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Disliked TLJ on the 1st showing. On the 2nd...

Discussion in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' started by bschober, Jan 2, 2018.

  1. bschober

    bschober Clone

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    ...I actually enjoyed the film. Quite a bit.

    How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy TLJ:

    So, a bit of backstory: I saw the movie the first time by myself on the night it came out. I had read the glowing reviews and was excited to have many of my questions from TFA answered. I was stoked to see one of my childhood heroes, Luke, in action once again (I was 9 at the time of ROTJ). I also wanted to screen the film for my boys - 12 and 9 - and huge Star Wars fans. I wanted to make sure it was something they could handle - especially the 9 year old. So I couldn't wait and bought tickets that first night. Saw it by myself. And...unfortunately, TLJ was an immense disappointment.

    To be frank, over the next few days and weeks, as I read more critical reviews by fans of the film and found solace in the camaraderie of others disappointed like myself, dislike turned to hatred and loathing - hatred at what Disney has done to the Star Wars series, anger at Rian Johnson, disappointment at implausible story lines, nonsensical missions, how few questions were answered, and what they had done to Luke - especially his ending. But most of all, I was massively disappointed for my sons. Having boys who are about the same age as I was when the Original Trilogy came out, Star Wars has been a blast and great bonding experience. To introduce them to the films and see the joy and fun it brings to them takes me back to 1984, when I was 9 years old, cheering out loud in the theater when Darth Vader picked up the Emperor and through him into the bowels of the Death Star. As a 9-year-old, it was a huge moment in my life - to see the personification of evil for my 9-year-old brain redeemed by Luke and then save his son. It had a lasting effect on me. So, to be able to experience Star Wars in the theaters once again with my boys, I had such high hopes for the sequel - to see where they took my favorite characters. So, when I walked out of that theater a couple of weeks ago - massively disappointed - it was as if in some way a small part of the fond memories of Star Wars from my childhood had died. Obviously, that is ridiculously melodramatic, but I felt that way in the moment.

    So, when the time came to take my sons to see the film (who had been pestering me the last two weeks to take them), let's just say I was less than enthusiastic. I was guarded in my comments about the film at home, as I wanted my sons - huge Star Wars fans in their own right - to see the film without MY baggage. I was honest with them when they asked me whether I liked the film, telling them I did not care for the film (a mild understatement), but I refrained from the negativity I've spewed on these forums and to my peers and fellow Star Wars nerds the last three weeks. So, when the time came yesterday afternoon to go see the film with my boys, I was dreading it. I of course wasn't happy to be paying money and spend three hours on a film I had loathed, but I was dreading it more so for my boys. Would it "ruin" Star Wars the way I felt TLJ did for me the first time I saw it. However, on the way to the theater, something rather astonishing happened.

    All morning, the boys had been giddy with excitement. Absolutely giddy. When it was time to leave and we were getting in the car, my youngest asked me to turn on the Star Wars soundtrack. So, I oblige, and we are blasting John Williams as were are headed to the theater. The boys are bouncing in their seats with excitement, and quite frankly, seeing them excited got me excited. Their enthusiasm was contagious. So, we start belting the Star Wars theme ourselves, and by the time I get to the theater, the adrenaline is pumping once again. So, in that moment, I told myself I will put away all of my issues with the film and experience this with my boys through their eyes. When "Star Wars" flashes across the screen, they go bonkers. And that is pretty much how it went down from start to finish. Their enthusiasm and joy was so contagious, that I was able to put aside my problems with the film, and see it from a different perspective - a kid's perspective. And it was pure joy. Yes, I still think the film has issues, and I am not a huge fan that they took our characters in the direction they did - but I also noticed small details that helped explain why they did some of the things they did with the film. Some of my questions that I thought were unanswered were even answered. And for those that weren't, I was able to put aside the questions, and just enjoy the film for what it was - a flawed but enjoyable Star Wars film that was a heck of a lot of fun to watch sitting next to two boys who loved it. It was as if I was transported back to 1984, watching ROTJ as a 9-year-old for the first time.

    For those who hated the film, I would suggest giving it a second chance.
     
    #1 bschober, Jan 2, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
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  2. RoyleRancor

    RoyleRancor Car'a'Carn

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    Calm down Kubrick ;)
     
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  3. fizzgig

    fizzgig Rebelscum

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    My daughter loved it! She took her porg with her to the show and everything. I was hesitant to allow any of my thoughts loose on the movie as I saw it the day before and my mouth was agape leaving the theater from first viewing. Absolutely loved it the second time with her.
     
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  4. Messi

    Messi G.O.A.T.

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    First viewing very odd and weird but with a good feeling.
    Second viewing everything was much better.
    Third viewing one of the best SW movies.
     
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  5. AstromechRecords

    AstromechRecords Jedi General

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    first viewing: "...what?"
    I havent had a chance to see a second viewing
    .
     
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  6. Talon Karrde

    Talon Karrde Rebel Official

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    That was my overall experience. I have some serious bones to pick over the messages in the meta, and was maybe more focused on the meta in the first show. A stoney crowd the first run never helps.
    I seriously mulled not seeing it again, and I had already bought a second premier showing way back on Trailer Night. I opted to use it. Ironically the crowd that paid 14 dollars was waay more into this film than the crowd that paid 35 dollars. It went a bit better for me knowing the film that I was actually going to see and not the one I was advertised.
     
  7. Darth Wardawg

    Darth Wardawg Force Sensitive

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    I was also like this. I was sure what I had just seen was a good film, but there was an unsettled feeling I had, but I also realized this was the sort of film you have to see more than once before you "get it." Second time, it was way better (maybe seeing it in 3D was the problem with the first viewing) and the third time was awesome. I really dig what RJ did with the film. I think tempers will cool after the holidays and once people have viewed it several times (maybe after they get the DVD).
     
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  8. master_shaitan

    master_shaitan Jedi General

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    My RotS first viewing was terrible. I hated it. The Mace Windu vs Sidious fight, that I had been so excited about, was upon first viewing, laughable.

    I watched it the next day and cried.*


    *Disclaimer: I’d had very little sleep. + I don’t cry when I watch it now.
     
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  9. perrymoon

    perrymoon Rebel General

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    The Last Jedi was great to me.

    I respect other's opinions about it, but I think many people is overreacting on staff that is present in any Star Wars film (overanalizing the story from a realistic point of view that has nothing to do in the SW lore). And I think the overreaction comes from the fact that many people is not ready to accept that Star Wars needs to evolve if it wants to survive. Perhaps this film trashed the old in a wild way and this is what was shocking. For me it's exactly what made the film an incredible experience. I'm 31. It forced me to accept that my theories sucked. You need to be open and humble to face this film. At the very least it was a discovery full of surprises, as when I was a kid watching something new called Star Wars.
     
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  10. Darth Basin The Greatest

    Darth Basin The Greatest Rebel Official

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    Hated the first, second improved byt it went down again after the third & 4th.
     
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