Notes on Watching "The Last Jedi" at 11 a.m. in Fort Oglethorpe, GA
OK, serious spoilers alert. Do not read if you haven't seen it.
Yes, I went about as early as I could have. I was off work, the first day of Christmas break, and wondrously free of obligations. My son was going, so I went (he went twice yesterday).
It's very good, even for nominal Star Wars fans. (Me). I enjoyed every minute of it, lots of suspense because it was clear from the start that it wasn't going to fall on all the usual tropes. The killing of Snoke, the hologram of Luke, the ploys of Holdo, Benecio del Toro's part, Rey's parents, and several others. All the best characters still there, Chewy, droids. Really like the casino planet. Even the explosions and the strange little birds didn't get on my nerves. The last planet was cool with the red and white "soil." Wonderful end with the children. Theme of hope balanced with reality, nothing maudlin but definitely moving.
But as I watched, I did have some questions.
1. Why does Kylo Ren not look at all like his parents?
2. What does Kylo Ren mean, when his name is really Ben Solo?
3. Why does he want to kill both his parents? Even Darth protected his momma.
4. Are we supposed to think Kylo Ren is "hot?" Is Rey attracted to him?
5. Is the Jedi force thing supposed to be genetic or not? I think they have messed with us on that. Metachlorins and all that nonsense.
6. Why can't they get Rey some new clothes? Seriously.
7. Why do the women of a certain age wear such impactical clothes? (i.e., Laura Dern and Carrie Fisher)
8. Am I the only person who was uncomfortable watching an actor who has been dead a year?
9. Who pays for the weapons of the Resistance? Who is behind them financially?
10. Why are the ethnicities in this galaxy the same as on our current planet? How did that happen?
11. It's interesting that Luke and Leia's voices deepened so much with age.
12. In this universe/galaxy, do people not need showers or bathing?
13 Was Kylo Ren truthful when he said that Rey's parents were just junk traders who sold her for drinking money?
14. Is there some class thing about the British accents?
15. Is Daisy Ridley too pretty for this role?
16. Is Finn the "magical Negro" part? I know that sounds awful, but it's a stock character in films and stories, going back to Uncle Tom. (I'm being controversial here). A desexualized black character who saves all but has no identity of his own. He's played for laughs in the beginning but seems to start having some real identity toward the end. Perhaps in the last one he will be a real person; the fact that he was a stormtrooper may be more the issue, and he will eventually be a full character.
17. Are they going to end this with romances? (that would be weak). Rey with Poe, Finn with Rose? Kylo with nobody?
18. How are they going to explain death of Leia? She made it all the way to the end of this one.
Yes, I went about as early as I could have. I was off work, the first day of Christmas break, and wondrously free of obligations. My son was going, so I went (he went twice yesterday).
It's very good, even for nominal Star Wars fans. (Me). I enjoyed every minute of it, lots of suspense because it was clear from the start that it wasn't going to fall on all the usual tropes. The killing of Snoke, the hologram of Luke, the ploys of Holdo, Benecio del Toro's part, Rey's parents, and several others. All the best characters still there, Chewy, droids. Really like the casino planet. Even the explosions and the strange little birds didn't get on my nerves. The last planet was cool with the red and white "soil." Wonderful end with the children. Theme of hope balanced with reality, nothing maudlin but definitely moving.
But as I watched, I did have some questions.
1. Why does Kylo Ren not look at all like his parents?
2. What does Kylo Ren mean, when his name is really Ben Solo?
3. Why does he want to kill both his parents? Even Darth protected his momma.
4. Are we supposed to think Kylo Ren is "hot?" Is Rey attracted to him?
5. Is the Jedi force thing supposed to be genetic or not? I think they have messed with us on that. Metachlorins and all that nonsense.
6. Why can't they get Rey some new clothes? Seriously.
7. Why do the women of a certain age wear such impactical clothes? (i.e., Laura Dern and Carrie Fisher)
8. Am I the only person who was uncomfortable watching an actor who has been dead a year?
9. Who pays for the weapons of the Resistance? Who is behind them financially?
10. Why are the ethnicities in this galaxy the same as on our current planet? How did that happen?
11. It's interesting that Luke and Leia's voices deepened so much with age.
12. In this universe/galaxy, do people not need showers or bathing?
13 Was Kylo Ren truthful when he said that Rey's parents were just junk traders who sold her for drinking money?
14. Is there some class thing about the British accents?
15. Is Daisy Ridley too pretty for this role?
16. Is Finn the "magical Negro" part? I know that sounds awful, but it's a stock character in films and stories, going back to Uncle Tom. (I'm being controversial here). A desexualized black character who saves all but has no identity of his own. He's played for laughs in the beginning but seems to start having some real identity toward the end. Perhaps in the last one he will be a real person; the fact that he was a stormtrooper may be more the issue, and he will eventually be a full character.
17. Are they going to end this with romances? (that would be weak). Rey with Poe, Finn with Rose? Kylo with nobody?
18. How are they going to explain death of Leia? She made it all the way to the end of this one.
Comments