tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post6065392110695501547..comments2024-03-05T17:26:44.559-08:00Comments on Roman's Movie Reviews and Musings: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)Roman J. Martelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-24671948062256414492019-01-04T06:37:40.872-08:002019-01-04T06:37:40.872-08:00Yeah as much new ground as they are covering with ...Yeah as much new ground as they are covering with certain elements and story ideas, they really aren't coming up with new set pieces. I think that really impressive space battle in "Rogue One" may still be the highlight of visual action for this new round of movies (still haven't seen "Solo" yet, but I'll get to it). <br /><br />I really do wish they had focused more on the Force and Luke feeling like the Jedi Order needed to end. There is so much great story potential there. In many ways, the Jedi are the unique element to "Star Wars" and you could take stories revolving around them in some pretty exciting directions. By essentially rebuilding the conflict from the original trilogy, it is awfully hard not to just retread the same story beats from that story. We'll see what happens.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-23214122144863804752019-01-03T17:06:12.891-08:002019-01-03T17:06:12.891-08:00Yeah, The Last Jedi was pretty much a middling mov...Yeah, The Last Jedi was pretty much a middling movie for me. I enjoyed the first installment, and to some degrees I enjoy parts of this movie too like the opening scenes and a few others. But there was some chunks of it that seems to tread water and not advance the story much. I didn't necessarily buy Luke's grouchy demeanor and reminded me of Yoda somewhat--not that he was ever grouchy. I thought the run time was a bit long or either didn't keep me interested enough in the movie so it felt like it did. Actually for me I like that last Solo: Star Wars movie better overall. The ending to Jedi was pretty good, but reminded of the similar scene with the At-Ats in The Empire Strikes Back (and the rebels were holed up in some similar fashion). I have no idea what Disney is going to do with this franchise as far as making it seem fresh. They paid a whole lotta dough for the franchise, but I don't know what else could be done with it unless they can come up with some new fresh angles, and stop regurgitating similar stories. El Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-88356168987975598472019-01-02T07:44:53.101-08:002019-01-02T07:44:53.101-08:00We see far too much of “You do/don’t like this mov...We see far too much of “You do/don’t like this movie/show because you’re a bad person.” Strangely, that argument doesn’t change any minds. Besides, lots of my favorite movies have political messages (overt or subtextual) with which I disagree, while I recognize as lousy a bunch with which I do agree. My goodness, when did we stop being able to admire opponents? I'm glad to see you review this as a movie rather than as a proxy for something else.<br /><br />Anyway, I’ll give “The Last Jedi” a go. <br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-16069556419591857672019-01-02T06:45:38.418-08:002019-01-02T06:45:38.418-08:00I agree that the film can be viewed from an object...I agree that the film can be viewed from an objective lens, as I tried to do. But it is tough when I see so much bashing from both sides, and I feel that both sides have points to their arguments that make sense. It just tells me that the movie isn't perfect, but is a solidly entertaining film. Its a good Star Wars film.<br /><br />The whole Rey things is something I kind of understand, and yet Luke learned his Force skills in record time too. "Empire" has a very unclear time line, so does "Last Jedi". I also think that viewers looking for 1 to 1 comparisons between "Empire" and "Last Jedi" were disappointed that Rey didn't get tempted, but she does make mistakes. And yeah, I really like Ridley's performance, so that might color this.<br /><br />Heh heh, I think the whole Luke being a bitter old man was handled really well, and works fine for me. People who complain about that aspect seem to forget that Luke would be well aware of history, and if he saw himself going down the same path at Obi-wan and Yoda, he may feel the best thing to do is remove himself from the conflict.<br /><br />And yeah, the hyperspace maneuver. I don't know. We've never had hyperspace explained in technical terms in the films. So they can pretty much do what they want and not disrupt the cannon. It makes for one of the most stunning visuals in the series. And I'm sure they can find a way to explain around that and some of the other minor issues (gravity for bombs to work in space).<br /><br />And here I was avoiding commenting on all those arguments in my review only to tackle them in comments. I'm perpetuating the hate! ;)<br /><br />I'm sure you'll get around to to watching it at some point. Do your best to leave the baggage behind, and I think you'll have a good time. Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-71771642774066792572018-12-31T11:44:29.259-08:002018-12-31T11:44:29.259-08:00There have been disagreements about Star Wars flic...There have been disagreements about Star Wars flicks before. Reviews of “Attack of the Clones” on IMDB, for example, range from 10-star “Technically Brilliant” to 1-star “Attack of the Crap,” but there wasn’t the bitterness between the camps back then. As in everything else these days, it seems, we infuse even a Disney Star Wars movie with toxic politics: we see panners accused of bigotry that blinds them to good storytelling and supporters accused of a social agenda that blinds them to bad moviemaking. Neither accusation can be disproven objectively which angers the accused even more. None of this has anything to do with the movie, but everything to do with the state of the audiences. I haven’t seen this flick, but I suspect it MUST be possible to like or dislike it without revealing one’s politics by the reaction. As I understand it, some object to the ease with which Rey becomes proficient (unlike Luke who struggled and was tempted by the Dark Side), which undercuts the hero’s journey. Others object to Luke’s unredeemed bitterness while still others object to a particular hyperspace maneuver. Not having seen it, I can’t evaluate those points or others I’ve heard. I’m not opposed to thwarting expectations, however. That doesn’t guarantee a good movie, but it can help.Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.com