Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The worrying thing is that they have no plan.

TLJ made it quite apparent that they had no long term outline for what was to follow with TFA. I doubt they set up all those elements only to have them thoroughly dismantled by Rian Johnson...I would like to see what Rian Johnson does with his new trilogy, where he can start from scratch and not be beholden to any legacy elements. The divisiveness of TLJ might put those plans on hold though.
 
TLJ made it quite apparent that they had no long term outline for what was to follow with TFA. I doubt they set up all those elements only to have them thoroughly dismantled by Rian Johnson...I would like to see what Rian Johnson does with his new trilogy, where he can start from scratch and not be beholden to any legacy elements. The divisiveness of TLJ might put those plans on hold though.

Yes, I find it artistically irresponsible to start a saga with no idea where you're going with it. It's just bad and lazy writing.
 
*cough cough "Lost" cough cough*

I remember watching an interview with the creators of LOST, just before the series was going to start, where they stated that everything has already been planned out 5 years in advance, and all of this would lead to an ultimate finale that would tie everything together... Ha!
 
Yes, they HAVE insisted that was the case. I (and most other viewers from what I understand) do not remotely believe the way the show ended was planned from the start.
 
TLJ made it quite apparent that they had no long term outline for what was to follow with TFA. I doubt they set up all those elements only to have them thoroughly dismantled by Rian Johnson...I would like to see what Rian Johnson does with his new trilogy, where he can start from scratch and not be beholden to any legacy elements. The divisiveness of TLJ might put those plans on hold though.

Would be great if they brought in someone else to direct the middle film of his new trilogy. Just to muck it up a bit and keep him on his toes. Like maybe, I don't know... J.J. Abrams?
 
Would be great if they brought in someone else to direct the middle film of his new trilogy. Just to muck it up a bit and keep him on his toes. Like maybe, I don't know... J.J. Abrams?

John Waters or Werner Herzog FTW*

*Final Trilogy Weirdness
 
Spoiler:

Not for nothing, but in Rogue One when the Death Star appeared on the skyline in Scarif, that just knocked me out of my socks. Brilliant storytelling and plot. I knew the story couldn't end well,but I totally didn't see that coming.

NOTHING in TLJ had any emotional impact for me such as that.

Thoroughly agree. I thought Rogue One was excellent, thoroughly compelling, and easily the only worthwhile film added to the canon since the original trilogy. Force Awakens and Last Jedi both just felt utterly amateurish to me, seemingly ignoring all of the magnificent lessons on storytelling, and the power of allegory and allusion, that the original films nailed so well.
 
Kind of an unprecedented thing to try and re capture lightning in a bottle.
 
Thoroughly agree. I thought Rogue One was excellent, thoroughly compelling, and easily the only worthwhile film added to the canon since the original trilogy. Force Awakens and Last Jedi both just felt utterly amateurish to me, seemingly ignoring all of the magnificent lessons on storytelling, and the power of allegory and allusion, that the original films nailed so well.

I will update my original thoughts, as friend pointed out that Rogue One was designed with a more "adult" audience in mind. It certainly hits harder.

So it's not *really* fair to compare Rogue with the others, but still one of my all time faves.
 
The Last Jedi is pulled out of China after just two weeks.

Week 1: $28.7 million
Week 2: $2.4 million

Star Wars actually never does well in China, but this is less than its predecessors.

The Force Awakens: $124 million
Rogue One: $69 million

The original films never screened in China, so there is no fan base there and it never permeated the culture the way it did in the west. There are no movie stars in it, and there are reports that Chinese audiences aren't fond of the cast. I also have the suspicion that the interracial romance between Finn and Rose is not playing well there.
 
Saw it again today, just because. Unfortunately, contrary to some reports, I didn’t like it more the second time.

One thing no one mentioned is how much more CGI is used. Watching again it looks increasingly like prequel levels of CGI. I really don’t care for the aesthetic in a large number of places.

On that note, I actually don’t care for a lot of the cinematography. There are beautiful shots and incredible sequences, but, (and this bothered me the first time as well), a number of shots just feel odd in terms of framing and lens choice. And lighting / design. Overall the film feels sort of plasticky and cartoony (almost all scenes with Finn and Rose, not just canto bright). Rey in training has a lot of shots that rub me wrong (too far off to the side framing, lots of low framing on Rey, and a flat/claustrophobic feel to the camera in a bunch of places). It seems RJ/SY preferred a lot of longer lenses and tighter framing, but it feels a departure from OT and force awakens for lens choice and framing. And just feels less grounded.

And the writing was just “ok”. And the pacing still bugs me to no end. It ignores the art of letting scenes and dialogue breathe, to the point where the film sort of feels like constant white noise because it never comes up for air.

I agree on the Rogue One comments. Love it or hate it, it was a technically better film and nothing in TLJ hits or resonates emotionally or tonally like it did in RO.
 
I was disappointed in this. Can't really say anything new that hasn't been said before. But one thing I'm seeing is that, this is the first Star Wars film that's dividing the fans so much. I've read from I love it, to I hated it. Crazy actually, art can be so subjective. My biggest issue was the script. That had to have been a first draft. Had to, no freaking way.
 
This was painful to watch. I don't understand any defense offered up. It was so bad I can't believe I'm saying the prequels were significantly better. Genuinely sad. It's not a good film, irrespective of being a Star Wars.

This ended it for me.
 
... A Star Wars movie isn't a special experience anymore. When the original movies came out, they were unique, unmatched by almost anything else out there in terms of visual effects, sound design, action and excitement. You went to see something you've never seen before..... A Star Wars film is just another movie in the glut of entertainment. Great stories and characters is the only thing that will distinguish Star Wars films from here on out.
To me, it seems now that Star Wars has joined the same ranks as the seemingly endless Marvel, Batman and Fast and Furious movies. Now it's just an ongoing assembly line of keep on dishing out more product because it will make a reasonable amount of money regardless of how good it is. It's really not special anymore at all. Just another movie in the masses of films released every year. I may be wrong, but that is how it seems to me, and I am a big fan of the original films (at least the 1st two.)
 
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