I have thoughts, but they're not well formed, and I know I'm going to see it again, so maybe I'll have better, well formed thoughts later.
Let's just say that the movie managed to keep me guessing where it was going, but the progression felt natural enough that I didn't mind being taken there.
Most of the conflict between Poe and Admiral Laura Dern (whatever her character's name was) would have been averted had she simply told him -- "I have a plan; trust me."
That part seemed pretty realistic to me. Being a military leader means never having to say you're sorry (or justify yourself to your subordinates).
I've solidified my opinion of Porgs, though. I hated that they tried to force me to love them because they're cute. (This was in the early-ish days of ramping up the hype.) I hated them in the movie too. They're not even as fun or funny as Tribbles, and I don't really like those things either.
As for the movie, it p much lost me in that weird diversion in the middle. They had this fantastic locked room ticking time bomb chase movie going with the RESISTANCE. And then and even smaller more rag-tag band of plucky adventurers go on another adventure. Though it was used for punctuation on one of the themes of the movie, it was a dramatic stretch that really ruined the tension they had to rebuild for the big ending set piece. And there were even parts of the big ending set piece that weren't terribly sensible.
But it's generally p good.
I'm real happy for the Force, and Imma let it finish, but I'm all about that Black Panther right now.
Most of the conflict between Poe and Admiral Laura Dern (whatever her character's name was) would have been averted had she simply told him -- "I have a plan; trust me."
That part seemed pretty realistic to me. Being a military leader means never having to say you're sorry (or justify yourself to your subordinates).
I don't disagree. Poe was incredibly lucky that all he got was a demotion, considering what he pulled.
She's the one in charge, so she doesn't owe anyone an explanation for her actions. Still, Poe and others were openly questioning her leadership -- including accusing her to her face of being a coward and even a traitor. Had she nipped that in the bud by simply saying "I do have a plan," they'd have saved an awful lot of trouble.
That's one thing I did appreciate about the movie, by the way. I liked that they (finally!) deconstructed the "Maverick hero does his own thing against incredible odds and wins the day" motif that so dominates the Star Wars movies. There's a time and place for that, but when the odds against your plan are 1,000-to-1, then most of the time your plan is going to fail. I liked that the movie had the guts to point out that reckless plans like that seldom work in the real world, and often have disastrous consequences.
Oddly enough, Poe eventually learned the proper lesson, but maybe he learned it at the wrong time. In the final battle, he chose to abort the attack on the Imperial First Order ground forces because the chances of success were too low and the cost would have been too great.
But wait: this really was the time for a Hail Mary pass. The First Order is literally seconds from breaching their last line of defense, there is no escape (as far as they know), they've called for help and no one has responded, and the First Order plans to kill them all. They've no reason to think that Luke Skywalker is going to appear out of thin air. So, by all the data they have available, a reckless attack that has a 1,000-to-1 chance of failure really is their only remaining option. After all, a very small chance of survival is better than none at all.
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“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
They're not even as fun or funny as Tribbles, and I don't really like those things either.
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"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
It was OK. I enjoyed it as a diversion but I think I'd enjoy it even more if they'd stop making them. It feels like a cash grab to be releasing a Star Wars Universe movie every year. This may have been the last one I'll go see.
They paid a lot for it. So they are going to make a lot of them. I think I liked this one a lot because it subverted a lot of my expectations and subverted Star Wars cliches while at the same time fitting right in with the other movies. The bits I didn't like too much are all forgivable.
Mildly spoilery: I think there was considerably less I would change about this one than about the last one. I love upending most of the standard Star Wars tropes – especially the child-of-destiny bloodline crap. I can't tell you how relieved I was that Rey isn't related to the Skywalkers or some other big franchise name, and I really hope later films and writers don't try to flip it back.
Yes, I still have criticisms, but I'm more pleased overall by Empire Strikes Back: Reloaded than I was by A New Hope Part Deux.
I love upending most of the standard Star Wars tropes
:agree:
Not quite spoilers but I'll be conservative about it.
Millennium Falcon arrival as Deus Ex Machina in 3-2- There it is.
BB-8 is funnier than R2 ever was.
C-3P0 cliches are cliche. At least no one said never tell me the odds.
Mechanic girl and Finn had more chemistry than Rey and Finn.
Hotshot pilot boy is merely okay in the role.
Rogue One still rocks my world.
Finn's anthem is now Hair Of The Dog.
Best Pokemon escape ever.
That aside, it was pretty epic and no regrets seeing it.
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Peering from the top of Mount Stupid
Some anonymous troll behind the Facebook group "Down With Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys" told HuffPo he dispatched an army of bots to flood The Last Jedi's Rotten Tomatoes page with negative reviews. The moderator—who self-identifies as alt-right—said he went after the movie for its "feminist agenda," arguing that Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is a "victim of the anti-mansplaining movement,” Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is somehow being "turn[ed] gay," and that there are too many women featured in the film.
“I’m sick and tired of men being portrayed as idiots," the moderator told HuffPo. "There was a time we ruled society and I want to see that again. That is why I voted for Donald Trump.”
"portrayed"
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Cēterum cēnseō factiōnem Rēpūblicānam dēlendam esse īgnī ferrōque.
“All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind.” -Adam Smith
It was OK. I enjoyed it as a diversion but I think I'd enjoy it even more if they'd stop making them. It feels like a cash grab to be releasing a Star Wars Universe movie every year. This may have been the last one I'll go see.
I thought I passed that point with The Force Awakens, but then Rogue One suckered me back in. I will see The Last Jedi, but I'll wait out the crowds.
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Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
Some anonymous troll behind the Facebook group "Down With Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys" told HuffPo he dispatched an army of bots to flood The Last Jedi's Rotten Tomatoes page with negative reviews. The moderator—who self-identifies as alt-right—said he went after the movie for its "feminist agenda," arguing that Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is a "victim of the anti-mansplaining movement,” Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is somehow being "turn[ed] gay," and that there are too many women featured in the film.
“I’m sick and tired of men being portrayed as idiots," the moderator told HuffPo. "There was a time we ruled society and I want to see that again. That is why I voted for Donald Trump.”
"portrayed"
He must hate the Mayhem Allstate Insurance commercials then.
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Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields