STAR WARS : Episode VIII December 15, 2017 4 4

[Chip Cataldo]

38 minutes ago, Mr Sneeze said:

Really? Anyone who has a problem with this movie is suffering from some sort of nerdrage? Really?

YES! Finally, someone gets it. 

[skypinkblu]

I'm in no way a Star Wars nerd, I waited till this afternoon to see it. However, the first movie was one of my favorites of all time and probably the only movie (besides the Wizard of Oz) I've seen more than 4 times;)

I usually like all the stuff that no one else on here likes (I didn't even mind the Luke Cage Netflix show...or Ironfist, lol;) 

But I left the theater disappointed. My two friends and my husband said it was OK, but I had enough by the 2nd star ship fight scene. I didn't hate it, I don't want to picket, but I was looking at my watch...it was about 30 minutes too long and I usually find these too short. It had at least one too many spaceship battles, and it really didn't feel pulled together.

Spoiler

 

1. A lot of the space fights made no sense.

2. A lot of the conclusions of the fights made no sense. I was finding it hard to follow some of them and I had no trouble before.

3. The connection between Kylo and Ren USED to make sense, but it was ruined here. I was convinced before that they were cousins...and that Ren had found her father in Luke...what a disappointment...Your parents were "nobodies"...yuck. Star Wars is an adventure romance, or it was...not sure what it is now.

4. The thief (code breaker) could have been a great character, I loved the introduction, but HE made no sense...1st he helps for nothing, they he betrays them?

5. Rose and Finn made no sense. She was annoying, and he was supposed to be in love with Rey. I suppose now she'll turn to Po?

6. Luke's death made no sense, he finished the battle unharmed and THEN he dies? 

7. The end with the kid and the ring? I knew they had talked about a "sweeper" so I knew what was coming, but this could have easily been a Coke commercial.

 

Just not a movie I enjoyed.

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by skypinkblu
I can spell sometimes;) but only sometimes

[joeypost]

Has anyone addressed their disappointment in how easily Snoke was taken out?

[Chip Cataldo]

 Wow, Joey is in here now? That's a rarity. 

[Dreamtoreal1]

I thought it was a pretty good movie 8/10  not perfect but solid for sure.

[WolverineX]

14 minutes ago, joeypost said:

Has anyone addressed their disappointment in how easily Snoke was taken out?

   I would like to throw my hat in the ring.  WHY KILL SNOKE OFF WITHOUT GIVING US ANY BACKSTORY!  I mean that would have made the movie!   That was another thing that annoyed me. 

I'm so done with Emo Kylo Ren being the main villain.... Vader was a badass (now that's a bad guy) ....  Kylo Ren is just  PITA.  Without Luke in the next movie, I've lost my motivation to watch Episode 9 and see Rey eventually beat or convert Kylo...whatever, I just don't care.  Rey's fine, but not enough of a lead for me to head to the theater in two years...

I rather rewatch my VHS  SW originals and enjoying seeing Luke, Han and Leia hanging out  since we are not getting it at all in the new movies.   That is what disappointed me  the most.   The original cast made the movies great, and I wanted to see THEM.  Not the new people. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Wolverinex

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, Mr Sneeze said:

Really? Anyone who has a problem with this movie is suffering from some sort of nerdrage? Really?

Consider the source. 

[joeypost]

10 minutes ago, Chip Cataldo said:

 Wow, Joey is in here now? That's a rarity. 

I usually don't take movies apart as I just enjoy them for what they are...but this one left me scratching my head in a few scenes.

1. Luke checked out and there was no getting him back in the game. In the end all he did way buy them time. Unless this is all part of a greater plan that he is implementing from the beyond, it wasn't Skywalkeresque.

2. Snoke. Who? What? Where? When? Why? Not one answer. Just a quick exit to what could have been an awesome villain (especially if he was Plagueis incarnate). Ultimately, not too wise.

Did I see something that wasn't there? At the very end, the young boy with the broom...did he use the force to get the broom from the wall? It happened so fast I wasn't sure if he kicked it to himself or if he used the force.

[fett]

Just back from seeing this. I'm going to have to rank this movie below any of the prequels. While nowhere as good as the original classic 3 they at least had enough well choreographed fight scenes and story moments that my inner Star Wars geek was mollified. But this one? Snoke-what a great opportunity-wasted. Ignored alot of the plot points introduced in Ep 7. As soon as Snoke bit the dust a little alarm went off. Who is going to be the bad guy? Great we're going to be stuck with Kylo Ren. Luke Skywalker's character was not written well, and when they had the one chance to show him as the epic Jedi Grand Master that everyone wanted to see??nope going to  jedi mind trick you kid and force fade into the sunset. Also if Snoke was creating the connection between them the whole time  how were they able to see each other after he was killed? I don't think these directors have sat in the same room together at any point either to discuss what story they wanted to tell across the 3 movies. 4/10 for me. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by fett

[Larryw7]

13 minutes ago, joeypost said:

I usually don't take movies apart as I just enjoy them for what they are...but this one left me scratching my head in a few scenes.

1. Luke checked out and there was no getting him back in the game. In the end all he did way buy them time. Unless this is all part of a greater plan that he is implementing from the beyond, it wasn't Skywalkeresque.

2. Snoke. Who? What? Where? When? Why? Not one answer. Just a quick exit to what could have been an awesome villain (especially if he was Plagueis incarnate). Ultimately, not too wise.

Did I see something that wasn't there? At the very end, the young boy with the broom...did he use the force to get the broom from the wall? It happened so fast I wasn't sure if he kicked it to himself or if he used the force.

The kid used the Force. But if you blink, you'll miss it.

[Azkaban]

43 minutes ago, Larryw7 said:

The kid used the Force. But if you blink, you'll miss it.

I must of blinked  my coworkers I saw it with told me he did after we got out of the movie otherwise I would not have known

Edited December 19, 2017 by Azkaban

[Azkaban]

But if you didn't like it you need to just PAY to see it again two or three more times, that way the brainwashing can really sink in 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Azkaban

[Artboy99]

2 hours ago, skypinkblu said:

I'm in no way a Star Wars nerd, I waited till this afternoon to see it. However, the first movie was one of my favorites of all time and probably the only movie (besides the Wizard of Oz) I've seen more than 4 times;)

I usually like all the stuff that no one else on here likes (I didn't even mind the Luke Cage Netflix show...or Ironfist, lol;) 

But I left the theater disappointed. My two friends and my husband said it was OK, but I had enough by the 2nd star ship fight scene. I didn't hate it, I don't want to picket, but I was looking at my watch...it was about 30 minutes too long and I usually find these too short. It had at least one too many spaceship battles, and it really didn't feel pulled together.

  Hide contents

 

1. A lot of the space fights made no sense.

2. A lot of the conclusions of the fights made no sense. I was finding it hard to follow some of them and I had no trouble before.

3. The connection between Kylo and Ren USED to make sense, but it was ruined here. I was convinced before that they were cousins...and that Ren had found her father in Luke...what a disappointment...Your parents were "nobodies"...yuck. Star Wars is an adventure romance, or it was...not sure what it is now.

4. The thief (code breaker) could have been a great character, I loved the introduction, but HE made no sense...1st he helps for nothing, they he betrays them?

5. Rose and Finn made no sense. She was annoying, and he was supposed to be in love with Ren. I suppose now she'll turn to Po?

6. Luke's death made no sense, he finished the battle unharmed and THEN he dies? 

7. The end with the kid and the ring? I knew they had talked about a "sweeper" so I knew what was coming, but this could have easily been a Coke commercial.

 

Just not a movie I enjoyed.

 

Agree with you completely.

Some other things that made no sense to me or that I really did not like:

Spoiler

1. Ren uses the force to turn the lightsaber to kill Snoke. Snoke cant detect that is happening. Then after Snoke is dead, Ren and Rey have this fight with these red masked fighter guys and they are the most difficult foes in the entire film for them.

2. The movie goes out of its way to not create heroic moments. Finn races his fugly speeder at the `Grond` cannon. I was hoping he would make the ultimate sacrifice, instead he is stopped by annoying girl. I wanted Luke to take out all of the bad guy ships and soldiers in a awesome last Jedi moment. Lifting walkers and crushing them, deflecting shots with the lightsaber and just showing how powerful a Jedi is. Then after all the soldiers and vehicles are gone have Ren come forth for the fight.

3. I felt each action scene was either filler or just some fast paced moment that had something that HAD to be done that just simply led to the next thing that HAD to be done that then led to the next thing that HAD to be done repeat ad nauseum. Not a great story does this make.

4. Definitely was far to long. I kept wanting it to end then it went on and on.

5. most of the characters are pale imitations of the original cast and how the original cast interacted off of each other. Playful fun, great characters. Po Damerun is no Han Solo. Kylo Ren is no Darth Vader ( he takes his helmet off to much and even destroys his helmet.) Vader was fantastic, and had his helmet on basically until then end. It added to his cold calculating evil `more machine now than man, twisted and evil`character. I loved Kylo Ren when I first saw him until he took off the helmet. I feel the same in the Last Jedi. He just doesn`t grab me or do anything that makes me fear him, or believe that he is the bad guy.

6. Salt covered planet. Why, it isn't explained or is it there only to have the effect of the speeder things making the red trails.

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Artboy99

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, Larryw7 said:

The kid used the Force. But if you blink, you'll miss it.

UGH who cares, I can`t stand little kids in movies.

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, joeypost said:

Has anyone addressed their disappointment in how easily Snoke was taken out?

it HAD to be done by design. Like the Jedi in the movies who can communicate with the living via their force ghosts I am thinking Snoke will be similar. Otherwise it made no sense.

[OV]

I really like the movie.  I thought that Hamil played this version of Luke really well.  This is a tormented man living in self-exile.  He doesn't want to fight another lightsaber duel ever again.  He carries enormous guilt and self-doubt.  He made a bad decision (Like Ben) and paid for it dearly.  Yet he did what he could at the end to give another generation a chance. 

I'm in the minority but I like Kylo Ren as a character, and am looking forward to what happens next for him.  He had genuine reasons to be conflicted and make wildly different decisions while in battle.  I liked how the director used different types of light on Ren and Rey when they were in Force communication.  The contrast in they way they stood and moved was striking to me.  The use of the color red was different and executed really well throughout the movie.  The beginning space battle was exceptional and I really like the homage to WW2 ball-turret gunners in the Rebel bombers.  

I liked the humor in the movie.  I think the older Star Wars actors must have all agreed to return to their roles with a sense of bemusement anyway.  They seemed to have fun with it all.  

I thought the acting was great throughout the movie.  I agree that Snoke's backstory is important and that should have been delivered, but his demise was awesome and unexpected.  We didn't know anything about the Emperor either when he died onscreen in Return of the Jedi.  

In all, I think the movie will age really well.       

 

[Martin Sinescu]

This movie was much better than I expected!  I just got home from seeing it... I've seen every Star Wars in the theater and I've walked away from quite a few just really.... let down or left wanting. Maybe 'cause I had absolutely zero expectations for this one after TFA and went into it completely blind (no trailers, no rumors, no hype, nothing), maybe because I was hearing a few whispers that this one was another fall-flat-on-its-face attempt like TFA, but I think it's the second-best non-Original Trilogy movie behind Rogue One. What I don't want in a Star Wars movie is predictability, especially not when Disney has some of the best writers and artists at their disposal, and I thought this movie had plenty of clever, original twists or, if they mimicked situations from the original trilogy, it was a setup to surprise you with a new twist... not just the weak carbon copy that was TFA. It's not often a Star Wars movie in the last 20 years has left me feeling actually "satisfied" and not walking back to my car listing off my numerous disappointments, but this one really, really scratched a lot of my SW fan itch.

Yes, there were scary amounts of face-palm moments in the first half, enough to give me very serious concerns that, after two shots at their own trilogy, Disney was just not going to get this right. But the second half of the movie got heavier, darker and far more engaging. Enough so that I almost totally forgot a lot of the early missteps by the end. I liked Kylo this time around, thought the twist on the old Throne-Room Duel was brilliant, totally loved Luke's last stand (as well as the whole battle on the salt flats, which was quite beautifully realized), thought the kamikaze jump to lightspeed was spectacular, and I'm absolutely going out to buy a Porg tomorrow. Just lots of goose-bumpy moments and that doesn't even have to mean smiley, good-guys-win moments. Again, Adam Driver's acting, to me, was much better... menacing, raging, doubtful, lonely, desperate.. I really felt it all and being able to "feel" that as an audience member is essential to buying into the character. I just thought his range was really excellent here and all of it very believable for me as opposed to the first movie where it was a real barrier. That's what I want in a Star Wars movie, not that stilted, painfully fake acting like in the prequels. Finn, Poe, Rose, especially Rose, they're not really characters I care about, but the Kylo/Rey dynamic seems to be the core of this trilogy and I found its development was one of the most exciting parts of this movie. It should be quite interesting to see where they ultimately want to take these two characters and what meaning their fates will have for this block of movies.

Overall, I'd say probably 7.5 out of 10, mostly hindered because the humor in the first half was just too slapstick, goofy and over-the-top for what I want in a SW movie while some of the supporting characters are genuinely annoying, but I definitely feel they're breaking some good ground now after TFA's fairly substanceless attempt.

 

[bronze_rules]

Just got back and enjoyed it immensely!  Seeing some of the old characters come back unexpectedly, and one of the greatest jedi mind tricks of all time (even fooled the audience, including yours truly), was a great reason to

head to the theaters. Really don't get the hate at all.

 

Regarding Rey's parents, my wife remarked that for all we know, she was dropped off and raised by poor folks, just like Luke. I don't think her true parents being poor nobodies or derelicts will be the definitive truth.

Edited December 19, 2017 by bronze_rules

[bane]

My in-depth thoughts after letting it sink in, reading reviews and talking with others.

I will also preface this review by saying I’m not a diehard Star Wars fan, I’ve enjoyed the movies but I know nothing of the EU, never read any books or watched all the animated stuff. For me I just want to see a well written movie with characters I can care about and a coherent storyline.

So #nerdrage annoys me and doesn’t apply here.
 

Spoiler

The Good:
Luke Skywalker & Rey’s storyline, their interaction is really good. I liked the themes brought up when he begins training her that she was drawn straight to the darkside and she didn’t fight it but that’s because she’s looking for answers. Luke’s aghast and gives her the speech. But ultimately the rest of the island stuff was filler, milking some strange walrus, fishing with a 100ft pole, yawn.
 
The space battle was good and unexpected right at the start, I liked Poe Dameron more in this but I hated General Hux, I hated the start of this, come on Rian Johnson is not James Gunn and this isn’t Guardians of the Galaxy

Kylo Ren, I thought he was sooo much better in this movie then TFA, more fleshed out, more to do and I thought his chemistry with Rey was really good. He spends most of the film without the mask and to be honest it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.

The fight with against the red guys at the end with Ren & Rey was awesome.

Luke Skywalker astral projecting himself across the galaxy, unexpected twist, a ballsy move and very surprising but ultimately disappointing that I’m not going to see Luke go full Jedi on everyone light sabre and all. Its like he couldn’t be bothered to dredge his X-Wing out of the ocean instead he face timed the battle.

Yoda’s appearance (before he does anything). Great to see him but I ultimately didn’t like what he did.

The Bad and the Ugly
The laborious over arcing storyline of the Resistance being chased by the First Order, how boring and dumb is this! Why didn’t the First Order just jump to light speed in front of the resistance to catch up to them and destroy them. It was just the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Also the Tie Fighters cannot stray to far from the star destroyer?? Come on, how far was that Tie Fighter away from the Death Star in a New Hope! For anyone who has seen the reimagined Battlestar Galactica will recall the first (proper episode) titled “33”, where the surviving humans are being chased by the Cylons and have to jump every 33 minutes as they are continually hounded/tracked, it was filled with tension, great moments and acting conveying tight emotions. Rian Johnson must have watched this and thought how can I strip out the tension and pad it out to 2 hours.

Superman Leia, this scene is both good and stupid, so Leia uses the force to coat herself in a bubble and then flies through space to the hatch which doesn’t blow everyone out of it when it opens in a vaccum. Star Wars was never this stupid. 

The slapstick Marvel humour, some funny moments in the film but too much of it was shoe horned in and wasn’t funny at all. 

Finn’s love interest and the unnecessary subplot of having to go to this casino just to flesh out these two characters to setup for their ending. Benicio Del Toro was also unneeded and pretty forgettable. The whole Casino scene was an utter snoozefest. Benicio Del Toro mumbles his way through another role.

SNOKE!!!!! WHAT THE F**K! The most powerful force user since the Palapatine was too blind to see his own student stab him! And that’s it, the most interesting character in the new Star Wars universe bumped off before we find out anything about him, not even that but we’re stuck with Kylo wanting rule the galaxy.
 
General Hux reduced to a bumbling comedic character, I wish he was dead by the end of it.

I was fine with the whole astral projection, very clever but not with him dying afterwards! I would expect Luke to be in the next one where we see him in battle in person, “see you round kid” but only as a force ghost, pfft.

Laura Dern’s character, how long does she stand and watch the transport ships being destroyed before she finally FINALLY thinks, erm I best do something about this and turns the Cruiser around. I admit that scene looked great when it finally happened.

I’m with Artboy on preferring to see Finn sacrifice himself and give some much-needed weight to this movie but no he was saved by his stupid love interest who I care nothing for.

So much wasted opportunities in this movie

I don’t think the new characters are good enough to drive this story forward imo, I definitely will not be throwing money at episode 9.

No repeat viewings either that’s for sure.

5/10 – only saved by some cool moments and Mark Hamill who was great as older Luke Skywalker.

Don’t head to the theatres, save your money and watch it on Netflix (before Disney launches its own stream service).

 

[Anfield Fox]

Never seen such a fast negative reaction to a SW movie. With TPM it built up slowly. Most people said/pretended to like it at the time. Not this time.

I just hope Rian Johnson gets his new trilogy taken away from him and Kathleen Kenedy gets fired. Of course Disney only cares about the gross and will look at the numbers and think she is doing a great job. A chimpanzee in charge of Star Wars sequels with a yes/no buzzer would have gotten the same box office results.

I'm so worried about how they will butcher my favourite character Han Solo in May .