But with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson wants to burn Star Wars to the ground. Not because he harbors ill will toward it, but because he loves it. He loves it so much that he wants to cleanse the garden and allow something fresh and new to grow. The Last Jedi is not concerned about what you, the moviegoer and fan, thinks about Star Wars. It wants to challenge you and make you question what Star Wars is and what it can be."

Parallels to Yoda burning up the Jedi texts? Maybe the point is that the whole Star Wars "canon" can be burned down and not be a burden to the future story line?

BTW, I thought it was OK.  Not great.  I preferred Rogue One.

Yoda didn't burn the texts.  You see them very clearly at the end in a drawer on the Falcon when Finn is getting a blanket for Rose.  I thought I noticed this in my first viewing, and definitely confirmed on a second viewing.

My initial question is how did they not get burned.  But some sources on the net say that as Rey boards the Falcon to leave the island, there is a quick shot of her putting something in a drawer -- presumably the books.  I didn't notice that.

Kinda makes Yoda's comment, "That library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess" a little more literal.

[GGGG]

Gotcha.  So much for that...

[Hards Alumni]

Yoda didn't burn the texts.  You see them very clearly at the end in a drawer on the Falcon when Finn is getting a blanket for Rose.  I thought I noticed this in my first viewing, and definitely confirmed on a second viewing.

My initial question is how did they not get burned.  But some sources on the net say that as Rey boards the Falcon to leave the island, there is a quick shot of her putting something in a drawer -- presumably the books.  I didn't notice that.

Kinda makes Yoda's comment, "That library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess" a little more literal.

Ah, similar to, "He will bring balance to the force"

[jesmu84]

Things I wished/wish for more clarity on:

-Nearly all the scenes when Rey picks up the lightsaber in TFA - specifically, the knights of Ren
-Snoke
-the prophetic pirate lady

[StillAWarrior]

My biggest question concerns Luke's statement that Kylo Ren took a handful of Luke's students with him, and killed the rest.  Who are those other students?  Where are they?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Here's my big issue with it.

The Force Awakens set up the trilogy to answer two major questions:
1. What is Rey's lineage?
2. Who is Snoke?

The Last Jedi answered those deliberately setup questions with:
1. It doesn't matter
2. It doesn't matter

TFA has been completely deemed irrelevant by TLJ. Maybe that's the plan, make A New Hope clone to re-engage the fan base and then take it in a different direction. If that's the case, the Snoke/Rey foreshadowing in TFA didn't need to be included.

Minor complaints:
1. Mary Poppins Leia, dumb dumb dumb. Why is she alive? I feel like there's either some CGI Leia coming in 9 that's necessary (Rey's mom) or there's going to be a large time jump and she's going to pass during.

2. R2 and Luke reunion was hot garbage. Poe molested BB8 everytime their apart, but Luke and R2 are less than excited? Luke lectures R2 on language? R2 has always been the wiser one. R2 was literally in a coma when Luke went missing, but whatever in TLJ. Also, where was R2 at the end?

3. Phasma totally got Fett'd. Awesome armour gets no story, no presence.

4. Casino/Finn/Rose was necessary social commentary, UNLESS that force kid at the ends up being a big role in 9.

5. Chewbacca has a moral issue with eating Porgs? He's a goddamn Wookie, unnatural carnal knowledge Porgs. Chewy with some badass flying, but another original character that continues to get marginalized.

6. Speaking of original characters, Admiral Ackbar gets smoked with no fanfare? A brief mention? Get out of here. After Ackbar dies, the Resistance literally keeps falling into traps. Instead of purple hair Jurassic Park lady lightspeed attacking, let Ackbar go out with that glory, which brings me to...

Things I loved:
1. The Lightspeed attack was brilliant cinema. The silence, my theater was actually silent. It was chilling and fantastic.

2. Kylo and Adam Driver. The best acting Star Wars has had. (Period). The performance in TLJ makes his acting in TFA even better. Kylo does become Vader's successor. He did what Vader couldn't, overthrow his master and become Supreme Leader.

3. The Imperial Guard fight scene was fantastically done and shot. Could have been out of a Tarantino movie it was that well put together.

4. The Luke ending. I'm not personally happy with the ending of Luke, but it was interesting. Yoda made him think Rey knew everything, but she stole the books. The haircut, hair dye and no footsteps in the salt were nice teasers for those looking for it. Could have done without the shoulder brush.

5. The direction for 9. While unsatisfied between TFA and TLJ, I think Rian has setup JJ for a fantastic ending of the Rey and Kylo arc.

I finally saw the day after Christmas.

This has quotes from Rian Johnson discussing the lineage questions.
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/894040/star-wars-8-the-last-jedi-who-is-snoke-supreme-leader-identity-revealed

I was thinking that Rey's lineage from "nothing" makes perfect sense.
Anakin Skywalker was from nothing parents although supposedly a virgin birth.
Being a form of balance in the force, Rey would come from nothing also.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

No one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans.

I finally saw it yesterday and loved it.  Superman Leia was really bad but other than that thought it was well done. Will need a re-watch to be sure but might be my favorite since the originals.

Best lightsaber battle period.  I liked all the homages to Empire and RotJ while still having an original story (unlike tFA). I thought the humor was on point. I really liked Poe's phone call. Thought it was a reference to Hans weapon malfunction. Cinematography on the kamikaze cruiser was perfect. As soon as they cut to purple hair lady I thought she was going to ram the dreadnought....but at normal speed....when they said she was preparing to jump to light speed my eyes got real wide.

I really hope that Rey is truly descended from nobodies. Great message and a nice twist. I think she ends up having a famous ancestor. My favorite theory is Palpatines granddaughter. I think there's a nice balance to it. The sith are championed by a descendent of famous Jedi and the Jedi are championed by the descendent of a famous Sith. We all know Star Wars loves its symmetry.

I also think Ben will be redeemed. Roses last line will be key.  Paraphrasing "we won't win by killing our enemies we will win by saving the ones we love. " Ben won't be redeemed by killing his master like Vader was.  He'll be redeemed by saving someone he loves (Rey? Leia?).

Lots of directions this can go.  I like the idea of burning down the past and starting something new.  Grey Jedis maybe?

[Benny B]

... where the f does the First Order get it's money?

That god damn f’n mouse, of course.

[reinko]

Anyone else interested in Star Wars 6.5, similar to how Rogue One was SW 3.5?

Think the rise of the First Order and fall of the Jedi could be a strong standalone story.