STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

JUST saw this movie. I rarely watch movies in theaters anymore because most movies these days are nowhere near the cost of entry. I almost always wait until a movie comes out on Redbox to watch it because a $2.00 Bluray is, on average, the best value in my opinion. So like with most movies, I was waiting for the latest Star Wars to come out Redbox or to achieve a reasonable rental price on Amazon. The only reason I caved in and rented this movie before it dropped even further is because my good friend has been wanting to talk about the movie for months because he saw it when it came out in theaters. So I bit the bullet and spent the $6.00 to rent this movie in HD (you can't watch a Star Wars movie in SD, that's a sin). I assumed it would be overpriced, like many movies I watch at that price. Boy, was I wrong. I NEVER, EVER thought I would say this about any Star Wars movie that wasn't one of the original three, but this is the best Star Wars movie I've ever seen. Which also means it's one of the best movies I've ever seen period. I was absolutely blown away. I don't think I'll ever forget the feeling I had when this movie ended. I seriously FELT the force inside me. Are there some shortcomings/flaws in this movie? Of course. EVERY movie has flaws, even the classics. If you're critical enough, you can find something flawed in every scene of every movie ever made. I almost never say things like this, but if you didn't like this movie, you must be awfully jaded/cynical. And I say that as someone who is pretty cynical. Now, it's one thing if you're the kind of person who just doesn't like Star Wars at all. I will never understand that, but I can respect the consistency of that position. However, if you're the kind of person who claims to be a "true" Star Wars fan, then you really should love this movie. I'm not going to provide a detailed and logical argument WHY you should love it, because that would miss the point. Much like the force, the most important part of a movie is not in the various details, but in the ineffable whole. So I will just say this is a movie with genuine spirit and soul. It is exciting, gorgeous, funny, clever, and deeply emotional. And Rian Johnson's directing was masterful. He seemed to capture the old spirit of Star Wars movies, but with very tasteful and subtle updating. Extremely impressive work. Totally did the franchise justice with this movie. I would argue he even managed to ELEVATE it somehow, just like a Jedi inexplicably elevates rocks. My initial impression of Rian Johnson as both a writer and a director: The force is strong with this one.Normally, I would leave my review at that (I've already said a lot!), but I also feel compelled to address the very SPECIFIC and overwhelmingly negative subset of Last Jedi haters who claim that this movie was ruined by excessive political correctness and the like.Before I respond to that argument, please know that I HATE political correctness. I completely reject the idea of trying to fill some imaginary racial or gender quota while making a movie. I find the increasing emphasis on "safe spaces" and "microaggressions" and "triggers" to be oppressive and irrational. I agree that Hollywood is becoming increasingly and annoyingly preachy and self-important. I am NOT some "cuck" or "social justice warrior". In fact, as a Marine vet, I am pretty much the OPPOSITE of a "snowflake". So when I say the massively negative reviews about political correctness are unfair, it is NOT because I'm trying to be a "white knight". It's because those accusations are NONSENSE. And because I read so many of those kinds of reviews (I was curious as to why the critical reviews and the audience reviews were diverging so much), I went in EXPECTING the movie to be terrible and overly politically correct. SO WRONG. And if God came down out of the sky and told me this movie meets the divine definition of "politically correct", then I'd have to seriously rethink my views towards "political correctness". If this movie truly is "politically correct", then "political correctness" is amazing.So if you're someone who is hesitating to see this movie because you're worried that Rian Johnson ruined Star Wars forever with cringe-inducing political correctness, DON'T. The fact that this Star Wars movie has more space for women and ethnic minorities DOES NOT detract from the ART of the movie. I see no evidence that Rian Johnson sacrificed one bit of artistic integrity in order to satisfy some kind of racial or gender quota. Maybe you will not love the movie like I did, but neither will you despise it the way the haters do.

Phenomenal. Between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Disney has succeeded in making Star Wars fun again.Where the prequels were meandering and senseless (with a soupçon of ill-advised “comic relief” flatulence/poop jokes), the new films are well structured and build to satisfying conclusions, with humor that doesn’t undercut the tone.SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT“TFA” and “TLJ” are about change and new beginnings. We are slowly but surely saying goodbye to the Skywalker family; George Lucas’ silly vision of Anakin, etc. as THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT MATTER IN THE WHOLE GALAXY has been retired in favor of a vision of a more democratic version of the Force, not contingent on the number of bugs in your bloodstream. Why?The Jedi Order looks ridiculous under the weight of Lucas’ prequels, Clone Wars cartoons, and his expanded universe. While the original trilogy gives a sense of a small but dedicated order of spiritual warriors, Lucas later transformed them into a massive order of celibate warrior monks and bodyguards, answerable to no one but an inept council that has no foresight and delivers intentional slights to its own members on a whim. Many have commented on how the Jedi Council seems to act only in service of propelling the plot, without any identifiable “in-universe” reason. Example: Anakin is elevated to the Council but spuriously denied the title of Master. We are not given a real reason, except for the fact that we know Anakin needs to feel betrayed by the Jedi so he can have the motivation to turn against them. If the council thought for a moment, they would instead deny Anakin a spot on the Council altogether under the argument that he was not ready yet, or they could just elevate him to full Master status and overrule him when he allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Either option may have failed to mollify him completely, but might have avoided his turn to the Dark Side, which was precisely what they wanted to prevent in the first place!In contrast, the characters in the new films are fresh and unencumbered by the lore of Star Wars. It’s nice to see strong women in these films; my two-year-old daughter will one day be able to see Rey as the hero of Star Wars movies, something that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Likewise, although there are callbacks to the original trilogy, these new films are clearly forging their own path, so to speak.The death of Snoke was surprising and satisfying; in three seconds, the dynamic of the entire trilogy was permanently altered. Kyle Ren’s inner conflict and ultimate embrace of the Dark Side (while simultaneously rejecting Snoke’s teachings about the Dark and the Light) was suspenseful and well done. And sad as it was to see Luke die, it was necessary for the films to move forward (and not entirely unexpected on my part). And of course, how could I not mention the return of Yoda to confront Luke about his indecision and doubts, to remind him that failure is the greatest teacher, and to remind us that Luke, whose mind is never on where he is or what he is doing, is not perfect. And that last image of Luke, older and wiser, watching two suns set, is poignant and perfect.Some criticism has been leveled at the “new” force powers, like astral projection and telepathy. Are these new, though? If the Jedi can control the minds and thoughts of others, why can force-sensitive individuals not communicate telepathically? Luke and Darth Vader did just that in “Empire” (“Luke...” “Father?”). And if Jedi can become Force ghosts after death, why can’t they project an image of themselves across space? The truth is, “The Force” is whatever the writers say it is, like it or not.All in all, I found The Last Jedi to be satisfying. Rey found a new way that rejects the dogma of the Jedi order (much like Leto’s Golden Path in “God Emperor of Dune” rejected the dogma of Muad’Dib’s religion and the restrictions of the Bene Geserit sisterhood), Kylo Ren fulfilled the destiny of a Sith Lord by killing his master before rejecting the Sith, the Resistance created new heroes, and we saw Leia get a proper send off (“No one is ever truly gone,”). Don’t listen to the naysayers; the special effects are fantastic, the characters change and grow, and the story moves forward.

works well no problems