CougarCorner

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-07T02:34:19-06:00

I believe Star Wars, at its heart, is a family's saga.
Unfortunately for the sequels, the writers have pretty much admitted that they are rejecting the "Force runs in the Skywalker family" storyline as a rejection of the modern political landscape where a few families have undue influence over national matters.

Rey's parentage, the entire casino planet aside, the slave kid showing an inkling of the Force. It's building to a rejection of the Skywalker legacy and elitism as a way of pooping on the Bushes, Clintons, and Trumps of our world.

Gotta appeal to the millenials.

From what I understand, that was the direction Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was headed. But he said that's not necessarily set in stone now that JJ Abrams has taken over as director of the third one. It could turn out that Kylo Ren was lying about her parents and that she actually is a relation of some kind.

And we've already seen plenty of pandering to the politics of today. While they all did fine as far as their individual performances go, the obvious attempt at diversity with three of the new main characters being a woman, a black, and a Hispanic comes across as forced, hollow, and reeking of an agenda. And let's not forget the female X-wing fighter pilots. And, to top it all off, there's been a push by the usual suspects to incorporate a gay character. Because, ya know, the Star Wars series just wouldn't be complete without one.

Statistics: Posted by KingCoug — Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:34 am

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-06T21:49:35-06:00

I believe Star Wars, at its heart, is a family's saga.

Unfortunately for the sequels, the writers have pretty much admitted that they are rejecting the "Force runs in the Skywalker family" storyline as a rejection of the modern political landscape where a few families have undue influence over national matters.

Rey's parentage, the entire casino planet aside, the slave kid showing an inkling of the Force. It's building to a rejection of the Skywalker legacy and elitism as a way of pooping on the Bushes, Clintons, and Trumps of our world.

Gotta appeal to the millenials.

Statistics: Posted by snoscythe — Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:49 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-06T21:18:30-06:00

I know I'm going against the grain, but Jar Jar Binks aside I enjoyed the prequels. They brought good light saber action (and just lots of action in general) and good music. I didn't like "Annie" the kid so much (I wish they had just started with him as a teenager) but the pod racing was fun and I thought there were some great characters and I enjoyed seeing the "creation" of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vador.

The 3 originals are definitely good/great, but I think they suffer a little bit from a "legendary" status and that they're not quite as good as people give them credit for or at least that people over look the faults on those but nitpick at things in the prequels. I know Return of the Jedi is a favorite for many, but I can't stand how big a part the Ewoks played. To me they're kinda like Jar Jar and ruined that movie for me.

This latest one had it's moments but I thought that Snoke went down too soon and too easily. I mean he was played up as some mystery powerful guy and then he's barely in half of a movie. I enjoyed Finn's battle with Captain Phasma (she's not dead, right?!) and the ending with Luke and his hologram.

The originals (and I'm talking about the theater cuts before Lucas went back and screwed with them) are timeless classics. Much better plot and character development. And even the late 70s/early 80s special effects were far better than all that cartoony CGI crap that the prequals were filled with. And I hate when people say the third prequal was good. No, it wasn't. It was simply the least worst of the three but that doesn't make it good. Vader's "Noooooooo!" at the end alone was vomit inducing.

To their credit, the makers of the sequels recognized many of the mistakes and flaws that plagued the prequels and, by comparison, they've been much better. But thats not saying much. They don't live up to the originals. In a lot of ways the sequels have just been Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back all over again. I suppose one can make an argument for sticking with a formula that works but much of it just seems like a cheap copy of the originals. The First Order comes across like a bunch of kids playing dress up and trying to be like their parents (the Empire). Kylo Ren and Snoke seem like parodies of Vader and the Emporer. Sorry but Rey is a weak replacement for Luke. Is Poe supposed to be the maverick pilot that Han Solo was? And so on.

I believe Star Wars, at its heart, is a family's saga. So it would only make sense to see what happens with the next generation. But the sequels, better than the prequels they are, don't measure up to the originals - with or without legendary status figuring into the mix.

Statistics: Posted by KingCoug — Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:18 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-03T18:39:49-06:00

I loved the whole "split in two" theme from this movie - Snoke, Snoke's ship, Darth Vader's Lightsaber... Snoke/Ren's relationship - Hux/Ren's relationship

Don't forget about the two porgs Chewie was roasting. Rey splitting the rock with the lightsaber and leaving a Caretaker holding two sticks that was her wheelbarrow.

Statistics: Posted by SpiffCoug — Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:39 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-03T13:04:23-06:00

I know I'm going against the grain, but Jar Jar Binks aside I enjoyed the prequels. They brought good light saber action (and just lots of action in general) and good music. I didn't like "Annie" the kid so much (I wish they had just started with him as a teenager) but the pod racing was fun and I thought there were some great characters and I enjoyed seeing the "creation" of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vador.

The 3 originals are definitely good/great, but I think they suffer a little bit from a "legendary" status and that they're not quite as good as people give them credit for or at least that people over look the faults on those but nitpick at things in the prequels. I know Return of the Jedi is a favorite for many, but I can't stand how big a part the Ewoks played. To me they're kinda like Jar Jar and ruined that movie for me.

This latest one had it's moments but I thought that Snoke went down too soon and too easily. I mean he was played up as some mystery powerful guy and then he's barely in half of a movie. I enjoyed Finn's battle with Captain Phasma (she's not dead, right?!) and the ending with Luke and his hologram.

Statistics: Posted by byufan4ever — Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:04 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2018-01-03T01:15:36-06:00

The sequels, comparatively speaking, are a breath of fresh air after the awful prequels. But when all is said and done, I stick with the 3 originals and ignore what Hollywood has tried to do with the before and after. None of them measure up.

Statistics: Posted by KingCoug — Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:15 am

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2017-12-28T11:16:05-06:00

I loved the whole "split in two" theme from this movie - Snoke, Snoke's ship, Darth Vader's Lightsaber... Snoke/Ren's relationship - Hux/Ren's relationship

Statistics: Posted by ABYUFAN — Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:16 am

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2017-12-27T21:41:40-06:00

I liked it.

There are better movies out there to see.

Statistics: Posted by hawkwing — Wed Dec 27, 2017 9:41 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2017-12-27T20:52:47-06:00

I love the Finn character. About everything I try falls far short, even amounting to failure and in Last Jedi that is Finn to a T. But the guy’s heart is in the right place, helping the needy and underdog. So most of what I will try won’t work out probably but maybe like Finn I can keep on trying.

Statistics: Posted by BoiseBYU — Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:52 pm

Re: Spiff's "The Last Jedi" Review (Spoilers)

2017-12-24T10:58:16-06:00

I thought the way Kylo killed Snoke was awesome. Snoke was too powerful to be killed in a straight confrontation- Kylo seized a moment where his intentions were accurately sensed (but misinterpreted) by Snoke and used it to gain the power he desired. It took him from whiny henchman territory to full crafty 100% evil villain.

Statistics: Posted by pikoi — Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:58 am