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

I, too, was a pre-teen when Episode I hit cinemas in May of '99. It's really difficult for me to hate Episode I simply because of the nostalgia factor. I loved it when my grandmother took me to see it, and I can still appreciate what it did for the canon and overall universe here in 2017.

Of the prequels, Episode II is the only one I didn't really care for. It's the one that has the least re-watch value for me and it's also the one that contains the shittiest dialogue and the shittiest acting. As bad as Jake Lloyd was in The Phantom Menace, he was still just a kid. Some can act while others can't. It's just the way it is. I can easily hate on Hayden Christensen though because he was an adult when he took the part and still sucked it up.

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This movie should have been about just Rey and Kylo with the real Luke and a meaningful Snoke. Everything else was a waste or just plain stupid. It’s 100% great if they move on from the Skywalkers. I just wanted them to do it above the level of a high school play.

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This, and to make it worse, they just went full circle.

We are now back to “tiny rebel force with one Jedi vs large imperial force with a sith”. This is after 20-30 years of Republic rule. WTF?!

The best way this could have gone is if Rey joined Ren. That would have been a fantastic twist on par with “I am your father”.

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Ending the movie with that would have shot this movie possibly into the OT level

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It would have been amazing. The rebellion would be in tatters, we would have no clue what direction the Rey/Ren team up would go, it would be original.

The final episode would be her conflicted state, her trying to return to the light, and it would have given TLJ the bleak/failure feeling it obviously wanted.

Saw it a 2nd time last night. Wanted to let my kids form their own opinion. My 12 year old didn't like it, but my 8 year old did. Noticed a few things I didn't the 1st time. Most notably at the end when everyone left is on the Falcon. Finn randomly opens a drawer to get Rose a blanket. Its a quick shot but the books from the Jedi Temple are in the drawer too. Rey must have taken them. They weren't burnt in the tree.

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This movie should have been about just Rey and Kylo with the real Luke and a meaningful Snoke. Everything else was a waste or just plain stupid. It’s 100% great if they move on from the Skywalkers. I just wanted them to do it above the level of a high school play.

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This is why I hate the movie more than AotC. They had something going in this movie, but they just shite all over it. JJ would have known to keep with this. Just wish he directed the entire trilogy instead of the SJW shite we were given.

So, I'm in a magnanimous move, let's give the benefit of the doubt here, and discuss.

As I stated very early on, as a kid, the most disappointed I've ever felt coming out of any SW movie at the theater, had been leaving Empire Strikes Back.
The Rebellion had been routed, Han's survival was questionable, Luke got his arse whipped and Vader was now his dad.
And we had to wait 3 years to sort that out.

Without emotion, without valid criticism of the various plot mechanisms and annoying side shite, where are we after this?

The Resistance is routed badly; beaten and forgotten by the galaxy at large. No answer to their pleas for help.
Poe's been shown he wasn't ready to lead, but has to now, by default. Is he ready?
Finn... where is he? He'd ran his whole arc unless it was personal, but he finally didn't at the end. Is he now ready to fully commit?
Rey- she's always clung to her family returning, now we're told they're dead and she's better off for that. So... how does she cope with that, does it push her away from the Light? She has more reason to go Dark than Anakin did, and it only takes a nudge to go down that path. She does still have her new surrogate family, the Resistance... all 10 of them, beaten down right now. Their next loss could be the straw that pushes her over the edge.

Kylo Ren- out from under Snoke, but he's gone from the Vader arc to Anakin's "I can kill the Emperor and rule the galaxy myself" arc, that Anakin told Padme right before Kenobi showed up.

Kylo, under a deeper light-
he's a Skywalker, and that's Star Wars.
He has greater control than Vader did over his descent to the Dark Side, he's doing this willingly, and can step back when he wants (like by saving Rey). He's just stewing in his own resentment, and doesn't want to.

He's reached out twice to Rey, she's genuinely the lone flicker of light in his existence, and he's gone so far as to kill his master over her. And Rey, as I outlined here and before, is actually acting on the guidance of the Dark Side.
They did a little ROTJ scene already... they can't do that again. And there's no one for Kylo to overcome to protect Rey, anyway... except himself.
He likes her as-is. Would her falling into the Dark be the ticket that causes him to turn away, so HE can lead HER back to the Light?

Rey has won every fight against him, which does seem to set the table. If she turns Dark and he opposes this, HE'S the underdog, not her. He has to beat not just her, but the Dark Side as well, and he has to not kill her in the process. That sounds like a tall order... the type that writers like to explore.

There is zero chance Rey goes dark now.

If she were going to, it would have been in this movie.

And that would have been more interesting.

Mark is gonna have to get over it. We got the real luke in this movie instead of the legend.

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’m sure y’all noticed the kid at the end used the force to move the broom? It was subtle but I was pumped

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Yep. Everyone can use the force. No one is special. Hard work isn't needed for anything. Everyone gets a trophy. There are no heroes.

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Syndrome

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Literally Rian Johnson