For those who have seen the movie, do you like it or hate it?

I absolutely loved this movie.
I was moved by it, and it is a first seeing a Star Wars movie.

Hard to compare with other Star Wars episodes since it is very different.
It will end up right up with Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope and Force Awakens for me.

I think EU fans will hate it.
Kids will not understand scenes from it.

I think it is the most Star Wars of all Star Wars in its essence, drawing it's inspiration in Western movies and Kurosawa films.
There is something in that movie that I really like.

Not a perfect movie, but the best Star Wars it could be.

It has some of the strongest scenes I have seen yet in the Saga.
It is way above the average in Cinematography and Art Direction of any Star Wars film.
Actors and characters are just.... Fabulous.

In conclusion: I just loved that movie, I just don't know quite yet what is my highlight in this movie, there is so much... so many scenes are replaying in my head right now.

 

I liked it, but really I think what I feel most now is unsettled. It was a very different sort of SW movie. There was cheering and clapping in my theater, though at the end a few people seemed worried about what happened with Luke.

I really liked the Rey/Luke/Kylo storyline, and I loved the character development/arc each character takes when he or she fails. Because pretty much all of them do at some point. And some are quicker to learn from failure than others. As for the rest...guess I'll have to see it again to be sure.

 

I think it’s the best. Empire has its flaws, and so does TLJ.

We still had too much TFA-esqe repeats.

But what a gorgeous movie. Very inventive in lots of ways.

A+

 

Very disappointing. So silly and unintelligent in waaay too many places! It tried much to hard to be clever and funny and was anything but. Leia coming back after being thrown out into space? Luke milking some bad CGI sea creature? The supposedly so powerful Snoke getting taken down in like 10 seconds flat? BB8 piloting a walker? I could go on and on here, but I don't have that much time. I will say this, I hated the prequels, each and every one of them was just awful, but despite that I have never seriously considered getting up and walking out of a Star Wars film before! After a decent first movie in TFA and a great, moving and intelligent movie like Rogue One, this is inexcusable!

 

You are telling me with a straight face that you thought that was the best film in the Star Wars franchise?

 

OMG i predicted LUKe would die in 8 and Leia in 9 OMG Disney....

 

Yes.

I am disappointed with how they punted on so much stuff (KOR, Snoke’s origin, the academy’s destruction, Rey’s parents, how Maz got that lightsaber, the freaking map), but I’m hoping JJ will explain a lot of that stuff (though I’m not super optimistic). It was fun, funny, and felt fresh yet familial. And no Death Star.

 

This episode is a very rich entry in the saga. I loved how it took risks, and I loved the scene that many will moan and groan about. Johnson's choices with the writing and plot kept me riveted, engaged, thrilled, filled with joy and laughter. People keep saying it's "different" or a "Rian Johnson Star Wars movie". I disagree - this is a Star Wars movie through and through, very funny, and has something to say. Yes, RJ's style and direction are all over the movie, and it's better for it.

The Luke/Rey/Kylo plot was phenomenal. All the principles from VII had interesting and complex arcs to their characters with payoffs. The second that the crawl vanished it was ON! And from that point forward the only thing that took me out of the GFFA was the guy that kept getting up for bathroom breaks lol.

Hammil is great, and I really liked the chemistry between himself and Ridley. The chemistry between Boyega and Tran was also fantastic. The whole film is filled with great performances.

The score is fantastic mixing the old with the new deftly. The cinematography was very well done and I liked Johnson's balance of cuts and wipes.

I'm still processing as I've only just gotten home from the showing I saw, but like the user above said, I think the only fans that are not going to like/love this movie are the EU fanboys. We all have opinions obviously, and I'm sure many will disagree with me, but this is a solid Star Wars film that I am eager to see again.

 

I dont see why people are complaining about Luke's "death" and how he won't be able to physically help or do anything onwards, DID YOU NOT SEE YODA MANIPULATE THE WEATHER AND SET FIRE TO THE FORCE TREE, or even when he hit luke in the head with his cane. What about when luke projected his astral form and still defeated/humiliated Kylo (from a certain point of view ). I LOVE THIS MOVIE!

 

Just got back. Loved every moment, as did the entire audience. Fantastic movie!

 

It’s going to take some time to process. It didn’t go at all the way I thought. I was enthralled watching it. I laughed, I cried, my gut felt like I was on a rollercoaster. I see why people hate it. It does tear down key things from beloved charcaters, but it creates an interesting narrative. I’ll see it again tomorrow to see what I think now that every moment isn’t pretty shocking.

 

ENJOYED every moment!!! Even when it felt like ROTJ, KYLO bringing Rey to Snoke ala Vader bringing Luke to the Emperor. I might see it in IMAX or 4dx for my next viewing or just watch the bootleg hahaha i paid my dues... hahaha

 

Did I get this part right, cause I'm a little confused - did Luke attempt to kill Ben Solo when he was asleep in his tent because he was to far gone to the dark side, and that together with Snokes influence over him, was what sparked Ben to destroy the Jedi temple? Or was there other reasons for Luke to kill Ben?

 

I loved it. About everyone crying they want JJ back , I'd bet they're the same 2 years ago crying about TFA being the same as ANH. Some people just think they sound smarter complaining. This movie completely stayed away from being an empire remake, the most common worry I heard prior. Not predictable at all. Yeah, some scenes, like the aforementioned Leia in space returning to the ship were not up to par, but overall, I enjoyed it. And c'mon people, cut the "as bad as the phantom menace" talk. We all know that's BS and you just sound like nagging crotchety old ladies

 

Upon further reflection... I don't know. There was stuff I really loved in here. Everything involving Luke, Rey, and Kylo. Their plot, which was the A-plot, felt really clean. I can't complain in anyway.

Everything else?

I enjoyed Finn's arc, but felt some of it could have been cut, or just rewritten, or... something. I actually liked everything on Canto Bight, and the Supremacy. But Act 4, I mean what the Blast Rose? How am I supposed to care about this character who at the start of the film talks about how Finn needs to care about something other than himself, and then at the end of the film is willing to sacrifice the entire Resistance just to get a kiss with her new 5 minuet Bae. The worst part is I had accepted Finn's fate when Rose comes literally crashing in.

Poe's arc... what the hell? Every other interesting character in Poe's arc gets killed in the first 20 minuets, and then we're supposed to care about alien guy who I thought died last movie, and Billie Lourd's character who says 2 lines? What the hell happened to the rest of black squadron from TFA? Did they all die in the start too? Why would I care about Holdo if I didn't read Leia? Hell, I read Leia, and I still didn't like her in this. I'm supposed to care when Holdo sacrifices herself, when the rest of the movie made her Poe's primary antagonist? At the same time though.... is Poe even a likable character at this point? Reckless, and a legit mutaneer, but it's okay because the Resistance has like 20 guys left.

AND SNOKE! Snoke! This dude is flinging around the whole cast like it's nothing, and manipulates our two leads from across the Galaxy but then.... that can't be the end of him. He has to have some role in Ep 9 or he is the Legends General Grevious of the ST.

Phasma was also a disappointment. Her book was great. Really got me hyped to see more of this character. Now? What a waste of precious NEU material.

Also Maz... I mean kind of a weird inclusion.

I don't know. I know these are all super nit picky things, but I can't help feel disappointed by them. I just don't know how to feel.

 

The fact that fans are split by this movie shows me that RJ took this franchise a step in the right direction. The brief time of Rey's training didn't really bother me because this movie shows that the FORCE is much more powerful than we were initially led to believe, just look at how easily Snoke and Luke were able to overpower both Kylo and Rey. Even the kid at the end has already learned how to force pull things to him. I don't think of Snokes death as a disappointment since he was basically a Palpatine rip off that I didn't really care for, and thought his death was a clever twist NOBODY saw coming. I'm also oddly satisfied that Rey's parents are nobodies; because it just goes to show that ANYONE can become the hero, much like Luke was just a farm boy in ANH (before we found out his lineage) and giving her a direct lineage to anyone from the other film would have felt like a bit of a stretch. People will complain that a Skywalker is supposed to be the focus of the saga films, but we already have Kylo Ren. The big thing I enjoyed about Kylo was that we finally have a definative reason for why he turned evil, HIS UNCLE WAS GOING TO MURDER HIM IN COLD BLOOD! I have so much more I want to say but overall I love this film and it might just be my 2nd or 3rd favourite in the saga.

 

As someone who wasn’t happy with TFA and dislike it more and more with time, this was great. I once thought I’d be mad at Luke dying, but he didn’t really die now did he. Yoda burned a tree. It is a new story, it shocks, it is very exciting.

Yes it doesn’t answer all questions. I don’t even believe Kylo that Rey’s parents were no one. Snoke showed him that.

And Snoke was strong in the Force, yet tricked by an even stronger Ren. Sith Reference. Yoda!

But what I really like is Episode 9 is almost a blank slate in terms of story. We know whose good, whose bad, and what the state of things are.

Only negative, J.J. Abrams is telling the last story.

So it’s safe to say you hate half the Starwars movies and you’re not much of a fan of Stars Wars. Just a fan of some of it. Cool!

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 15, 2017, Original Post Date: Dec 15, 2017 ---

I agree with a lot, but I don’t think Rey’s linisge is truly settled. Snoke was playing with Kylo and Rey, showing them visions.

Can those be trusted? I don’t think so, as neither of the ones we know he showed the came true.

 

I am quite literally in shock at how bad this movie really was.

I'm not even quite sure how to quantify all the problems I saw with it but I can boil it down to this: The middle hour and 45 minutes of the movie was about the Resistance needing a gas station and the First Order being so inept that, despite supposedly on the verge of capturing all major systems in just a couple weeks, it couldn't catch a couple ships literally right in front of their face. That is the central plot for a large chunk of the movie and its worse than anything else in the entire Star Wars saga (yes, even Jar Jar wasn't that idiotic). I wanted something different from TLJ but that's sure as hell not what I had in mind.

What's funny is I didn't care for The Force Awakens all that much because it played things too safe. The entire story between RotJ and TFA was crafted to reset the universe back to where it was before ANH for the purpose of doing a soft reboot. It refused to take any risks or do something fresh... which is about what you'd expect from a risk adverse company like Disney. It was still a solid movie though and my big fear going into TLJ was that the reboot of the OT was going to continue, and now I only wish it had. The thing is, doing something different doesn't in of itself make a movie great. There are an infinite number of directions you can take a film series in with any given entry.... and the vast majority of those directions would be bad. Good writers and directors hit that sweet spot and pick a good direction, Rian Johnson picked a really bad one here. New and original for the sake of doing something new and original is as bad as playing things too safe.

That's not to say there aren't some good moments here and there, as there are in most every film. I thought many of the scenes with Luke were good (Mark Hamill was amazing)... the problem is those scenes are fairly limited because the movie is too busy focusing on the fuel gauge of a rebel capital ship making a slapstick comedy worthy slow speed escape. The battle with Snokes guards was another highlight although while Johnson flirts with interesting concepts during that part of the movie, everything resets almost immediately back to Ren = Bad, Rey = Good. There was room for some really interesting thing there, and I feel some people WILL say that scene did interesting things, but it was all a temporary illusion. At the end of the day, it was a rather pointless scene as far as the plot is concerned aside from the quick demise of a rather limp figure in Snoke, who was being played up as some sort of badass.

One last specific issue I'll mention is the end of the film. Despite how inept the First Order is shown to be at every step, they still manage to whittle the entire Resistance down to a group that can fit on the Falcon.... and that is suppose to be "the spark that will burn the First Order down"? Perhaps if they'd bother to give some actual context on the size and scope of the First Order it'd be easier to form an opinion but that sounds laughable given what we've seen. The First Order is supposedly conquering the Galaxy and a group of a couple dozen people are going to stop them? That's some Disney level fantasy nonsense right there.

I'll probably go see TLJ again and see if my opinion changes, as multiple viewings have with the last two movies (I liked TFA less and less, while I liked Rouge One more and more)... but right now I really don't see how a die hard fan of the original movies could walk away from TLJ anything but disappointed and I REALLY don't understand how critics have given it near universal acclaim. This movie felt like it was written and directed by someone that hasn't ever seen and doesn't understand Star Wars. With Rian Johnson being handed the keys to the Star Wars future, I'm very concerned for the brand going forward.

 

Strangely, this movie had flash backs (which J.J. specifically tried to stay away from in TFA) and made them work very well. They might be some of my favourite scenes in the whole movie...


Plus, I'm a die hard OG trilogy fan

 

This, I'd like to know because it's very briefly explained if at all
To explain why Luke went into exile is one thing, to explain why he was willing to strike down his nephew when he is the one who saw light in Vader and redeemed him is another...