It was a good approach to the Star Wars Series

while TFA was only ANH all over again.
...
You thought TLJ would be TESB all over again?

https://moviechat.org/tt2527336/Star-Wars-Episode-VIII-The-Last-Jedi/5a3815730abcfd00148fc938/Christmas-gift-for-the-remake-critics

One of the main reasons I made the topic I linked is because I stated repeatedly, after TFA came out, that the main reason people even think to compare is because of something big and iconic like a moon-sized/planet-sized station with a huge death laser.

I predicted that without a big obvious visual like that, people wouldn't notice the similarities as much, and even fewer would criticize based on comparisons.

This is exactly what I've seen with Last Jedi. The only big obvious iconic visual that gets compared is Hoth and Crait. That's it. I also haven't seen a SINGLE person criticize this movie for being similar to Empire Strikes Back, not even the ones who bashed TFA constantly for being similar to ANH.

It's all very interesting psychology. I also think it's hugely interesting because I estimate that Last Jedi is probably actually more similar to Empire Strikes Back than Force Awakens is similar to A New Hope.

Another thing about a Death Star visual that blinds people is when I hear complaints about the "space station planet-destroying laser" being repeated in three movies now, ANH, ROTJ, and TFA.

Yet no one seemed to notice that the prequels were THREE MOVIES IN A ROW about the exact same superweapon: Controllable, robotic, mass-produced armies, and who controls them.

Because armies are more "normal" to us and because they aren't an arresting visual like a huge sphere with a gun, people just don't notice and they don't complain.

It's interesting what people will complain about when they are given "license" and "justification" and when they hear it in the echo chamber. The "Mary Sue" crowd is another example, which was kicked off by Max Landis (a misogynist and sexual predator). He gave his followers a "label" that created justification and license to bash a female constantly.

I like studying the psychology of masses, and Star Wars fandom is a good way to do it. It's more wide-ranging than Star Trek fandom.

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Star Wars fans are hard to please (I know, I am one). The haters and the hardcore fanboys can sometimes be hard to tell apart. What I liked best was that the movie set up situations that felt very similar to something in a previous SW title, then we you thought you could see what was coming next, the movie went a different direction.

Half the hardcore fanboys wanted a bunch of back slapping and inside references, the other half wanted something profound and/or original story. Disney tried for a compromise and pissed off both halves. The rest of the world thought it was a good movie, though.

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TLJ is without a doubt the worst star wars movie ever made, the hideous jokes, the plot that leads to no where (canto bight) Superleia flying in space, turning heroic Luke, who saved the galaxy from the empire , turn into some miserable hermit anti jedi character, Reys super jedi abilities that come from no where , the mighty supreme leader snoke sliced and diced at the click of a finger and we don't even find out who he is where he has come from etc, super poe and his super flying abilities that can take out the weapons of a ship the size of 4 star destroyers, BB8 and his slot machine ways and his amazing ability to tie up 4 police guards and shoot coins at them rendering them disabled, and lets not forget his amazing ability to some how climb into the cockpit of a AT ST, the introduction of swear words and god into the universe, bastard, ass and spunk, yes this film is certainly a game changer, I don't understand the hate either!!!!

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To all those who angrily burn when Rian supporters claim that he was right to destroy the old Star Wars ways, that Star Wars needed to be updated for modern audiences, that old fans had their time and it's passed, that it's time to cater to a new fan base with different tastes and expectations, that old fans need to either get on the bandwagon or be left behind with their outdated, archaic notions:

Yeah. They said the same thing about the new Ghostbusters movie. They said the same thing about 4th edition D&D. They said the same thing when Marvel Comics (print versions) defrocked Tony Stark, Thor, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton and Logan of their titles and gave them all to female or ethnic substitutes, made Captain America into a Nazi, made Iceman gay, made Peter Parker an irresponsible coward, made She-Hulk & Captain Marvel into virtual men, and introduced a new superheroine who was clearly bigoted against straight men & white people. They said out with the old and in with the new. They said get with the program or be left behind.

How's that working out for you 'new', avant garde fans?
(Ghostbusters is dead. 4th edition D&D was abandoned and 5th edition returned to the old ways. And Marvel's printed comics have nose-dived catastrophically, so they fired the EIC and they cancelled many poorly written token diversity titles.)

To the old-time Star Wars fans: Don't worry. When the 'new' Star Wars movies start showing losses or meager profits, when the licensed merchandise starts rotting on the shelves, when Disney realizes that their 'new' Star Wars means billions less in sales & revenues they expected to make, the 'new' Star Wars ways will be jettisoned and the old ways will be brought back. And the 'new' fans currently cackling with delight about the plight of old fans, will be howling with dismay when they're discredited and abandoned by Disney, just like the 'new' fans of Ghostbusters, 4th edition D&D, and token diversity Marvel Comics.

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While the movie was not great, I do agree that the movie is not the catastrophe that it is being made out to be.

The entire movie was of the intention to denounce and do away with the glorification of legends and larger than life myths. Everything, from Luke wanting the Jedi to end to Rey's parents being inconsequential nobodies, is intended to put an end to the idea of destiny and grandeur. This is bold. But at the same time it is rather foolish, because the reason this universe and it's characters have entranced fans for generations is its affinity for destiny and legend and the legendary Jedi. The larger than life mythos of the universe is what the people love.

And that's why I reckon the filmmakers must have known that they really would be shaking things up quite some with this movie. And they were willing to take that risk. And I think they've changed the course of the franchise, but what is harder to agree upon is whether this new course is an exciting one.

I felt the movie had been designed with the primary focus of subverting viewer expectation instead of on finding an organic way of arriving at the same checkpoints. It became a gimmick.

With the contemporary of influx of Superheroes and comic villains, it is a really commendable stance for a blockbuster to take denouncing the very things that it would be expected to entertain. And for that I'm excited, it suggests that the people at Disney are keen to be original and offer new things to fans. I just wish that they'd met viewers halfway at least, to find a balance between the drastic changes that it expounds and the glorious, exciting experience that is synonymous with the franchise. They make the mistake of not letting viewers in on the fun; not providing us the chance to put on this new lens that the SW universe is taking on. As it stands the tangential storytelling serves repeated blows to the face rather than a wild roller coaster side that lets you in on all the highs and lows of the ride.

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