Star Wars Spoilers Thread [Spoilers]

So here's my review: 100% a Star Wars film which belongs with the original trilogy.

It's a transitional film, but it does it well. The new generation is really good.

I think the major death was kinda signposted a bit. You knew it was coming long before it happened. I felt worse for Chewie, but he, Rey, and BB8 make a great team.

Is this the first Star Wars film where nobody gets their hand cut off?

Luke lives in Ireland, eh?

Question: WHY was there a map to Luke, and why was it split into two? I feel like I missed something. For that matter, why a map and not just some coordinates? Seems like a random puzzle set up for the sake of it.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Why don't we instead talk about Ewoks and our love for them?

Personally I have no beef with the Ewoks. I loved Jedi and thought the Ewoks were a great part of it.

 

[MarkB]

None of these events are directly referenced after they happened. The kiss happens, and is never mentioned again. Lars and Beru die, and once that scene is over, as far as I recall they are never mentioned again in the trilogy. Luke should be in mourning for months afterwards - for all intents and purposes, he saw the burned corpses of his *parents* lying on the ground, for cryin' out loud! Obi-Wan should be directly referencing this event as he trains Luke, as Luke should be *filled* with anger and pain, and a ripe target for the Dark Side at that moment, but... nope. Not a peep - five minutes later it is like nothing major has happened, and we never hear about them again.

The scene at the destroyed sandcrawler seemed perfectly adequate for action-movie purposes - with the sad music, the droids on cremation detail, and Obi-Wan telling Luke not to blame himself - if he'd been there, there was nothing he could have done except die with them - is all a sufficiently somber scene of grieving.

And I don't think Luke got over them easily at all - I think the whole reason he fixated upon Obi-Wan and embraced his training was as a surrogate father-figure in place of his lost loved ones.

Alderaan dies, and there are some gasps and a Jedi senses badness, and it is never referenced again in the film. You'd imagine that some pilot going at the Death Star would shout "For Alderaan!" or something. But, as I recall it, *nothing* is said.

"You're safe! When we heard about Alderaan we feared the worst."

"We have no time for sorrows, Commander."

Brief, but made effective enough by the mournful embrace that accompanies it.

 

[Umbran]

The scene at the destroyed sandcrawler seemed perfectly adequate for action-movie purposes

Yes, I agree. And already said that how they handled it was okay, for what the movie is. But, by extension, how they deal with the kiss (not at all) is also perfectly adequate for action-movie purposes.

I simply have issue with the *kiss* being a big deal, when we compare to other things that get similarly glossed over. The kiss is not special, in this regard.

 

[Istbor]

Personally I have no beef with the Ewoks. I loved Jedi and thought the Ewoks were a great part of it.

Good. I don't really either.

I mean sure, they can beat some storm troopers who lets face it, probably made a mistake in underestimating them. They also get the meat kicked out of them too in a few shots.


And the kiss? That is still to me, the strange part of this whole conversation. The mere fact that we are discussing it as such a length is completely unexpected. It was such an innocuous event, even when you learn the truth.

 

[RPGer]

I agree with it feeling like "Star Wars Greatest Hits" at times, even with Luke playing the Yoda role. It had the humor back from the first series as well. Overall, very enjoyable start to the new trilogy.

 

[Maxperson]

But the kiss isn't mentioned at all. Both of the other issues raised get dealt with when they happen (no one pretends they didn't the way they pretend the kiss never occurred). It is just efficiency of the medium moving things along. We even see Obi-Wan react to the destruction of Alderaan when he senses it.

Dealt with?!?!? Luke mourns for a few seconds and is completely over the murder of his entire family by the time he gets to Mos Eisley for the droid scene. Leia shows a similar lack when Alderaan is destroyed. The briefness of their mourning is comparable to the brief discomfort of parties that accompanies the kissing scenes. Again, you don't get to have it both ways.

 

[Maxperson]

Both Luke and Leia react to those things though. It is an adventure movie, they are not going to play out Leia's grieving process in real time

It's an adventure movie. We are not going to see them play out incest horror waaaaaaay after the fact.

 

[Maxperson]

Why don't we instead talk about Ewoks and our love for them?

Yes! They're absolutely delicious when roasted slowly on a spit. I just love them.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It's an adventure movie. We are not going to see them play out incest horror waaaaaaay after the fact.

Well, I stated I felt they handled it correctly. I don't think they ought to have addressed it. I consider it an inconsistency but an inconsistency that is worth the wrinkle it creates, and addressing it would have just been odd. That said it wouldn't have to be played for horror to be addressed. It could have been handled with humor (which probably would have been more in keeping with the spirit of the film).

 

[Bedrockgames]

Dealt with?!?!? Luke mourns for a few seconds and is completely over the murder of his entire family by the time he gets to Mos Eisley for the droid scene. Leia shows a similar lack when Alderaan is destroyed. The briefness of their mourning is comparable to the brief discomfort of parties that accompanies the kissing scenes. Again, you don't get to have it both ways.

Yes. It was dealt with. Again, efficiency of the medium. In movies like this, you deal with those things efficiently and then move on. Like the other poster I agree that having Luke go back to risk his life to intervene demonstrates his care (the fact that he fully embraces becoming a Jedi after also shows the impact) and the music clearly is meant to indicate the profound impact this has on him (and in star wars half the story is told through the music). After that though, yes we are focused on the adventure, which is fine. That isn't a lack of consistency. That is efficiency. The kiss is inconsistent because it is never addressed at all.

The same with Leia. She definitely shows how she feels about Alderaan when it happens. So it is dealt with. Plus we get plenty of weight from Obi-Wan's reaction when he senses it. Then the full weight of it is shown to the viewer when all that is left are bits and pieces of it. For a movie like star wars any further dwelling on the issue would have taken away from the impact of Obi-Wan's sensing the deaths of the inhabitants of Alderaan. So these were both addressed and the movie does move on (though arguably these things both strengthen Luke and Leia's resolve).