Star Wars
Episode VIII
The Last Fan
I’m going to do this one a little different. It’s mostly
just going to be notes and thoughts during the movie mixed in with dives into
certain aspects that people seem to have a problem with.
Where we left off: Luke, after an incident with a student,
forsakes the force and goes into exile for years (something Jedi are known to
do) where he wants nothing to do with the Jedi, Rey has gone off to find him,
Finn is injured, Poe is a pilot in the weirdly named Resistance, Han is dead so
there’s no possibilities of reunions, Leia is a general in the Resistance, Kylo
Ren/Ben Solo has revealed his face and killed Han Solo and is working under
Supreme Leader Snoke with the mad General Hux. I think that’s all the important
stuff, basically everyone is scattered.
Opening Crawl: It’s great. It informs me those planets
destroyed in TFA were the Republic, something not very clear in that movie. So
now the First Order reigns because the politics in these movies has always been
washy. It’s informative and succinct.
Billie Lourd! It is exciting to watch and hear the Star
Destroyers show up. The dreadnaught is awesome and intimidating.
Ok, I can’t deny this bit “on the phone” with Hux and Poe
falls flat, but no more so than a lot of jokes throughout the series.
Poe is a great pilot and this action is great.
Van Veronica Ngo honestly gives one of the best performances
in this movie, she has almost no lines but she is impactful and emotional
sacrificing herself to take down this dreadnaught. Also, the rules of space and
gravity have always been wonky in these movies but if you need an explanation
for how the bombers work, there is clearly some sort of artificial gravity on
all of these ships, so when they release the bombs, the artificial gravity
forces them out and the continue on that path towards their goal.
Replay of this scene but 20 comedy points for chucking the
lightsaber. This should not come as a surprise. In TFA it was set up that he
exiled himself and wanted nothing to do with this stuff so that lightsaber means
nothing to him anymore.
A sunken and destroyed X-Wing, it is even shown at one point
that part of the x-wing is used for the door of these huts.
This is a nice reunion.
We see and meet Snoke in person finally. Instantly he is
much more interesting than he was in TFA. Who cares where he came from/who he
is. He is Snoke. One of the many complaints about the prequels was people said
they didn’t need to know where the things they liked came from, for example Darth Vader
and Emperor Palpatine, came from. Why is everyone so obsessed with who Snoke
is? He’s an evil douche who wants to rule the galaxy, that is all I need to
know. Evil can come from nowhere. Hitler’s parents weren’t famous anti-Semites
and murderers. Were Palpatine’s parents famous evil people? Snoke is Snoke, the
end.
Kylo Ren destroys his helmet. Good. I loved the helmet and
it was intimidating but once he took it off in TFA and showed his face, there
was no reason to ever put it back on again. It’s dumb, I’m glad it’s gone. Now
we really get to watch Driver act.
5 comedy points for the green milk.
Love this whole sequence of Rey following Luke go about his
day in exile.
10 comedy points for Jakku.
I’m just going to state this here and now. Mark Hamill gives
his absolute best performance in this movie. It’s so damn good, I feel
everything he feels. It’s powerful.
Daisy Ridley is also at her best in this movie.
The theme of the movie is stated: The Jedi need to die.
Poe is demoted for disobeying orders and causing the loss of
many lives and their entire bombing fleet.
This attack on the fleet sequence is very exciting and
unlike anything we’ve seen in a Star Wars movie.
Ok, now for the infamous “Mary Poppins” scene. First, I like
the performances of both Driver and Fischer in this sequence showing the
connection and emotion. Ben can’t do it, two other tie-fighters come in and
blow this room. Again, Star Wars has always played fast and loose with the
rules of space, there are giant fiery explosions and I feel we see people get
exposed to space a few times, I have no problem with her surviving. We know
from Empire Strikes Back that Leia is force sensitive. So she uses the force.
This is how I view this scene. She uses the force to grab onto the ship and
pull herself into the ship. I can’t deny the way it’s shot and her physical
position makes this look weird. I don’t know how to fix that but it was on my 3rd
viewing that I completely came around on this scene.
Luke’s reunion with R2D2 is fantastic! When R2 plays the old
message from Leia, it’s perfect, it means something to Luke as this is the
message that sent a nobody farm boy on a nothing planet down the path to be the
hero who destroyed the Death Star, then so much more. The emotion here for Luke
and the fans is overwhelming. It brings a tear to my eye every time. Bravo.
Why does Poe look like he feels he should be put in charge?
He was just a commander then he was demoted for screwing up big time.
Laura fucking Dern!!!! She is crazy good in this scene and
in this movie in general. I will fight a motherfucker who says her character
shouldn’t be in this. I can’t understand that other than boys don’t want girls
to play. “We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the
Republic.” This speech is amazing, I love it. Lays down another theme of this
movie: Hope. People will find hope. Also, help can come from anywhere.
Poe tries to mansplain shit to Holdo? Then Holdo,
rightfully, shoots him down and puts him in his place. She is acting command
and he was just demoted due to disobeying orders. Not to mention it was Leia’s
last act, so she’s not going to reverse this. Poe telling Holdo what to do and
then trying to get information from her about the big plan is like a private in
the army trying to do the same. It feels weird making this analogy because it’s
nothing new that the Rebellion/Resistance is a military institute. Anyway, if a
private in the Army tried to ask an acting general this, they would get smacked
down, told to shut up, get in line and follow orders. Holdo, rightfully, does
this to Poe. The fact that people have a problem with this is asinine.
We are introduced to Rose Tico, sister of Paige Tico who
died in the bombing run. Rose is great. She’s a fan girl who feels she isn’t
really a part of this resistance. She is disappointed to see Finn basically
trying to run away. So she stuns him, good for her. Finn needs to learn he’s a
part of this resistance, he’s clearly an inspiration already. He gets on board
and they come up with an idea to disable the tracker. Great, exciting stuff.
Looks like a fun side mission is about to begin.
5 comedy points for union dispute.
Force time. Weird but interesting new power is introduced. I
like it.
The fish nuns are hilarious. Don’t care what anybody says.
Make things.. float. 10 comedy points.
20 comedy points for the “reach out” moment.
This scene is one of the best in the movie. It explains the
force is such a beautiful way. A way that has only been hinted at and alluded
to. Luke explains and shows the force as a beautiful connection between all
things. This scene also brings up some of my favorite things not only in this
movie but in this series. It discusses the balance, but not in the usual way.
The implication here is there is the light and the dark, life and death and
between it all is the balance, where we exist, where the force exists. This
movie is all about that grey area, that space between and what it means. It’s
an amazing philosophy this movie discusses and I love it. Luke also then talks
about feeling that force, that power, that balance and how it is greedy and
selfish for the Jedi to want that for themselves and that the force shouldn’t
belong to any one group of people. Also, that it is pure vanity to believe that
if the Jedi die, the light dies. It sets up a beautiful ending to this whole
saga.
Luke has closed himself off from the force, again further
explaining why he is no longer the Luke we knew nearly 40 years ago. People
change? Say what?
Force time pt2. Both actors are killing it. Plus this is all
great character building. Starts to show physical things can be transferred
over force time.
Canto Bight. I love this, sorry not sorry. Rose mentions it
is full of the worst kind of people, setting up another Mos Eisley situation.
Instead, it’s the ultra wealthy. Genius subversion and the beginning of an
interesting conversation. The people in this scene are unlike any we’ve really
seen or spent time with before. Finn is excited for his first time in Vegas.
5 comedy points for inserting coins into BB-8.
The “look closer” moment is great. Diving into the idea of
this kind of wealth and beauty tends to come at the expense of “lesser” classes
and this universe has slaves. Then the idea of war profiteering comes up and
selling weapons to the first order.
Justin Theroux in a great, but again non distracting, cameo.
I would watch a whole movie about his Star Wars James Bond.
They get arrested… for parking illegally. Genius also, 5
comedy points.
Rey wielding the lightsaber is great. 10 comedy points for
cutting the rock sending it tumbling through the fish nun wheelbarrow.
Luke makes more great points set up in the prequels: the
Jedi are extremely flawed and caught up in their own politics and beliefs so
much that they allowed a Sith lord to take over the galaxy and get rid of the
republic. I believe the prequels existed to show that the Jedi are not heroes.
The first telling of what happened between Luke and Ben.
From Luke’s perspective, Ben was evil heading towards the dark side. Ben tries
to kill him. Everything is destroyed. Luke feels as though these trainings are
dangerous and need to end.
Ladies and gentlemen, Benicio del Toro.
5 comedy points for pointing out these two speaking loudly
about their secret plan.
Benicio del Toro gives a great and very him quirky
performance. When he tosses his boots around his shoulder, so great. 5 comedy
points.
These animals are cute and cool. When she reveals her secret
decoder ring to the kids, fantastic. The look on their faces is great and
they’re happy to help. This is what this whole sequence is about.
This chase scene is fun and exciting. Busting through the
casino causing chaos, great.
Too much cover, 5 comedy points.
Ship blown up, 5 comedy points.
The animal cruelty stuff is slightly heavy handed but I
don’t mind.
Spacenicio shows up to save them. Need a lift, 5 comedy
points.
Mark Hamill aged so perfectly into this role.
Luke reaching out to Leia, waking her up makes my heart
happy.
The most infamous Force Time scene. A thousand memes are
born. Love this conversation but it leads to the second time we see this scene.
From Kylo’s perspective, Luke had gone mad and tried to kill him, he’s forced
to defend himself. “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” There it is,
great line, great idea, everything this movie is leading towards.
Rian does his version of the Empire “cave” scene. In it, Rey
is faced with an endless line of herself, all waiting, searching for something.
This scene is loaded with metaphor and can be confusing for sure but the more I
watch it, the more I understand it and the more I like it. It drops the first
hint that her parents are nobody/it doesn’t matter who they are, she can make
her own destiny.
These force time scenes caused people to start shipping
these characters, but I view their relationship as more brother/sister if
anything in these moments. Two people trying to find their destiny. Luke
catches them and understandably becomes upset.
Great fight scene. Luke catches himself with the force.
Third viewing of this scene, and probably the most accurate.
He is afraid of the possibility of Ben’s destiny. He contemplates killing him
before instantly regretting it, realizing he can still help him, but Ben wakes
up and the damage is done. Beautiful story telling and character development
for both Luke and Ben/Kylo. Luke disconnects himself from the force and goes
into exile. Ben seeks inspiration from his grandfather’s legacy and turns to
the dark side. This is all some of the best writing these series have had.
What’s this ominous glow? That’s Yoda, and puppet Yoda at
that, so he looks great. I am 100% here for this scene. Luke wants to burn down
the remains of the Jedi Order. He can’t bring himself to do it, so Yoda, cheeky
bastard, does it for him. It needed to be done, again, I honestly believe this
is what all the movies have been leading towards.
Page turners, they were not. 20 comedy points.
Again, some of the best parts of this whole saga. Yoda tells
Luke to train Rey to be a Jedi master but that part of that is failure and
weakness! Come on!
Rose gives up her last connection to her sister in order to
complete this mission. Beautiful.
We stole it. 5 comedy points.
Love this conversation. Plays into what this movie is all
about, the people that exist in the middle. These people sold parts, ships and
whatnot to whoever was buying, “good” or “evil”. Great writing, thought
provoking exploration.
Fly boy, 5 comedy points.
Hope is like the sun, if you only believe in it when you can
see it, you’ll never make it through the night. Beautiful writing.
Holdo still doesn’t tell Poe the plan because to her, he
does not need to know the plan. He is of lower rank and just needs to follow
orders.
Spacenicio is the shit.
Poe continues to fuck up. Now he’s committing mutiny. I like
Poe but he’s an arrogant asshole in this.
The iron joke… 30 comedy points.
BB-8 in the bin, 5 comedy points.
The throne room scene. First of all, the visuals, striking
red backgrounds. Snoke in a gold bathrobe thing. So good.
Speacenicio gives her back her necklace, fantastic and
charming. Love it.
Holdo is a fucking badass. By the way, I love that Laura
Dern mouths “pew” as she shoots. Swoon.
Great subversion. This whole story has been leading towards
Finn and Rose turning off the tracker and everyone will escape at the last
second. Nope, they are caught, mission failed. So nice to see it change
directions like this, slowly taking away more and more hope as it goes along.
It is great storytelling, great writing and yes, in it’s own way paying homage
to Empire while setting up a triumphant 3rd act in the trilogy.
Leia busts down the door. Like. A. Boss. She shoots Poe,
great.
That one’s a trouble maker, I like him. I LOVE HOLDO.
Holdo offers to sacrifice herself for the sake of the
resistance. Beautiful. My love grows stronger.
Back in the throne room. Andy Series is great in this movie
as Snoke. Darkness rises and light to meet it: great line.
On the evacuation ship Poe finally learns the plan. It all
makes sense now. It’s a good plan. Leia puts him in his place explaining it’s
about protecting the light, not being a hero. A major theme of this movie and
part of why it’s one of my favorites.
Spacenicio has sold out the resistance because he is neither
good nor bad, he is just looking out for himself. Great character, would be
nice to see him come back. Watching the ships start to get blown up is devastating.
Snoke hits Rey in the head with the lightsaber, 5 comedy
points.
Rey has so much fight in her. This is where things get
great. Kylo slowly turning the lightsaber with his mind, then sparking it with
the force, something that has been a discussion of fans for decades. He kills
Snoke, cutting him in half, I cheer. Rey catches the lightsaber in an awesome
shot. One of the best lightsaber battles in the entire series starts.
Benicio del Toro’s delivery of “maybe” is everything.
These guards anti-lightsaber weapons are awesome and unlike
anything we’ve really seen. This scene is very exciting. Plus those red
curtains being on fire really adds to just how stunning the visuals are. One
complaint I’ve hear is if you slow the movie down and go frame by frame, you
know, how movies are supposed to be watched, you can see that this fight was
choreographed… No shit, Sherlock. That is why it looks so good on film. You…
you do know lightsabers aren’t real, they really aren’t in space and this is
all fiction, right? Of course it is choreographed, and thankfully fight
choreography has come a long way because as much as I love the original Star
Wars, that battle between Obi-wan and Vader is so uninteresting. Anyway, Kylo
catches the lightsaber sparking it through the last guards head. Awesome. I
pump my fists. Rey learns that all Kylo wants is power and to be the new
supreme leader. Great. “It’s time to tlet old things die” Great. The
performances of Driver and Ridley in this scene is great.
Ok, now we get to the moment that made me about stand up and
cheer in the theater and made me fall in love with this movie: Rey comes to the
realization that her parents were nobodies who abandoned her on Jakku. Why do I
love this moment so much? So many things. To start, I’m tired of the commentary
on legacy and people only being important in this series if they are tied to
someone else who is famous or powerful or whatever. After TFA the rumors of her
parentage were abound, and I hated every single one of them. The main thing for
me is that Rey’s parents being nobody and her not having lineage is a powerful
message. It is what this movie has been discussing: good/help can come from
anywhere. Just because you feel like you are nobody and have no significance in
the world/galaxy doesn’t mean you can’t take hold of your destiny and make a
difference. Not to mention that this moment takes us back to the original Star
Wars and cracks this universe wide open for so many possibilities. In the OG
Star Wars, before Empire came out, Luke was just a boy on a farm with his aunt
and uncle. He was nobody. Then a chance encounter with a droid sends him down a
path to become the hero of the galaxy! He wasn’t important at all. Yes, we
learn his father was some random Jedi, in this movie that doesn’t mean much and
it’s just a piece of information tossed aside in order to give Luke this
lightsaber to truly kick off his adventure. When he uses the force to destroy
the Death Star, he isn’t the son of Vader, he’s just a farm boy thrust into
greatness. I love this moment. It makes me so excited for the possibility of
introducing other force users who are just new characters with no lineage. It
gives hope that we may find more in all corners of the galaxy from all walks of
life. Thank you, Rian Johnson, for giving Star Wars this moment and bringing it
all back to its origins.
The resistance is dwindling. All hope appears to be lost.
The badass Holdo hops in the pilots chair.
Rey and Kylo fight for Luke’s/Vaders saber.
No, Holdo is not running away.
The lightsaber is torn in half and explodes.
Holdo lightspeeds through Snokes ship and the First Order
fleet. First, the visuals. This may be the most beautiful shot in all of these
movies. It is awe inspiring. And the choice to go silent with it, no sound, no
music. It truly takes my breath away every time. Next, it is the biggest act of
bravery I’ve seen in these movies. Holdo sacrifices herself and takes a chance
at this working. Onto the criticism… Why has nodody done the Holdo maneuver
before? This is possibly the dumbest of all criticism of this movie, aside from
“I don’t like girls playing”… It is a suicide move. I don’t know about you but…
suicide isn’t fun. Most people want to live. They want to see the world after
the battle is done. The Death Star Run, there was still hope, all other moments
in these movies, there was still hope. Those transport ships were not going to
make it, all hope was lost so she chose to sacrifice herself in hope of saving
them. Also, maybe nobody thought of trying this until now, necessity being the
mother of invention. Lastly, and I can’t believe I actually have to point this
out, but there has to be a first time for everything. The reason it had never
been done before is because it had never been done before…. If we are seriously
going to start asking why something has never been done before that will send
us down a deep dark path of stupidity that we’ll never climb out of. Also, to get right down to it... It had never happened before because the writers of previous movies had never thought to put it in the script. Get. Over. It. Shaking my
head so damn hard.
Ok… Deus ex literal machina.
Finn defeats the thing he’s been running from and comes to
terms with who he’s meant to be: Rebel scum.
Hux starts to pull his blaster to kill Kylo when Kylo wakes
up. Great moment. I like this turn for Kylo, becoming the new Supreme Leader.
Finn! Rose! You’re not dead! Where’s my droid? Great moment,
5 comedy points.
One of my few problems with this movie, miniaturized death
star tech. Can we please move on from the Death Star and Death Star like
weapons… That being said, it is used quite well in this.
These skimmer ships are pretty cool and their use on this
unique planet makes for more stunning visuals. On a visual level alone, people
should be a fan of this movie.
Gorilla walkers, exciting concept that I don’t feel we
really see used in a super interesting way.
The Falcon is back! More references to it being a piece of
junk.
Oh they hate that ship, 5 comedy points.
Cavern chase is exciting. Great visuals.
5 comedy points to the look on Driver’s face after Hux
repeats his orders.
Finn is now overly obsessed with defeating the new order.
Rose essentially tackles Finn’s ship with hers. Rose tells
him “That’s how we win. Not by killing what we hate but saving what we love.”
Beautiful line, great thesis statement. I love this moment. I enjoy this
relationship and can’t wait to see where it goes.
“The spark… is out.” Bleak. But wait, Luke shows up. To all
the people who wish they killed Leia off earlier in the movie because Carrie
Fischer unfortunately passed away, I want to say I’m so glad they kept her performance
intact. First, this is her best performance. Second, It honors her more by
keeping it unchanged. Third, I would have been so upset if I didn’t get this
scene with Luke, makes me tear up. So good.
“I changed my hair.” 20 comedy points for a line written by
Carrie Fischer.
Here is Luke doing exactly what he alluded to earlier: one
man with a laser sword in front of the First Order.
Kylo’s anger is so great.
Do you think you got him, 5 comedy points.
Luke is still there, lightly brushes his shoulder. Luke is
back and badass.
Right away, sir. 5 comedy points.
“Did you come back to save my soul?” “No.” Perfect!
Skywalker is doing this so that we can survive. Exactly!
That is what this movie is about!
“What are you looking at me for?” 5 comedy points and the
joy on Leia’s face as she sees that Poe finally gets it, this isn’t always
about big fights and winning the battles, sometimes it’s about making sure
there is hope to win the war.
“Lifting rocks.” Excellent.
Love this fight/conversation between Luke and Kylo. Everything
about it is so perfect.
Rey shows true power with the force lifting all the boulders
out of the way. Finn and Rey, great friends.
Wait, what? More genius subversion. Luke isn’t actually
there. Force Projection, amazing. Many clues leading to this reveal, of course.
Luke collapses and fades away. I guess it took every last
bit of life force he had to do that. But him seeing the double suns of Tatooine
as he dies is absolutely beautiful and striking for this character and for us
as an audience. He becomes one with the force.
Excellent closing force time moment between Rey and Kylo.
The spark survives.
Sort of wish the “Sacred texts” didn’t survive and were in
that tree. Would have been a little more meaningful but Rey is supposed to be
the savior. Rey is holding Luke’s destroyed lightsaber.
The spark starts to ignite the fire. Word of Luke’s act is
already spreading across the galaxy as these young slaves find inspiration in telling
the story. Then wait, that little boy grabs the broom using the force! Showing,
once again, it isn’t about legacy but that anyone can be connected to the force
and that help will come in all forms from across the galaxy. He looks to the stars
and dreams of more while wearing the ring! BEST. CLOSING SHOT. EVER!
I love this movie. I love the themes and ideas it explores.
I love that Rian Johnson was opening up the world of Star Wars to a galaxy of possibilities.
There is so much great stuff here to lead into a mind blowing, awe inspiring
closing chapter of the saga. Thank you, Rian Johnson, for all that you did for
Star Wars.
I will say, I already knew the fandom was toxic after the prequel movies. If you don't believe me, the "fan" reaction to those movies was a large part of why George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney. After the reaction to this movie, I realize more than ever that the fandom needs to die. I know they won't but maybe no more Star Wars anything for at least a decade. Let it die, then maybe come back with new, original Star Wars stories that are in no way tied to the Skywalker Saga.
