tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post4521777860844407999..comments2024-03-27T19:02:58.368-04:00Comments on BARKING ALIEN: The Last Days of Luke SkywalkerAdam Dicksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-87028575022598137982018-01-10T09:59:58.909-05:002018-01-10T09:59:58.909-05:00That last one particularly bothered me. I understa...That last one particularly bothered me. I understand this is supposed to show the heroes, and their Resistance/Rebellion, in its darkest hour, but even The Empire Strikes Back had moments where you pumped your fist. The Rebels DO escape Hoth with most of their forces. Leia DOES hear Luke's call, and returns for him. He DOES get a new hand.<br /><br />In this film, the few victories are anti-climatic, and don't feel meaningful. I would've loved it if a collection of a dozen, or so assorted starships popped out of Hyperspace at the last moment to cover the Falcon's escape from Crait. This would let the characters, AND the viewers know that Leia has major clout across the galaxy. People love Leia, and will drop what they are doing and go against practically insurmountable odds to rush to her aid.<br /><br />THAT my friend, is Star Wars.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-89858190286574238802018-01-09T11:46:59.631-05:002018-01-09T11:46:59.631-05:00I've held off commenting because I really didn...I've held off commenting because I really didn't like this movie and I agree with everything you posted here but I don't want to pile on. I'll keep it short.<br /><br />#1 - Hated the Luke story it doesn't it doesn't fit with his earlier character story at all<br /><br />#2 - The most boring chase in the history of film as the rebel fleet very slowly runs away from the even slower imperial fleet and we keep checking back in to find the situation is exactly the same as in the prior check-in scene. <br /><br />#3 - In the end the resistance runs to it's last hideout and sends out a distress call, setting up something potentially akin to the Rohirrim showing up on the ridge near Minas Tirith ... and no one shows up. No one shows to help the legendary Princess Leia! No one! If the people in their own galaxy don't care about these people, why should we?Blacksteelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16289298640828309072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-42335143294310712992018-01-03T10:06:52.720-05:002018-01-03T10:06:52.720-05:00I did want to say to Holdo, "you mean you don...I did want to say to Holdo, "you mean you don't have a droid who can fly this thing?"<br /><br />I'll just this--in The Last Jedi the creators put a lot of metaphorical money on the table betting against the Star Wars traditionalist sentiment in hopes of going in a new direction. The third movie had better be a pretty damn good one if they want the Last Jedi to have any sort of credibility.WQRobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436898737750581192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-81157341335492464382018-01-02T20:17:33.065-05:002018-01-02T20:17:33.065-05:00Call me crazy, but I'm not the kind of guy who...Call me crazy, but I'm not the kind of guy who has a hankering for my favorite ice cream and so I head over to the local bookstore. I go to the ice cream shop for ice cream.<br /><br />I also never walk into the ice cream shop and order a steak. If I wanted steak I wouldn't be at the ice cream shop. Weirdly enough, I go to the ice cream shop expecting, hoping even, that I'll be able to get some ice cream.<br /><br />I go to a Star Wars movie to see an evil Sith Lord, possible one in a helmet, a story of good vs. evil with the option for redemption, and big space battles.<br /><br />You can sell me a different flavor of ice cream than the one I normally get, but I came for ice cream...so give me ice cream. Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-90581385625324001762018-01-02T20:12:39.729-05:002018-01-02T20:12:39.729-05:00So what exactly is the theme and the message of th...So what exactly is the theme and the message of the film?<br /><br />Work hard, face down the toughest odds, and you Rey may learn the ways of the Force.<br /><br />Rey: (In the Force Awakens) YES! I made it!<br /><br />Luke: Eff you kid. Eff your hardships, and eff the fans who went on this journey with you. I don't care about any of it.<br /><br />Rey: I feel a struggle within Kylo Ren!<br /><br />Kylo Ren: I feel indecision and a need to know more.<br /><br />Together: So, it was nice meeting you and helping you defeat these useless red dudes. We should see each other again some time, have lunch, or ya'know, maybe try to kill each other.<br /><br />Rose to Finn: Don't sacrifice your life as there are people who love you.<br />Holdo sacrifices her life. Does no one love her?Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-78401393157872279852018-01-02T15:51:31.109-05:002018-01-02T15:51:31.109-05:00So my big take was that they were cleaning up what...So my big take was that they were cleaning up what they didn't like from The Force Awakens, especially the rather derivative portions:<br /><br />Scarred, bald, evil Sith overlord? Nope.<br />Complicated Skywalker family tree for Rey? Nope.<br />Yet another Death Star? Nope.<br />The "there's good in him, I can feel it" redemption storyline? Nope.<br /><br />In fact, they burned almost everything down. The not-really-Rebel Alliance, aka "the Resistance" is gone. The Jedi Order is gone. Really any and all connection to the previous movies is largely eliminated. Rey gets to be a nobody from a backwater planet who saves the galaxy, much like the original Luke Skywalker does before they made his dad the immaculately conceived Midichlorian uberkind.<br /><br />In the process they do allow for a totally new story to develop, which is what a lot of people who are Star Wars fans do not want. Or perhaps think they don't, and might be surprised by something new.<br /><br />I will say that the plot was chock-full of social commentary. Poe's "mansplaining the Rebellion" to two female authority figures, one of whom dresses in a non-conventional manner and as a result causing most of the Resistance fleet to die seemed like a heavy handed way to rebuke the "cocky rebellious guy does something crazy and wins the day" trope.<br />WQRobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436898737750581192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-48031188731914520592018-01-01T08:24:52.881-05:002018-01-01T08:24:52.881-05:00I think your review is spot on. I liked Luke's...I think your review is spot on. I liked Luke's part (and the one First Order captain that didn't want to be another buffoon), but everything else was bland and slow. Now everyone is panning JJ (and rightly so), but directing in the previous movie was much better than in this one. To give just one example, the execution of Rose and Finn was dragged for so long that it become unbelievable and broke the tension, at least for me.<br /><br />And then, there is again the lack of a villain's arc. The hero beat her nemesis in their first encounter. Here, he is beaten again two times, and has yet to achieve a victory.Miguel de Rojashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762364029464337239noreply@blogger.com