I saw the movie a while ago, but now I can finally post my thoughts. Hopefully I don't need to put this in spoiler tags.
The minuses:
- Time span: It displeases me to say that this movie happens to share many of the same faults I had with its immediate predecessor (a movie that I think is the most disappointing SW film in the series). One of these issues, is the way the movie handles the passage of time. This movie happens within the course of no more than a single DAY. That is a very, very short amount of time for properly building up tension and character development. I mean, think about it. Rey becomes besties with Kylo Ren after he murdered his dad in front of her, and attempted to do the same to her and Finn (not to mention the countless other people he killed up until that point) in the time it takes to defrost a pound of frozen beef? Luke spent decades in self-imposed exile but suddenly sees the light in the time it takes to binge watching the first season of House of Cards? Sorry, but no.
- World building: Another incredibly disappointing area in this movie. One of the many things that annoys me about both TFA and TLJ is that the writers/directors have access to a whole universe (both literally and figuratively) where they can let their imaginations run wild, but they never seem to take advantage of that. In TLJ, we pretty much have a grand total of 3 major locales that the audience is exposed to: Luke's island, Canto Bight, and Crate. While I really like Luke's island in that it looks like a pretty place, there's not much going on there. Crate was also really cool looking, but aside from the red salt under the top layer of uh...white salt, it looks pretty much just like Hoth, except probably warmer. And then we have Canto Bight. Good lord, what a wasted opportunity. I'm not against the idea of having an alien casino, but we didn't get that. We got a casino with aliens. By that I mean the casino itself doesn't seem visually interesting or distinct compared to a typical casino from Earth. I mean, you could just film the whole scene at Luxor's with a couple of people in walrus suits and call it a day. I mean really, THIS is the best you can do with all the stuff that's available to you?
- Bad writing: This includes both dialogue and plot. Where the hell did the bombadiers come from? Clearly they weren't breaking the sound barrier any time soon, but they show up out of nowhere, taking the First Order by surprise, even. Why didn't Leia command the rest of Poe's squadron to fall back instead of just giving up after Poe ignored her? How the hell are Finn and Holdo supposed to be considered "traitors" when they were just planning on getting off the cruiser? Sure, you could make the claim that they were cowards, but traitors? Sounds like Rian just wanted to make a line sound cooler, or more melodramatic. Finn was about to bail on the rebels to save Rey but then decides that he's going to infiltrate Snoke's ship once he learns about the weakness? And what the hell was their plan for after they went on the ship? How were they going to come back to the cruiser?
Then we have the scene where DJ betrays Finn and Rose. Phasma comes out and presents him with the payment and ship for betraying the rebels. Not so surprising, right? Except that AFTER that happens, some First Order grunt appears and says they JUST confirmed that DJ was telling the truth. In other words, Phasma agreed to reward DJ without even making sure he was telling the truth?! I realize why this was done, because Rian cared more about having Finn say an important line than he did for whether the scene would make any sense.
And of course, we have Finn and Rose. This might be just a personal preference, but there was no need for a romantic relationship to develop. It seriously came out of the blue and served no purpose.
Plotwise, probably the thing that bugged me the most in this movie was Snoke's death. Given how they built him up to be such a menacing, powerful threat, it was a massive shame to see him go out like a chump. I mean, what the hell was the point of introducing him to begin with, if you're going to take him out like a sap. I'm not even against the idea of having Snoke die in this particular movie, but he should have made it way more satisfying. It's possible Rian wanted to make that battle more epic, but he blew the special fx budget on the fat alien with twelve boobs.
Lastly, during the final confrontation between Luke and Kylo, Poe said something to the effect that Luke was doing this "for a reason", and he was trying to figure out why. He then assumes it's because he's trying to stall and give the rebels a chance to escape. Okay...why the hell is this even a question? Couldn't Luke just mention that to say, ANYONE of the dozens of people in the base before he stepped out so they don't waste time having to figure out what he's trying to do like as if the goddamned Riddler?
Marvel humor: Oh yeah, you knew this was coming. I think I would add two points to this film if they just got rid of this shit and kept everything else. The humor was so damned out of place and just unnecessary. From the very first moment we see any dialogue on-screen, we have that cringeworthy scene between Poe and Hux. Ah, using the ole' "going to pretend I can't hear you on the intercom" gag, eh? Totally originally. And topping it off with a "yo mama" joke? Well, that is certainly a timeless quip that didn't go out of style when I was in middle school! And who can forget how Hux repeated Kylo's commands to other soldiers during the battle on Crate, resulting in a most amusing annoyed look on Kylo's face! Ho ho! Sure, the First Order is supposed to be an incredibly fearsome and brutal regime that's been involved in multiple acts of genocide, but isn't it nice that we have lovable goofballs like Hux to lighten the mood.
Okay, that's enough of me being a Negative Nicky. Let's talk about the pluses:
+ Way more action: One thing the movie does better than TFA is that there is definitely a lot more action and excitement. If I could use one word to describe TFA, it would be boring. Sure, there were light sabers humming, blasters pew pewing, and planets blowing up, but somehow it didn't really maintain my interest. It just felt so dull and inconsequential. TLJ doesn't feel like that. It feels exciting and like there are actual stakes this time around.
+ Music: Not much to say here except that Williams still has it (well, at least for some tracks). If anyone can find me the theme for when Finn and Rose are captured and being marched in for their execution, I'll be your best friend.
+ Set pieces/crucial scenes: As I've already mentioned, I'm not a big fan of Rian's writing. However, I do think that he does seem to have an eye for what makes for a visually good scene. The fight between Rey/Kylo and Snoke's Praetorian Guard was great. With the set as a whole just looking so visually cool with the red drapery on the black, shining floor, and then the drapes burning up to make the room look like raining fire. There's also the scene where Holdo smashes the crusier into Snoke's ship. Then there's Luke facing the At-Ats with the sunset in the background, which I think will be a visual that will live on long after this movie. And then we have in one sense, probably my favorite moment in the film. It's an incredibly short scene, but I just love it so much. It's when Luke stops in front of CPO, and just winks and walks away. It's such a simple, quick scene, but somehow it was also perfect. I like Star Wars, but I don't know if I'd call myself a "fan", but holy shit, that scene hit me in the goddamned gut like nothing else. Rian didn't ruin the moment with some dumbass, tryhard line or joke, and I'm thankful he was able to resist the urge.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Quite a bit more than TFA, but I still think it's weak compared to the rest. Look, say what you want about Lucas (and Yoda knows I have), but while the man may be a terrible writer, obsessed with CG, and bad at giving direction to actors, he was also really good at world building, creating interesting locales and aliens, and exciting action sequences. The prequels may be bad, but I feel they're at least very entertaining. Whereas the new trilogy seems to not have anything particularly offensive or lol worthy quotes (minus the previously mentioned cringey Marvel humor), but very little worth remembering. They're competent, but unimpressive films. While TLJ impressed me in many areas, it also made me a bit more wary on what to expect from the final installment. Overall: 7/10
