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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Has Critics In Raptures (bbc.com) 269

gollum123 shares a report from BBC: "Rousing." "Thrilling." "Addictively bold." Just a few of the superlatives the critics are using to describe the latest film in the Star Wars saga. The Last Jedi, writes the Telegraph, is "enormous fun" and "will leave fans beaming with surprise." The Guardian calls it "an explosive sugar rush of spectacle" possessing "a tidal wave of energy and emotion." Variety, though, swims against the tide, describing it as "the longest and least essential chapter in the series." Rian Johnson's film, says Peter Debruge, is "ultimately a disappointment" that "gives in to the same winking self-parody that is poisoning other franchises of late." Writing in The Verge, Tasha Robinson tends to agree: "Audiences will likely come away from The Last Jedi with a lot of complaints and questions." Driver's Kylo Ren is singled out for praise by USA Today, who describe the character as "blockbuster cinema's most magnetic and unpredictable antagonist since Heath Ledger's Dark Knight Joker." Have you seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi? If so, how do you think it stacks up against the others in the saga?
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Has Critics In Raptures

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  • by Carewolf ( 581105 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:24AM (#55736827) Homepage

    The reviews I saw from good critics say it is perfectly okay, but not particularly good.

    So, this "story" just references the positive one and blurbs them?

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Critics who are also fans of the franchise seem to love it. They say it moves the universe forwards and is better than the last one.

      • Re:Ad (Score:4, Funny)

        by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @06:30AM (#55736997)

        They say it moves the universe forwards.

        So ... it's a supermassive black hole?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Mashiki ( 184564 )

        They say it moves the universe forwards and is better than the last one.

        There was an entire universe that is better then the complete garbage mary sue character that was in the last one. The EU was amazing hands down. Between Thrawn, Mara Jade, the fall of Luke to the darkside and all the rest they had decades of movies they could have made. Instead, they decided to nuke the entire thing and piss all over it with the garbage they're making now.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Ray seems like less of a Mary Sue than Luke was.

          Both were part time pilots, but Luke was able to fly a fighter down that trench and make an impossible shot that the computer couldn't, while being chased and shot at by Vader, yet Ray immediately crashed into the ground and then a building.

          Luke infiltrated the Death Star, escaped from storm troopers and immediately decided to become a hero with no second thoughts or doubts. Ray nearly gave up and wanted out, it took a force vision to turn her back. She actual

          • Re:Ad (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Mashiki ( 184564 ) <mashikiNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday December 14, 2017 @12:20PM (#55739361) Homepage

            Ray seems like less of a Mary Sue than Luke was.

            You mean the part where she got zero training and was suddenly using the force vs luke who got training and was still shit at it even during the next movie until he went for more training?

            Both were part time pilots, but Luke was able to fly a fighter down that trench and make an impossible shot that the computer couldn't, while being chased and shot at by Vader, yet Ray immediately crashed into the ground and then a building.

            Somewhat true. Except the part where luke had already had experience 'bulls eyeing" small critters in his speeder right?

            Luke infiltrated the Death Star, escaped from storm troopers and immediately decided to become a hero with no second thoughts or doubts. Ray nearly gave up and wanted out, it took a force vision to turn her back. She actually did very little in the film, and barely managed to bring the fight with Ren to a draw despite him having been shot by a powerful weapon and not actually trying to kill her.

            True, but then again Luke didn't really have a choice to infiltrate the death star. Remember that giant moon, no wait space station?

            The problem with the EU is spoilers. Much of the build up is speculation, much of the enjoyment is being surprised and seeing something new. You still have the EU books, it's not like they burned then all.

            They simply tried to burn them all because they wanted to write their own cannon instead of using the best out of the EU. Which means that they likely didn't want to pay the original creators any royalty rights.

            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              When did she use the force like Luke did in ANH? He never used and mind tricks or force pulls, the things she did. Oh the other hand he made that impossible shot, with coaching from Obi Wan. Ray only managed to crash into the ground and that building.

              And are you really saying that shooting small animals from a civilian aircraft is much like taking a shot that the best rebel pilots mostly couldn't even get to, let alone make on the first attempt?

              Anyway, both of them did some extraordinary stuff... It's almos

          • by Trogre ( 513942 )

            "Just like Beggar's Canyon back home."

            Luke had X hours of training from Obi-Wan en route to Alderaan, and the benefit of a disembodied voice instructing him when the time came for the vital shot.

            Rey managed a mind trick and a force pull with apparently no training whatsoever.

            Not that any of this is necessarily bad, it just needs a damn good explanation.

        • by Misagon ( 1135 )

          I agree. Mara Jade even had an official model that used to show up at sci-fi conventions, as did many of the book authors.
          The problem with the EU is that were quite a few things in the EU that was of questionable quality, and many things even contradicted each other or contradicted facts in the prequel movies.

          At a convention in summer of 2013, Lucasfilm announced that they were going to sort the EU out. They were going to pick the best bits and put the main storyline into a new consistent canon and scrap th

      • They say it moves the universe forwards and is better than the last one.

        Most movies are better than the last one. Is specially when it comes to world building, as episode 7 had fuck all.

      • Were they given endorphin and ego boosters by being treated like VIP royalty or only cash, merchandise and sexual favors for those reviews?

        I'm asking for a friend.

    • The reviews I saw from good critics say it is perfectly okay, but not particularly good.

      Which of course describes all Disney films.

    • The last Jedi is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.
    • The Nerd Crew: The Last Jedi FULL REVIEW (Redletter Media)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lCW-iaOZ_M/ [youtube.com]

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:30AM (#55736837)

    This is just more garbage from Disney designed to sell franchise crap.

    I get the distinct feeling they're not actually making these movies for the sake of making movies anymore. It's entirely and utterly driven by profit, and very little else. You can tell the original Star Wars movies were made by a bunch of people who had no idea what they were doing, but it worked out for them in the end. SW8 feels like a movie that was designed by a committee and approved by Disney to have the maximum impact on merchandising sales and franchise licensing after the fact. It's basically just a gigantic commercial for their beloved IP.

    • The product tie ins on literally every ABC produced TV show weren't a give away?

    • by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @07:21AM (#55737129)

      This is just more garbage from Disney designed to sell franchise crap.

      Star Wars was about selling "franchise crap" from day one. I'm old enough to have seen the first Star Wars movies in a theater in 1977. Star Wars was all about moving merchandise right out of the gate. Star Wars action figures and toys were HUGE when I was younger. Disney is just better at it than Lucasfilm was on its own. Anyone who thought Disney wasn't in this to make a buck is delusional. You just hope that the stories are entertaining along the way as well.

      I get the distinct feeling they're not actually making these movies for the sake of making movies anymore. It's entirely and utterly driven by profit, and very little else.

      It's adorable that you ever thought that the movie industry wasn't all about making money. Yes sometimes some good art got made along the way. But the movie industry has been ruthlessly profit driven as long as there has been a movie industry. There is a reason hollywood accounting [wikipedia.org] is a thing.

      SW8 feels like a movie that was designed by a committee and approved by Disney to have the maximum impact on merchandising sales and franchise licensing after the fact. It's basically just a gigantic commercial for their beloved IP.

      Are you familiar with any Disney products? That has been their MO since Snow White was released back in 1937. This should not be astonishing to you.

      And remember that SW1-3 (the prequels) were clearly NOT designed by committee and the shitty results prove it. The only reason the original trilogy was good was because there were smart people who could limit the amount of damage George Lucas could do to the material.

      • by swillden ( 191260 ) <shawn-ds@willden.org> on Thursday December 14, 2017 @09:38AM (#55737909) Journal

        I get the distinct feeling they're not actually making these movies for the sake of making movies anymore. It's entirely and utterly driven by profit, and very little else.

        It's adorable that you ever thought that the movie industry wasn't all about making money. Yes sometimes some good art got made along the way. But the movie industry has been ruthlessly profit driven as long as there has been a movie industry.

        I don't get why people seem so offended by the idea that people make and sell stuff to make money. I mean, unless you're a trust fund baby, don't you do whatever you do for a living, for a living? I'm a programmer. I really enjoy writing code, it's a creative effort that includes both art and science. But at the end of the day, I write the code that I do because it pays the bills. Actors, directors, producers, cameramen, sound engineers, film editors, etc., all do the same thing. Not only is it not a crime to work for financial gain, the profit motive is one of the most significant drivers of human progress, because the most effective way to make money is by making/doing something that other people want, and want enough that they're willing to pay for it.

        I'm not claiming that profit should be the only motive. In fact, that ways lies trouble, because in the short term maximizing profit can often be done at the expense of other desirable goals. But for any endeavor that requires large scale, generating profit is almost always a good idea. Profit-generating enterprises are sustainable and scalable in a way that profit-losing or even profit-neutral enterprises are not.

        If you have derived pleasure from watching previous episodes of the Star Wars movies -- or almost any other films, especially the big-budget variety -- you can thank the profit motive. Certainly the people who made them had other motives as well, but without that one the movies we enjoy would not be created, and it always has and most likely always will be that way. The same goes for all of the goods and services you rely on in your life. People make stuff and do stuff in exchange for money so they can buy the stuff they want/need. This is a good thing.

      • by jafac ( 1449 )

        Well you're not wrong, and I wish I could find it - but there was a regulatory change in the mid 1970's regarding entertainment content and toy sales, and Star Wars was specifically designed to be the very first franchise to take advantage of this.

        The concept was further weaponized in childrens' television shows shortly after Star Wars. Prior to this, in the USA kids could not buy toys that were associated with kids shows - because those shows would be considered advertisements.

        We could get toys for ADULT

      • Star Wars was about selling "franchise crap" from day one. I'm old enough to have seen the first Star Wars movies in a theater in 1977. Star Wars was all about moving merchandise right out of the gate.

        It amazes me that this even needs to be stated. It's accepted cannon in the film industry that Star Wars (with a boost from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) changed the financing landscape in Hollywood for all time.

        The entire commentary track of Scorsese's After Hours is pretty much devoted to how he was forced to

    • I can't wait for the next one where agent Colson and Simmons join the rebel alliance and Simmons figures out how to combine the Midi-chlorians with Terrigen mist to create a super inHuman to defeat the dark side of the Hydra.
    • ...are a question of "when", not "if". Or even "why".
      They already penis-shaped anyway.

    • by Pascoea ( 968200 )

      It's entirely and utterly driven by profit

      Do you think there are any for-profit companies out there that aren't driven solely by profit? Mission statements sound great and all, but they are the first thing to get chucked in the trash when profits start to sink. Do you think Lucasfilm sold out because they got bored?

  • Meh (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:34AM (#55736851)
    The first one, (A New Hope) was enjoyable enough at the time, klunky dialogue and all. But the efforts to turn it into a "franchise" have resulted in a series of mostly mediocre follow-ons, and the constant retconning has just been ridiculous. Like other mediocre franchises like "Highlander", or "Iron Man", Star Wars might be more fondly remembered had it been a one-off, like "The Matrix".
    • Re:Meh (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nadir ( 805 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:42AM (#55736881) Homepage
      I have to partially disagree: The Empire Strikes Back was a worthy sequel.
      • Re:Meh (Score:4, Interesting)

        by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:47AM (#55736893)
        Yeah. That was the solitary thing that made me say "mostly mediocre". But Empire Strikes Back only works as a follow-on.
        • Remember, though: the original Star Wars was an homage to the space opera serials of the '30's and '40's. That's why it started at 'Episode IV'. There was no intention ab ovo to make it a franchise. It was more of an inside joke for movie geeks that happened to work out well for them once they realized the marketing potential of the universe.

      • Re:Meh (Score:4, Insightful)

        by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @07:48AM (#55737251) Journal
        I thought Return of the Jedi was worthy as well, it has everything a good SW story needs... could have done without the damn Ewoks though.
        • I thought Return of the Jedi was worthy as well, it has everything a good SW story needs... could have done without the damn Ewoks though.

          RotJ could have been great but they made a left turn at cute and missed the mark. Some parts of the movie were excellent and it's still pretty watchable 30 years later. RotJ is a good example of what happens when a producer gets too excited about merchandising without considering the impact on the story and the health of the franchise. R2D2 is cute and fun but an implausible army of ewoks beating (supposedly) elite imperial troops is just clueless pursuit of short term money.

      • Technically Empire Strikes back is just the second half of a long movie.

        That is exactly the formula followed by Bahubali -- The conclusion. What would have traditionally been the interval, became the ending of one movie.

      • So was Spaceballs.
    • by judoguy ( 534886 )

      Like other mediocre franchises like "Highlander", or "Iron Man", Star Wars might be more fondly remembered had it been a one-off, like "The Matrix".

      Uh, you do know that there were 3 Matrix movies and the sequels sucked, right?

    • > The first one, (A New Hope)

      The first one, (Star Wars)

      FTFY

      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dAw0... [blogspot.com]

  • by sheramil ( 921315 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:56AM (#55736915)
    > Have you seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

    No.

  • Complex movie (Score:5, Informative)

    by Frans Faase ( 648933 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:56AM (#55736917) Homepage
    I quite enjoyed watching the movie, but left with a feeling that I had to see it at least another three times to fully comprehend it. It has some interesting plot twists and some iconic scenes. It answers some questions, while are left unanswered. At least the movie is good, because it does not have one main character and that we see the struggles of several characters and going through some development to add to the story. It also leads to some dramatic choices being made. In a sense this may make the movie look quite chaotic, but in a sense it might be most emotional dramatic movie of all the movies that have been made so far. Maybe even the most convincing if you give it time to sink in.
    • Re:Complex movie (Score:4, Interesting)

      by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @08:03AM (#55737329) Journal
      Soo what about Kylo Ren, described in TFS as "the most magnetic and unpredictable antagonist since Heath Ledger's Dark Knight Joke". Because I thought Ren was a terrible (as in lame) villain in The Force Awakens. Almost as bad as young Anakin in eps 1-3
      • Soo what about Kylo Ren, described in TFS as "the most magnetic and unpredictable antagonist since Heath Ledger's Dark Knight Joke". Because I thought Ren was a terrible (as in lame) villain in The Force Awakens. Almost as bad as young Anakin in eps 1-3

        Agreed, and he's much more interesting here. We get no backstory in TFA, and there frankly he's a bit-player, but he's a main character here undoubtedly. You might not like him still, but there's much more to his character in this film than the previous.

    • by anegg ( 1390659 )
      Alternatively, you could just wait a bit, and there will be posts on fan sites and eventually Wikipedia that explore all the nuances of the plot twists. You read those, and you are up to date. It's a more efficient use of your time and economic resources.
      • by H3lldr0p ( 40304 )

        Alternatively, you could just wait a bit, and there will be posts on fan sites and eventually Wikipedia that explore all the nuances of the plot twists. You read those, and you are up to date. It's a more efficient use of your time and economic resources.

        Did you go to school to become that much of a buzzkill? Do you derive pleasure from it? Are you simply looking for a fight?

      • Alternatively, you could just wait a bit, and there will be posts on fan sites and eventually Wikipedia that explore all the nuances of the plot twists. You read those, and you are up to date. It's a more efficient use of your time and economic resources.

        Wow, you sound like a riot to be with. Experiencing culture is not the same as reading the synopsis of it.

  • by jareth-0205 ( 525594 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @06:08AM (#55736943) Homepage

    Jesus, do we really have to have this conversation here, where cynicism reigns? Where the default tone is "I'm so much cooler and more intelligent than everyone else"? Where most of the comments are going to be by people who haven't seen it (but they don't need to, because they're so much more intelligent and already can judge based on their massive predictive brain)? Cultural debate is not a ./ strong point.

    For my part, I loved it. I might even say it's the best Star Wars film... though that might come down a bit on rewatching... It's funny, serious, genuinely moving when it needs to be, and says very much different things than the other films have. After the feature-length trailer that was The Force Awakens (which I still liked, but was a bit frustrating), we're going new places now.

    • by pots ( 5047349 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @06:59AM (#55737073)
      The didn't seem very cynical. C- for low effort.

      Let me give it a shot: Force Awakens was pretty bad, Rogue One was really good. I was very happy with Rogue One, and am consequently uncertain of what to expect for The Last Jedi. But, because I'm doing this properly, I haven't seen it. And, because I'm cooler and more intelligent than everyone else (not to mention more attractive and sexually desirable), and I don't like to procrastinate, I have already written "it sucks" at the top of my future review. My backspace key doesn't work, but I'm confident that I won't need it.
      • Recent efforts (Score:2, Insightful)

        by sjbe ( 173966 )

        Let me give it a shot: Force Awakens was pretty bad

        I thought Force Awakens was a decent enough film and quite a nostalgic one. The problem with it was that I had already seen that film way back in 1977. It was in far too many ways nearly a shot for shot remake of A New Hope and not even subtly so. I have no complaints about the film production quality. Not brilliant but fine as a popcorn film like all Star Wars movies. (except Empire which might actually be brilliant) It was far better than any of the prequels though that is the very definition of dam

        • Force Awakens at least had that old Star Warsy feeling about it in its appearance. Compared to eps 1-3 which where overdone CGI-fests with Lucas throwing around improbable scenery and digital Muppets.
          • by pots ( 5047349 )
            When The Force Awakens came out, Lucas said, "Every movie, I work very hard to make them different ... I make them completely different, with different planets and different spaceships, to make it new."

            People give him crap because the prequels weren't very good, and that's true, but at least they were new. I'd take Force Awakens over Episode 1, because that was awful, but for the others? I'd rather have something new. Episodes 2 and 3 weren't so bad.
        • I thought Force Awakens was a decent enough film and quite a nostalgic one. The problem with it was that I had already seen that film way back in 1977. It was in far too many ways nearly a shot for shot remake of A New Hope and not even subtly so.

          The problem isn't necessarily that it's the same story again, it's that it's the same story again but somehow the previous story has been completely erased from the memories of the characters.

          I was even willing to forgive most of the nonsense in the beginning (derivative plot, planets being visible in each others skies, FTL death star rays, etc.) up until the point where Finn was proposing that they sneak on board and blow up the 3rd death star from the inside as if it were this brilliant new idea. As th

      • by leonbev ( 111395 )

        Am I the only one who heard Comic Book Guy's voice in their head when they read parts of this? All they forgot to add was Worst. Episode. Ever! at the end of it.

  • Movie reviews were embargoed until the last moment, which is usually a bad sign of this being actually bad. Movie studios always put review embargoes up when they push bad movies. As for the non-spoiler reviews linked in the summary, if you read these enough, you'll understand that these are almost never accurate. Some suspiciously read like a damn ad.
  • As if it weren't bad enough already, the 3D printing file hosting sites and internet forums are going to be inundated with all the new junk that shows up in this movie. I guess I'll be updating my RES keyword blocks...

  • I've read some regional reviews (in portuguese) from outlets I take in high consideration, and also read the reviews from the usual suspects. The later are indeed of consensual aclaim, but the former are very critical, yet they come from artistic movie critics and avoid commercial titles.

    Haven't seen the movie, and being a moderate fan of the saga, I can't say much, yet it seems to be expected from reviews of Star Wars (usually very biased from fandom) that titles such as Rogue One and The Force Awakens to

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @07:32AM (#55737179)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I really enjoyed the new movies as well. My only problem with the story in TFA was that I could not believe that the remnants of the empire were so utterly stupid. The rebels destroyed not one, but two Death Stars. Their master plan is to build a third, even bigger one?

      More than that, they've build a machine that eats stars to fire it's weapon. You know what would be far more reliable and terrifying? Flying your planet into the target system, setting up a lawn chair, grabbing some popcorn and enjoying the s

      • Or you could just fly into the target system and drop some of the widely available rocks on them. There's really no need for extremely expensive weapons platforms. In my imagination, it is really impossible to defend a large target like a planet which can't dodge or hide. The only defense is to build space habitats in unknown locations.
      • by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

        I really enjoyed the new movies as well. My only problem with the story in TFA was that I could not believe that the remnants of the empire were so utterly stupid. The rebels destroyed not one, but two Death Stars. Their master plan is to build a third, even bigger one?

        More than that, they've build a machine that eats stars to fire it's weapon. You know what would be far more reliable and terrifying? Flying your planet into the target system, setting up a lawn chair, grabbing some popcorn and enjoying the show while you eat their star! No firing required. And you could prevent an escape while you're there.

        Don't forget the ridiculousness that was the Rebellion (or sorry, Resistance now, right?) sending what, about a dozen X-wings to attack and apparently bomb (even though the X-wing isn't a bomber; I guess they scrapped all their Y-wings and B-wings?) a planet-sized weapon to try and blow it up. Star Wars battle tactics really kind of suck.

        • Yeah, I was really ok with TFA (besides the death star design, but whatever) up until all of that crap started showing up in the last third of the movie.It was all so nonsensical to the established star wars universe I don't know how it made it into the movie or how there aren't more people complaining about it.
    • by Misagon ( 1135 )

      The two main complains I have seen about The Last Jedi have been:

      * It contained too much comedy. It reminded them too much of a Saturday morning cartoon than a Star Wars flick.
      That's perfectly fine for a movie -- if that is the general tone of the franchise but this is the eight movie in a series and that would in many older viewers' eyes require it to follow an established format or it would get close to jumping the shark.
      For the casual viewer, however, and for most reviewers -- who don't view the movie mo

  • Have not seen it, a number of friends have. Mostly a tale of people running around the galaxy and trying to destroy each other while talking about cosmic fates.

    The Wikipedia article is an accurate summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    Good if you have always wanted to see massed AT-ATs locked in combat. Bad if you enjoyed the original movies and are expecting something of that quality.

    I'll wait for it to come on HBO.

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @08:45AM (#55737559)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • You can't tell someone a twist without it being a spoiler, now I know there's a twist!

  • So people are commenting on a movie they haven't seen it yet.

    I think it's in the tone of The Empire Strikes Back. It's an emotional ride! and the producers didn't touch their heart to tell a story, and if you follow the archs of the SW stories, you know what will happen in the second movie of this trilogy.

  • by najajomo ( 4890785 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @11:50AM (#55739017)
    Blake's 7 [wikipedia.org], a motley crew of renegades and smugglers trying to escape an evil totalitarian empire in a salvaged spaceship. The Liberator [wikia.com]

    Star Wars [wikipedia.org], a motley crew of renegades and smugglers trying to escape the evil empire in a stolen spaceship Millennium Falcon [wikia.com]
  • Look on the bright side. After missing it for three movies we'll finally get the 20th Century Fox fanfare back at the start of the film where it belongs.

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