It is a damn fine Star Wars film. The hatred it is receiving in certain corners of the Internet is perplexing to me. All right, I groaned at a few of the lines ("page turners, they are not," "let's go, chrome dome!"), but it is swiftly paced, gorgeously shot, and fairly intriguing on a thematic level, particularly the interplay of ideological disgust and almost spiritual magnetism between the Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver characters.

The intergalactic-casino subplot does, I guess, engorge the already-lengthy running time, but I would hate to lose so many neat creature- and set-design flourishes, as well as the excellent supporting performance by Benicio Del Toro.

I almost want to believe the aesthetic coolness and actual-use-in-the-storyline mediocrity of Captain Phasma is an elaborately meta homage to Boba Fett.

I don't know anything, but this is gold. And if this isn't a drunken rant I apologize. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

The best part of the Casino planet is DJ, and you can still achieve that character without going to that planet. Towards the beginning of the film, we see DJ with the Resistance as a weapons supplier, getting his payment. Then after they jump to light speed and the First Order tails them, it is revealed that DJ is also supplying the First Order after he suspiciously knows too much about First Order technology. But as an audience, we are still not sure about his character yet. Poe, though disagrees with Purple Hair lady on this one, openly, and is reprimanded. DJ then gets thrown in the brig. Finn still has his scene where he almost abandons ship, but after he and Rose and Poe talk to that alien person about a master code breaker, DJ can't help but overhear. Poe and the gang agree going to a casino planet and then coming back, does not make a whole lot of sense, but DJ says he can help. The rest goes the same including using Rose's emblem as part of the downpayment.

This also explains why Purple hair lady won't tell Poe about the plans because Poe might blab them to DJ who works for both sides and the information about the plan cannot be revealed.

Also if you still want broom boy at the end, that could still work too. The Resistance sent out those distress signals, remember? What if one of them maybe goes to the Cadino planet, which you now just save for the end, and the master code breaker turns out to have a hidden room in the stables. The broom boy overhears about what Luke Skywalker has done and now he too is inspired and you have that same scene at the end.

I'll take my millions of dollars now please Disney

I read that Abrams pitched his ideas for episode 9 to Disney the other day. I wonder how much he had to change from his original plan with Johnson killing off Luke and Snoke. Maybe his pitch was to re-do episode 8, I would be in favor of that.

Please don't redo Episode VIII it is exactly what Star Wars needs right now

Sure, but despite its flaws, Return of the Jedi have the original trilogy a satisfying conclusion.

Also, I'd argue the Last Jedi gives Star Wars some thematic weight. Not needed for the telling of the story sure. But certainly makes Star Wars interesting again.

Magnus, you going south on Last Jedi?

I have to disagree. I think Luke was starting to fall into the trap of the Jedi before him during the prequel time period. He romanticized the past during the original trilogy, and so when he started to learn of the past ways of the Jedi, one of those things was this sort of uncaring way of how to handle the Sith and the dark side. He was going to do what a Mace Windu would have done in that moment. But he IS Luke Skywalker, and he didn't do that. But this awoke in Ben Solo the same reaction Anakin had: that the Jedi and their dogma is not always good. Lost, and clearly already influenced by Snoke st this point, Kylo turned dark and became the monster he thought he was. This moment also breaks Luke because one, yes, he lost his nephew (his twin sister and best friend's son) to the dark side, but also because it is in this moment, realizing what the dogma of the Jedi would have him do is murder makes him realize how flawed the Jedi are.

God this movie is so damn good the more I think about it.

Also Snoke was kinda a bland villain. This film makes him interesting in that he is seen as the force that both corrupted Ben Solo and a kind of a throw away villain, which is what he works best as.

And for the Snoke fans, don't worry, I'm sure there will be a new animated series that explores Luke's attempts to rebuild the Jedi between episodes VI and VII. Snoke will be the main villain of that cartoon because he is a cartoonish villain anyway.

Also to say Johnson threw away the previous Star Wars films ignores the mythos Johnson builds in this movie. It perfectly brings Luke into a world where the prequels happened. JJ copies Star Wars, Johnson builds off of it. Hell Lucas himself likes Last Jedi more than Force Awakens.

Yes it's B-Plot has prequel level flaws to it, but the A-Plotline is just so damn good to ignore and if the B-Plot had been tightened up (as I talked about on the previous page) it still had its great moments too (mainly the hyperspace kamikaze moment) that still explores the theme of failure present in this movie.

No, they did not. But Mace certainly saw him as a threat.

Also, you have to remember. He didn't kill him. He only thought about. Possibly he was pushed by Snoke with thoughts that began with how he thought the a Jedi would in this moment based solely off the dogma.

And if they made Snoke the big bad all that would have done is make another Emperor. Would have been a poor choice.

Johnson's decisions in this movie is making us rethink the overall arch is more about the rise and fall of the Jedi, who are themselves more to blame than any convienant big bad. They got too comfortable, which led to the rise of a new Sith Lord. It was their mishandling of Anakin that led to his fall to the dark side even more than Sidious who just exploited an opportunity. It was then Luke who turned too much to his romanticized vision of the past (much like us after Episode VI) that allowed this happen again. A new Republic, but no lessons learned from the past means the same things will happen again. Break the cycle Episode VIII asks is and reform a new identity in the here and now.

Now it all comes down to Episode IX to bring it home.

Much like Qui Gon Jinn knew in the first episode all along, that the ways of the Jedi were growing old and that it was time to break free from the dogma of the Jedi and establish a new order.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Next Order

Darth Indiana Bond gets it!

I like that tying it all back to Qui Gon. The prequels have a purpose Ya'll !

Also, just to rehash about Anakin's threat, none of the Jedi actually looked into his mind and saw what Luke was apparently seeing which we are lead to believe must have been death and destruction. With that in mind, it becomes the idea if you had the chance to kill Hitler would you? Luke thought about it but decided no so at least we know his answer to that question.

Also, now since we never saw Mace die is he really actually dead or has a book actually said he did die 100%.

Sarcasm?

Yep, that would have been something. As it is, it's echoing Darth Vader's invitation to Luke to join him on the dark side. And I imagine Kylo's outcome will be the same as Vader's - returning to the light in the end.

Or he will die marking the end of the Skywalker bloodline

No, Rey ought to continue the path of the Light Side in a new way. A New Jedi Order, better than before!

Following the ways of Qui Gon Jinn will be the path forward instead of the dogma of the a strict code. Yoda came to this realization after their failures. Rey is the hope forward, not focusing on romanticizibg the past like Luke, but bridging to the future.

I think that both Rey and Kylo are halfway between light and dark, and neither will turn, and that's the way it should be. Much more interesting than Rey being turned or Kylo being redeemed.

That would be bold if it happens

I hope JJ brings back both Luke and Snoke as a big FU to Johnson and appease the Star Wars faithful. Darth Plagueis cheated death once before perhaps he can do it again.

Rian Johnson would probably have a Persona 5 type ending. The only way to maintain peace is to cut everyone off from the force, both light and dark.

JJ didn’t seem to have problem with Rian’s Script.

“"The script for VIII is written. I'm sure rewrites are going to be endless, like they always are," said Abrams. "Rian has asked for a couple things here and there that he needs for his story... the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction he felt was best but that is very much in line with what we were thinking as well."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thever ... -jj-abrams

The "Star Wars" faithful lol.

Just accept the movie. It's a good-to-great movie. Snoke doesn't matter to this story. Who cares if he died. This is Rey and Kylo's story.

I think we can all agree on something: The last 45 minutes contain some of John Williams’ best work in the series. From Luke’s entrance into the base to him becoming one with the force (The Spark and The Last Jedi on the soundtrack) aren’t very good or near perfect, they are perfect.

Snoke's death and the subsequent fight is an incredible sequence. One of the best in Star Wars history. But how he became an Emperor-type figure (and who he is, exactly) going unexplained does sting a bit. Maybe one of the Rogue One-type peripheral films can illuminate his origin.

However, fans angry re: Rey's parentage are just plain wrong. It would be so corny if she were a lost Skywalker or Solo or Kenobi.