Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Dec. 24th, 2017 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustI saw it a week after release and was lucky enough to avoid spoilers. I liked it a lot! It delivered everything I wanted from a Star Wars movie.
Spoilers below.
Highlights and musings:
* I loved grumpy teacher Luke. Especially the scene where he tells Rey to reach out for the Force, gets annoyed when she literally reaches out her hand, and trolls her with the blade of grass to teach her otherwise.
* The truth about what happened between Luke and Kylo was tragic and plausible. The powerful Dark Side, versus a frightened boy - and he made the wrong choice, and tried to undo it too late.
* I was on the edge of my seat wondering how the confrontation between Snoke and Rey and Kylo would go. I knew this was a middle movie and wondered how downbeat or cliffhangery it would be. I'm relieved Rey didn't go to the Dark Side, and that Kylo turned on Snoke. It's fitting that Kylo proposed to wipe away the old order of Sith and Jedi, and start anew. Suitably grandoise and suitably tempting.
* I loved the reveal that Rey had to face, of her parents being nobodies who abandoned her. I love that it undercuts the myth of special people from special families being destined for the Force, and that it can be anyone.
* I'm one of the people who could hardly remember Hux from the first movie, and was surprised at his huge fanbase. So it was a startling revelation to discover that, oh, no wonder, he actually is quite good looking, and to see him play a significant role here.
* I'm not really sure how to feel about Rose. She seemed kind of like the dorky everyman who gets inserted into a story as the audience identification character. But I appreciate the fact it's not often the everyman gets to be an everywoman, so yay for that.
* I loved Paige trying desperately to release the bombs, and finally - on a wing and a prayer, and at great cost - succeeding.
* Getting to see Leia use the Force to fly herself back to the ship was really cool.
* I got emotional when they played back Leia's message for help from the original Star Wars movie. Where it all began, such a long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
* Luke and Leia's reunion was just an amazingly great moment. There's so much history there, over forty years of history, and all that emotion doesn't come from this one movie, it comes from all the accumulated meaning that these characters have.
* The red salt under the white sand was an incredibly cool idea. The rebel planes cutting red tracks as they flew towards the imperial ship - such a great image.
* Watching all the dramatic space battles and planetary battles in the movie, made me realise, yeah, Star Wars really does deliver on its promise of star wars.
* Okay, I loved how everyone reacted to Kylo's obsessive focus on Luke. Hux with his scathing, "Do you think you got him?" And Luke casually brushing the dust off his shoulder! And the callback to, "Every single word you just said is wrong."
* I noticed the focus on the red tracks left by Kylo, but I did not notice the lack of red tracks made by Luke, only realised later what they must have been doing. Nice subtle clue.
* Rey lifting the rocks. It was kind of cheesy to make such a direct callback, but I like cheese.
* Luke's passing was sad, but it felt peaceful and right. He sacrificed himself to save the last hope for the galaxy.
* I'm a sucker for ordinary people rising up to become heroes, so I loved the ending with the boy telling the other kids stories about the Jedi and dreaming of the Rebellion.
* I teared up when the credits said, "In loving memory of our Princess, Carrie Fisher."
Spoilers below.
Highlights and musings:
* I loved grumpy teacher Luke. Especially the scene where he tells Rey to reach out for the Force, gets annoyed when she literally reaches out her hand, and trolls her with the blade of grass to teach her otherwise.
* The truth about what happened between Luke and Kylo was tragic and plausible. The powerful Dark Side, versus a frightened boy - and he made the wrong choice, and tried to undo it too late.
* I was on the edge of my seat wondering how the confrontation between Snoke and Rey and Kylo would go. I knew this was a middle movie and wondered how downbeat or cliffhangery it would be. I'm relieved Rey didn't go to the Dark Side, and that Kylo turned on Snoke. It's fitting that Kylo proposed to wipe away the old order of Sith and Jedi, and start anew. Suitably grandoise and suitably tempting.
* I loved the reveal that Rey had to face, of her parents being nobodies who abandoned her. I love that it undercuts the myth of special people from special families being destined for the Force, and that it can be anyone.
* I'm one of the people who could hardly remember Hux from the first movie, and was surprised at his huge fanbase. So it was a startling revelation to discover that, oh, no wonder, he actually is quite good looking, and to see him play a significant role here.
* I'm not really sure how to feel about Rose. She seemed kind of like the dorky everyman who gets inserted into a story as the audience identification character. But I appreciate the fact it's not often the everyman gets to be an everywoman, so yay for that.
* I loved Paige trying desperately to release the bombs, and finally - on a wing and a prayer, and at great cost - succeeding.
* Getting to see Leia use the Force to fly herself back to the ship was really cool.
* I got emotional when they played back Leia's message for help from the original Star Wars movie. Where it all began, such a long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
* Luke and Leia's reunion was just an amazingly great moment. There's so much history there, over forty years of history, and all that emotion doesn't come from this one movie, it comes from all the accumulated meaning that these characters have.
* The red salt under the white sand was an incredibly cool idea. The rebel planes cutting red tracks as they flew towards the imperial ship - such a great image.
* Watching all the dramatic space battles and planetary battles in the movie, made me realise, yeah, Star Wars really does deliver on its promise of star wars.
* Okay, I loved how everyone reacted to Kylo's obsessive focus on Luke. Hux with his scathing, "Do you think you got him?" And Luke casually brushing the dust off his shoulder! And the callback to, "Every single word you just said is wrong."
* I noticed the focus on the red tracks left by Kylo, but I did not notice the lack of red tracks made by Luke, only realised later what they must have been doing. Nice subtle clue.
* Rey lifting the rocks. It was kind of cheesy to make such a direct callback, but I like cheese.
* Luke's passing was sad, but it felt peaceful and right. He sacrificed himself to save the last hope for the galaxy.
* I'm a sucker for ordinary people rising up to become heroes, so I loved the ending with the boy telling the other kids stories about the Jedi and dreaming of the Rebellion.
* I teared up when the credits said, "In loving memory of our Princess, Carrie Fisher."
