The Last Jedi: Our Reviews and Reactions

IoJovi wrote:Just got back from my second viewing, and let me tell you guys, I feel better the second time around.  There’s so much foreshadowing to them in the middle of the movie during the height of the Reylo scenes.  Yes I expected their relation to work in the opposite direction of how it actually went, as I’m sure all of us did, but I’m still alright, judging by what I picked up on the second time around.

Rey and Ben telling each other’s futures is probably the biggest clue.  Rey tells Luke that Ben Solo is the galaxy’s only hope would have to be true if he’s the only descendant of the Skywalkers, given they’re the main family.  Ben tells Rey he sees her by his side in the end.  Yes in that same sentence, he says she goes dark, and I’m wondering if they’re going to switch and ultimately save each other from darkness until they meet in the middle.

Heck, had even ONE of them met each other half way instead of tearing the legacy saver on two, the battle of Crait never would have happened.

ReyofLightSide wrote:@Sforza , was the Broom Boy at the end the one you saw, since he had a weird hat, or was there an older boy?

vaderito wrote:

ReyofLightSide wrote:@Sforza , was the Broom Boy at the end the one you saw, since he had a weird hat, or was there an older boy?

@ReyofLightSide

it must be BroomBoi cause the scene plays exactly like she said, he looks up at the stars, has a hat.

Rey is drawn to the heart of the island of Ahch-To, it is not due to a beacon of light from the Jedi Temple—it is from the lure of an inviting darkness. In search of answers, a waterlogged Rey finds herself inside the belly of Ahch-To. It’s a cold and secluded place reserved for the dark side, yet it remains unthreatened by Rey’s presence. She has come looking for her origins, but finds only a mirror.

This is because she is the shiny reflection of the sark, and for there to be balance, light and dark must co-exist without fear. There cannot be one without the other, and Rey could not exist without Kylo Ren or the Skywalker legacy. This difficult to grapple concept is why she finds Luke’s stalling tactics so frustrating, and Ben’s ear so therapeutic. He too knows what it is like to struggle with a heritage he doesn’t fully comprehend. This similarity is what binds them so well… and scares Luke half to death.

When Luke first attempts to teach Rey a lesson about the Force, she is instinctively dragged into the dark side’s pit. “You didn’t even it fight it,” Luke shivers. That is because both she and Kylo are naturally drawn to the other’s allure, and their fates are entwined. This is not to say there is a romantic connection between the two... but the attraction of it exists for both parties

IoJovi wrote:Just got back from my second viewing, and let me tell you guys, I feel better the second time around.  There’s so much foreshadowing to them in the middle of the movie during the height of the Reylo scenes.  Yes I expected their relation to work in the opposite direction of how it actually went, as I’m sure all of us did, but I’m still alright, judging by what I picked up on the second time around.

Rey and Ben telling each other’s futures is probably the biggest clue.  Rey tells Luke that Ben Solo is the galaxy’s only hope would have to be true if he’s the only descendant of the Skywalkers, given they’re the main family.  Ben tells Rey he sees her by his side in the end.  Yes in that same sentence, he says she goes dark, and I’m wondering if they’re going to switch and ultimately save each other from darkness until they meet in the middle.

Heck, had even ONE of them met each other half way instead of tearing the legacy saver on two, the battle of Crait never would have happened.

ReyofLightSide wrote:

IoJovi wrote:Just got back from my second viewing, and let me tell you guys, I feel better the second time around.  There’s so much foreshadowing to them in the middle of the movie during the height of the Reylo scenes.  Yes I expected their relation to work in the opposite direction of how it actually went, as I’m sure all of us did, but I’m still alright, judging by what I picked up on the second time around.

Rey and Ben telling each other’s futures is probably the biggest clue.  Rey tells Luke that Ben Solo is the galaxy’s only hope would have to be true if he’s the only descendant of the Skywalkers, given they’re the main family.  Ben tells Rey he sees her by his side in the end.  Yes in that same sentence, he says she goes dark, and I’m wondering if they’re going to switch and ultimately save each other from darkness until they meet in the middle.

Heck, had even ONE of them met each other half way instead of tearing the legacy saver on two, the battle of Crait never would have happened.

@IoJovi

Totally agree! I have seen it twice and will sit with it a bit before seeing again. How was it going in not spoiled?  I was totally spoiled but don't know if that was better? I did freak TF out over the clips.

Maybe we got the movie we needed rather than the one we wanted to all happen exactly as we wanted it.

MyOnlyHope wrote:So I watched the film last night and I thought it was really phenomenal. A great film and a great Star Wars film. Funny, sweet, heartwarming, angsty as all hell. It was a little fast paced, especially in the beginning, but other than that minor drawback I found the whole experience incredibly enjoyable. Heartbreaking, yes, but enjoyable. And that's to be expected of the darker middle chapter.

I don't really share the criticism about wasted new characters. I felt all were used well to facilitate the arcs of the more core leads. Holdo came as a surprise to me. I really liked her and felt she served an essential purpose in the story. I guess DJ was a little weird, but I didn't find him unnecessary.

Rose and Finn's story was great. Sure it wasn't quite as magnetic as Kylo and Rey, but I still enjoyed it immensely. Rose is just wonderful, and she plays really well off Finn. They are the sweetest thing together. I also really loved Rose's musical theme.

Renperor was probably the single greatest comedy act I've ever witnessed. Good gosh. I was actually laughing in the theatre. Actually a lot of people were. This kid is never going to be Supreme Leader Anything. He's a pathetic, conflicted, ignorant mess who got deservedly and unceremoniously jilted by his entire family and now the love of his life. It's impossible to even be mad at him because he's just such a pitiful fool. AMAZING character who we now get to watch drag himself out of the ditch, but a complete moron nonetheless.

Rey and Kylo... oh Rey and Kylo. They are more hypnotizing and magnetic than ever.Some scenes I particularly enjoyed. Handsex. One of the most beautiful pieces of imagery every to film in my opinion. I don't really understand why people are attributing the visions Kylo and Rey had of each other to Snoke. In that briefest touch, they saw potential, but conflicting futures. I've seen some people here say that Rey decided to save Ben Solo too quickly, and I'm going to have to disagree. Here's why. When she touched his hand, she fell in love with what she saw. She fell in love with her belonging, with Ben Solo. And here's the thing for me. We, the audience, never meet Ben Solo. Kylo Ren is still purely Kylo Ren, a villain, and I think that's not something we really prepared ourselves for. He really thinks Ben Solo is gone. Rey thinks otherwise. Well we know Kylo interpreted what he saw when he and Rey touched very wrongly. They will stand together one day, just not in the way he thinks. Against all odds, what Rey saw is closer to the truth. She just expected too much too soon. She had unfeasible expectations of him in his present state. Kylo is very much a Dark sider with a little Light. He's not ready to realize he's wrong or even that Ben Solo is still alive. I think it was a bold choice to have Rey fall in love with what she saw in her vision while not letting the audience see it with her.

Rey slamming the door in Kylo's face while he kneels in a pathetic heap on the ground. Another gorgeous scene, and one that really solidified Luke's plan to me. Luke knows what's up in my opinion. He knows he can't save Ben Solo. Only Rey and Ben himself can do that. The dice! Oh the dice. In my opinion, Luke knows how this is going to go down. He gave those dice to Leia who then dropped them on the floor and were then found by pathetic Kylo. Rey hasn't given up on him forever. She knows what she saw in her vision is the truth. She's just given up on his moronic *** for the time being.

The film definitely doesn't fill me with the same joy as The Force Awakens, and I'm sure I won't go see it 8 times like I did with that movie. I'm one of those people who can't really watch ESB without watching ROTJ right afterward. I can watch ANH all on its own just like I can watch TFA all on its own, but ESB, and I suspect TLJ in the future, will always have to come with their resolving chapters. Kylo is the only Skywalker and I just don't see LF being okay with doing away with the family name forever. The stakes are so incredibly high for episode IX and I love it that way. I'm sure I won't bother speculating about IX to the extent I did VIII. Reylos won the TFA speculation contest. We know where it's going. The direction of the story isn't really that open anymore, especially for Rey and Kylo. J.J. just needs to conclude a redemption story, not only for Kylo but for all of the Skywalkers, and resolve Rey and Ben's relationship in a way that ties all three sagas together. Full on reverse Anidala is they way they're going IMO. I'm calling the Rey and Kylo wedding at the end of the saga, righting all the wrongs of the previous 8 films. J.J.'s our fairy tale wizard, and I think he's going to give us the happy ending we deserve.

IoJovi wrote:

ReyofLightSide wrote:

IoJovi wrote:Just got back from my second viewing, and let me tell you guys, I feel better the second time around.  There’s so much foreshadowing to them in the middle of the movie during the height of the Reylo scenes.  Yes I expected their relation to work in the opposite direction of how it actually went, as I’m sure all of us did, but I’m still alright, judging by what I picked up on the second time around.

Rey and Ben telling each other’s futures is probably the biggest clue.  Rey tells Luke that Ben Solo is the galaxy’s only hope would have to be true if he’s the only descendant of the Skywalkers, given they’re the main family.  Ben tells Rey he sees her by his side in the end.  Yes in that same sentence, he says she goes dark, and I’m wondering if they’re going to switch and ultimately save each other from darkness until they meet in the middle.

Heck, had even ONE of them met each other half way instead of tearing the legacy saver on two, the battle of Crait never would have happened.

@IoJovi

Totally agree! I have seen it twice and will sit with it a bit before seeing again. How was it going in not spoiled?  I was totally spoiled but don't know if that was better? I did freak TF out over the clips.

Maybe we got the movie we needed rather than the one we wanted to all happen exactly as we wanted it.

@ReyofLightSide

Being prepared ahead of time for the Battle of Crait would have been better, to be completely honest.  I purposely went in maybe 20% spoiled, and I feel like that was a miscalculation.  Sure for the GA it works, but as a die hard Reylo fan I was tearing my hair out.  I was so mad at him!  I think I understand it better now though - they needed to meet the other half way and as a result of not doing so, it was a disaster.  The whole thing is classic enemies to lovers, so there is that.

All he would have needed to do is not give up the throne, but instead call off the attack on the resistance.  All she would have needed to do is stick around and talk to him awhile longer than going for theblightsaber and trying to kill him (just like his uncle.)

Only one of them would have had to make that step, and it would have been alright.

Dingbat excellent point about the double blades saber!!! Since he was unconscious I bet she did take it with her.

AnneNeville wrote:I trust Kylo's version more than Luke's. Once you ignite a lightsaber over someone, there's no taking it back. A moment of weakness is a thought. Drawing a weapon is action.

If you wake in the night to someone holding a pillow just above your face, you can't excuse it.

Rei of Sunshine wrote:http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/star-wars/269668/star-wars-the-last-jedi-what-exactly-is-the-rey-kylo-ren-relationship

Great article. Must read guys. It helped clarify my understanding of what was shown about the Force and what it means to Kylo and Rey.

I love how the writer doubles down on the fact that Rey and Ben are undeniable drawn to each other. They didn't imply it as a romantic attraction, but a spiritual connection instead.

That Rey was basically the Force's answer to Anakin's (Dark) legacy.

They go on about needing the Skywalker legacy to end, meaning that Kylo has to die by Rey's blade. But to keep up the balance of the Force, it also means Rey has to die by him as well.

Now if that"s not awfully tragically romantic, then I don't know what. But seeing as this is Disney, they might find a way around both of them needing to die. I think it would be having to give up the Force for good.

I love how this article acknowledges that Rey and Ben are peacefully in balance when they work together (Praet fight and Skype sessions) yet they just can't fullt agree since that is their nature as Dark and Light and must always be against each other.

IoJovi wrote:Just got back from my second viewing, and let me tell you guys, I feel better the second time around.  There’s so much foreshadowing to them in the middle of the movie during the height of the Reylo scenes.  Yes I expected their relation to work in the opposite direction of how it actually went, as I’m sure all of us did, but I’m still alright, judging by what I picked up on the second time around.

Rey and Ben telling each other’s futures is probably the biggest clue.  Rey tells Luke that Ben Solo is the galaxy’s only hope would have to be true if he’s the only descendant of the Skywalkers, given they’re the main family.  Ben tells Rey he sees her by his side in the end.  Yes in that same sentence, he says she goes dark, and I’m wondering if they’re going to switch and ultimately save each other from darkness until they meet in the middle.

Heck, had even ONE of them met each other half way instead of tearing the legacy saver on two, the battle of Crait never would have happened.

Piper Maru wrote:
Also, I love how another Ben is the Galaxy's only hope.

Rei of Sunshine wrote:This is my fave part of the article.

It helps clarify how and why Kylo Ren feels the pull to the Light.

Rey is drawn to the heart of the island of Ahch-To, it is not due to a beacon of light from the Jedi Temple—it is from the lure of an inviting darkness. In search of answers, a waterlogged Rey finds herself inside the belly of Ahch-To. It’s a cold and secluded place reserved for the dark side, yet it remains unthreatened by Rey’s presence. She has come looking for her origins, but finds only a mirror.

This is because she is the shiny reflection of the sark, and for there to be balance, light and dark must co-exist without fear. There cannot be one without the other, and Rey could not exist without Kylo Ren or the Skywalker legacy. This difficult to grapple concept is why she finds Luke’s stalling tactics so frustrating, and Ben’s ear so therapeutic. He too knows what it is like to struggle with a heritage he doesn’t fully comprehend. This similarity is what binds them so well… and scares Luke half to death.

When Luke first attempts to teach Rey a lesson about the Force, she is instinctively dragged into the dark side’s pit. “You didn’t even it fight it,” Luke shivers. That is because both she and Kylo are naturally drawn to the other’s allure, and their fates are entwined. This is not to say there is a romantic connection between the two... but the attraction of it exists for both parties

Darth_Awakened wrote:

Rei of Sunshine wrote:http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/star-wars/269668/star-wars-the-last-jedi-what-exactly-is-the-rey-kylo-ren-relationship

Great article. Must read guys. It helped clarify my understanding of what was shown about the Force and what it means to Kylo and Rey.

I love how the writer doubles down on the fact that Rey and Ben are undeniable drawn to each other. They didn't imply it as a romantic attraction, but a spiritual connection instead.

That Rey was basically the Force's answer to Anakin's (Dark) legacy.

They go on about needing the Skywalker legacy to end, meaning that Kylo has to die by Rey's blade. But to keep up the balance of the Force, it also means Rey has to die by him as well.

Now if that"s not awfully tragically romantic, then I don't know what. But seeing as this is Disney, they might find a way around both of them needing to die. I think it would be having to give up the Force for good.

I love how this article acknowledges that Rey and Ben are peacefully in balance when they work together (Praet fight and Skype sessions) yet they just can't fullt agree since that is their nature as Dark and Light and must always be against each other.

@Rei of Sunshine

Although I agree on some of the points of the article. I still can't see that the overall story of maturing aka the path from childhood to adulthood
will end in the tragic death for both of them.

It's basically: we didn't get Rey Skywalker - now, they both must die.

Atenais wrote:

MeadowofAshes wrote:I seriously wonder if the entire purpose was to make the audience hate everyone except Ben -- really put us in his shoes and let us experience his emotions that came from being abused and then made to feel like a monster by the people who were supposed to be protecting him: coldness, an unsettling disturbance, deep sadness and disappointment, and sheer rage. Because that's sure as hell all I felt by the time Renperor happened.

If that was the goal -- Mission Accomplished.

Re ReyPoe: I hope she does go to bed with him. I hope she realizes he's as self-centered, narcissistic an a** there as he is in the cockpit. And then I hope she thinks about HandSex with Ben and knows deep down in her gut he'd have been the sensuous, tender lover she really wanted because he actually has freaking feelings for her.

@MeadowofAshes

Can I join your league? I'm with you in this.

I was thinking about the movie, and I remember one scene that disturbed me in the moment. When the fight with PG ended, Kylo looked at Snoke, as he was just assimilating what he had done, "I killed my master". It was just such a little but emotional scene, and Rey just looked at him as it wasn't important. I'm starting to think that, right now, he has more feelings for her than the other way around.

Rei of Sunshine wrote:This is my fave part of the article.

It helps clarify how and why Kylo Ren feels the pull to the Light.

Rey is drawn to the heart of the island of Ahch-To, it is not due to a beacon of light from the Jedi Temple—it is from the lure of an inviting darkness. In search of answers, a waterlogged Rey finds herself inside the belly of Ahch-To. It’s a cold and secluded place reserved for the dark side, yet it remains unthreatened by Rey’s presence. She has come looking for her origins, but finds only a mirror.

This is because she is the shiny reflection of the sark, and for there to be balance, light and dark must co-exist without fear. There cannot be one without the other, and Rey could not exist without Kylo Ren or the Skywalker legacy. This difficult to grapple concept is why she finds Luke’s stalling tactics so frustrating, and Ben’s ear so therapeutic. He too knows what it is like to struggle with a heritage he doesn’t fully comprehend. This similarity is what binds them so well… and scares Luke half to death.

When Luke first attempts to teach Rey a lesson about the Force, she is instinctively dragged into the dark side’s pit. “You didn’t even it fight it,” Luke shivers. That is because both she and Kylo are naturally drawn to the other’s allure, and their fates are entwined. This is not to say there is a romantic connection between the two... but the attraction of it exists for both parties

ZioRen wrote:I saw people speculating elsewhere if Rey could have kept a good grip on Kylo and his "rule" and pushed him in a better direction if she'd stayed with him. I mean, the conversation I saw was in the context of "if Rey was smart, she would have stayed knowing she could manipulate Kylo into being not so evil because he's infatuated with her", but it did make me wonder what influence Rey could have if she did stay but still didn't agree with his methods. Would she be able to tame or calm Kylo's "burn it to the ground" mindset in any way?