VideoGameCritic wrote:I liked it in general, but a few things bothered me. One was the flying Leia, and the other was what happens to Luke at the end of the film. Are we allowed spoilers in this thread?
I would hope that anyone entering the topic would account for the possibility of spoilers, and that only people who have seen the movie (or don't care to see it) would come in. Tough to have a real discussion on the movie without mentioning the plot. But yeah, if there's a way to edit the topic title, that'd be good.
As for my take on the movie.... I come at this movie from the perspective of not being a Star Wars "fan". Among gamers, I figure that I'm probably in a vast minority in that respect. I've seen each of the 8 main movies once or twice, and generally like them, but I'm not owning any merchandise here, and not emotionally attached to the movies or characters anymore than I'm attached to Hot Pockets. I don't ever care to go to a Star Wars premiere, but happened to get a free ticket for an advanced screening through work and decided to go.
Up til now, my favorite in the series was Empire Strikes Back, because, from the perspective of just a general movie-goer, I think it's genuinely the best movie. But for me, The Last Jedi just replaced it as my favorite. Yep, crazy, I know. Tons of great action scenes, including at least two scenes that belong in the Top 10 scenes of the entire series (i.e., the Rey-Kylo fight and the Luke-Kylo fight). I also loved that they took bold risks with the story, rather than playing it safe like they did with the Force Awakens (though I think playing it safe was the right call for that movie, since it was the first one under Disney control). I like what they did with Luke too - it was great fan service to have him in this movie, but Star Wars is about young heroes saving the universe, so they needed a way to transition away from Luke being a centerpiece. Even as a secondary character, he would overshadow everyone, and they seem to be setting up the next movie to avoid that from happening.
I know a true Star Wars fan would consider it blasphemes to pick a movie outside of the original trilogy as a favorite, and I can respect that, but I think the emotional connection plays a role in that and will prevent any future SW film from surpassing the originals for most people. But for this guy, Last Jedi was the most fun I've had watching a SW movie, and the best combination of drama and action.
From what I'm seeing, the same people who love the series seem to be the ones creating all the backlash. For the people that completely hated it, I feel like they want the franchise to stay within the confines of a narrow box (being just like the old movies; and playing it safe like the Force Awakens), rather than innovating the series to get bigger and better. I don't expect everyone to love it, but calling it trash and giving it tons of 1-star ratings is just sour grapes.