#in which I am critical of the Canto Bight storyline

[pineapple-split]

Here is my problem with the political messaging in the Canto Bight storyline: I’m not convinced Rian Johnson knows what he’s talking about. I’m generally fine with political messages being included in movies as long as the following two qualifications are met: 1) the writer(s) is knowledgeable about the subject and 2) the narrative follows through. Neither of these exist in the TLJ.  

I get, at face value, what Johnson was trying to do. Really. I even agree with the core message - people profit enormously from war and arms deals are seldom a one-way street. Those arms have to come from somewhere and recycling old fighters and ammunition from the Rebellion is not a viable strategy (see: TLJ act 3). But the way this is presented completely undermines the point. In that scene where DJ is “schooling” Finn (and we’ll get to that mess later), he argues that there are no Good Guys or Bad Guys since the arms are going to both sides of this conflict. This is set up to be a Huge Revelation for Finn and intended to communicate the gray area of conflict to the audience. 

As seen in Rogue One, Johnson likes to play with this theme. The problem is he doesn’t know how to execute it. As with Rogue One, there is no follow up in the narrative. This message of “no side is purely good” is thrown out there, but never addressed. The Rebels are still the heroes in Rogue One, delivering hope to the galaxy, and in TLJ there is no further acknowledgement of the fact that the Resistance gets its arms from exploitative slave owners. 

Yeah, don’t forget that little tidbit. These people are literal slave owners. We see them cruelly abusing the Fathier they have in captivity, as well as the actual child slaves they have sleep in the Fathier stalls. The same child slaves Rose and Finn ignore during their CGI Police Chase of Wonder, by the way (more on that later). I can very comfortably say YES these are bad people. The fact that they sell arms to the Resistance as well is not even remotely the point. The point is that they are profiteers of war - they look to sell deadly weapons to the highest bidder, then they retire to their city of decadence and wealth built on slave labor and exploitation and THAT is why Rose hates them. Who these people are is a completely separate issue from who happens to buy from them. 

Now, the Resistance should very much be taken to task for what they are enabling. The consequences of open warfare and the people outside of the direct conflict who are screwed over by it are items worth examining. But Johnson doesn’t do that. He just slaps the half-baked political message onto it and moves on. In doing so, he doesn’t convince me at all that he understands this issue beyond “arms deals are bad”. And all this is so indicative of the mainstream approach to politics (which is why it grates on me so much) - hyper focus on the face-value, trendy message without bothering to research or understand any of the underlying context, history, or other political factors. In times like these, with the Star Wars movies as influential as they are and containing real-life parallels as much as they do, I find this approach incredibly harmful. 

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about how Finn’s characterization went out the window. We know from TFA that he grew up in the First Order - he never knew who his real family was. He was raised and indoctrinated and exploited by the First Order itself. His defection at the beginning of TFA was an act of immense courage born from the fact that he saw the First Order for what they are: fascists, murderers, slave owners, take your pick. He refused to take part in it, because he is fundamentally a good man. So why the fuck would someone like Finn be so taken in by the excess of wealth in Canto Bight and why the fuck would he need someone else to explain slavery to him? Its not because he never saw wealth in the First Order, because that’s just factually wrong. The First Order is militaristic, yes, but the signs of wealth are all around - from the state of the art weaponry systems to the shiny chrome finishes on the floor. It’s not because he’s never seen people holding parties or enjoying food, drink and the benefits of social power, because that’s just factually wrong. He sees this in TFA when he and Rey meet Maaz Kanata. And there is nothing that could convince me that Finn, who has himself JUST RECENTLY escaped a life of abuse and exploitation and brainwashing, would not recognize this in others. Finn, who just days ago (without any outside influence) recognized the evil in the First Order and turned from it, not noticing how exploitative the society of Canto Bight is just floors me. I really don’t buy it at all. Couple this with the fact that during the Amazing Rescue, the slave children are left behind (even though Finn and Rose apparently had time to mount a Fathier, coordinate the opening of all their stall doors and have them all charge out at once) is some cold, callous bullshit and not at all in character with who Finn is (or Rose, for that matter). No, setting that last Fathier free does not make that whole excursion worth it because you literally just left behind the slave children who helped you fucking escape. 

This only gets worse in That Scene with DJ and Finn when they’re headed back to the Resistance. The obvious fallacy of these smart and capable people openly discussing their battle strategy in front of a stranger they barely trust aside, the whole scene is built around someone who has no clear stake in this conflict speaking down to Finn about something Finn is much more knowledgeable about. DJ is presented as a cynical, lone-wolf who looks after himself, which I guess in Hollywood means he knows everything. Forget that the Star Wars movies have taken pains to dismantle this (see: Han Solo’s forgotten character development) - DJ is just flat out wrong. When you have a whole society that profits off war, doesn’t care where their arms sales go as long as they make money, then turn around and use those profits to exploit others for their own endless party, then yes there are very clearly some Bad Guys in this scenario. 

So we’ve got complete lack of understanding and nuance on one hand, and total derailment of Finn’s character on the other. Both soured this entire side plot for me, and made it harder for me to accept the way some things shook out the in the 3rd act as well. 

[thisisthepartwhereyou]

STAR WARS-SPECULATION #2: Rebel or Lost Cause? *May Contain Spoilers*

--- During the course of human history there has been many cases of overwhelming tyranny and opression. It can be as small as the dominion of a single creature, or as vast as an entire world. But as they say, even the cornered rat will bite the cat, and give birth to struggle and resistance. Under these circumstances, a rebellion rises to resist and challenge the rule of the oppressors, despite facing unlikely odds. David against Goliath, the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae, and when speaking of the Star Wars-sequel trilogy, the Resistance and the First Order.

While one can go on to say that the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance is basically a carbon-copy of the Empire versus the Rebellion from the original trilogy, as we don't go deep enough into the history or political aspects of either group to really nail down their differences to their older counterparts. Though from what I gather, the First Order is composed of the remnants of the empire, who by the time of The Force Awakens (2015) is recognized as an extremist following, though not generally seen as a major danger in the eyes of the government (like a space-equivelent to North Korea?). The Resistance is a countergroup acting outside of the galactic government who sees the threath of the First Order and keeps an eye on their acitivties.

Either way, that is not what I am here to talk about today, as my focus will be directed at one of the most principal characters within the Resistance: Poe Dameron.

Played by the very likable Guetamalan-American actor Oscar Isaac, Poe Dameron is an ace X-wing pilot, an agent of the Resistance and the original owner of the droid BB-8. His actions in the first movie, where he stores important information within his droid, is what starts the whole chain of events for the trilogy, an act which rhymes with the actions of princess Leia in A New Hope (1977). Over the trilogy he is portrayed as a brave, cocky and hotheaded brother in arms. He is a generally well-received character, especially in regards to his bromantic (and apparently quasi-romantic) relationship with Finn, but has over the progression of the last two films been the subject for critique. Not as red-hot of a critique as some other aspects of the sequels, but enough to make you raise your eyebrowns a bit. The main critique being, is he REALLY neccesary?

Don't get me wrong, new members of the Resistance are vital for new movies, otherwise the Resistance might have looked like an old folks home. Poe Dameron should have all the ingredients neccesary to be the posterboy of the the Resistance: he is the member with the most screentime, his actions set off, he is played by a very likable actor and he is a great pilot. But the issue is, while it is all there, it is not really utilized well. The further one goes with these movies, the more one realizes that he is the least developed of the main characters. His role in TFA is minor, he acts as an agressor in a generally disliked sideplot in The Last Jedi (2017), and his part in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), while the richest in content, feels un-earned because the direction of the character is neither clear or given enough development.

So considering that his role doesn't add a whole lot in the trilogy after the first part, was Poe Dameron's continuous role in the sequel-trilogy REALLY neccesary? Objectively, I would have to say no. I mean if a character doesn't have a clear purpose, you either give him one, scale him back or kill him off, so that you can give more room for the other characters. I believe the therm is “kill your darlings.“ With that said, I can understand why one would be reluctant to kill him off to begin with; Oscar Isaacs is the most likable actor ever, something that translates into his performance, and in turn, the character. While Poe Dameron is pretty pointless, he is still hard to completely dislike. This illustrates the power of a talented actor, that he or she can someimes overwin bland or nonsensical writing.

So we have a character that is perfectly likable and who could have been a great addition to the franchise. There certainly was potencial in him, so what could have been done to make the most of it? Well, below are some of the directions I think could have been taken:  

A) Poe Dameron dying in TFA: This one feels appropriate, considering it was the original intent of the moviemakers. As stated by Oscar Isaac's in Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/star-wars-poe-was-supposed-to-die-2016-3?r=US&IR=T), his character was originally supposed to die. While it would be a shame to see a likable character go so fast, it might have solved a couple of issues and added something more to the first part of the trilogy. Besides the fact that it could have added an extra layer of danger to the plot, in that any character could die at any point, it would have also put all of our eggs in the basket of a deserting stormtrooper and a random scavenger. Plus, killing him off wouldn't have made his role in TFA much smaller anyway. Poe not being in the two following movies could have also left much bigger room for the development Rey, Finn and several other characters. Also, to see how the heroism and sacrifice of a single Resistance-member would affect Finn would be really interesting, considering that Finn would have owed his freedom and life to a complete stranger (who was just recently his enemy) that would have died before he could have even had a chance to thank him. How does that make a person who is trying to flee from the battlefield, feel? I can't help but to think of a similar situation in the Green Lantern-comics (DC), where veteran member of the Green Lantern Corps, Abin-sur, crashlands on Earth and gives his power ring to Hal Jordan, a human pilot, before dying. Abin-sur's death had a considerable effect on Hal Jordan, in that besides becoming a new corps member, but became one by taking over the ring of the corp's most beloved and respected members. That is a hell of legacy to live up to, not to mention a massive responsibility. Something like THAT would have been a pretty thought-provoking storyline for Finn.

B) His carelessness has personal consequences in TLJ: In the beginning of TLJ, Poe Dameron disobeys an order to evacuate and instead engages a First Order fleet. This is a foolhardy act, as even though they take down a Stardestroyer, a lot of Resistance pilots die in the process. While it has several consequences within the movie, such as barely having any pilots left for the remainder of it, he himself do not seem overly affected by it, dismissing it as the casualties of war. But if you really think about it, should there not be some resentment aimed at him besides from his superiors, and shouldn’t he feel more guilt? I mean, Rose Tico's sister died in that battle. Wouldn't it have been more interesting Rose and others resent him for his careless actions? This could've been a more likable struggle for him, as he should have been the one to learn that war is not just about defeating the enemy, but saving the ones you love. If he had done this and in the process displayed a sense of leadership in a time of great need, maybe his transformation into a commander in TROS would have felt more organic?

C) Poe goes with Finn to Canto Bight instead of Rose Tico: This one could have worked as a continuation to B. Canto Bight isn't exactly a favorite moment in TLJ, even for the ones who like TLJ. The main criticism being that it is not that interesting of a planetary environment; basically just feeling like a casino with aliens. Another critique is that it felt like a detour that was too disconnected and did ultimately not add that much to the other parts of the movie. One way of making the movie less fragmented, as well as give Poe something better to do, could have been to give him more or less the same role as Rose Tico. Besides further developing his and Finn's friendship, it could have even been a way of putting that awkward kiss in the third act to better use, and confirm some legitimacy to the whole Finn X Poe-ship. While I am not staunch supporter of the ship, I have to admit that it would have been interesting. With that said, I don't think it would have made everyone happy. I mean lets face it, if people get upset about a black dude in a stormtrooper-uniform, one can only assume how they would have reacted to an openly gay or bi character in Star Wars. But at the same time, if people were pissed off at even the good bits in TLJ, why not go all the way and piss off every stuck up parent sitting in the theaters worldwide while you're at it? Certainly would have been ballsiest move ever, especially considering it’s a Disney-film.

D) Poe staying at Leia's side in TROS: As I have written before, the main issues with TROS is messy storytelling and a rushed pace. One of many things that adds to this is by suddenly providing Poe with a backstory while simultenously trying to give him a bigger role than before by having him travel with Rey and Finn. What if they had scaled him down a little, let him stay with Leia as they plan for the upcoming attack? Not only would it have been more powerful for him to be there with her as she passes away, but also motivate him to step into the role of a mature leader more. I realize that this is a little sensitive, as it may have required additional footage of Leia in order to work. Though to be fair, being respectful is one thing, making a good movie is another. And also, if they can remake young Leia for a flashback, why can't they just remake old Leia a bit for some extra material?

Could any of these alternatives have added something good to the movie, or subtracted from the main story? You tell me. No, seriously, tell me what you think, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments. Do you have any ideas of your own that could have helped make Poe Dameron the most iconic pilot of the sequel era? Feel free to discuss this with me :) ---

[jadejedi]

So You Hate The Last Jedi

Part One- Theme   Part Two- Luke    Part Three- Rey     Part Four- Finn

Part One- Intro and Themes

So, you hated The Last Jedi. I know that this is a hot take in most corners of the Star Wars fandom here at tumblr.com, but The Last Jedi is my second favorite Star Wars movie of all time, easily, behind Empire. I know a LOT of people disagree with me, especially among hard-core Star Wars fans, and I understand. I really do. I actually hated The Last Jedi when it first came out. I hated it for a good year or so, until I heard some convincing arguments that made me want to rewatch it, and after that viewing, I appreciated it more. And honestly, the more I rewatched it, the more I loved it. 

I realize that this movie is more than two years old at this point, but I still see a lot of hate for it here, and that makes me sad :( So, I wanted to talk about it. 

I know that the sequel trilogy isn’t super popular with most prequel fans, but I hope that if you are a prequel trilogy fan, you will hear me out, because I personally find a lot of closure for the saga as a whole, especially the prequel trilogy, in The Last Jedi, and think it does a lot to tie the saga together. 

And If you’re a fan of The Force Awakens, but hated TLJ, I hope you’ll hear me out because I was you, for a long time. I couldn’t even think of this movie without my blood boiling. But now I see it as a great continuation of the characters that we first fell in love with TFA. 

Okay, let’s strap in. 

While there are perfectly valid reasons to dislike and criticize TLJ, such as the pacing, for example, I do take some issue with a lot of the criticisms I see of this movie.

 Some of these things have been covered to varying extents by the videos that convinced me to do a rewatch, and some I haven’t really seen discussed, so I want to just write out some of my thoughts. This could honestly be a really, really long post, so instead I’m going to split it up into five parts. 

A couple of things before I start: 

First off: here are the videos that originally made me reevaluate my opinion: 

Shaun’s “A Defense of The Last Jedi”

Jenny Nicholson’s “Top Ten Worst Reasons You Hated The Last Jedi”

And this one, which I only watched recently, but also adds to the discussion:

Just Write’s “The Last Jedi and the 7 Basic Questions of Narrative Drama”

And secondly: 

I am not going to defend every single criticism I’ve ever seen levied against this movie, because honestly, I don’t care. If you didn’t like this movie because of the choreography of the Throne Room fight scene, or because you think the Holdo manuver is stupid, or you’re mad that Snoke wasn’t Darth Plagueis, then I don’t think I will be able to change your mind. 

Here are the main criticisms I want to deal with: 

1. Luke’s character was treated horribly. Luke would never try and kill his nephew, not when it was his love that saved and redeemed his father. Having him run off and hide on a deserted planet, cut off from the Force, and drinking green milk from an alien sea cow is a disservice to his character. 

2. It’s stupid that Rey’s parents are nobodies (I’m going to pretend that TRoS doesn’t exist because it clearly doesn’t reflect Johnson’s intentions, therefore isn’t relevant to my argument). She should be a ______ (Skywalker, Kenobi, reincarnated Anakin, Palpatine, etc). 

3. Finn’s character arc was pointless, the whole Canto Bight storyline was useless because it didn’t accomplish anything and why was he stuck with Rose the whole movie and split up from Rey/Poe?? Also, his character arc is literally just a rehash from TFA????

4. Why did the movie portray Poe as a too cocky flyboy? Why didn’t Holdo just tell him the plan? 

I’m not going to discuss Kylo Ren, because I think Shaun and Jenny’s videos both do a great job of discussing this and I have nothing to add. Same thing for anyone who thinks that Rey is a Mary Sue. It has been discussed at length by many people, and does not need to be echoed by myself.

With that out of the way, we can get into the first topic: theme.

In order to properly address these criticisms, we first need to have a discussion of the themes of The Last Jedi. Most of these questions listed above can be answered by the theme, which is all but stated outright several times, first by Finn, and then by Yoda. 

After the Canto Bight chase scene (a scene I admit is a ‘fill up your popcorn’ scene), Finn states, in response to Rose telling him that they’re trapped, “It was worth it, though. To tear up that town, make ‘em hurt.”

And when Yoda’s Force Ghost appears to Luke, he says, “Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, mm, but weakness, folly, failure, also, yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher failure is.”

These are basically the two most important lines of the movie. If you get anything from The Last Jedi, it should be these two lines, as they summarize the theme. I would say the theme of TLJ can best be summed up as, “Failure is not always a bad thing; through failure we can learn from our mistakes, and there is hope that can be taken from that.”

That is why the movie’s main villain and our protagonist’s main antagonist, Kylo Ren, says something along the lines of ‘let go of the past’. He doesn’t learn from his mistakes. As Shaun says in his video, he kills his father in The Force Awakens and is emotionally crippled because of it, but then in The Last Jedi, he fails because he once again tries to kill his other main father figure, rather than learning from his mistakes. 

And that is why Canto Bight exists. Or at least one of the two main reasons. Canto Bight doesn’t do a lot for the plot, but it does a ton for the theme. The whole point is that good things can come out of failure, that sometimes it is the things you learn along the way that are important. 

Why does Luke try to kill Ben? Because of the theme. Now, that doesn’t mean it was a good decision for his character, I’m leaving that for part two, but that is why. And why Poe is so cocky, and why Rey believes that she can turn Kylo, even when all evidence points otherwise. 

While this theme of failure is the main theme of The Last Jedi, it is not the only theme. I would say that there are two smaller, yet still significant ideas running through this movie. The first is one that reeeeeaaaaaallllllllly pisses off some of the more dudebro elements of the fandom, specifically the idea of how men listen to women. 

In The Last Jedi, there are three main male hero characters, Finn, Poe, and Luke, and all three of them have conflicts that involve disagreeing with a woman. Now, first of all, I am NOT saying that these three male characters are sexist, or that Rian Johnson thinks that they are, or even wrote them to be. To me, this message wasn’t so much for the characters, as for the audience. He didn’t write three men being wrong about a woman to say, “hey look Finn, Poe, and Luke are all bad and sexist’, he wrote them this way to say, especially to the very dudebros who took offense to some parts of this movie, “hey, look, sometimes women will challenge you. It’s up to you to listen to them and take them seriously.” And hey, love that for us. 

While a large part of the Star Wars Fandom is some amount of progressive, a very vocal part of the fanbase is decidedly not. I appreciate, in fact that Rian Johnson was able to put in this message *without* making Finn, Poe, and Luke look sexist, as I like to think sexism is fairly rare in the world of Star Wars. The reason that these characters disagreed with Rey or Holdo or Rose wasn’t because they are women, but the reason that some male fans are so upset about it is. I think just seeing these male characters learn important, valuable lessons from these female characters is really great, and really not what I would have expected from this movie.

The second smaller, yet still important, idea running throughout this movie, dealing with a collective dark history, is one I will deal with more later.

[leupagus]

@stanandy messaged me with some awesome questions and said it was ok to answer them publicly, so here we go: 

1) I love the thematic elements of the Canto Bight storyline. When Finn and Rose got imprisoned, I was actually hoping they’d encounter a dishonored Phasma somewhere in that story. I thought she’d be a great way for Finn and Rose to grow and explore TLJ’s theme of failure in a compelling way. What are your thoughts on Canto Bight? 

I was actually not really on board with the Canto Bight scenes, although I did love the fathiers in general and the notion of seeing a different sort of the seedy underbelly of the galaxy—that just because it was beautiful doesn’t mean it was good. But there were a WHOLE lot of problems with the scene—one of which of course is that no, selling weapons is not the only way to become obscenely rich, and that felt like sloppy characterization. You can make the case for the indifference of the rich and even still have the really great moment where the Codebreaker points out that the guy whose ship they stole sold weapons to both the First Order and the Resistance. But framing the entirety of Canto Bight as some weird warlord Monaco was dumb.

I also think that scene did a real disservice to Finn, making him overawed with the sights and sounds and literally not realizing why that kind of display was bad. Like, Finn’s been raised by the First Order; he of all people understands the rot that can hide under a shiny facade. To have Rose telling her history with the background of fathiers and fathier-handlers suffering abuse made it clear that Finn was supposed to Learn An Important Lesson, one he absolutely already knows. It was supposed to be character growth, but it was kind of ridiculous to presume Finn wasn’t already there.

I think your idea of Phasma being in the prison cell instead of the Codebreaker is... frankly genius? Like oh my god I WOULD HAVE LOVED THAT, and the best part is that you could have it go either way—she could turn on them, or she could double-cross the First Order. That would’ve been amazing and a much more satisfying use of Gwendolyn Christie than we ended up getting (which was such a disappointment, honestly). 

That being said, I certainly loved the feel of the Canto Bight scenes—especially the escape on the fathiers, the beautiful imagery and the freedom, however temporary, that the fathiers enjoy at the end. I like to imagine that Finn and Rose set up a Fathier Rescue Fund in between all the Resistance-ing they do going forward, a la the farms dedicated to ex-racehorses.

2) I wonder if IX’s pillar could be Anakin, now that it can’t be built around a living Leia. What do you think about Ahsoka and/or Force Ghost Anakin playing an integral role in the next episode? 

I was never a real fan of Anakin or Darth Vader, tbh; I thought the prequels handled his character arc terribly, and so seeing more of him is not really something I’m interested in? But I certainly think it’s possible that Abrams will go that route, although lord knows the dude isn’t great at following through with interesting ideas. I think I personally would be more interested in seeing something almost entirely unrelated to the skywalkers, other than Leia—that is, I’d like to see what Poe and Finn and Rey do in order to build the resistance without Leia there to lead. Because if you think about it, right now the Resistance is Leia. Who are they without her? That story I think will be even more compelling, since Leia won’t live to see them succeed, and that adds to the risk that they won’t. I’m looking forward to it, as heartbroken as I am to have lost Fisher.

3) Lastly, it’s discomforting how negative the general audience reaction is to TLJ! So many howling, betrayed fanboys—it’s deafening. How do you navigate the negativity when all you want to do is love the damn film? I sometimes feel this irrational obligation to read fan opinions opposed to my own, as if I need to shore up my opinion and validate that yes, in fact, it’s okay to love this flawed film seemingly everyone takes issue with. Is that weird? Any tips for getting past that impulse?

It’s not weird at all! But I confess that I’m not NEARLY so mature; the past couple days I’ve just unfollowed most of the tags and when something negative shows up on my dash, I block the post. So far none of the negative reactions have carried a lot of weight with me, not because I necessarily disagree with their points but because I...don’t..,care what they think? Like I support those who didn’t like it but I don’t want to hear it; nor do I need to. There was very little Problematic Behavior in the movie (which I do feel I should listen to) and almost all of the criticism has been either plot-related (which I agree with) or “OMG HOW COULD THEY GET LUKE/POE/WHOEVER SO WRONG I’M GOING TO KILL RIAN JOHNSON” which I don’t. So I guess the tip I’d like to share is: have an ego so monstrous that you can easily discount any opinions you dislike about a movie you loved.

[overanalysingstarwars]

The Last Jedi - spoilery thoughts

Spoiler warning.

The fact that The Last Jedi appears to have been a divisive film has really surprised me. Thus far I’ve enjoyed all three post-Lucas Star Wars films, but the problems with both The Force Awakens and Rogue One seem fairly hard to dispute. In the case of TFA, it was Abrams’ love of mystery boxes combined with an unwillingness to play anything but safe with the plot and beats of the film. In the case of Rogue One, it was undeniably a bit of a mess with the main antagonist lacking any real agency, alongside the fact that it works on the basis that there is a flaw at the heart of A New Hope’s storyline which is not only debatable, but which ending up posing more questions than it answered.

The Last Jedi meanwhile tells a satisfying story, giving all the main characters meaningful arcs, and clearing up all the lingering plot threads from TFA in a way that didn’t feel like a cheat and allows Episode IX to progress without similar baggage. Given the weight of expectation hanging over it, that it ends up doing all of that while still looking better than any Star Wars film before it, and delivering on gut-punch emotional moments seems nothing short of miraculous.

It’s not a perfect film, and there are parts of it that I would accept need chewing over. It is certainly a long film, and it would have been nice if they had somehow cut 15-30 minutes from the running time. The second act in particular, I would accept is a bit of a mess. I’d also have to accept that some of the comedy fell flat, or appeared at unwelcome moments. Two examples spring to mind: General Hux is reduced to comic relief, which I think diminishes the threat of the First Order; similarly, the bit where Rey can’t get over the fact that Kylo is shirtless and asks him to put on a towel undermined the drama of what was meant to be an intense scene.

More annoying for me was the fact that everyone seems basically fine with the fact that Poe, Rose and Finn’s plan to hack into the hyperspace tracker not only ended up being pointless, but thanks to JD’s betrayal, lead to the majority of what was left of the Resistance at that point being killed. I completely buy that Admiral Holdo wouldn’t tell Poe her real plan, and I’m fine with the fact that his rogue mission ended up in farce. What I don’t buy is that she would end up being completely cool with it, and even confess to liking Poe at the end of it - as opposed to being utterly furious with him. And I’d expect to see more remorse on the part of Rose and Finn once they discovered quite how few survivors there were next.

Both those problems however would have required little more than a couple of altered lines. A bigger complaint people have is with Rose and Finn’s mission to Canto Bight in its entirety and how it detracts from the very intense and personal struggles going on between the First Order and the Resistance, and Luke and Rey (and Kylo). I’ve seen a lot of people argue that the whole plotline should have been excised entirely.

While it would have been interesting to see another editing pass for this section - I might have cut down the chase scene by a couple of minutes for example - I can only disagree. Not only would removing it entirely have left Finn with basically nothing to do in the film, but this subplot is the heart of the film. In it, Rose explains to Finn-as-surrogate-audience what they are fighting for and what the stakes are. It changes the entire scope of the film from one about souls of Rey and Kylo and the lives of a ragtag group of resistance fighters, and makes it about the fate of the galaxy. None of that would be apparent if the Canto Bight subplot had not been present. More to the point, it is the first time any Star Wars film has meaningfully reflected on what’s at stake. 

In A New Hope, Alderaan is wiped out but we never get to see a single inhabitant other than Leia (who quickly bottles up her feelings). A handful of people run around a bit on Bespin when the Empire takes over in Episode V. I guess we have cuddly ewoks as the “ordinary people” surrogates in Return of the Jedi, but really they represent a bunch of negative stereotypes about indigenous people. We get to see a handful of wealthy senators looking anxious when the Hosnia system is blown up in The Force Awakens, but that’s about it. What I’m saying is that the Canto Bight subplot’s brief reflection on the cost of war and tyranny on ordinary people is about 40 years overdue and I’d be loathe to see it go. It is entirely right that the film ends with that child looking defiantly up to the stars.

The other big complaint I’ve heard is that character X is underused. Character X is, variably, Captain Phasma, Admiral Ackbar and Maz Kanata (the Onion has a version of this focusing on Nien Nunb). This is hard to take seriously; they’re minor characters who should remain so. Phasma herself only exists as a character at all because the filmmakers of The Force Awakens got worried about all the criticisms about the lack of female characters in it (a problem which is fixed far more satisfyingly in The Last Jedi, even if Rose is possibly open to the accusation of being a MPDG). 

Don’t get me wrong: I really hope Phasma isn’t dead and comes back as a seriously mean cyborg in Episode IX with an even bigger chip on her shoulder against Finn, but her role in this film was perfectly adequate for the film’s purposes.

Fundamentally, I get the impression that a lot of people miss the point of this film. It is all about looking beyond the obvious and searching for deeper truths. It’s all about accepting that the world is full of grey areas, but that that isn’t an excuse to give in to nihilism. And it’s about failure, and having to live with it.

Shortly after The Force Awakens came out, I posited the theory that Rey would turn out to be Anakin reincarnated. I’m not claiming to be the first to come up with this, but I did come up with it independently. But in the intervening time, I came to really hate it as a theory - the only thing it had going for it is that it wasn’t quite as dumb as the theories that she was Obi Wan or Luke’s daughter, or that Leia and Han had another child but completely forgot about her, for reasons. When I first heard it proposed that Rey was no-one, I realised immediately that this was by far the best development, but I couldn’t dare hope that Rian Johnson would do something so un-Star Wars by having this be the case. I’m so delighted that he went in this direction, and similarly freed the saga from the other non-mystery, namely over who Snoke was (which, for the record, I was convinced would turn out to be Sifo-Dyas). It would have been so easy for this film to have slipped into the cheese and laziness that typified so much of the Expanded Universe, and it feels so liberating that it did not go down that route.

On a thematic level, this is by far the most satisfying and mature Star Wars film to date. In achieving this, it doesn’t detract from the previous films, but enhances and deepens them (The Force Awakens especially). I’m itching to see it again, and am incredibly excited to see what new Star Wars saga Rian Johnson has in store for us in the future.

[jeffgrant4real]

Rushed Thoughts on The Last Jedi (SPOILERS)

Friday, December 15, 2017  12:36 PM  Anytown, USA

IF YOU READ THIS BEFORE SEEING THE MOVIE AND GET SPOILED IT’S YOUR OWN FAULT! GO SEE IT FIRST, YOU FOOLS!

I got to see The Last Jedi last night. I guess it was also this morning. Went to a late showing. Long night. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I wrote some thoughts on twitter last night but then deleted them because I didn’t want to color other people’s experience. I’m writing here to get it out. Yeah. 

I saw it opening night to avoid spoilers, but now I’m glad I got to see it before reading any of the backlash I’ve read since getting out of the movie. This movie is DIVISIVE. Man. That was a strange thing to walk out to, especially after really enjoying it. Where The Phantom Menace was divisive because it was... boring? This one seems like it’s divisive because it has too much of a point of view (or something?). It definitely felt like it took whatever you think a Star Wars movie is supposed to be and just shook it up vigorously. That was something I definitely appreciated. It didn’t go where you wanted it to go. It didn’t, for example, explain much of who Snoke is, but that’s a thing I don’t really care about anyway. 

Okay, let’s get into that part. That may have been my favorite bit of the movie, where Rey and Kylo are in the throne room. When Kylo killed him and then they both fought “together” to kill off the guards I was feeling about a million things. I thought that she had somehow successfully brought him back halfway through the MIDDLE MOVIE IN THE TRILOGY and that idea was very exciting to me. I’ve read complaints about there not being a lightsaber on lightsaber fight in this movie, but I thought both of them fighting the guards with their lightsabers was a great twist on that trope. It wasn’t a duel so much as an unexpected team up (and a welcome one in my eyes). I think in that moment I would’ve been fine if the 2 of them just left the story together and did something totally different and everybody else just disappeared. (heh) I think they’re definitely the most interesting parts of these new movies and I know that’s a far from original opinion. 

The other part of the movie I really liked was Luke. I thought Mark Hamill was excellent. It felt different from his older performances as Luke but I didn’t mind. His last bits of business were all very powerful to me, from his “reunion” with Leia to him being shot by all the walkers and... SURVIVING? That was so badass, I couldn’t believe it. When it was revealed he was actually projecting himself I was surprised, though it made sense within this movie’s story. Yes there were new aspects of the Force introduced in this movie but I guess I didn’t mind that. His death was well done and heroic and sad but... also not sad? It was a moving tribute to the character and felt epic. When he first “died” from all the walker blasts I thought it was about as heroic as he could’ve died. Then when he was STILL STANDING I was in shock. I don’t know, I didn’t want to see him go but if he had to die I think they handled it about as well as you could hope. I’m sure he’ll be back as a force ghost in IX.  

I liked The Force Awakens and Rogue One a lot, but after Rogue One I was feeling a little Star Wars fatigue, to be honest. They were starting to feel samey and formulaic. This movie blew that apart and took so many unexpected turns and I am so happy about that. It felt invigorated and like a movie with its own point of view, which I found deeply refreshing. 

I am suddenly fascinated with the backlash I’m already seeing. The movie’s writer/director Rian Johnson also directed my 2 favorite episodes of my favorite TV show, Breaking Bad. One of those was a season 3 episode called “Fly”, which was a “bottle episode”, and it stands out from the normal style of the show. It’s also a very divisive one among fans. This movie reminded me of how I felt with that one, where I felt deeply invested in the characters and enjoyed the fresh twist on the expected formula (it should be said he didn’t write that episode). That episode essentially hung out with characters who had been through the ringer in the previous episodes and I appreciated getting to kind of take a break from the action to drill down into what was going on inside the people. This movie felt like that in a way, even though it’s definitely more eventful and fast paced. (Breaking Bad detour over!)

Most of the positive responses I’ve read have criticized the Canto Bight sequence and honestly, even though I did feel it was the weakest of the 3 main storylines, it didn’t bother me too much. Maybe I’ll read it differently on multiple viewings but I was fine with it. I had read a few reviews mentioning it as being a weak spot before seeing the movie, so maybe I was primed to be underwhelmed. I went to the bathroom in this part and sadly missed Benicio Del Toro’s introduction (oh well). I did enjoy his small part, though I felt like I didn’t really understand what his deal was in some moments. 

When the movie was over and I walked out of the theater I was paying attention to how I felt and remembering how I felt leaving the theater after The Force Awakens. After the previous one I wanted to go right back in and watch it again immediately. I didn’t feel that way with this one. I wanted to sit with it and try to process it. I felt kind of overwhelmed by how much meat there was to chew on. I was up until 6 AM reading and watching things about it (good grief). I’m definitely going to see it again in the theaters, just not sure when exactly. I was thinking about how the thoughtful feeling was a good feeling, though it was different. The story felt deeper and more resonant. It felt like it was about something other than about being a Star Wars movie (which is what TFA felt like in a lot of ways to me). 

At this point, after having slept on it, I’m thankful to have a divisive Star Wars movie that will inspire heated debates. I think these huge franchise movies these days have a quality about them where they’re trying to please everyone to meet some studio bottom line or whatever and it often makes them feel like nothing special. I’m so used to seeing movies I like but don’t love these days. I don’t know yet if I love this movie, but it 100% didn’t feel like nothing. It felt like the first Star Wars movie that was actively not trying to please everyone. And that seemed like the most revolutionary thing to me. 

Thanks for reading. #Reylo

[myentertainmentthoughts]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - General Thoughts & Review

Upon getting out of the theater after watching The Last Jedi, I just can’t NOT write down my thoughts and feelings, as this movie definitely gave me quite a lot of both. So here we go! Ranty rant on my often defunct blog!

So, it’s pretty much impossible for me to give my true thoughts on this movie without going into more detail about its finer points, given that I have so many mixed feelings about both The Last Jedi’s strengths and weaknesses. But for a general review minus spoilers, what are my thoughts? This movie was extremely entertaining - a great watch, and definitely a fresh take on the Star Wars franchise. A solid 7.5/10. The extra points being docked off for the fact that as great of a watch as it was, it is certainly a pretty flawed movie, and one that divides the fandom heavily (and I can definitely see why).

But let’s first talk about the good things.

Based on this movie alone, I can say with certainty that Rian Johnson is indeed a fantastic director and has a great sense of using his shots to convey story meaningfully. I really felt like this movie was freakin’ BEAUTIFUL, and I would highly suggest it as a first rate choice for film studies and whatnot. I can’t praise the cinematography and general visual direction of this movie enough. We’ll get that aspect out of the way - I think it’s pretty much a 10/10 there.

As for the “tribute” points, I also think he does a great job of doing some old Star Wars film throwbacks without being quite so literal. This is by far my heaviest criticism of the first new SW sequel - The Force Awakens was so heavy handed in trying to please the fandom. The first three films are undoubtedly the most beloved, and while some tribute and throwback being done absolutely makes sense when considering this, The Force Awakens went too shot-for-shot, plot point for plot point, and re-featuring old character moments/history. It was overkill. It was a New Hope 2.0 remake, just swap some of the characters. Whereas The Last Jedi does a great job of paying tribute to the older films and characters, but retains its sense of originality. It builds very successfully onto the older established characters in terms of adding to their personality and development. Which I must seriously applaud this movie for - that’s a pretty damn hard thing to do with characters as beloved and iconic as the older Star Wars staples like Luke, and Leia.

And I finally add that the originality and flavor of this movie is really its strongest point as a whole. Yes, the tribute thing was done well, but in general what I appreciate most about this movie is that it felt like a brand new, and fresh take on the Star Wars mythos and world. Yes - it’s far from being a perfect movie, but I must say that it is a great follow up from The Force Awakens. It’s the movie that this franchise needed at this point in time. In terms of how the movie handles the characters, the tone, the shooting, the action sequences, and the general approach to Star Wars - it just feels…well, for lack of a better word, FRESH. And that - if nothing else - is for sure a very valuable thing that The Last Jedi has brought to Star Wars. For a huge universe as deep, diverse, and expansive as Star Wars - to have something that feels so new within the films is to be lauded without a doubt.

So overall - these are the highest points of this film. Well - in addition to the fact that it’s very, very, entertaining. I mean, hot damn! There are some COOOOOOL battle/fight/action sequences. It doesn’t disappoint in that category either. So all that awesome stuff about it being said, stated, and put aside. Where did this movie fall flat? I’d say my biggest criticism of The Last Jedi has everything to do with editing. The run time of this film was 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

Granted, I understand that it’s Star Wars, and isn’t more content always a good thing? But being a 2 hour 30 minute movie does say a lot about just how much story is packed into this thing, and a lot of that story (IMHO) really, really didn’t need to be told. You know that saying, less is more? Yeah - this is the case with The Last Jedi, and the whole movie definitely felt bloated. Some of the plot straight up didn’t make sense - and where it didn’t make sense - I look back on it and realize that those nonsensical plot moments weren’t even necessary to the overall arc of the movie. They could have been cut out entirely, and the movie would not only be shorter, more concise, and MADE more sense but would’ve probably been a much stronger story as a whole. (Basically, I’m referring to the entire plot point of going onto Canto Bight. I will ramble about that one in more detail and more specifically in a future write up, but anyone who has seen the movie will know exactly what I’m talking about.)

But the long and short of it (Ha-ha. Loooong and short of it - get it?) issss - the movie would’ve benefitted greatly from some slashing. This is really the worst problem of all of the prequel movies that are so widely hated from everyone. George Lucas went into way too much detail about his universe and completely forgot that the first trilogy was compelling for its classic and iconic hero’s adventure storytelling. (No one cares about your damn trade federation politics George. -_-) And this is where The Last Jedi gets hurt too.

These sorts of detailed tangential storylines - while helping develop some of the characters - did nothing for the overall plot of the movie, and only achieved in making it feel super dragged out. And you should never feel like watching Star Wars is a chore. By the end of the movie - I’m not gonna lie - it actually does feel a bit like that. Thank god the movie was generally entertaining and had some GREAT action sequences to break it up because, otherwise these pacing and plot issues honestly had the potential to kind of ruin the entire movie. (Also I realize that me complaining about this long and dragged out movie is ironic given that I’m writing the world’s longest and most dragged out review of said movie. I have some self awareness but I’m too much of a nerd to not ramble on, HAHA.)

Alright moving on - my other main gripe with this movie is a nitpick one, but one that I think other people had issues with too. The humorous, “cutesy” moments. Granted - I loved that Johnson wasn’t afraid to explore more humor and light-heartedness with Star Wars. And the original trilogy had plenty of funny and cute moments just as purposely injected into them too. I just felt like at some points, it got to be too much. Sort of like a pastry that a chef felt like he/she had to put that last little teaspoon of sugar in, and made it taste overly sweet when it could’ve been perfect with just a tiny bit less. This was probably most pronounced with the porgs - the adorable little creatures living on Luke’s island that were obviously put in for marketing and merchandising purposes (Let’s not kid ourselves Disney. *eyeroll*).

(^Snoke’s true identity. Never fails to crack me up. :P)

But in general, the little humorous bits that were sprinkled into this movie, fun as they were, did kind of take me out of it JUST enough that I felt it was too much. Sometimes it felt (for lack of a better term) hokey. And just not…Star Wars. Star Wars isn’t supposed to be hokey. (Maybe except for Jar Jar. Not exactly a good or well-loved part of the series.) Maybe it’s a bit prudish and not open minded enough to feel like Star Wars can’t be light hearted in that way, but pushing the boundaries like that did feel out of place for this particular universe, and ultimately it took me out of the story enough to be a problem.

All in all, I will be the first to admit that this movie had its fair share of both ups, and definite downs. But does it deserve the harsh criticism from the hardcore Star Wars fans who are apparently requesting for Episode 8 to be deleted from canon? Far from it for anyone who is able to emotionally detach themselves away from their own expectations of what they think a Star Wars film should be, to recognize that this movie was ultimately well-executed and had enough redeeming qualities to be thoroughly enjoyed by the average movie goer. And as far as I am concerned, it’s a very solid entry into the Star Wars fiction.

I have so much more specific detail that I would love to get into because apparently Star Wars is one of those things that I have to really search my feelings for (Hehehe. Get it? Heh.....heh.........ahhh). But there you go! My general review for those of you who don’t like to listen to a crazy person ramble on and on about every little specific plot point in this new movie. (Sidenote: THAT crazy recap is to be posted on this blog next, for any fellow fanatics who are interested.) To be continued...*CUE JOHN WILLIAMS END CREDIT STAR WARS NUMBER*