Star Wars The Last Jedi 4K UHD

Phenomenal. Between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Disney has succeeded in making Star Wars fun again. Where the prequels were meandering and senseless (with a soupçon of ill-advised “comic relief” flatulence/poop jokes), the new films are well structured and build to satisfying conclusions, with humor that doesn’t undercut the tone. SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT “TFA” and “TLJ” are about change and new beginnings. We are slowly but surely saying goodbye to the Skywalker family; George Lucas’ silly vision of Anakin, etc. as THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT MATTER IN THE WHOLE GALAXY has been retired in favor of a vision of a more democratic version of the Force, not contingent on the number of bugs in your bloodstream. Why? The Jedi Order looks ridiculous under the weight of Lucas’ prequels, Clone Wars cartoons, and his expanded universe. While the original trilogy gives a sense of a small but dedicated order of spiritual warriors, Lucas later transformed them into a massive order of celibate warrior monks and bodyguards, answerable to no one but an inept council that has no foresight and delivers intentional slights to its own members on a whim. Many have commented on how the Jedi Council seems to act only in service of propelling the plot, without any identifiable “in-universe” reason. Example: Anakin is elevated to the Council but spuriously denied the title of Master. We are not given a real reason, except for the fact that we know Anakin needs to feel betrayed by the Jedi so he can have the motivation to turn against them. If the council thought for a moment, they would instead deny Anakin a spot on the Council altogether under the argument that he was not ready yet, or they could just elevate him to full Master status and overrule him when he allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Either option may have failed to mollify him completely, but might have avoided his turn to the Dark Side, which was precisely what they wanted to prevent in the first place! In contrast, the characters in the new films are fresh and unencumbered by the lore of Star Wars. It’s nice to see strong women in these films; my two-year-old daughter will one day be able to see Rey as the hero of Star Wars movies, something that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Likewise, although there are callbacks to the original trilogy, these new films are clearly forging their own path, so to speak. The death of Snoke was surprising and satisfying; in three seconds, the dynamic of the entire trilogy was permanently altered. Kyle Ren’s inner conflict and ultimate embrace of the Dark Side (while simultaneously rejecting Snoke’s teachings about the Dark and the Light) was suspenseful and well done. And sad as it was to see Luke die, it was necessary for the films to move forward (and not entirely unexpected on my part). And of course, how could I not mention the return of Yoda to confront Luke about his indecision and doubts, to remind him that failure is the greatest teacher, and to remind us that Luke, whose mind is never on where he is or what he is doing, is not perfect. And that last image of Luke, older and wiser, watching two suns set, is poignant and perfect. Some criticism has been leveled at the “new” force powers, like astral projection and telepathy. Are these new, though? If the Jedi can control the minds and thoughts of others, why can force-sensitive individuals not communicate telepathically? Luke and Darth Vader did just that in “Empire” (“Luke...” “Father?”). And if Jedi can become Force ghosts after death, why can’t they project an image of themselves across space? The truth is, “The Force” is whatever the writers say it is, like it or not. All in all, I found The Last Jedi to be satisfying. Rey found a new way that rejects the dogma of the Jedi order (much like Leto’s Golden Path in “God Emperor of Dune” rejected the dogma of Muad’Dib’s religion and the restrictions of the Bene Geserit sisterhood), Kylo Ren fulfilled the destiny of a Sith Lord by killing his master before rejecting the Sith, the Resistance created new heroes, and we saw Leia get a proper send off (“No one is ever truly gone,”). Don’t listen to the naysayers; the special effects are fantastic, the characters change and grow, and the story moves forward. Read more

Yeah, good fun that is definitely not a one or two star film like some of the true dregs out there these days. Yet look at the user ratings breakdown. Not sure what the most popular reason for irrationally hating every second of this visually stunning YA space fantasy movie is, but that ridiculously melodramatic reaction is undeniable when looking at some of these reviews. Some are so lost in nostalgia that they can't accept the aging heroes making way for a new generation. Heck, they can't even accept upgrades in their comic relief droids. Some desperately wanted to see Luke go out slaughtering storm troopers like younglings and refuse to understand or appreciate why he is the last Jedi. Screw a message with even slight nuance or philosophy, just show me poor old Mark Hamill spinning around with a lightsaber. I guess the disgraceful and awkward handling of Yoda in the prequel trilogy wasn't enough of a lesson for them. Some truly are very angry that the messages that the film sends could possibly be seen to be relevant to current political situations. This is both pretty much unavoidable and very well handled in the movie. I think that, for some politically motivated haters, the character of Kylo Ren just hits a little too close to home for comfort. Overall, this is a very enjoyable movie, but not a serious masterpiece of any kind. It isn't meant to be. It's meant to be accessible and popular with kids. It is undeniably exciting and visually beautiful. It also isn't an almost direct reshoot of Empire, like TFA was for A New Hope. This is, quite simply, the defining series in blockbuster young adult friendly space fantasy. It can't be killed by one movie despite what you might hear from trolls. This should be obvious after it survived pod racing with no problems. The movies have made huge leaps in terms of writing and are better off for it. The original trilogy was great for its time, but the writing almost seemed to insult the intelligence of its audience. Modern viewers prefer characters with nuance and serious flaws that need to be overcome or accepted. Han always did shoot first, but that aspect of his character is mostly ignored in the rest of the story. Heck, they literally tried to erase it. Palpatine was also never explained in any detail until the prequels. Boba Fett became a fan favorite with almost zero actual dialogue, a pathetic on screen death, and a mean looking suit of armor. Yet suddenly, even the amazing advancement this movie did make in terms of character development is not enough for those who look back perhaps too fondly and blindly on the original from their childhood. For all of its nostalgia value and seminal importance, the original trilogy was full of two dimensional paper characters. This movie marks the first time that the mainline trilogy has deviated from that formula, and I am glad that they saw the strong appeal and success that this sort of writing brought to Rogue One. The movie is nothing less than a positive step forward for the series in literally every single aspect. Rian Johnson refused to apologize or tiptoe when doing that, and almost seems insulted by the suggestion that he should. I agree with him wholeheartedly and cannot wait to see what he does with his own trilogy. Read more