33 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 270: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Wonder (2017)”

1. Woah! What?! You’re blaming this listener-reaction on me? The reaction came from your (Ryan, Jason and Karl’s) lukewarm to snarky tweets. The only things I added to the conversation were that 1. Those listeners who were hoping Ryan was going to defend The Last Jedi against might be disappointed (because I knew that Ryan was torn/mixed), that 2. Matt would be an excellent guest because he had seen the film 4 times and he shared some keen insights with me when we watched it, and 3. That the listeners who wanted to defend the films to me should send YOU their thoughts rather than send them to ME, since I’m not on the podcast. I’m helping the “inter-network” communication, not stirring anything up. I was getting inundated as much as you were.

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   • Ha ha ha. Poor Josh. Thanks for your help, Buddy. You’re still having to pay for your close associations and friendship with us. I’m sorry.
     -J

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   • The Wolfman had our back, unlike some people I might mention…

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   • This is true, Joshie didn’t stir anything up, we were all already stirred up from your very snarky tweets. Remember, we’re reading these tweets out of context, so of course they sounded negative and snarky! Next time, try to be a little more subtle and you’ll get a better reaction.

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   • What upsets me most is that I had my pitchfork out and the ratings weren’t even that bad. It’s like Jay and the cinema have become frenemies.

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2. my views on the last jedi , i love the new movie because it showed how flawed luke and the jedi has always been , and am so glad this movie made that choice , and i like it made all the die hard star wars fans butt hurt. and it was not the same old same like force awaking was.

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3. The argument about Luke not caring about the lightsaber is typical fanboy complaint imho. Luke is at a point where his position about him and the Jedi is bigger than the history that lightsaber holds. That’s just you wanting him to be the Luke he was when he was young, which is very different than the Luke we met in the movie.

   It’s wierd how you guys seem to get what the movie was going for and yet there are aspects of your fanboyism that prevent you from fully liking and understanding the movie as it is. As a non-hardcore fan, I can’t completely fault you for that.

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   • Buuuuuut I am happy that you actually understood the movie and scores it higher than I expected based on your tweets.

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     • This is the first time I wholeheartedly disagree with everything Solo has said. I don’t think he understood the movie at all and he seems to have taken everything at face value, at least as far as everything he said in his review.

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       • I don’t totally/exactly remember what I said…
         What exactly was I wrong about?

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         • William,

           First of all let me apologize for sounding so harsh. I didn’t realize I was sounding so angry when I wrote this. I guess I got caught up in the moment haha. Let me also add that I didn’t finish listening to your entire review and scores before I posted those comments. I think what happened is that you went on this really long string of complaints that seemed so trivial to me, that it seemed like you hated the movie for the wrong reasons, which I now know that’s not the case. I also listened to your review of it on The Sci-fi Podcast and your thoughts are lot more fleshed out, so I take back what I said. You’re one of my favorite podcasters and our opinions usually line up, so that combined with my love for The Last Jedi really triggered something in me. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed the movie and that it was able to mend your broken heart.

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       • Juan,
         The Star Wars Prequels broke my fan boy heart. Yes, there are some good in them, but overall, they created a dark time for me and my Star Wars nerdism.

         The Force Awakens and Rouge One started giving me a new hope in the franchise, and The Last Jedi, flaws and all, fixed my wounded fan boy heart.

         If you want to hear me give a very detailed analytical breakdown of The Last Jedi, then here is a link to the Sci-Fi Podcast where I explain in great detail why I love The Last Jedi.

         http://thescifipodcast.com/the-sci-fi-podcast-episode-46-star-wars-the-last-jedi/

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   • I would just like to point out, Juan, that I think I have proven over the years that I cannot be accused of being a “Star Wars” fanboy… I’m frequently quite critical of the series, in fact. So, I think it says something, at least, that even I thought those aspects were problematic, and I’m not even precious about this property…
     -J

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     • Jay, you find a lot of things problematic when they’re not. Just saying.

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   • I understand that Luke didn’t care about the lightsaber any more, but the thing that annoyed me was the tossing over the shoulder. It would have been a realistic thing for someone like Robert Downey Douchebag in the Avengers to toss it over his shoulder, but not for Luke Skywalker. I loved the film, but that just seemed like a bit of a cheap gag which wasn’t funny and could have been dealt with better.

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4. Hey guys, really appreciate that you played the entirety of my gibberish rambling voicemail. Maybe next time I’ll give more than 5mins after a movie to pull my thoughts together.**Spoiler Alert** Some of the complaints on the review seem misplaced. Like Luke tossing the lightsaber. If you look at what he did to bring about the end of the Jedi Order, basically giving in to the dark side to prevent Ben from going over should tell you why he wants no part of the force or the jedi. To me, the main theme of the movie is let the old world of Star Wars die. Sure Snoke and Phasma are new characters that didn’t really get enough time to develop, especially Phasma. I read her backstory novel, but none of that is in the movie except her chrome armor. Maybe she isnt dead, I really hope not. Killing Snoke at first seemed the biggest mistake, but now I really think it makes sense. All 6 of the original saga movies had an emperor or Palpatine running things and having either Vader or Dooku being the enforcer. Once again they break away from that and let Kylo run things instead of answering to someone. Not to mention they said that the EU is no longer cannon, which having Rey’s parents just random people also ends any chance of having ties to the old families, like Skywalker or Kenobi. I still say this movie is a masterpiece that’s starting to set up the new story of Star Wars 10/10

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5. Star Wars is a fantasy film with sci-fi trappings. That is to say, lasers, space, aliens, and blasters take the place of swords and goblins and the like. But it is, at it’s core, a fantasy film with magic, rogues, princesses, and issues couched behind the fairy tale style of telling stories.

   And it was funny to have Karl say that he wasn’t expecting anything other than… And he went on to talk about precisely what he was expecting. Now I’m going to drop a bigger bomb for you and really get some disagreements: this movie is the Unforgiven of astar Wars films. It takes all the familiar tropes, addresses them, turns them in their head and tells a deeper story about characters then one would expect.

   One thing I disagreed with, though… Ryan kept going back to the line “kill it if you have to” and I think we need to acknowledge that Johnson made THAT the only way Kyli thought he could move on… But Rey preserves the past. She saves the Jedi texts, she continues the traditions, she is using the past and the legend for what it was meant to be… A spark of hope, something to learn by but accept that it comes with flaws and blemishes. Rian doesn’t discard the past to move on… He ultimately embraces it, alters how it affects the characters and pushes the universe beyond the Skywalker legacy… The legacy of Anakin,about whom this new trilogy continues to circle.

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   • Ine additional note for Mattroid… The last time Luke saw the lightsaber was not when he lost it at cloud city. As we learn, in the film, the last time he saw it was the night he failed and Ben Solo murdered the other students and razed the Jedi Academy to the ground. I, personally, find that scene to be crucial to the film and the story… It’s a shock to the system and if you get on board at that moment, you’ll be in for the rest.
     That decision, when people watch this movie in years to come, will go down as one if the pivotal scenes in the Star Wars universe. The fact that it played with the audience expectation and delivered that shock was amazing to me.

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   • And the “day to day” montage… I don get how people miss this, or who they THOUGHT Luke Skywalker was… But, you know what? I am just starting to think that people do not pay any attention to the movies Hy watch. Luke started out as the son of a great Jedi knight… Raise on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

     Thirty years later, he is back to being a humble farm boy living in the middle of nowhere. He milks a cow, fishes for dinner, and basically lives off the grid and quiet. He’s done looking for adventure… He’s showing Rey that he’s put the adventure behind him. He isn’t just telling her “exposition dump”, he’s showing her hat his life is now.

     His life is simple. It’s done visually, in a way that information and entertains, but the message is clear. This is what I mean about expectations… Everyone wanted to see the new adventure if Luke, but that’s not who is anymore. Rian Johnson had 2 and a half hours to strip away preconcieved notions so that we could move on with the story and Luke could find his place. We had to strip away the “legend” so that Rian could show us how important the Legend really is and why. We needed to see the “reality”, the grime and grit, so that we could understand Luke’s sacrifices later in the film.

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6. Some good discussion on Last Jedi, guys. For me, it had some clunky aspects earlier on, but started getting awesome about halfway through and kept that up until the end. And as was the case with Force Awakens, the first viewing was more just taking it in and saying, “Please don’t suck! Please don’t suck!”, and the second viewing more of a real appreciation. There are many big and wonderful moments here, and I loved a lot of it. I’m going with a 9, which is where Force Awakens ended up. I do think that Force Awakens is just a little bit more of a consistently *good* film, in terms of cinematography, dialogue, humor, moments that work, and in building the characters of Rey and Kylo and Finn. But Last Jedi is more ambitious and creative and has a couple of better “wow” moments.

   I do think there is a lot about TFA that is original and new, and it’s not merely a rehash of Ep. 4 (though the Death Star thing definitely is). In terms of being derivative, I think Last Jedi is perhaps moreso, of both Empire and Return of the Jedi. But so what… There’s a lot that’s new and entertaining and meaningful.

   Everything to do with Luke I loved, including him throwing the lightsaber away. And that conversation with Yoda… whew. Burn down the old religion. Yes! (I want a poster of that last shot with the two of them and the burning tree.)

   One thing I really didn’t love, on both viewings, was the whole casino scene. I like that it showed a different kind of “scum and villainy,” i.e., the 1%, but it still felt cheesy with things like the guy trying to use BB-8 as a slot machine… Do we really need a cantina scene in every Star Wars movie?

   I do like that at this point we’re left with almost nobody from the originals (only Chewy, C-3PO and R2D2, all of whom barely had anything to do in this film… another way I preferred Force Awakens, as it seemed to give more memorable moments to all characters). So the direction of where this goes is almost completely unknown. What this final chapter will include is a fascinating question, and not one we can even really speculate much on.

   I don’t mind that they didn’t get into who Snoke was, but I also loved Snoke. That was a great CGI character and performance by Andy Serkis. I thought the way Snoke was depicted in hologram was a bit of a negative from Force Awakens, but it was great to see him in full here, and the scene with him and Rey and Kylo was fantastic.

   The Rey parents thing got a bit tedious, and I agree that it started to feel more Harry Potter than Star Wars, but the ultimate message of, “it doesn’t matter who they were” is great, as evidenced further by the kid at the end. That ending builds on that idea and connects the great impact of the whole series in a beautiful way, and also reminded me of when I was 8 years-old and this story and its characters captivated me. It wasn’t enough that it was a movie… I wanted to be part of it, and it instilled some real wonder in me and my friends and in millions around the world.

   Lastly (for now, at least), I’ll share something a friend wrote on another forum, about the weird fan backlash this film has had:

   People are angry about:
   – Snoke not being Palpatine
   – Kylo not being Vader
   – Rey not being Luke
   – Rey being nobody’s child (after cursing midi-chlorians!)
   – Star Wars being funny
   – Plot holes in Star Wars movie

   To that, I would add:
   – Leia using the force, when we know she has force capabilities

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7. I had no other plans after Christmas morning stuff, so I hit a double feature yesterday; THE DISASTER ARTIST and DOWNSIZING.

   The Disaster Artist is excellent at depicting what it depicts, i.e., the story of the making of The Room. (Btw, you don’t have to have seen The Room to appreciate this, but it would help to at least catch some of the uhhh, highlights, on YouTube.) The performances by James and especially Dave Franco are great, and there are fun supporting performances by Bob Odenkirk, Seth Rogan, Zac Efron, and others.

   But, ultimately, although I enjoyed sitting there watching it, it felt disappointing, because it wasn’t all that funny. Oh, there are some funny parts during the making of the film section, but still, overall, it feels more sad and tragic than funny. And even a lot of the funny parts are only funny in a cringing kind of way. And sure, I give it points for showing how sad and tragic this guy is, and depicting that drama well, and showing how he affected his friend who came along for the ride. But then, spoiler alert, but you should know this already… the movie becomes a cult hit. And that’s what really feels weird afterward. Because the guy is genuinely an asshole. I mean, really an asshole. And with no actual talent. And yet, there’s a sense at the end of, oh it’s okay, because somehow it worked out for you, anyway. Hooray for you, Tommy! Yay, American/Hollywood dream!

   I’m all for the idea of things that show and celebrate persevering in the face of extreme challenge and making something creative because you had the balls to do it, even when everyone else tells you that you’ll fail. I suppose that is the one thing that is redeemable about this guy. He did actually make a movie. But even then, he had the money to do it, somehow. It cost 6 million dollars to make. And he was able to promote it enough where enough people could see it to realize how bad it is. Otherwise, it would have been forgotten among so many other very bad movies that go straight to video and then straight to the bargain bin. I’m much more apt to applaud someone like the makers of The Blair Witch Project, who scraped together $20,000 to make a decent horror film and then had wild success with it. Or Kevin Smith with Clerks. To me, that’s success against the odds that’s worth celebrating.

   One of my favorite films of all time is Ed Wood (by all means, give that a spin if you haven’t seen it), and Disaster Artist is in a similar ballpark to celebrate someone who has become famous for having huge drive, but little or no actual talent. But in the case of Ed Wood (the person), he wasn’t an asshole (at least, as depicted in the film). And he had what I might call some sliver of real vision and talent, but just no means to see it through… and, as the film delightfully points out, no sense of editing or quality control to his work, when every shot was “perfect!”

   Certainly the story of The Room is worth telling, and I like that the focus of Disaster Artist ends up being more on Greg, the friend of Tommy Wiseau. I just ultimately felt weird about its conclusion, as if Tommy is somehow redeemed for being an asshole and making a bewilderingly terrible movie, just because it’s SO terrible of a movie that people can appreciate it for that. 7.5

   On the other hand, I almost had to give Tommy Wiseau a little bit more credit after having seen Downsizing, because that ended up being a terrible movie made by someone who had every right and talent to not make a terrible movie.

   I saw the trailer for Downsizing months ago and thought, what a great premise. This is going to be fun! Kristen Wiig, Matt Damon, Jason Sudeikis, Christoph Waltz… Fun, right? No. Just, no. From the very beginning, you get a sense that this is going to be humorless. It immediately has the tone of taking its premise very seriously and showing how things might be if this kind of thing actually happened. And so then, after a little while I was like, oh okay, it almost has more of a Kubrick feel to it, with some of the shot composition and the very stark feel to the dialogue. Okay, I can roll with this and appreciate it on that level. And the world-building of the premise is very well developed early on. But then it just continues being so very unentertaining. That’s probably not a word or a very good description, but it defines how I feel perfectly. It just rolls on and shows you stuff, but there’s never anything exciting or amusing, and only barely interesting.

   And then about halfway through it gets kind of um, preachy and Important (capital I), and *really* tedious. No more fun concepts or implications about this miniaturized world from that point on. And still, the ideas and messages of it aren’t bad ones, per se. But I couldn’t help but think how the movie I expected to see… more of a breezy satirical comedy… could have given the same essential messages but with that spoonful of sugar. And then, in a movie that has been almost completely humorless, there are a couple of attempts at overt jokes very late in the movie. And by that time, what?? Really??? Sorry, movie… You don’t get to do that at this point.

   It’s a mess. But unfortunately, not quite bad enough of a mess to be appreciated like The Room, which is almost worse of a crime for Downsizing. 4.5

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   • Eric; I saw Downsizing too, and had a somewhat similar experience. (Maybe you saw my review on Letterboxd) I thought it started out strong with an interesting premise and a good tone that just “downsized” as the movie progressed. I love your review here;

     “And the world-building of the premise is very well developed early on. But then it just continues being so very unentertaining.”

     “And then about halfway through it gets kind of um, preachy and Important (capital I), and *really* tedious. No more fun concepts or implications about this miniaturized world from that point on. And still, the ideas and messages of it aren’t bad ones, per se. But I couldn’t help but think how the movie I expected to see… more of a breezy satirical comedy… could have given the same essential messages but with that spoonful of sugar. “

     Exactly right! I’ve been working on my reviewing skills, and this is what I was trying to say. You said it so much better. 4.5 though? That’s a little low maybe. I gave it a 7.

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8. Thank you for such an in-depth discussion on the most talked-about film of the year. I also really enjoyed reading the message boards, and people chopping it up with their opinions and feelings.

   And now for mine…

   I would say that my assessment of the film was summed up by Ryan’s analysis, and by William Rowan Jr. I have seen the film once, and it lives for me in this awkward space: I know that aesthetically The Last Jedi was a good movie, but I too am struggling with some of the storytelling beats and creative choices.

   ***SPOILERS ABOUND FOR THE REST OF MY POST***

   First of all, to stand up (just a bit) for the fanboys when they begin to scream “Get off my Star Wars lawn, Rian Johnson!”:
   As a Star Wars “fanboy” myself, although that is admittedly a term I do not enjoy, I understand the frustrations with the new direction of the franchise. George Lucas may have plotted out the yard and planted the seeds, but it was the legion of fans that cultivated that grass, clipped it and pruned it to be the envy of all the franchise lawns in Hollywood. Star Wars was a movie that nobody wanted to finance, went through several re-writes, and transformed from the scrappy little nobody into the Force of pop culture it is today. Therefore, when I say that I had a major problem with hologram Luke whooping up on Ren, I’m coming from a franchise of films in which Luke NEVER backed down from a fight to save his friends, much less fought one from the shadows of Porg island. Leia, Lando and Chewie (and don’t forget the droids!) are arguably alive because he was heading off Vader on Bespin. Ditto Han Solo in Jabba’s palace. To see him sent packing to Force Ghost island so far away from the real fight was a major disappointment. But I guess he achieved complete Force consciousness, or something. Fair enough.
   My other major gripe was seeing Leia do her best impression of Star Lord (a moment that proves without a shadow of a doubt that Star Wars is fantasy, and NOT sci-fi). I’m not mad that Leia has force powers. She’s a Skywalker, and we have been told for some time that she could be this powerful. I’m all for that.
   To say that I suspend my disbelief while watching Star Wars would be a gargantuan understatement, but let me go on record now by saying that I draw the line at getting blown into space. I have to believe SOME fundamental truths about physics/human anatomy, and one of those truths is that if you get blown into the cold recesses of space without any sort of suit or protection, you’re dead meat pal. (That being said, I was still glad to see her character in the following scenes. So maybe I shouldn’t be that mad. But I did spend a good 20 minutes in the theater scratching my head after that moment).

   WITH ALL OF THIS BEING SAID, I did enjoy the film. Rey and Ren are two of the most compelling characters we have seen in this universe, and I can’t wait to see how their story ends. Honestly, if we spent Episode IX strictly on their story line, I wouldn’t be mad.
   Final quick thoughts:
   1) Kanto Byte (sp.?) was weird, but I love space casinos. I would sink some serious quarters into a BB-8 slot machine.
   2) I wasn’t surprised to see Phasma inserted into another worthless scene. Her character is useless and was made to sell toys. Period.
   3) This is no longer “my” franchise, and that’s okay. I’ll forever have the orig. trig. It’s time for the younger generation to have their fun too.
   4) Oscar Isaac should be in every movie.
   5) Did that scene at the end with broom boy feel a little too on the nose to anyone else? “How will we keep this rebellion alive?” Well, broom boy has the Star Wars action figures *COUGH* HASBRO, and the Rebel Alliance ring and accessories *COUGH* DISNEY. (And Rian Johnson has that sweet 3 movie deal). Somehow, I think the Rebellion will survive. They have the best marketing team in the world.
   6) Did anyone, for one second, think that the good guys WOULDN’T be okay at the end? The Empire Strikes back this was not, and I reject any and all comparisons to it.
   7) Thinking critically about this movie is like using the Force. The rational, light side of me understands that this was a good movie. The dark side wants to keep the torch of the Originals lit, rather than passing it on. I’ve always leaned a little more into the dark side….

   Thanks for your time, and sorry for the long post (not really though. I needed to work through some of those feelings.)

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   • DJ;
     Re; #’s. 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5. Bravo, Sir.

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     • Thank you. Did you enjoy the film, Jenifer?

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       • I did! Very much. And thank you for asking. I gave it an 8 out of 10. I’ve only seen it once, but I’ll happily shell out for another viewing while it’s still in theaters.

         As I sat down in the theater on opening weekend I was filled with pride and nostalgia to think that I’ve been in the theater opening weekend for every Star Wars movie that has ever come out. Star Wars is a whole thing for me (not so much individual installments) and I honestly say that I am a Star Wars fan. Opening weekend has it’s problems though (especially the late-night viewings) where it tends to draw out the hype a little and you can end up with people who don’t quite know what to do with themselves when they get excited. I like the part of this episode where the hosts talked about the theater-goers haha!

         I don’t do a lot of picking or comparing or complaining. I don’t have to sit around and watch Star Wars on repeat. I just tend to enjoy the offering and I’m usually not disappointed. (I don’t even hate Jar-Jar Binks). I thought TLJ did a good job at maintaining the flavor and feeling of the franchise in general as well as providing a good set-up where we’ll still want to go see more of these in the future.

         Great review you did there DJ, especially the gardening metaphor. Nice.

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9. Groan!!!! Yelling at my car speakers….
   The Last Jedi isn’t the best or worst of the series, but better than what many people are saying.
   I enjoyed what was given to the world by Rian Johnson. Can’t wait to see how J.J. is going to tie everything together.
   So many whiners on this podcast.

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10. The Last Jedi was better than the prequels and worse than everything else. Rian Johnson took everything that was fun and mysterious about The Force Awakens and dumped it in the trash. The movie ends with no antagonist for Kylo Ren to care about except Rey, 11 rebels with no hope for reviving help from anyone in the outer rim, and a girl with about 17 hours of Jedi not-training. Everyone is falling all over themselves to believe it was good because it was different, unexpected. It could have been equally as shocking and unexpected without completely undoing its predecessor. What’s the point of a 2 of 3 film? To bridge gaps and build anticipation for the next movie. At the end of TLJ I honestly didn’t care what happened anymore. Luke is dead, the rebellion is dead, and The First Order will have complete control of the galaxy within weeks. This is not a captured hero, injured protagonist, suspenseful build like Empire was. This is pseudo-intellectual hipster garbage that was most likely written on a laptop in a Hollywood Starbucks one morning while Johnson dipped his indie-film mocha chai triple latte.

    No Phasma
    No Luke
    No Leah (if they stick to their word)
    Chewie is now a vegan that shops at Whole Foods
    No Snoke
    No Rey’s parents mystery
    No lightsaber
    No conflict between the light and the dark (they feed each other)
    Force ghosts can bring down lightning now?
    Wait, if Finn and his 5 (at best) can jump on a mini transport and leave to a whole other planet, why don’t they just shuttle everyone to Canto Bight?
    Rey is one note the whole way.
    Hux was a psycho nazi, now he’s comic relief?
    And if they keep rolling with these types of jokes Seth McFarlan will have the family guy version practically written for him.

    Most importantly, there is nothing to work with at the end of this movie. I dislike the kumbaya “we’re all the resistance bro” message it ends on.
    And it literally makes me not care what’s going to happen in 9. Because if the story of 8 holds, Kylo Ren wins, story over.
    I am a massive Star Wars fan, but I am not going to talk myself into loving something that was marginal at best.

    The only silver lining, Kylo/Ben had some good character development.
    I actually hope he wins now. Even though he was a vehicle for Johnson’s lowest common denominator “old Star Wars sucks, this is new Star Wars” message. I think I get him.

    This movie has done a great job at tricking people into thinking it’s a huge sweeping epic that has so many surprises. But really it’s a cheap rewrite of the entire plot line setup in TFA and Disney is scrambling to back the “being devicive is GOOD” narrative to the public.

    My script for 9;
    Kylo has taken over the galaxy. There’s only one Jedi out there and the rebels are so drastically outnumbered that they’re basically a fly.
    Finn and Rose retire to degobah where they start the first intergalactic chapter of PETA.
    Leah died somehow. Who cares?
    Rey goes into hiding because the galaxy wide army is too big for her to take on herself. Hopefully there a chapter in one of those books about making new lightsabers.
    Chewie dies of malnutrition.
    R2 makes bank squeezing the udders of sea beasts for their milk and buys beach front property on Canto Bight.
    And I changed my mind. Rey goes back to Jakku to trade junk because my theme for this movie is “don’t forget your roots”. Get ready cause I’m gonna cram it down your throat every other scene.

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    • Oh. 6/10 and buy it only to complete the set. It is the Thor: Dark World movie of the franchise.

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    • Brain, don’t mix words. Tell us how you really feel. 🙂

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      • Hahaha. That review literally is me holding back. I like your comment about not overthinking it, I totally agree with that. But I feel like this movie forces you to have to underthink and ignore blatant issues.
        If I had included all of my notes on the constant discontinuities from scene to scene, and during many scenes, my post would have been too big to fit on the page. 🙄
        But I’m glad everyone liked it 🤷🏻‍♂️ I’m no movie expert, just a grumpy scientist.

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11. My biggest problem with the movie is overthinking it. Especially the scenes with the Empire starships chasing down the Republic cruisers. Why didn’t the medical frigate and other cruiser do the whole light-speed battering ram trick as a way to go down fighting? Okay, okay, I’ll admit that on the first watch I didn’t think of it…that has got to be a go-to tactic from here on out.

    And man, if Chewie has already killed, plucked, eviscerated, cut up, and cooked that Porg, I am pretty sure he would just dig in. The scene would have been a lot funnier if he just would have chomped into it. He could have still snagged one as a pet co-pilot (and possible future snack).

    I don’t understand all the Phasma talk. That chick got the exact amount of screen-time she deserved. You want to talk about a character that was robbed on screen? See Boba Fett. That guys role in Return of the Jedi was laughable. I still love him, of course. I mean, everybody does. Phasma is no Fett, and her screen time was just fine.

    The dumbest scene for me? After the light-speed attack on the Empire, Rose is pulling Finn towards a working ship amid the destruction. The carnage includes just a few stormtrooper bodies. Where did they all go? Wasn’t there hundreds all around them prior to the explosion? They are gone. Then Phasma and a squad of troopers come marching up from somewhere else as if the previous execution gathering never occurred. Ridiculous. But I could probably find silly moments like that in other Star Wars movies.

    But I really did like this movie, minor gripes aside.

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12. Just listening to this now having just watched the movie. Really good analysis and I agree with most of what is said… One thing bugged me though, when William Rowan Jr. said that Chewy didn’t have much to do in the film. Although he is a little underused perhaps, there is a whole scene with Chewy flying the Millennium Falcon through the crystal cave and he flies it like an absolute badass! Really enjoyed that scene and kind of felt that Chewy was given his moment of glory. I agree it would have been better/funnier if he just ate the damn porg he cooked though. Anyway, I’d give it a 9 out of 10. Plenty to enjoy and definite re-watchability for this movie.

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