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FILM: The Last Jedi (2017)


Chen G.

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17 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

His inability to emote. His failure to hold his own against a puppet. Seriously if you can't see how poor his acting is then you probably praise Hayden Christianson who up until TLJ was the stardard bearer for bad acting in movies Star Wars related. Now Hayden can sit back and relax saying I'm no longer the worst.

 

BUT let me ask you How was Hamill's acting good? If I can't convince you perhaps you can convince me!

 

 

So what you're saying is that if one doesn't follow your thinking that Hamill's acting was poor, they must think Hayden Christensen's acting was good? It can't possibly be anything else, can it?

 

Both Hamill and Christensen are competent actors and both have suffered at the hands of shitty scripts and poor direction. 

Now in the case of The Last Jedi I think Hamill gives a nuanced performance that does convey Luke's deep regret, BUT the way the story is framed, it never gives his character an opportunity to be anything else or emote anything else. We don't really see anymore of his reaction to hearing of Han's death and we don't get to see anything more nuanced or expansive because of the ridiculous Finn/Rose diversion.

 

What's disappointing is that they squandered more interactions and lessons between Rey and Luke that could've given us a chance to unfold this 'Luke in Exile' character beyond a guy who journeys to the other side of the island to suck off a lactating alien. The deleted scenes are what makes me think that the film would've explored Luke more before someone thought that audiences need to be kept awake by alien horse-racing and pointless diversions.  

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5 hours ago, Arpy said:

 

 

So what you're saying is that if one doesn't follow your thinking that Hamill's acting was poor, they must think Hayden Christensen's acting was good? It can't possibly be anything else, can it?

 

Both Hamill and Christensen are competent actors and both have suffered at the hands of shitty scripts and poor direction. 

Now in the case of The Last Jedi I think Hamill gives a nuanced performance that does convey Luke's deep regret, BUT the way the story is framed, it never gives his character an opportunity to be anything else or emote anything else. We don't really see anymore of his reaction to hearing of Han's death and we don't get to see anything more nuanced or expansive because of the ridiculous Finn/Rose diversion.

 

What's disappointing is that they squandered more interactions and lessons between Rey and Luke that could've given us a chance to unfold this 'Luke in Exile' character beyond a guy who journeys to the other side of the island to suck off a lactating alien. The deleted scenes are what makes me think that the film would've explored Luke more before someone thought that audiences need to be kept awake by alien horse-racing and pointless diversions.  

Not at all. I CONSIDERED his acting against all the performances I hace seen through the thousands of films ive seen in the past. Mark is not good. In the hands-of better directors Hamill gave better performances. Yes Lucas directed Star Wars well. And Kirsh, well, he elevated them all.

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  • 1 year later...

A total nonsensical, abyssmal waste of a turd film this! I sensed a great disturbance in this film and it was the writing & directing. Lucasfilm has a department of creative story consultants but couldn't come up with any ORIGINAL material - ONLY recycled contrived nonsense. Yes Johnson did write this but maybe HE was heavily influenced by the powers that be mainly KK, IGER. Our beloved characters left to play second fodder to Rey, Finn, Kylo and Snot.

The visuals and FX were spectacular but it's what one expects in a sci-fi film and is only the positive point review I give this. Sorry I'm saying this - NO I'm not, I feel alittle insulted, let down and cheated that it didn't feel like a STAR WARS movie universe created by George Lucas but a Disney movie which for anything was created by FANS.  I kid you not I saw three people walk out of the cinema upto to the Luke milking tits scene and never returned & it weren't their bladder talking! John Williams' music was a welcomed relief but was alittle too bombastic, especially in the battle scenes but a good entry nonetheless!

 

So many curve balls to choke up about, it's staggering!

 

Oh well it's only a movie.....NO it's STAR WARS! :mellow:

 

 

 

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13 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Like there wasn't shock gross-out stuff in Return of the Jedi?

 

Return of the Jedi isn't an awfully good movie. I wouldn't use it as an example for anything, really.

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Except most people seem perfectly happy to lump it in with "The OT" as the perfect SW trifecta.

 

The point is people constantly refer back to it like it's some new low in SW gross-out humor. Nothing beats the farting in Phantom Menace. The milking scene is about on par with Finn drinking out of the trough with the warthog alien in TFA, but I guess people just pick on it because it's Luke? I don't really get it either.

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True, but I also don't care for it when people start sucking a movie's rod. Not only for blowing the film's praiseworthy elements out of proportion, but for implying that those who dislike it are either missing the wit to percieve its genius, or are misogynists who disapprove of the film's egalitarian undercurrent.

 

There's plenty wrong in The Last Jedi.

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16 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

True, but I also don't care for it when people start sucking a movie's rod. Not only for blowing the film's praiseworthy elements out of proportion...

 

Are you serious?

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Maybe its just people I know. The amount of unabashed praise I've seen and experienced around me at one point was astounding. I'm glad people are enjoying a film, but come on!

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1 hour ago, A. A. Ron said:

Nah. Someone will probably bring balance eventually, but it won't be with Episode IX.

*Rey turns to the dark side, Kylo is dead

Luke and Yoda converse.

Luke: "I thought she would bring balance to the force."

Yoda: To be, it was not.  But, there is another.

 

*cue fanfare as message "Star Wars will return"  is visible on screen

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/1/2019 at 3:33 PM, Richard said:

At least people are still talking about TLJ. Who the hell talks about TFA, anymore? Who the hell wants to?

 

I love TFA! It’s the only star war I really love outside the OT. I think they really hit a home run with that one. I listen to the score (either the Suite or the FYC) multiple times a week. :blush:

 

TRoS speculation from what I’ve seen is almost completely based on TFA, so actually I’d say it’s the most talked about movie right now.

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20 hours ago, Pellaeon said:

 

I love TFA! It’s the only star war I really love outside the OT. I think they really hit a home run with that one. I listen to the score (either the Suite or the FYC) multiple times a week. :blush:

 

TRoS speculation from what I’ve seen is almost completely based on TFA, so actually I’d say it’s the most talked about movie right now.

 

No, Joker is the most talked about movie right now.

 

 

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On 10/3/2019 at 10:00 PM, Pellaeon said:

It’s the only star war I really love outside the OT. I think they really hit a home run with that one

 

I don't know about a home run, but I do think its the best Star Wars film after the first two.

 

Its so easy for the first film of a trilogy or a longer series to get somewhat bogged down in the setup for further films (An Unexpected Journey, Chris' Columbus' Harry Potter entries, The Phantom Menace to some extent).

 

The Force Awakens has none of that.

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Oh it certainly sets-up things for future films, but never at the expense of terse pacing, a brisk running time and engaging action setpieces throughout.

 

True, its almost wholly unoriginal, which is its main flaw. But the characters are engaging and the execution is elegant.

 

A solid **** out of ***** in my book.

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Did I say anything about the prequels? I happen to think The Phantom Menace has very strong action setpieces, especially the opening. Its later and in between the action setpieces that it gets bogged down, which never quite happens to The Force Awakens. Partially because its characters are much better performed by the cast, and partially because JJ Abrams photographs his film much better than George Lucas ever did.

 

Also, as neat as the duel with Darth Maul is, all the twirling of the sabers and the huge leaps and flips are never quite as engaging as what JJ Abrams did, where the sabers are wielded as though they were sledgehammers. The blows have real weight to them.

 

Also, I never like too much intercutting in a film's climax, and The Phantom Menace - with four concurrent threads - takes the cake. Whereas The Force Awakens with just two is excellent.

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Its not a small deal, at all. But I don't think it makes the film irredimable by any means.

 

Not that two wrongs make a right, but Return of the Jedi did it first!

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1 hour ago, Modest Expectations said:

What a foolish rebuttal. It was a unique combination of various ideas, unlike TFA. I can see the difference. Can't you?


i mean, being a “unique combination of various ideas” doesn’t make a film good. It can be unique without making you think. Or for that matter feel. The big difference for me between Star Wars and TPM or even TPM and TFA is that SW and TFA give me actual emotions, whereas TPM is cold and distant. I don’t really care about any of the characters after its 2 1/2 runtime.

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The humour in The Force Awakens works better for me than in The Last Jedi. Its hardly the series weightiest entry, but there is weighty material in it: I mean, the film practically opens with an entire unarmed village being massacred.

 

While I agree its convenient to the plot that Rey is very capable in everything, I don't think it detracts from her characterization. She's filled with uncertainty, with doubts, she's deluding herself regarding her parents. I like her and Finn very much. Poe is a bit too fleeting to leave as strong an impression. Kylo's terrific. I love him praying to his grandfather's helmet.

 

42 minutes ago, Modest Expectations said:

I like the relative reality of OT duels and those in the prequels.

 

The duel in the original Star Wars really ain't that impressive: two old guys playing with sticks. Empire Strikes Back is better, as is Return of the Jedi, although we were clearly already starting to head into the realm of "cool" jumps and flips. It still works in The Phantom Menace. Rather, its in Revenge of the Sith and especially Attack of the Clones where it reaches absolute overkill.

 

The fight in The Force Awakens is kind of like the earlier films, but punchier. If we put aside the dramatic aspect of the fight in The Empire Strikes Back and refer to both strictly as action scenes, I should think the one in The Force Awakens is the best of the series.

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  • 1 month later...

The prequel fights are all needlessly excessive (and the clearest sign that George no longer understood his own creation) but at least the battle in ROTS has a little bit more going on than any of the preceding battles.

 

Yeah, Lucas' attempt at developing a friendship/relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan is tenuous at best (funny how the ST haters constantly complain about Rey/Finn/Poe barely spending time together in two films but turn the other cheek to this glaring issue in the prequels), but at least there's more meat on the bone than, well, two dull Jedi fighting some cool looking guy who has no character whatsoever and speaks two lines in the entire film (but did I mention how cool he looks?) and some old guy whose motivations are needlessly convoluted but is evil and needs to be stopped because... reasons.

 

Stripping out all that political nonsense that bogged down TPM/AOTC and just making it about two friends fighting to save the galaxy from the Sith? Yeah, I can get behind that (even if we know how it ends).

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12 minutes ago, crumbs said:

funny how the ST haters constantly complain about Rey/Finn/Poe barely spending time together in two films but turn the other cheek to this glaring issue in the prequels

 

Well, Rey/Finn/Poe aren't even in the prequels!

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