Monday, December 25, 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi--revisited
So, when I wrote my initial review of The Last Jedi (see here), I had no idea that this movie would be so hated.
All I knew was that it had gotten rave reviews from the critics, so I took it as a given that the movie was to be praised.
That's part of the reason I spent so much time in my review articulating what I didn't like instead of giving the reasons that I did like it.
If I was to write that review again now, it would still be positive, but it would be a lot more defensive in tone.
For a while I was actually planning on writing a follow-up post: In Defense of "The Last Jedi".
And I may yet write that post.  (I'm still trying to decide if I have anything intelligent to say to justify it).

In the meantime, Whisky Prajer has posted his review HERE.  I chime in with my two cents in the comments.

5 comments:

dpreimer said...

'In Defense Of...' is probably the post that needs to be written--by you. I don't feel like I've got any skin in the game, to be honest.

dpreimer said...

There was a family suggestion that some of us go back into the theatre for another look. This would be my third time. My response was an unequivocal "Nope." That's not a reaction to what Star Wars has become, necessarily. It's more likely me just admitting age and the need to keep my focus moving.

Joel Swagman said...

You're doing better than me. I've only seen it once. That will be enough to last me for at least 6 months.
I plan to see it again several times over the years, but I don't need to see it several times right now.

dpreimer said...

Kinda cool.

Joel Swagman said...

Thanks for the link.
I tend to agree that Kylo Ren is very intriguing. I'm not sure if I'd call him a great villain, but I'd call him a great character.
A large part of what made "The Last Jedi" a good movie for me is that the viewer somewhat sympathized with Kylo Ren, and we even hoped he would come to the good side. He didn't, ultimately, but he seemed to be close at points.

I'm not sure he's a great villain in the sense people often use when they talk about "Great Villains". That is, I'm not sure that he provides a scary and powerful antagonist for the heroes to fight against. But it worked in "The Last Jedi" because Snoke provided that role.
It will be interesting to see what they do in the next movie.