Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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kgbelliveau
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by kgbelliveau »

90sCoffee wrote:I don't blame Rian Johnson anymore, I blame whoever had the decision making power and for some reason saw his resume and thought he'd be a good fit for directing a space sci-fi adventure film, that's who's at fault.


Indeed the fault does fall with the person who gave him the job in the first place. That same person also had to probably approve the final draft of the script. I wish that person would explain why the saw this as the best product for Star Wars.

livelove
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by livelove »

« Does Disney want its directors to have creative freedom?
The recent fiasco on the Han Solo movie suggests the studio wants obedient showrunners, not directors »

www.theverge.com/2017/6/23/15861162/dis ... ve-freedom

kgbelliveau
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by kgbelliveau »

livelove wrote:« Does Disney want its directors to have creative freedom?
The recent fiasco on the Han Solo movie suggests the studio wants obedient showrunners, not directors »

http://www.theverge.com/2017/6/23/15861 ... ve-freedom



It definitely makes sense that Disney wants obedient directors who stick to the same money making formula. As cool as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been most of Phase 1 and 2 all sort seem like the same film. Homecoming and Black Panther seemed to break that wall down and bring something exciting to the table.

The same thing sort of happened with Star Wars. Force Awakens was very similar to A New Hope but it was wildly entertaining. Last Jedi was just bad because it almost seemed like they forced the "we need to do something diifferent and vastly unique from previous films" hand too early in the series. A cool and engaging Episode 9 would have served them better. Instead we have very little to be excited for after The Last Jedi.

livelove
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by livelove »

6 open questions and plot holes:
http://youtu.be/Erx5fEMFMJk

this is soooo hilarious:
http://youtu.be/FaOSCASqLsE

Mentaculus
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by Mentaculus »

OK, I've been totally lurking in the corners reading the responses in this thread. As is perfectly clear in my review on this here site of The Last Jedi, I liked it, a lot, despite its very present flaws in places, and am happy to be its Devil's Advocate. A couple things:

kgbelliveau wrote: Indeed the fault does fall with the person who gave him the job in the first place. That same person also had to probably approve the final draft of the script. I wish that person would explain why the saw this as the best product for Star Wars.


That would be Kathleen Kennedy. I heard Rian Johnson speak on the script and approval process in person at a Q&A, and while all of this is clearly second-hand, what I heard and saw directly from Rian is an honest, lifelong fan of Star Wars who had the chance to steer the franchise toward what he believed would be its next logical era, and was given unprecedented opportunity to do so. The question that was constantly asked by the audience - indeed, because it seems to defy belief - is that Rian had complete creative control. This is something he asserts, believe him or not (I kinda do - the film is too refreshing and radical in foundational ways to be drafted by corporate). But ultimately the buck stops with Kennedy, and the go-ahead was given to Rian's draft (the final movie still gives him solo writing credit). Interestingly - because of the way the production and pre-production timeline worked out - the draft was written before Force Awakens was finished. Rian was only provided a script of Force Awakens while planning this second installment, and had to guess what characters would behave like based on this script. This could also have influenced the distinct personality of Last Jedi. Characters were subsequently tweaked nearer to production once Force Awakens was nearing its final stage.

livelove wrote:The space force scene was the first time in my life where majority of the theatre laughed openly at Star Wars because of how bad it was


My audience cheered. And let's be honest. I do not disagree on its computerized artificiality. But thematically - I think it hits something very deep at the new Star Wars being proposed in Last Jedi. I truly believe Luke's words to Rey - that The "Force does not belong to the Jedi. To say that if the Jedi die, the light dies, is vanity." - is probably as important or more so than Kylo's "Let the past die. Kill it" mantra. The unknown little Dickensian orphan who can use the force at the end of the film? Finn's unspoken connection to Kylo at the very beginning of the Force Awakens? There are subtleties, getting stronger, alluding to a more unified Force than we’ve seen in previous installments. It’s almost a call to Jurassic Park’s original “life finds a way” theme. Without Jedi and Sith as we've known them, where does The Force go? There’s a good case to be had that each of the main characters has some level of passive Force power resonate in the film – from Rose’s affinity to animals, to her sister’s brief remote catch during the first bombing raid. This theme begins with this Leia “Superman” move and has its coda in the orphan’s broom catch in the film’s last shot. In the middle, Rey finds out she is gifted despite (in spite) of her lineage, which simply doesn’t matter. This is as shocking as Luke originally finding out his Dad is the series’ Big Bad. And this answer holds much more power for me than if she were a clone of Palpatine or Obi Wan’s great niece twice removed. Where before in Star Wars the Force seemed reserved for an elite caste of Sith and Jedi, this Force appears to be distributing itself more evenly across the Galaxy. This is a bold direction.

kgbelliveau wrote: It took a while to accept what I had just seen, but once I was over it, I felt relieved that she survived and got a second chance to shine in the film ... except that she didn't. I don't really remember any particularly important moment she had during the rest of the film — nothing of real importance or consequence.


Unfortunately, Rian said she was supposed to be very important in the last episode and this had to be scrapped. This kinda makes sense: [spoiler]Han in Force Awakens, Luke in Last Jedi, Leia in Episode IX. I would find it more cynical to kill two twins in one movie[/spoiler] Plus, she acted as a foil, a counter to Holdo, for Poe's character arc, and this seems like a valid reason to not kill her early on in the film. As a matter of fact [spoiler]her shooting Poe[/spoiler] is a huge moment for Poe's character and forces him to reconsider what allegiance means.

livelove
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Re: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Post by livelove »

good and thoughtful posting, Mentaculus. I hope someone will provide an inspired reply (unfortunately I am currently unable). I just wanted to quickly share, that I failed to realize throughout the entire movie, that Holdo is surrounded by a halo:
https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2017 ... 35aa66.jpg ;)

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