It seems that Disney is tying back to the old movies. 8 reminds me of 5, but not as much as 7 reminded me of 4.

* The First Order tries to prevent the Resistance from leaving a planet

* There is a ground battle on a world with a white surface

* Rey trains with her Yoda

* We see a Force Ghost

* A Dark Side cave that the Jedi in training just has to visit. And where she discovers herself.

* A lightsaber duel between Luke and the Darth Vader of the movie.

* Sacrifice trumped destroying super weapons.

It was a good movie, but just like 7, watching it twice hasn't been sufficient to make it an awesome movie. 7 became awesome after seeing it for the third time.

Colleagues have commented that there were a lot of creatures in the movie, that seemed to have no purpose other than merchandising. And that it was too funny. But I'm not sure I agree with that.

Porgs had a much greater part in the movie than I thought they would and the vulptex had a vital role to play. And most of the humor I recall was much better than what they used in Thor: Ragnarok.

Dont really feel like that, it felt quite unique compared to 7 which felt very copy pasty.

Honestly enjoyed 8 the most out of all episodes

Also

Personal "theory" on Snoke (Yeah, I always expected him to amount to nothing and that he wasn't Plagueis or anything notable) is that he'll stay very much dead but he had planned on Kylo replacing him.

I'd like him to be revealed as a middle-tier Force User who admired Palpatine (Or was tied to him from the Unknown Regions where the First Order originates from) and wanted to recreate his masterwork (The Empire) and chose Ben Solo as its future leader. But Ben needed to feel like it was his choice so Snoke set himself up to be both his master and his ennemy. He always intended for Ben to murder him and replace him.

And that would again slam into Kylo Ren's face and make him think.

And if it's not and Snoke was truly irrelevant then at least I'll have had a good laugh because people spent TWO YEARS theorizing, sniping each others with insults on who was right or wrong and ultimately, we didn't really care.

Same with Rey's parents.

The main information, barely mentioned in most of the sources, is the balance, the Force itself is trying to secure. Both, Luke and Snoke are talking about that. "I was sure, when you grow stronger in power, the Force would create a counterpart.", Snoke said to Kylo. From this point of view, it seems very obvious, that Luke is dropping himself from the force, so that the strong dark force user gets also defeated. His death is just a logical consequence.

I'm very curious about what happens in IX. A simple light side win wouldn't do it, when JJ follows RJ. I think, we will see both, Rey and Kylo, dead/becoming one with the force, when IX ends. I am thinking of a great battle between both, which Rey wins and an end, where she just walks away and fades out after saying goodbye to everyone.

Oh, and considering this self-securing balance, everything we are doing here in SWTOR is pointless. We are fighting a war, that cannot be won.

Why, Disney, WHY? Why couldn't you just let Liea die a glorious death in battle and avoid any awkwardness with Fisher's death going forward? Why couldn't that epic lightsaber battle be the end of the 1st Order and Ben and Rey start something other than Jedi/Sith? Why couldn't we have the Republic rebuilding itself and have Ben/Ray's Knights of Ren have to contend with a strong, non oppressive galactic government?

You just HAD to give us the Empire vs. Rebellion story again, Battle of Hoth included. You couldn't give us a new story... WHY?!

It was an absolutely terrible movie and it will be hated much like episode 1-3 in the years to come. I have no desire to see episode 9 now.

My thoughts exactly ... it was prequel-level bad. I'd only rank Ep 1 as worse.

The twist in Ep 5 was elegant in its simplicity. Ep 8 was nothing but a convoluted story trying to create confusion with zero emotional payoff. For all it's flaws, at least Ep 7 had an emotional impact (Han's death & the ending when Luke appears). Ep 8 offers nothing ...

The villains are comically inept ... Hux, Phasma, Snoke.

Kylo Ren isn't scary or menacing the way Vader was.

Yoda's appearance was horrible ... and cheapens Yoda's previous existence.

Luke's turning point in the movie was weak.

It was an absolutely terrible movie and it will be hated much like episode 1-3 in the years to come. I have no desire to see episode 9 now.

You just have watched a totally different movie than I did. I loved it and I think it might be the best star wars movie yet. I would love to hear why you think it will be hated so much.

My thoughts exactly ... it was prequel-level bad. I'd only rank Ep 1 as worse.

 

The twist in Ep 5 was elegant in its simplicity. Ep 8 was nothing but a convoluted story trying to create confusion with zero emotional payoff. For all it's flaws, at least Ep 7 had an emotional impact (Han's death & the ending when Luke appears). Ep 8 offers nothing ...

 

The villains are comically inept ... Hux, Phasma, Snoke.

Kylo Ren isn't scary or menacing the way Vader was.

Yoda's appearance was horrible ... and cheapens Yoda's previous existence.

Luke's turning point in the movie was weak.

you do realize yoda's appearance was based off of the original trilogy, in a way to honor them. so if anything it enriches yoda's previous existence.

My thoughts exactly ... it was prequel-level bad. I'd only rank Ep 1 as worse.

 

The twist in Ep 5 was elegant in its simplicity. Ep 8 was nothing but a convoluted story trying to create confusion with zero emotional payoff. For all it's flaws, at least Ep 7 had an emotional impact (Han's death & the ending when Luke appears). Ep 8 offers nothing ...

 

The villains are comically inept ... Hux, Phasma, Snoke.

Kylo Ren isn't scary or menacing the way Vader was.

Yoda's appearance was horrible ... and cheapens Yoda's previous existence.

Luke's turning point in the movie was weak.

also very emotional and not confusing at all.. we must have been watching different movies, I can see why Rian got his own trilogy. yes lots of questions now, but that's good. makes me want more

My thoughts exactly ... it was prequel-level bad. I'd only rank Ep 1 as worse.

 

The twist in Ep 5 was elegant in its simplicity. Ep 8 was nothing but a convoluted story trying to create confusion with zero emotional payoff. For all it's flaws, at least Ep 7 had an emotional impact (Han's death & the ending when Luke appears). Ep 8 offers nothing ...

 

The villains are comically inept ... Hux, Phasma, Snoke.

Kylo Ren isn't scary or menacing the way Vader was.

Yoda's appearance was horrible ... and cheapens Yoda's previous existence.

Luke's turning point in the movie was weak.

Just got back from seeing the movie with family. We were all very disappointed in almost all aspects.of the movie. If this is the direction Disney is taking Star Wars, im going to probably loose interezt quickly.

-Ashur

Seen it yesterday, well, it wasnt bad.

I mean they are going with the trend of the current era movies, its not the old SW as we knew it and it never will be. However, its clear they are taking their inspiration from those movies, as it seems that episode 7 was a reskin of episode 4 and so is episode 8 a reskin or episode 5.

I feel the story was not used to its full potential. We got rid of Snoke way too easily (although that is how it sometimes goes, the mighty fall so unexpectedly), the dark/light side balance is a mess in general. There was a lot expected from Luke and he did not deliver it at all. The jokes in the money were nice, but in the classic movies, only certain characters were allowed to joke and it was perfect. In Episode 8 everyone jokes, which doesn't make it look professional.

Nevertheless, it goes on and im curious what the last Episode will bring!

also very emotional and not confusing at all.. we must have been watching different movies, I can see why Rian got his own trilogy. yes lots of questions now, but that's good. makes me want more

I'll give this scene another try ... I may have been so disillusioned by the movie at that point that I didn't appreciate it. However, my initial reaction is that the scene fails to recognize how Yoda had developed over Ep 5, 6 & the prequels. He was humorous when he was introduced in Ep 5 but by the end of the movie and in subsequent movies he became more and more somber & serious. In Ep 8, he appears at an existential crisis for Luke, but Yoda reverts to the humorous version of himself.

That was a re-occurring issue I had throughout the movie ... it seems like Rian Johnson deliberately trashes so many things that have been developed over the last 40 years.

also very emotional and not confusing at all.. we must have been watching different movies, I can see why Rian got his own trilogy. yes lots of questions now, but that's good. makes me want more

Exact opposite for me.

Both Han's death and the closing scene of TFA had huge emotional impacts which got me extremely excited to see TLJ. But what does Johnson do? He utterly trashes the first interaction between Luke & Rey for a cheap laugh. If Luke had dropped or thrown down the lightsaber out of pain or regret, then the emotional connection to TFA would have been sustained.

What was an emotionally powerful & poignant death for Han to advance the Kylo story, now is cheapened somewhat because it appears the plan for this trilogy is to simply kill off the big three legacy characters. I am not as outraged as some over Luke's death (although I do think it was a waste) ... but now I have no emotional connection to any of the remaining lead characters. Maybe that an unfortunate consequence of Carrie Fisher's passing, but I simply don't care what happens to Rey, Kylo, Finn or Poe in Ep 9.

For the sake of argument, let's say Rey is not a nobody and is a Skywalker. What emotional payoff can there possibly be in Ep 9? Best case scenario, she interacts with Luke's force ghost ... that's no where near as rewarding as the close to RotJ. If she's not a Skywalker, then why do we care about her as part of this 40-year saga that was always about the Skywalkers?

I ll be staying in denial about snoke dying until episode 9, i just cant imagine such a powerful force user dying so easily, and the connection he created between Rey/Kylo is still there. And he was a clear master of it, and we know nothing about him so it just cant be the end of it.

Didnt really like Yoda, i get they were trying to pay homage to the originals but never really liked the senile version of yoda, it just felt weird in a movie made in 2017

Leia was simple great in this movie, it is sad that she is no longer with us

The rebellion was almost destroyed, but i think it is counterbalanced by the fact that a raging emotional kid, and a hateful emotional kid are in charge of the first order which are probably the real defeat of the first order.

I loved the movie, favorite star wars movie for me

Once the hype dies down, I think this will go down as one of the worst Star Wars films.

The only thing this movie has managed to do so far, from watching and reading reviews is split the star wars community.

Saw the movie yesterday...

I can't decide if I liked it or not. Watched it around 9:50 PM and I was wasted from a long days work, but what I can tell now is that this movie focuses too much on space battle/action scenes and very little on actual storytelling...

This is the main reason this movie is awkward. It tries to do both and the end result is not so good.

Everybody hated episode 7 because it was a "rip off", but in regard of storytelling it did a much better job and J.J Abrahms actually created good possibility for character backround stories which this movie kinda ruined imo:

-Snoke ? who the hell is that guy ? We still don't know., he was supposed to be very powerful but he ***** like a moron and the " I know what I have to do line" from Kylo Ren was totally out of place.

-Rey, unlike ep7 she really wasn't in the spotlight that much and her training with luke was a wasted opportunity because the director thought that epic looking space battles are more important for the audience.

-Kylo Ren.

Yeah, he is better now, but still cannot be taken seriously because he is still like a spoilt brat,/immature kid

-Leia: well nothing needs to be said here. Her flying in space was dumb and out of place. They could have done that 100 ways better than they did. Didn't understand the logic behind that.

-Luke: After episode 7 it was good to see him actually appear for more than 30 seconds on screen, but due to the fact that this movie focuses so much on action and shooting/blowing up things, they didn't have the time to properly tell his story/backround, his relationship with Ren and so son.

it was done to some extent but in a very superficial way.

Overall the movie wasn't bad, but it has too many wasted opportunities.

I am glad that J.J Abrahms returns for ep9. We might have a better movie actually.

Saw the movie yesterday...

 

-Snoke ? who the hell is that guy ? We still don't know., he was supposed to be very powerful but he ***** like a moron and the " I know what I have to do line" from Kylo Ren was totally out of place.

 

-Leia: well nothing needs to be said here. Her flying in space was dumb and out of place. They could have done that 100 ways better than they did. Didn't understand the logic behind that.

- Snoke, I agree: too little background information about his rise to power and his connection to the old empire and his agenda in general. Concerning Kylo's line: let the past die (destroy all relics from the past: Jedi, Sith etcetera.) it makes a little bit of sense since Snoke himself appears to be a relic from the empire too, at least it is in my opinion.

- Leia: would have made more sense if she would have used the 'bubble' power we get to have as a sorcerer or sage. They've merely done it to give Finn, Rose and Poe a story to 'save' the rebellion. Interesting how she will appear in the next episode since Carrie Fisher past away..

- Snoke, I agree: too little background information about his rise to power and his connection to the old empire and his agenda in general. Concerning Kylo's line: let the past die (destroy all relics from the past: Jedi, Sith etcetera.) it makes a little bit of sense since Snoke himself appears to be a relic from the empire too, at least it is in my opinion.

 

- Leia: would have made more sense if she would have used the 'bubble' power we get to have as a sorcerer or sage. They've merely done it to give Finn, Rose and Poe a story to 'save' the rebellion. Interesting how she will appear in the next episode since Carrie Fisher past away..

Snoke may still be significant while dead in Episode IX, he remains the one who corrupted Ben and created the link between Rey and him. A link that persists at the end of the film.

Leia won't appear, it's been confirmed. At all.

Which means that Luke as a Force Ghost is a 200% probability now ^^

I really wish I could say I liked it. I avoided the trailers to not get my expectations up, and when the film finished I thought I *might* have liked it, but having thought about it for a bit I just didn't.

There were a lot of things I couldn't ignore while watching it:

• The big one (for me): a major plot point is the First Order chasing the Resistance fleet for 18 hours waiting for them to run out of fuel. 18 hours? The First Order is supposedly spreading across the galaxy, can they not call a ship in from the other direction? Or send a ship ahead through hyperspace, turn around and cut them off?
  
• Follow-on from the above: 3 (?) fighters destroy the entire squadron of starfighters and cripple the Resistance leadership. Sooo why stop there? Launch more fighters, who can clearly catch up, and dispatch the remainder of the fleet.
  
• The opening exchange between Poe and Hux felt more like a Family Guy sketch, completely broke the intensity of the Resistance (or are we calling them Rebels now?) escape.
  
• The Star Destroyers sit there doing nothing while the dreadnaught is destroyed - the dreadnaught itself launches a handful of fighters.
  
• Why could Holdo not share her plan? Completely pointless character who we don't see for long enough to develop any emotions towards.
  
• How did DJ know the plan about the cloaked ships? If Holdo wouldn't even tell her own crew, how does he find out?
  
• Surely Kylo should have known something was up when Luke pulled out the lightsaber Kylo and Rey had just destroyed.
  
• Really, why bother with Phasma?
  
• WHO BUILT THE MAP? We spend the whole of Episode 7 searching for a map to Luke, who says he didn't want to be found. So who made the map?
  

It has its moments but does a bad job at keeping 3-4 storylines going on for the various characters, and just becomes convoluted. It often feels like Rian was fixing things he didn't like from 7, or telling Abrams "this is how it's done". The battle between Finn and Phasma was what should have been on Takodana in 7, for example. (No problem with that since I hated Abrams' approach to 7, but it makes the whole thing feel uncomfortable)

Like I said, I wish I could say I liked it, but looking back on it I just feel disappointed.

The big one (for me): a major plot point is the First Order chasing the Resistance fleet for 18 hours waiting for them to run out of fuel. 18 hours? The First Order is supposedly spreading across the galaxy, can they not call a ship in from the other direction? Or send a ship ahead through hyperspace, turn around and cut them off?

Follow-on from the above: 3 (?) fighters destroy the entire squadron of starfighters and cripple the Resistance leadership. Sooo why stop there? Launch more fighters, who can clearly catch up, and dispatch the remainder of the fleet.

The opening exchange between Poe and Hux felt more like a Family Guy sketch, completely broke the intensity of the Resistance (or are we calling them Rebels now?) escape.

While the exchange between Poe and Hux is certainly weird, it is essential to the rest of the movie. It is the reason why Hux doesn't cut off the Resistance: He's a psycho and he's out for revenge and intends to enjoy it (Quick anecdote, the "Your mom" joke isn't just empty jest, Armitage Hux is the illegitimate son of Brendol Hux, and hated his father to the point of murdering him. And Poe knows this). Calling reinforcements when the Resistance seemed doomed (No way to flee or to refuel) was pointless to Hux (Who is not exactly Thrawn). Same goes with the attack on the Raddus's hangar. Once the fighters of the Resistance were destroyed and Leia assumed killed, the FO believed that the Resistance was truly defenseless and was only running out of reflex. Basically, Hux didn't want to catch the Resistance quickly and once he believed he'd created the right situation for them to just exhaust themselves running, he believed he'd won.

The Star Destroyers sit there doing nothing while the dreadnaught is destroyed - the dreadnaught itself launches a handful of fighters.

A handful of fighters that are tearing apart the Resistance bombers. In fact, if Paige Tico hadn't been so stubborn (and lucky) her ship would have exploded before she could drop the bombs. What were the FO's ship supposed to do? Try to ram the bombers? Until Paige's last second exploit, they were pretty much winning 100%

Why could Holdo not share her plan? Completely pointless character who we don't see for long enough to develop any emotions towards.

Because she feared Poe would try to object to it and sow dissent. And if he failed that, try some suicidal plan than would bust her evacuation plan... Had Kaydel Ko Connix (Billie Lourd's character) not covered Finn and Rose's escape, it would have worked since DJ would never have sold the Resistance to the First Order. And Poe would have learned his lesson sooner.

How did DJ know the plan about the cloaked ships? If Holdo wouldn't even tell her own crew, how does he find out?

Didn't Poe mention it to Finn on comlink while DJ was here? I'm not sure so I won't claim for certain he did.

Surely Kylo should have known something was up when Luke pulled out the lightsaber Kylo and Rey had just destroyed.

You mean the unhinged young man who minutes earlier was yelling at his troops to keep firing at the big cloud of red salt obscuring Luke's position? The one who'd just been rejected pretty brutally by the girl he was sharing a deep bond with? The guy now facing one of the man he hates the most in the whole galaxy? What a wonder he wasn't thinking clearly. Also, what could have stopped Luke from making a copy of Anakin's lightsaber? His second one is pretty much Obi-Wan's second with a green blade.

Really, why bother with Phasma?

I must say I have no idea. If they really wanted her, she should have lived. I'd have put the fight before the ramming and said ramming would have allowed Finn and Rose to escape from her.

WHO BUILT THE MAP? We spend the whole of Episode 7 searching for a map to Luke, who says he didn't want to be found. So who made the map?

Luke himself. He gave it to Lor San Tekka. No idea why except maybe he didn't want Ach-To to be lost forever. Or it's just a retcon.

While the exchange between Poe and Hux is certainly weird, it is essential to the rest of the movie. It is the reason why Hux doesn't cut off the Resistance: He's a psycho and he's out for revenge and intends to enjoy it (Quick anecdote, the "Your mom" joke isn't just empty jest, Armitage Hux is the illegitimate son of Brendol Hux, and hated his father to the point of murdering him. And Poe knows this). Calling reinforcements when the Resistance seemed doomed (No way to flee or to refuel) was pointless to Hux (Who is not exactly Thrawn). Same goes with the attack on the Raddus's hangar. Once the fighters of the Resistance were destroyed and Leia assumed killed, the FO believed that the Resistance was truly defenseless and was only running out of reflex. Basically, Hux didn't want to catch the Resistance quickly and once he believed he'd created the right situation for them to just exhaust themselves running, he believed he'd won.

 

The initial exchange is enjoyable but they take it too far, and it becomes farcical which in the end diminishes Hux and the First Order.

It really extends to Kylo Ren more than anything ... his character is pretty cool & Driver does a good job with it. But the character is stuck in a weird middle-ground. You can't feel any sympathy for him & a redemption would be worthless. But you also aren't afraid of him. Bottom line, Rian Johnson critically injure the antagonists in the movie which in turn makes the hero less worthy.

As supplement to my above most, just ask yourself who is more fearsome?

Palpatine, Vader, Tarkin & Boba Fett

or

Snoke, Ren, Hux & Phasma?

The answer is obvious which is the ultimate failing of TLJ

7 was garbage and I despised it. 8 wasn't so bad. Now i am disappointed Abrams is returning for 9 and hope they change that.

One of my issues with NT is lack of continuity especially with the Star wars we have here. I mean seriously, Canto Bight was a beautiful planet but they really just couldn't use Nar Shaddaa and the Hutt Cartel?

I only got 1 Viewing so far, to early for me to pass a complete judgement, BUT;

"A call for General Hugs!"!?

sure the "Hugs" part were real fun and on spot, BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE Rian Craig Johnson, Christ, In Star Wars we place a Holocall, Nothing more, Nothing less . . . Details. My Dear Fellow, DETAILS is what make a Story complete and believable. and yeah,every fantasy story, and that applies on Space Fantasy as well, is placed in it's own world. I'm sorry but that line is something Riggs would say in Lethal Weapon the Movie 3000. There's only one thing to say about it, Sloppy research, Sloppy writing. If Story Group was consulted and let this pass . . . well that's would be even more of an disgrace . . .

EDIT; but the Dreadnought commander I loved. A prime example of talent held back by incompetent leadership management ...