I saw TLJ recently, and was extremely impressed by the film. I'm glad we only had to wait two years to see this, instead of three (like in the OT & the PT days). I liked The Force Awakens, but TLJ really pulled me into the world of the Sequels in a way that TFA did not. TOJ had an excellent story, acting, effects - all with some unexpected "twists". The film was also extremely sad & poignant as well - it was definitely the end of an era. There are SPOILERS below, so please stop reading if you haven't seen the film yet & want to be surprised.
Comments:
-TLJ started off immediately with a lot of action, and rarely let up throghout the movie. Excellent battle scenes, both in space & on land.
-It was interesting that this is the first SW film to take place chronologically immediately after the end of the previous film in the series, i.e. TFA. At the very end of TFA, you saw Ren going to the planet where Luke had secluded himself, and handing him the lightsaber. In TLJ, you saw this same event from a different angle, and the subsequent outcome. In all of the other SW films there were gaps between films; typically the movies chronoloically took place 1-more years apart. However, in the case of TFA & TLJ - you could almost say that both films - when combined - were one long movie.
-Nice to see Bille Lourd (Carrie Fisher's daugther) in the film, and I liked the small "Princess Leia" hair buns - nice homage
-I think the film did a good job of making it clear that Luke wasn't really at fault re: Kylo Ren's complete submission to the dark side, though it was interesting to see the flashback event (when Luke was standing over Kylo with the lit lightsaber) from two different perspectives - Kylo's & Luke's. Luke stated that he felt Kylo was already well on his way to the dark side & that he needed to be destroyed. However, Kylo felt Luke was attacking him unjustly. That being said, I think it's clear that Kylo would have turned to the dark side irregardless of what Luke did/didn't do.
-Interesting that Supreme Leader Snoke didn't appear to be that much of a threat in either TFA or TLJ. He didn't do much, and, seemed to be killed fairly easily by Kylo Ren in TLJ - though, in all fairness, he didn't see the betrayal by Ren coming, until it was too late.
-Cool to see the Red Elite Praetorian Guards in action - great outfit/concept/design, and they're very formidable opponents with unusual weapons. They're obviously based on the Emperor's Royal Guards from ROTJ (1983) - even though you never saw the Emperor's Royal Guards in action (in the films), based on the EU (if it's considered "canon"😉 they were deadly assassins.
-Even though Kylo Ren betrayed Snoke, I was glad to see Disney/Lflm. didn't do something unrealistic/stupid like make him turn to the good side. That would have been a cop-out, especially given that he killed his father in TFA - which to me makes the character beyond redemption. It made perfect sense to have him kill Snoke & help Rey (temporarily) kill the EPG's so he could - in turn - become the Supreme Leader. It also fit in with the character re: being a back-stabbing P.O.S. (as was seen when he betrayed the Jedi, joined the dark side, killed his father, etc.)
-Very nice to see all of the new tech. - especially those vehicles/ships that were based on OT tech., but somewhat modified. The Advanced AT-ST & the newer, bulkier AT-AT's looked great. And, the new AT-ST especially looked more sinister than the original version from ESB/ROTJ.
-Nice to see the ghost of Yoda again - not seen (in the films) since the end of ROTJ.
The junky-looking Resistance Ski Speeders (seen in the end battle) were great ships, and fit right into the "used" SW universe - as established in the OT. They looked like intentional rough "prototypes" for the B-wings in ROTJ.
I also noticed the Rebel Blockade Runner-like ships - the RBR's were one of my favorite ships from the OT.
-I was slightly surprised to see "mainstream" Hollywood actors/actresses like Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro, and Justin Theroux in a new SW film.
-The casino setting & aliens was interesting, and was an obvious homage to the cantina in ANH. Very nice.
-I was somewhat surprised & sad to see Luke die, but ultimately this made sense in the context of the story. After all, these films are about the "passing of the torch" of the older generation of heroes to the newer generation, i.e. Rey, Finn, Poe. That being said, his death hit much harder than Han's in TFA. Obviously, we may see his "Force ghost" in a future film.
-I was also slightly surprised that Rey was not the long-lost daughter of Han & Leia - or the daughter of Luke and an unknown woman. Nice that Disney/Lflm. didn't go the "obvious" route & make her the child of known Jedi. However, this fits in with her humble background/beginnings - so it is in character.
-I did find it interesting that as of the end of TLJ, Han Solo & Luke Skywalker have both passed - while Princess Leia is still alive. This is despite the fact that Carrie Fisher passed away in actuality last year. I guess they can also CGI her into the next ST film - if they decide to go that route.