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BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
43,033
Johnson wrote an amazing story about Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. He handed the script to Lucasfilm and they were like "what about all the other characters we have to make toys of?" He made an excuse to leave the room and ran to the nearest bathroom to scribble the rest of the movies events in a 5 minute panic....or at least that's how it feels.

You know, this is not entirely false. The film does kind of feel like that.
 

Joeytj

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,673
I am a Star Wars fan but I never ended up watching The Last Jedi because it felt like everyone was saying how horrible it was and how they completely ruined Luke's character. I watched the original trilogy at least a dozen times and while the prequels are not as good I still have a soft spot for them.

I really loved The Force Awakens even though it played it pretty safe. Back in 2017 when The Last Jedi came out I was planning to go see it in theaters but never did because it seemed like everyone hated it.

I decided to finally watch it for myself and I think it might be one of my favorites in the series. I think it's better than The Force Awakens and there are a few scenes, like the Throne Room battle which is among the most visually compelling scenes in the entire series.

So, can anyone tell me why this move was so "divisive"?

My only response in this thread:

Because of group think, coupled with some infectious talking points from the alt-right, mixed with enough legit criticism of pacing issues, less action scenes than normal, and that weird B plot with Finn and Rose (that I like overall).

TLJ is a case study in the current culture wars. Mostly, it's that.

TLJ is one of my favorites also, and has some of my favorite moments and the best acting from Mark Hamill, some of the best moments for Leia in the series and overall, it's the most meta of all Star Wars movies, which I respected a lot.
 

Rocket Man

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,509
I thought it was okay...my biggest problem with it was that I have no reason to look forward to the next movie after watching it.
 

Deleted member 19218

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,323
Personally I like it.

People seem to be split over how Luke Skywalker, Snoke's role and Reys parents should have been handled.

Some people like the way those things turned out, some don't.
 

Ooopsklo

Banned
Aug 20, 2019
1,078
It's got good parts really good ones but really bad ones as well. It's a okay movie. Not horrible but not even close to the best that Star Wars has to offer at least in my opinion
 

carlosrox

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,270
Vancouver BC
I found Episode 8 a little disappointing, especially the first time I saw it, which doesn't mean I didn't love it. I was in tears at several points in the movie.

But I really dislike some of the comedy, especially with Luke (fuck that sabre toss forever, worst moment in the whole series), Rey being noone is boring, Snoke getting killed and Rey and Kylo teaming up was great but then then they took it back and I didn't like it, Luke felt a bit underwhelming, etc.

What Luke did at the end was awesome but I was still hoping for more. The bit where he shows up at the end and about to go out before the First Order still makes my eyes wet. Even if it wasn't quite what I was hoping for, I still enjoyed what we got.

It has a lot of flaws. But I still love it.
 

Deleted member 18021

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,000
A mixture of cultural proxy wars, the usual internet hyperbole, and people taking Star Wars Way Too Damn Seriously.

Add a smattering of people failing basic media literacy forever and writing far too many words about it, and you have a nice recipe for wanting nothing to do with online Star Wars fandom ever again.

Generally speaking, if a lot of dudes on the internet are hella bothered about a piece of media, it's good advice to just ignore them and give it a chance on your own.
 

Deleted member 56580

User requested account closure
Banned
May 8, 2019
1,881
TLJ is what I needed to have hope in the franchise all over again after watching Episode IV ² and everything that came before

Fully ready to be completely disappointed by Episode IX
 

PanzerKraken

Member
Nov 1, 2017
15,019
Johnson wrote an amazing story about Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. He handed the script to Lucasfilm and they were like "what about all the other characters we have to make toys of?" He made an excuse to leave the room and ran to the nearest bathroom to scribble the rest of the movies events in a 5 minute panic....or at least that's how it feels.

Kinda yea. Everything besides them felt so disjointed and poorly done. There is a cool story line there but the execution and all the extra characters just made a mess.
 

MisterHero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,934
if you're blaming anyone other than the creators for the unsurprising controversial response to the movie, you're doing it wrong
 

Lunar Wolf

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
16,237
Los Angeles
2/3 of the movie was boring and almost pointless.

Finn and Poe were characters that I liked in TFA and disliked by the end of the movie.

The Rey-Ben-Luke stuff was compelling enough but there needed to be way more of it. Rey confiding in Ben happened way too fast.
 

DiipuSurotu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
53,148
I really wish they could retcon that light-speed-jump attack scene though. Yeah it probably makes more sense if you want to think about it, but it kinda breaks the established SW lore. Also why not let a droid push the button, did I miss something?
Because the enemy would fire on it before the droid has the time to do anything. You have to remember why Hux didn't fire on Holdo in the film when her ship started to head toward him.
 

thewienke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,983
giphy.gif

yeah

I want to believe OP is a giant Star Wars fan that somehow hasn't seen a major entry in the franchise but this whole thread premise is probably the biggest troll thread you could pull off without getting banned.

It's entirely possible and maybe even likely that they're being honest but man...what a way to start an internet fight
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
76,219
Providence, RI
if you're blaming anyone other than the creators for the unsurprising controversial response to the movie, you're doing it wrong

Absolutely not. Not given how toxic the response from those people were.

Death threats on social media, harassing actresses simply because they're women, literal campaigns on sites like 4chan to review bomb the film, etc.

The creators made a critically acclaimed film. A group of very vocal fans turned it into a controversy because their fan fiction head canon turned out to be nonsense.
 

CommodoreKong

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,712
Johnson wrote an amazing story about Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. He handed the script to Lucasfilm and they were like "what about all the other characters we have to make toys of?" He made an excuse to leave the room and ran to the nearest bathroom to scribble the rest of the movies events in a 5 minute panic....or at least that's how it feels.

That's pretty much how I feel, I think the Luke/Rey/Kylo stuff is pretty good but don't think the rest of the movie is very good, which makes it a pretty mixed bag for me.
 

Tiger Priest

Banned
Oct 24, 2017
1,120
New York, NY
Better than TFA as it was at least original and better than any of the prequels (not saying much) but everything outside of Luke/Rey/Kylo was boring and uninspired. Casino Planet, DJ, Rose, and everything with Poe and Leia all fell flat.

I was ok with the Luke stuff except killing him off for no reason.
 

Doober

Banned
Jun 10, 2018
4,295
It's a movie that's become such a no-man's-land in the war between neckbeards and arch-feminists that it's nearly impossible to express an opinion about it without being harangued as if you are one or the other.
 

thediamondage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,286
it ended the movie in a weird place that felt like the story kinda peters out and you don't really have a lot to get excited about for the future, but then again you could probably say that about ESB ("Where's Han?!? What happened to Luke's training? What about his dad?!?! What the fuck is the emperor gonna do?!?") and people had to wait for ROTJ.

Episode 9 could turn the trilogy into something great and fun, or it could be disappointing. Hard to judge a story only 2/3's seen. I'm just glad now in a little over 45 days I'll find out. Also in a little over 8 days The Mandalorian debuts, and I'm super excited about that.
 

Elderly Parrot

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Aug 13, 2018
3,146
Johnson wrote an amazing story about Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. He handed the script to Lucasfilm and they were like "what about all the other characters we have to make toys of?" He made an excuse to leave the room and ran to the nearest bathroom to scribble the rest of the movies events in a 5 minute panic....or at least that's how it feels.
I'm on this train
 

Vern

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,097
Better than TFA and the prequels. The hate comes from weirdos that are way too invested in mass market movies.
 

XaviConcept

Art Director for Videogames
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
4,914
Because people can have very fundamental differences of opinion when it comes to what a Star Wars movie should be

Also, the gamergate crew got involved, thus warping peoples opinion regarding public opinion of the movie

I loved it, top 2 SW movie for me
 

MisterHero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,934
Absolutely not. Not given how toxic the response from those people were.

Death threats on social media, harassing actresses simply because they're women, literal campaigns on sites like 4chan to review bomb the film, etc.

The creators made a critically acclaimed film. A group of very vocal fans turned it into a controversy because their fan fiction head canon turned out to be nonsense.
those people are scumbags, no question. but if you can't see why people wouldn't like this supposed masterpiece, then you haven't challenged this movie enough.

this is a movie where luke considers killing his nephew over some bad dreams. does that make sense in ANY family drama, science fantasy or not?

the heroes go to a planet with slave children, and don't free them.

pointing out fan theories being stupid is nonsense when TLJ does worse: it fills the gaps with NOTHING. no one knows who snoke is and now he's dead. rey's parentage is refreshing for like 3 minutes but then you can't explore it anymore. luke spent like 10+ years on an island doing nothing. that's not fun or smart at all.

they are making billions of dollars and are afforded three movies to tell an epic story. if i want to hold them to a higher standard then damn it i will.
 
Oct 27, 2017
1,443
Is there anything left to discuss with TLJ at this point?

All I know is that I loved it. It made me happy, and I don't really care that a bunch of people seem to think it's the worst movie ever
 

Surfinn

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,590
USA
Lol I just love the "you can't dislike this movie or criticize it without being alt-right" narrative.

I've done just fine listing my (many) gripes and never had to worry about this.

If you're being placed in the alt-right category, there's a strong chance that you're saying something that just sucks (in which has nothing to do with expressing a general like or dislike for TLJ).
I think TLJ is a terrible film on many accounts, but apparently that makes me alt right or something.
Right on cue
 
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Khanimus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
40,224
Greater Vancouver
Johnson wrote an amazing story about Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. He handed the script to Lucasfilm and they were like "what about all the other characters we have to make toys of?" He made an excuse to leave the room and ran to the nearest bathroom to scribble the rest of the movies events in a 5 minute panic....or at least that's how it feels.
And as much as I felt this way when I first saw it, Rose is maybe the only hero character in these movies whose moral compass, ideology, and understanding of the world extends beyond "shoot bad guys in face." Poe being an arrogant asshole is a slap in the face to the fanbase's own alpha-male hotshot power fantasies. Johnson acknowledges a major failing of Finn's character from TFA in that he doesn't actually have any motivation beyond "REEEEYYYYY" and running away. The guy grew up under the First Order, what does he know about thinking critically about the complexities of all these galactic politics?

There are silly moments, bizarre structural choices, and deleted scenes that really should not have been deleted. But there is still a lot of character work that frankly speaks to the weaknesses of the previous film and actually has something to say about Star Wars as escapist fantasy.
 

Elandyll

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,829
I think TLJ is a terrible film on many accounts, but apparently that makes me alt right or something.
 

NookSports

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,214
Saying that Rey is a nobody. Not with skills like that she ain't. Lol.

I think TLJ is misunderstood more than anything, and one of the biggest ones is taking Kylo Ren at face value when he says this, and when he says her parents were nobodies. He was negging her, not being an omniscient narrator (Also let the past die was said by KyloRen as part of his trying to convince Rey to join him)
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
76,219
Providence, RI
this is a movie where luke considers killing his nephew over some bad dreams. does that make sense in ANY family drama, science fantasy or not?

Yes. It makes sense for someone like Luke -- who has always been shown as brash and acting before thinking -- to come close to making a terrible decision.

the heroes go to a planet with slave children, and don't free them.

I've literally never heard this complaint until now. How in the world were they supposed to free all of the slave children on that planet?

no one knows who snoke

It isn't important.

rey's parentage is refreshing for like 3 minutes but then you can't explore it anymore.

... Because it was solved. So it doesn't need to be explored. What a strange complaint.

luke spent like 10+ years on an island doing nothing.

Yes, that was literally the point. He secluded himself. He didn't go on vacation, so yes, he did nothing.

And this is kind of the problem I have so often. You're really nitpicking.
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
76,219
Providence, RI
I think TLJ is misunderstood more than anything, and one of the biggest ones is taking Kylo Ren at face value when he says this, and when he says her parents were nobodies. He was negging her, not being an omniscient narrator (Also let the past die was said by KyloRen as part of his trying to convince Rey to join him)

The entire point of that scene is that Kylo wasn't lying and that Rey already knew it but was lying to herself.

Perhaps they will retcon this in IX -- I refuse to look at spoilers -- but as it was written in TLJ, it was absolutely meant to be taken at face value.
 

Jake_Peralta

Alt Account
Banned
Nov 3, 2019
30
It subverted expectations - Everyone that liked it

Making bold choices like killing off a character that was built up to be this all encompassing dictator that we know nothing about and do not get any details about certainly subverts expectations, but it does not make the movie good.

I enjoyed parts of TLJ, but it was plagued with bad writing, lack of character development and threatened the overall continuity of the series.
 
Oct 27, 2017
3,214
It's not divisive. You have an okay to bad movie and most people agree on that, and then you have the alt right retards making YouTube money off of the main actress.

This is my favorite kind of TLJ post.

OP got dooped by a zealous vocal minority that actually believe deep down inside that they aren't the minority.
 

ProtomanNeo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,190
OP is fan of Star Wars but didn't watch it until now?
Not buying it.

Their reasoning is they heard some didn't like it.
Still not buying it and learn to form your own opinions.
 

NookSports

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,214
The entire point of that scene is that Kylo wasn't lying and that Rey already knew it but was lying to herself.

Perhaps they will retcon this in IX -- I refuse to look at spoilers -- but as it was written in TLJ, it was absolutely meant to be taken at face value.
He was playing on her insecurities. Dude is a PUA through and through
 
Oct 26, 2017
8,055
Appalachia
I thought it was a cool looking scene but I had no idea what the point of the entire planet was outside of showing how shitty rich people profit off of war
I'm gonna post this video, as I usually do when I engage in TLJ threads, because as much as I love it and appreciate it for basically being a SW movie that in ways acknowledged how I felt about the franchise and the fandom at the time, the side plots did a fairly poor job of communicating their purpose to the audience.

Canto Bight as a story arc was meant to be where Finn gets a chance to run away for good like he's been trying to do since TFA. DJ is the devil on one shoulder, Rose is the angel on the other. The war profiteers (an awesome idea that is ripe for exploring in this universe imo) serve as evidence that the Resistance has its own faults and, just like how the New Republic splintered over whether or not to have an army - which led to the First Order's swift conquering of the galaxy - them winning might not lead to the happy, peaceful outcome everyone seems to expect. Rose's simple act of freeing the animals and inspiring those kids is framed as a decision borne of love, which is why she corrects Finn when his reaction focused on how it good it felt to stick it to the rich folks in the casino. These two perspectives were there to challenge Finn to finally make his decision, and when he does.... well, I think the vid explains it better than I can:


The vid focuses a bit much on "letting the past die" as a message of the film, which isn't really the best takeaway from the movie as has already been discussed in this thread, but as a general theme that was explored it resonated with me on a few levels.