THE BIG SPOILER FREE REVIEW THREAD

All I know is I may have to head right to urgent care when the movie is over, because there's a better-than-good chance I'll have had an erection for longer than four hours. #TLJTMI

 

I'm sorry but I feel this needs to be said...

We (as fans) have done our best trying to play down expectations of this film at every turn, from the first initial 'sneak peeks' to the international trailer and even the first reactions. Now however I think its time to give in to your excitement.

I have never seen reviews and fan reactions like this for a SW movie in my lifetime. Yes there are some detractors however that is always the case and at the end of the day who gives a f*ck what CNN have to say .

Free yourself from the shackles of previous disappointment and accept that... In all likelihood...The Last Jedi is... Going to produce... A massive...

*Note - Will not be held responsible for any unmet expectations.​

 

From the youtuby side of film criticism:
Chris Stuckmann is very positive.
Jeremy Jahns is conflicted.

These are both good news in my book (no I don't take Jahns seriously or share his taste).

 

Jon Schnepp is lukewarm on it but appreciated some of the twists and Hamill's performance, which is cool.

 

Very enthusiastic review from one of my favorite YouTubers, Emergency Awesome. I generally agree with this guy's takes on TV and movies, so it's got me hyped!

 

I'm not sure what to think of people's reaction of this movie. The largest majority really don't know what to think of it. Expectations, it all comes down to them. Time will tell. I didn't like TFA the first time saw t because it didn't meet my expectations, but over multiple viewing I accepted it for what it was, not what I wanted it to be. I have tickets to a Sunday 2d show; I hope I can last until then.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 12, 2017, Original Post Date: Dec 12, 2017 ---

Then there are critics like this guy from the New Yorker

"The movie comes off as a work that's ironed out, flattened down, appallingly purified."

That's cool and all, but what the hell does that even mean? lol seems to be the consensus with the rotten reviews; can't seem to put there " I hated the movie" into proper context.

(might be SPOILERS in this review)

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/star-wars-the-last-jedi-reviewed

 

I feel like with people, like Schnepp, it comes down to expectations and what they want to see in a Star Wars movies vs what they want to get. For myself, I wanted to see something new and different for the ST but also keeping the core elements of the franchise. And The Force Awakens what we got in GL's words was a "retro" movie, basically, a retelling of ANH, mixed with strokes of Empire.

And this movie from everyone I have heard from has stated it isn't ESB and is very, very balsy. Which I appreciate. Even if I don't agree, I usually appreciate those creators willing to take massive risks. For art should never be stale; it should be an expression of one's self. And in this age of tentpole blockbusters, predicated by all these fingers(studio, fans, producers etc.) that can be difficult to achieve.

The best description I have heard from The Last Jedi is that it is very much like Battlestar Gallactica which THAT excites me. I love Star Wars; I always will, even with its low points. But movie wise, while having excellent, themes, characters etc. I never found it enriching in the grand scope of other space opera series.

And BSG to me is my cup of tea. So if the movie is like that, SIGN me up. Because I like movies that ask hard questions and are thinking films. So yeah, I'm super down to seeing this movie.

 

Yeah he added later that we should (paraphrasing) 'lower expectations but keep anticipation' and noted that there's a big difference between the two. I won't nudge him before I see the film (and I'm sure he's busy in the Collider studio or other things) but I think he's referring to fans expecting their own head-canon story, which ruins films for people.

 

Im so freaking nervous! I dare not even read the SFRs! I will cry tears if joy, OR ANGER!

 

Thats the vibe I've been getting from all the reviews that are more ambiguous about the film.
Actually the only negative consensus (in terms of craft) so far is that the Canto Bight stuff either doesn't flow or feels mildly misplaced.
Oddly thats true of TFA's second act too. It's pacing is notably more labored than the first and third acts.

 

As I said in the "predict the score" thread: divisive. But not on quality. On story. It's challenging people. That's all I want in a Star Wars film. Those that love it GET it and REALLY love it; those that don't seem confused by the plot. This is GOOD news to me. I walk away from the spoiler-free reviews more excited than ever.

 

Odd conclusion. From my observation, backed up with numbers from Rt and IMDB, that the vast majority love the film. The few that don’t are just being ceased upon by a very vocal minority in a few topics that are upset about the story and characters not being the way they wanted. I guess I feel for their disappointment, though would still qualify they haven’t actually seen it so it’s a bit premature.

 

It seems like a lot of the reviews are iffy on some of the humor. The same happened with TFA. Fortunately, I loved the humor in TFA - although not particularly the 'callback' gags like when Finn accidentally bumps the holo-chess table. No one has mentioned gratuitous callbacks in any reviews I've seen, so I'm guessing I'll be okay with the humor. I can even love the cute stuff: it always seems to me when people criticize the cute stuff, they're thinking of Star Wars as some ponderous overly self-serious franchise, when it's not that at all to me.

 

That's what I gather too. I cannot say that is bad but I won't be actively looking for this. Rather, I will be actively taking note of the themes, characters and storyline. For me, The Force Awakens I found was horribly paced, namely with how fast it was. It was JJ Abrams typical Modus Operandi: doing a fast witty dialogue and action which I'm not a big fan of outside MI3.

And that was more than evident during the third act which I cannot stand. From what I have gathered, this movie is clearly a Rian Johnson movie. And my experiences with RJ's movies is that they tend to be slow burns during the first act, but ratchet up quite a bit in the second and third acts. Here, it seems like Rian probably broke that tradition. Again, I need to see it.

But really, if the movie's plot isn't sequenced like TFA to where A goes to B and C without chances to breathe, I'm more than down for this.

Humor I tend to find is incredibly subjective, alongside liking films. What is funny to some people isn't funny to others. And really, placement is everything. Because, in my view; there is NOTHING wrong with Humor. In fact, some of the darkest films I have seen, like Seven, have it. To quote Weekend Warrior, humor and darkness are like Yin and Yang. They help make the dark parts more prominent and vice versa.


The Force Awakens my issue was less with the humor and more than when I thought about it; it sucked. For instance, Han using Chewie's bowcaster. You're telling me within a span of 30 plus years Han has NEVER once used it.

 

It almost seems like they all liked it, but didn't want to embrace it yet, but they had to get their reviews out there ASAP lol. TFA got past that a bit with critics that just wanted a well-directed SW film after a decade, and TFA called back to ANH and that was cool for 'critics'. But even with TFA, there's a lot of baggage that comes with a SW film. We all have 13 different scripts in our head that are all our own and getting past that is hard on one viewing.

For many of them it's a massive love for the OT, then massive disappointment and hate for the PT, then love for TFA but told to hate it again by the internet and now nobody wants to really embrace something on first viewing.

 

the truly super-nerd knows it's a new bowcaster, so no, Han's never used it.
that doesn't change the fact that it didn't work you, of course ~ as you said, humor is subjective.
i didn't find out about the bowcaster until after i saw TFA, but i still thought it was funny.

because this is Star Wars. and i am easily amused. : D

 

If I had to guess I would say that a slightly more energetic first act is grounded in the nature of starting from a very specific point in the narrative that the audience is completely familiar with.
I think I understand what you mean about TFA's third, even though I had (still have) no real problem with the pacing.
It certainly is high octane and scrapes the limit, but to me at least it feels sure-footed. The second act has a hiccup or the wobbles. . . it has something. Probably "a thousand 4 second papercuts" syndrome.

 

NYT gives it a very positive review. I'm really curious about what the reviewer calls "a set that looks like something Vincente Minnelli might have dreamed up for a Flash Gordon musical with Gene Kelly". Epic cinematography (Minnelli) coupled with operatic sfnal melodrama (Flash Gordon) and elaborate fight choreography (Gene Kelly) in one sequence? If so, can't wait!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/movies/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review.html?_r=0

 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-wars-the-last-jedi-2017

 

I’m currently in self-imposed exile, but I wanted to let everyone know that there are quite a few reviews floating around which cite themselves as not sharing any spoilers/sharing only minor spoilers which go on to ruin good parts of the film entirely (luckily, I myself have yet to have much of anything spoiler from clicking around non-spoiler reviews).

It wouldn’t sit right with me if someone from here stumbled across one of these reviews, in good faith trusting the reviewer, only to be spoiled so purposefully this way.

Specifically, I’m pointing at io9, Sky News and Variety, but there are many more out there, and I encourage fellow Cantina members to point them out to their community-in-arms in threads such as these.

So seriously, if you haven’t yet had anything spoiled, and don’t want anything spoiled prior to your initial viewing of the film...I would leave now. It’s much better to be safe than sorry; you’ll only see this film for the first time once.

May the Force be with us, not long now folks!