re: Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi Discussion Thread ***SPOILERS***

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You get everyone invested and liking the new republic and then you bring down the theater when Starkiller Base wipes that entire system out.

Instead, we never even saw much less cared about that place and it was a tiny explosion in the sky and then the movie moved on and never talked about it again.

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It’s no different than when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan in ANH.

Things I'd like to see in 9. Jump ahead five years with a small group of Jedi that Rey trained, Rey with a double bladed saber with both of Luke's crystals, Kylo Ren sporting a goatee like Adam Driver in real life, and Force Ghost Anakin appearing to Kylo, re-establish the New Republican on Coruscant, have Lando answer a distress call.

I'd take a Kevin Smith Star Wars movie before another Rian Johnson movie.

When I first read spoilers that Luke was only a cameo in TFA, I'd figure fans would react similar to how they are with TLJ. When I read spoilers for TLJ, I thought it sounded absurd but went in with an open mind. Outside of the force projection, every thing else I worried about was justified.

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You get everyone invested and liking the new republic and then you bring down the theater when Starkiller Base wipes that entire system out.

Instead, we never even saw much less cared about that place and it was a tiny explosion in the sky and then the movie moved on and never talked about it again.


It’s no different than when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan in ANH.

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Nope.

Star Wars was a visual milestone, most/all SF movies and shows until then didn't look nearly as good or realistic. Star Trek original series and Space 1999 might have been among the best until then.

The planet-killing concept really hadn't been done onscreen that much. Mostly, it was about invading and conquering, not complete destruction. Whenever that level of power WAS depicted, it was from a faceless alien force, not humans.

In SW universe, the Empire was all. Alderaan was part of the Empire. Remember, Luke wanted to submit his application to the Academy; if Uncle Owen hadn't been a hardass, Luke would have been flying Tie Fighters by then.
The Republic had been mentioned as ruling, and had been supplanted by a militaristic Nazi government.
Also in Star Wars, a big deal was made that this had never happened, and it was imperative that this must be stopped. Like if the US had eventually become Nazi, and decided to nuke Virginia without reason, just for effect.

Vader and later the Emperor advanced the Dark Side of the Force concept, but at the time, the true enemy was the unchecked and massive military might of the Imperial Fleet and their willingness to "push the button" on its' own citizens.

Doing it AGAIN in TFA is just rinse-and-repeat, not a new and previously unseen event. And it was done by an outside faction, not by a dictatorship against it's own hapless people, so it loses that angle. TFA is more like the German blitzkrieg against Czechoslovakia; blast the leadership and take over the territory.

I saw it last night. What a sack of crap.

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It’s not as bad as this board makes it out to be.

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Actually, it is not as good as this board makes it out to be.

I didn't like how it tried to be funny with lame jokes. It was like an Avengers movie with cheap childish humor. Movie writing is so weak these days.

Leia and Han both were made generals in ROTJ. How did she not get a higher ranking after 30 years?

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I didn't like how it tried to be funny with lame jokes. It was like an Avengers movie with cheap childish humor. Movie writing is so weak these days.


It’s like they actively went for jokes that felt out of place.

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Looking back on the OT (the theatrical versions, at least), there's little joking or silliness.

You do have the Abbott and Costello banter between the droids, but that worked because we never actually hear R2D2, it's always interpreted.

You have the Han-chasing-the-stormtroopers scene, but with the original version that is easily explained away... there was only about a dozen or so troopers, basically normal dudes responding to "trouble in the detention block" by causes unknown, having no idea how many assailants might be invading their base. Han reacts instinctively and on adrenaline yelling and shooting, and those troopers think they've run into a bigger group.
The troopers turn a corner to find they're trapped... see it's one dude... oh, that's his arse now.
Remember, there was a little casual chatter between the 2 troopers guarding the tractor beam that Obi Wan disabled. That was a small bit, but they were talking about a new speeder or something, a similar concept to Luke's earlier remarks about how he couldn't get more money for his speeder because a new model was out. Things like that made the troopers seem like normal grunts.

Don't think there were any other laughs in the original movie (Ep 4). Maybe things that visually provoked a laugh, like the way the Jawas looked and moved.

I have never understood the need to force comedy in "for the kids". I was 8 when I saw Star Wars in the theater in 1977, and the exciting adventure of it all was enough to completely capture my attention and imagination. In fact, the fact that it was played straight instead of funny made it MORE powerful to me; I took it seriously. You don't catch bad acting when you're little, you're caught up in the adventure.