We saw The Last Jedi tonight. It was…okay. By “okay” I mean that it was fun in few parts and disappointing in most parts. It’s still fun, and still worth seeing…
We have a storytelling problem in Hollywood. I mean it; we really do. The studios have forgotten HOW to tell stories. Things like “show, don’t tell.” I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to see characters on screen telling me what they’re feeling, or even more devastatingly, why something is important. Guys and gals: if you have to tell me in dialogue why I should care about something…you’ve lost. You’ve fucked up. You have shit up stream that needs fixing, because by the time I’ve arrived at this moment that you’re using this dialogue, I should already care about what’s happening.
That’s really it in a nutshell. I have no intentions of making a rant out of my reaction to this movie; it doesn’t deserve it. It was a fine movie less guilty of the sins of modern studio storytelling than most of its peers. It did show and not tell for large sections, there were some visuals that were truly breath-taking–a certain lightspeed maneuver that ends a battle in particular–but the overall effect was one of a tired sigh and, man…this doesn’t hold a candle to the originals.
You know what did hold a candle? Rogue One. At least for around 75% of that movie. So…bravo in retrospect to that flick. Props.
Here’s the thing: I still recommend that you go see this movie, The Last Jedi. Chances are you are going to really enjoy it. There is enough popcorn-fun in this film to make it worth the ticket price, even if you’re a story-grouch like me (apparently). The audience we were with in the theater LOVED this movie. LOVED. IT.
I am definitely an outsider when it comes to my take on whether or not this movie was good storytelling…that kind of sucks, to be honest. I just think these stories can be better. That’s really what it is. It’s not that I don’t think they’re entertaining as they are…it that I want them to be BETTER. Pixar, for example, took a kid’s movie about toys and made it BETTER. They made it EXCELLENT. And excellence is what I want.
The Star Wars franchise only exists because of excellence. Those first three movies are excellent. They elevated storytelling for generations, literally. THAT IS WHAT I WANT WHEN I STEP INTO A MOVIE THEATER. To be swept away…
…and when you have a major plot line on your movie where the characters end up having absolutely zero impact on anything…I’m not being swept away, I’m sitting in my seat wondering why you made that decision. That happened in this movie. Uuuuuggghghhhhhhh.
The Ho is showing me author photos right now. It’s amazing. I have to go.
Night.
Oh, and Benicio Del Toro was fucking great, and Carrie Fisher was a legend. We can’t find this image of this one battle for the photo tonight…but that’s okay. We end with Carrie. Miss you, princess!