STAR WARS: Convoluted Cash- Cow Disney Adventure Series That Will Never End Thread

[RussTCB]

2 hours ago, downzy said:

I'm kind of glad the reports indicate heavy amounts of exposition at the beginning of the film.  Unfortunately the series hasn't been setup very well thanks to TLJ not really answering anything.  So it leaves a lot for the ROS to manage and take care of.

Still have to get tickets for my wife and I.  

I'm glad to hear about the exposition as well. I have no problem with taking a bunch of time to clear things up as long as everything is explained. I know a lot of film fans get angry with that, but it's just fine by me. 

23 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Early reactions are mixed at best

I've heard that too. I honestly think it's a lot of the "blue check mark brigade" throwing out vague reactions so they can wait and decide which side of the public opinion to fall on this weekend. 

I'm fine with mixed reactions and actually the opinion of people who get to see these things early really doesn't matter to me anyway. If I remember right, a lot of the blue check marks were going on about how amazing TLJ was after they'd seen it and before the public had. I think they're being more cautious this time around, but again their opinion doesn't matter much to me anyway. 

[Jw224]

27 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Early reactions are mixed at best

 

Yeah, I've seen people say they hate it and then others say it's a very satisfying conclusion. I think I'll enjoy it personally. 

[rocknroll41]

Whenever I walk out of a new starwars movie, I initially feel it’s “the best since Empire,” but then after some time I calm down from the hype, and then my real thoughts settle in.

Which reminds me, I forgot to add Mandalorian to my current ranking! I know it’s not a movie, but it’s still live action content, so might as well include it!

GREAT - Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back

GOOD - The Mandalorian (so far), Return of the Jedi, Solo

FINE - The Force Awakens, Revenge of the Sith, The Phantom Menace, Rogue One, The Last Jedi

BAD - Attack of the Clones

Edited December 17, 2019 by rocknroll41

[rocknroll41]

Anakin’s voice tells Rey “restore the balance, as I once did.” I’m VERY happy with this! I was hoping they’d address the chosen one “balance of the force” prophecy, at least in SOME capacity!

[ZoSoRose]

From what I read there are little things and a few missed opportunities that will really frusturate me with this one

[rocknroll41]

9 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

From what I read there are little things and a few missed opportunities that will really frusturate me with this one

Care to share? (With spoiler tags, of course)

[ZoSoRose]

2 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

Care to share? (With spoiler tags, of course)

I'll just post a full review after I see it. Im seeing it 6 pm on Thursday. It sounds like there is a lot I will personally like but the things that sound like were left out could have been in the film with minimal effort and really elevated this to a top SW movie for me

Oh well, I have to see it first

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by ZoSoRose

[Jw224]

It'll be interesting to discuss for sure. I've come to the conclusion that some stuff fans have been asking for actually wouldn't make much sense if it just randomly happened in this movie so I understand why they didn't. 

[Jw224]

A lot of fans (including myself for a while) have been thinking that Anakin not appearing to Ben is a missed opportunity, but honestly I've been thinking about it and I think I'm fine with just hearing his voice. Ben didn't know Anakin so I think it would be hard to have him appear and talk to him without having to do a lot of explaining and him speaking to Rey is cool. I honestly think I'll enjoy this film a lot more than I previously thought. It would have been cool for Ben to speak to him but I just don't think it would have worked in the context of this trilogy. I think if he had appeared in previous films it would have been more likely and easy to happen.

[downzy]

My Rankings

GREAT

Empire Strikes Back (the only film that stands up for me)

GOOD

Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, Solo, Rogue One

FINE

A New Hope (it gets points for kicking the whole thing off, but objectively there's a lot wrong with it; it's not a well made film and doesn't hold up), A Phantom Menace (take out Jar Jar and recast the kid who played Anakin and it's not a bad film).

BAD

The Last Jedi (gets points for trying to do something new, but poor execution holds it back), Revenge of the Sith

TERRIBLE

Clone Wars

[rocknroll41]

@downzy

I forgot that Clone Wars movie was even a thing!  Easily at the bottom for me, if I had to rank it (the show that followed it is decent, tho).

And yeah having Anakin be a little kid is what really killed Phantom Menace for me. No disrespect to that kid cause he did his best and it’s sad that so many people bullied him and his life was ruined because of the movie. It’s not his fault! But yeah, had they aged him up like five years and casted a different actor (Hayden’s age would’ve lined up at the time, I’m pretty sure) then I’d probably bump the movie up a rank or two higher on my list.

[rocknroll41]

5 minutes ago, Jw224 said:

A lot of fans (including myself for a while) have been thinking that Anakin not appearing to Ben is a missed opportunity, but honestly I've been thinking about it and I think I'm fine with just hearing his voice. Ben didn't know Anakin so I think it would be hard to have him appear and talk to him without having to do a lot of explaining and him speaking to Rey is cool. I honestly think I'll enjoy this film a lot more than I previously thought. It would have been cool for Ben to speak to him but I just don't think it would have worked in the context of this trilogy. I think if he had appeared in previous films it would have been more likely and easy to happen.

Yeah having a vision of Han be the one to get Ben Solo back on track just narratively makes a lot more sense, in this case.

[downzy]

Just now, rocknroll41 said:

And yeah having Anakin be a little kid is what really killed Phantom Menace for me. No disrespect to that kid cause he did his best and it’s sad that so many people bullied him and his life was ruined because of the movie. It’s not his fault! But yeah, had they aged him up like five years and casted a different actor (Hayden’s age would’ve lined up at the time, I’m pretty sure) then I’d probably bump the movie up a rank or two higher on my list.

Absolutely agree.  It's not the kid's fault (though he was terrible; there are a lot of great kid actors they could have gone with).  

I never understood how Lucas expected the audience to accept Hayden Christiansen as Anakin when he made Anakin so young in the first film (especially considering Natalie Portman looked almost the same age between the two films). 

But I'm not going to knock the entire movie because of a poor casting choice.  

[Jw224]

15 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

Yeah having a vision of Han be the one to get Ben Solo back on track just narratively makes a lot more sense, in this case.

It does make more sense, but I am still a bit iffy on Han returning at all when he can't use the force. It's just something I'll need to get over 😁

[rocknroll41]

1 minute ago, Jw224 said:

It does make more sense, but I am still a bit iffy on Han returning at all when he can't use the force. It's just something I'll need to get over 😁

According to the leaks he’s not a “ghost” (as in he doesn’t have the blue glow around him), so it’s implied that he’s more of just a figment of Kylo’s imagination. Perhaps just a way for the light side of the force itself to reach out to Kylo.

Edited December 17, 2019 by rocknroll41

[Jw224]

5 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

According to the leaks he’s not a “ghost” (as in he doesn’t have the blue glow around him), so it’s implied that he’s more of just a figment of Kylo’s imagination. Perhaps just a way for the light side of the force itself to reach out to Kylo.

I don't really know how to feel about that either. I will save how I feel about that until after I've seen it as then we can all discuss it. 

[Jw224]

Compilation of first impressions from twitter. Mostly good but a few bad ones. Obviously the first one is a joke lmao 

https://m.imgur.com/a/KQ0qL5Z

Edited December 17, 2019 by Jw224

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, Jw224 said:

Compilation of first impressions from twitter. Mostly good but a few bad ones. Obviously the first one is a joke lmao 

https://m.imgur.com/a/KQ0qL5Z

So far it seems that most post who liked TLJ dislike this. 

If the people who loved TLJ hate this, then I'll probably LOVE it lol

[downzy]

27 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

So far it seems that most post who liked TLJ dislike this. 

If the people who loved TLJ hate this, then I'll probably LOVE it lol

I was just about to post this.

Great news for people who found TLJ disappointing (both you and I).  I was really hoping JJ would course correct and from the early accounts it sounds like he has.

[Dazey]

I've spoiler tagged this one anyway. Plot synopsis.

ACT I
[The Past- Unknown Location].

Luke is training Leia as a Jedi. Lightsabers are involved. Leia reveals to Luke that she is pregnant and Leia makes the decision to end her Jedi training due to the impending birth of her son.

[The Present- The Resistance’s Jungle Base]

Years later, Leia has picked up where her brother left off and has been helping Rey learn the ways of the Jedi. Rey is first seen doing some meditative/ “mental” Force training, but is struggling with it. In frustration, she asks Leia if she can do a physical training course instead. This is what we see Rey doing in the jungle forrest in the D23 First Look.(1, 2) It appears that Rey has more physical fortitude than she has mental strength.

[Forrest planet bathed in red light]

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has been aware of a dark power behind his predecessor and former master, Snoke. Kylo has been spending his time as leader of the First Order with the purpose of locating this power. Generals Hux and Pryde have been following Kylo around on his quest and are beginning to get very frustrated with what they see as a fool’s errand. They see this as a waste of First Order time and resources. When we catch up with the villains of our story, Kylo is leading an assault on this planet with the purpose of finding Darth Vader’s wayfinder device. The device reveals coordinates within the Unknown Regions and Kylo is confident that this will reveal the source of Snoke’s power. Kylo Ren slaughters his way through the natives and is eventually led to "the oracle" who gives him the wayfinder.

[Asteroid Base]

We pick up with Finn and Poe on the Millennium Falcon, accompanied by a hand full of unfamiliar alien characters traveling to an icy asteroid base to meet with a First Order informant. This informant, an alien, is acting as a middle man between a First Order mole and our heroes. The First Order arrives and begins attacking the base. The assault causes forces our heroes to make a hasty exit by what was described to me as “light springing” away. Light springing involves making the jump to light speed without plotting a course or a predetermined destination. As we all remember, making the jump to light speed without precise calculations could have dire consequences such as ‘flying right through a star or bouncing too close to a supernova’. The Falcon makes a hand full of these springs to throw the First Order off their trail, but as a result they are forced to deal with the consequences of such a risky maneuver. After surviving the dangers of light springing, our heroes plot a course to the secret Resistance jungle base.

[The Unknown Regions- Exogol]

After obtaining Vader’s device Kylo travels to the place specified by the wayfinder. It takes him to the Unknown Regions and a dead planet of flat, black rock. I previously reported that the planet where Kylo finds Vader's wayfinder was called Exogol. Since then my understanding has evolved and I've been told that this planet actually bears that name. Kylo lands outside a giant cube, floating just above the ground and begins walking toward it. Kylo walks between the cube and the ground and once he reaches the center he discovers an elevator leading down below the planet's surface. He follows teh lift down and finds an old man, near death and lying in bed and being tended to by cloaked aids. My source believes these aids to be referred to as Sith Loyalists. The old man identifies himself as Darth Sideous. Kylo initially dismisses the old man, knowing that the Emperor had died over 30 years prior over the forest moon of Endor. Feeling that this must be a trick, Kylo claims that there must be some other explanation, such as this man being a clone. My sources specifically tell me that the Palpatine refutes the idea of him being a clone and affirms that he survived his fall. After his defeat at Endor, he left the known galaxy and traveled to the Unknown Regions to rebuild his Empire. Despite his skepticism, Palpatine begins to reel Kylo in and subsequently tells him of something known as a “Force Dyad”. The Force produces two incredibly strong users and when they unite together, both become stronger than either one could be on their own. Palpatine believes Kylo Ren and Rey to be the two halves of this dyad and shares this knowledge with Rey. (Note: I previously wrote that Palpatine wanted them to become “master and apprentice” since then this has been clarified to me as Palpatine seeking the two members of the Dyad) Palpatine claims that he seeks the Dyad because he is weak and dying and he wants the Dyad to rule together once he’s gone. Palpatine orders Kylo to bring Rey to him and turn her so that the Dyad will be a strong, unified force of darkness. Palpatine also reveals that he has been amassing an armada of Star Destroyers equipped with Death Star tech, each one capable of destroying a planet on its own. Generals Hux and Pryde are tasked with rounding up children in large numbers to train and staff his armada.

[The Resistance’s Jungle Base]

Finn and Poe return to the Resistance base bearing the knowledge obtained from their encounter with the First Order informant. The duo brings this knowledge to General Leia and tell her what they know about Kylo’s mission to the Unknown Regions, but without any leads to where he went or how he got there, the Resistance is at a dead end. Leia mentions that she has a contact who was seeking a link to the Unknown Regions long ago and may be willing to help. Leia dispatches the two of them along with Rey, Chewbacca, BB-8 and C-3PO to Passana to meet with her contact and see what help he may be able to provide.

[Passana]

When our heroes arrive on the planet, they discover that a giant festival is going on. What they thought would be an easy mission has now turned into a much more complicated affair. They attempt to lay low and to blend in. Unsurprisingly, Chewbacca struggles with blending in because it’s very difficult to hide a 7 foot tall wookiee from prying eyes. Rey encounters an alien in the crowds who takes a liking to her, presenting her with a handmade necklace as a gift. She is asked her name and she responds “Rey”. When asked her family name, she replies that she does not have one. At this time, Kylo establishes a connection with Rey through their bond. Their conversation ends with Kylo grabbing the necklace from around Rey’s neck. This necklace proves to be the key to the First Order discovering their location. After the connection ends, Rey warns her comrades that the First Order is on their way and that they must hurry to find Leia’s contact. It is at this point that instead of finding their contact, their contact reveals himself to them after having spotted an old wookiee friend of his out of the crowd. It’s Lando Calrissian.

Greetings and introductions are exchanged Lando tells them of a dagger that may help them find what they seek. Many years prior, Lando and Luke went in search of this dagger that was owned by a Sith loyalist named Ochie (spelling not confirmed). They tracked Ochie to Passana when the trail went cold. When met with the question of why he never left the planet after the search for Ochie and his dagger ended, Lando tells the team that he had a young child at the time of his and Luke’s quest. While they were out searching for the dagger, the First Order stole his child. After having failed to protect his child from the First Order, Lando and Luke parted ways and he stayed on Passana ever since. This story strikes a chord with Finn having been stolen from his own family at an incredibly young age as well. Lando points them in the direction of the last known coordinates of Ochie’s ship, where the trail went cold all those years ago, wishes them luck in succeeding where he failed all those years ago but decides to sit this one out.

Our heroes follow the trail that Lando pointed out to them and eventually they happen upon Ochie’s ship. When Rey sees the ship, it triggers some memories. It’s the same ship that we see leaving Jakku in Rey’s vision from TFA. Before the implications of this can sink in, the ground beneath them gives out and the crew gets sucked below the surface of the sand. They find themselves in a series of underground tunnels where they discover the remains of Ochie and the dagger that Lando and Luke sought after. Rey feels a very strong connection to this weapon, but can’t quite articulate it. The dagger has writing on it in a language that nobody can identify. It’s then handed over to 3PO who identifies the writing as a Sith language, but he reveals that he is unable to translate the writing due to restrictions in his programing. At this time, a plan is made to hack into C-3PO’s programming to bypass the restrictions. Poe mentions that he has an old contact that might be able to help them out. Chewbacca takes possession of the dagger and the group’s attention shifts to finding a way out of the caves. During their escape attempt, the team runs into a giant, very aggressive, sand worm (who presumably created the tunnels). A battle with the sand worm ensues and our heroes end up backed into a corner, preparing to meet their fate when Rey notices a detail. The worm is injured. In a display of previously unknown power, Rey is able to heal the worm’s injuries, satiating the worm and providing the heroes the chance they needed to escape.

Once they crew exits the cave system, they see a First Order Star Destroyer in the sky and know that Kylo Ren has found them. Once they realize this they (correctly) reason that the First Order would have already found the Falcon, making that plan of escape impossible. The Falcon is boarded and subsequently taken back to the Star Destroyer. In an act of desperation, the crew boards Ochie’s ship and attempt to get it working. It's on this ship that the crew discovers the new droid D-O. Rey senses that Kylo is coming for her, so she takes off on her own to confront him and buy her friends some time. (This is where the TIE interceptor flip sequence from the first teaser takes place). While Kylo and Rey are engaged, the Knights of Ren and the First Order head for Ochie’s ship and our other heroes. Chewbacca splits off from the crew and attempts to delay the Knights, but it captured. The dagger is taken from him and he boards a First Order prisoner transport. Rey and Kylo both notice Chewbacca being taken captive and being brought to a transport ship during their confrontation. As the ship takes off, Rey shifts her attention from Kylo to her captured friend and begins to use the Force to stop the transport and pull it back to the ground. Kylo attempts to counteract this by pushing the ship away. Control over the ship becomes a battle between Kylo and Rey, much like their battle for Anakin’s lightsaber in TLJ. Kylo begins to gain the upper hand which angers Rey. In her frustration, lightning shoots from her hand, destroying the the transport ship and killing all its passengers. Devastated by what she just did, Rey collapses. While all this is transpiring, Poe, Finn, 3PO and BB-8 get Ochie’s ship in the air just in time to fly over to pick up a distraught Rey. With no Lando, no Falcon, no dagger and no Chewbacca, our heroes limp away from the desert planet.

ACT II

[Kijimi]

The heroes of the Resistance make their way to the snow dusted planet of Kijimi to execute their plan to discover what secrets the dagger held. Despite not being in possession of the dagger anymore, 3PO tells the crew that he has the message committed to memory, so all hope is not lost. Poe tracks down an old contact of his, Zorri Bliss, who brings them to a small creature named Babbu Frik (again, spelling not confirmed) to hack 3PO’s programming to read the Sith language on the dagger. Frik tells everyone that he can unlock the message to be read, but in doing so C-3PO’s memory will be wiped. Still reeling from the loss of Chewbacca, the heroes argue about finding another way to get the job done, but in an act of self sacrifice C-3PO voluntarily consent to the modifications, knowing that (for all intents and purposes) the droid we’ve all known for years will essentially die. According to my sources, this scene is reportedly one of the most emotional in the film. Frik completes the hack and 3PO is now able to read the message inscribed on the dagger. (This action creates the red eyed C-3PO seen in the D23 footage) The translated text points them to the location of the Emperor’s own wayfinder. Having served his purpose, 3PO’s memory wipe begins and he shuts down. Once the memory wipe is complete, 3PO reboots with a completely empty memory.

While on Kijimi, Kylo initiates another mind bond with Rey to try and divine her location a second time. Kylo spends much of this time antagonizing Rey, some of this conversation revolves around her parents and the truth behind the dagger. It was once used to murder her parents. Many years ago, Ochee was sent to murder Rey’s parents who were trying to hide Rey from the galaxy. Ochee succeeded, leaving her parents as nobodies to be forgotten by that galaxy. Where Ochee failed was with Rey. He could not find her so he left her behind on Jakku. This is what Rey remembers, the ship leaving in the wake of her parent’s murder, not her parents abandoning her. Rey lashes out at Kylo during this bond and their lightsabers clash. Having gotten everything he needed from Rey during this session, he cuts off the bond. The Star Destroyers arrive on Kijimi after having followed our heroes there. As Kylo makes his way down to the planet, Zorri helps the Resistance escape by employing the use of something described to me as a “First Order passage device”, something that transmits a signal recognized as friendly to the First Order allowing the ship to pass uninterrupted. As our heroes make their escape, we see that Palpatine’s orders to Hux and Pryde are being carried out as children are being rounded up by soldiers of the First Order.

[First Order Star Destroyer Above Kijimi]

As the heroes escape on Ochee’s ship, the group makes the decision to use the passage device to board the Star Destroyer and recapture the Falcon. The device works as advertised and their ship lands without question. On board the Star Destroyer, the droids log on to the ship’s computer network to locate the Falcon, but in the process they discover that Chewbacca is still alive! He was on a different prisoner transport ship the entire time. The team hatches a plan for a rescue mission but Rey splits off, feeling as if something is calling to her. Meanwhile, the others find Chewie, but their rescue attempt fails and they are all taken captive. The calling Rey feels is caused by the dagger which draws her to it in Kylo’s living quarters.

[Kijimi]

Back on the surface of the planet and having grown tired of a fruitless search for Rey, Kylo initiates another Force bond with her. He discovers that she is on his Star Destroyer and a lightsaber duel breaks out between the two of them across two different locations. Kylo on the surface of Kijimi and Rey aboard the Star Destroyer. During this encounter, Kylo reveals that there is more to the story behind Rey and her parents. Rey is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. He tells her that they are meant to join together on the dark side and that it’s all part of the Emperor’s plan. It’s clear that by this point in the story, Kylo is fully committed to what the Emperor’s mission for him. Once Rey and Kylo’s Force bond duel ends, Kylo makes his way back to his ship and Rey grabs the dagger and Chewbacca’s bandolier and bolts. Rey bumps into a fresh minded C-3PO along the way, hands him Chewbacca’s effects and the dagger and tells him to make a run for it while she stalls Kylo. When it appears that all is lost for our heroes that have been captured by the First Order, General Hux arrives and surprisingly not only allows them to escape, but points them in the direction of the Falcon. Hux was the mole within the First Order that Finn and Poe had received information from. Rey and the other heroes make a break for the Falcon and escape. After they leave, Kylo kills Hux for treason against the First Order. From this point forward, General Pryde is the sole commander of the First Order military. The Emperor contacts Pryde and demands that he use one of the specially equipped Star Destroyers to destroy Kijimi as an act of loyalty and Pryde complies.

[Endor]

The information gleaned from C-3PO’s translation of the dagger’s writing leads the location of a second wayfinder device which turns out to be aboard the wreckage of the second Death Star on the forest moon of Endor. Along their way to the wreckage, the crew comes in contact with a person named Jannah. It is revealed that she was press ganged into First Order service as a child, but eventually escaped and found her way to Endor where she has been living for some time. At this time it is revealed that she is the child that Lando lost to the First Order all those years ago. Jannah provides Rey with transportation to get to the Death Star wreckage

Rey makes her way to the Death Star wreckage and begins climbing her way through it’s twisted remains. One of my sources told me that this scene feels very reminiscent of the activities we see Rey doing when we are first introduced to her in TFA. She eventually reaches the Emperor’s throne room and discovers a chamber connecting to that room that contains the second wayfinder. Rey approaches the object and picks it up which induces visions of a possible future for herself. In this vision we see a version of Rey that has been enveloped by the dark side as seen in the D23 footage. My sources have also told me that the voice of Palpatine may be heard during this scene. The vision shocks Rey and she stumbles back into the throne room where Kylo Ren is waiting for her. Kylo takes possession of the Emperor’s wayfinder, destroys it and indicates to Rey that the only way to get another wayfinder is to go through him and take Vader’s. A lightsaber battle ensues, beginning in the throne room and eventually transitioning to exterior wreckage among the crashing waves.

[The Resistance’s Jungle Base]

Off in another part of the galaxy while Kylo and Rey clash sabers, a bright light in the universe begins to fade. Leia is dying. Before her death, we hear the voice of a familiar hero come to bid her farewell and pass on one last bit of knowledge…[Endor]

As their battle rages on, both Kylo and Rey sense the death or their respective mother and mentor. They both react, but Rey recovers from the shock sooner and leverages the moment to take Kylo’s weapon from him and stab him through the chest with it. In the aftermath of their concluded duel, Rey declares to Kylo that she will never be like him and fall to the dark side. She exercises her newfound healing ability to save Kylo from death, steals his ship along with Vader’s wayfinder device aboard it and takes off, leaving her enemy behind.

After Rey leaves the forest moon, the remainder of the Resistance crew boards the Falcon, along with their newfound ally Jannah, having spent the duration of Rey and Kylo’s fight repairing the ship, and return to the hidden base on the jungle planet.

Broken and defeated, Kylo Ren remains on the wreckage of the second Death Star when he is visited by a vision of his father. Han speaks to his son, telling him that it’s never too late to return to return to the light and make the right choice. This conversation has a profound effect on Kylo and in a symbolic gesture, he discards his lightsaber and walks away from darkness and the identity of Kylo Ren.

ACT III

[Ahch-To]

Following her experience on the Death Star, Rey returns to the island on Ahch-to. Throughout the course of the film she has given in to her aggression, nearly killed her friend by unleashing a stream of lightning on a ship, learned that she is the descendant of the Sith Lord who reduced the Jedi to numbers that they have yet to recover from even half a century later, saw a vision of herself as a servant of darkness and stabbed her enemy through the chest in anger. Her most recent encounter with Kylo was the last straw and Rey has now made the decision to follow the example set by Luke and exile herself on the island where the Jedi began. Rey scuttles the ship she stole from Kylo and throws the repaired lightsaber originally constructed by Anakin Skywalker in after it. A ghostly hand snatches the lightsaber out of thin air as it's being thrown. It's Luke Skywalker. Luke’s conversation with Rey is said to be encouraging yet realistically grim in tone. Luke knows first hand what it’s like to face Palpatine and that it’s not an easy task. Rey must confront Palpatine in the same way that Luke once had to confront Vader. Luke encourages Rey by telling her of the faith Leia had in her. She saw the potential within her and hoped that Rey would be able to restore balance to the Force once more just as Anakin once did. Rey supposedly asks to speak to Leia at one point, but Luke responds by telling her that Leia has not yet completed her training and he can not yet feel her distinctive consciousness within the Force. By the end of their conversation, Rey is reenergized for the seemingly insurmountable task that lies ahead of her and agrees to leave the island. Having destroyed the ship she used to come to Ahch-to, Luke raises his own X-wing (previously seen submerged in the coves of the island) to allow Rey to face Palpatine. In addition to the starfighter, Luke gifts Rey with a lightsaber that once belonged to Leia. He tells her how Leia left her saber with Luke when she stopped training and Luke kept it on him. He then points Rey to where he kept it safe in his hut. Rey boards the X-wing, armed with the coordinates for Palpatine’s location obtained from Vader’s wayfinder and leaves the planet.

[The Resistance’s Jungle Base]

After returning to the jungle base, several things happen. After seeing the sacrifice made by 3PO, R2 reveals that he has a backup of C-3PO’s memories in his archives and is able to restore the droid to a mostly whole state. My sources believe this backup memory to have been created sometime around the time of The Force Awakens. It’s an older C-3PO, but it’s better than no 3PO at all. Lando reenters the story, having changed his mind, coming to the Jungle Base and wanting to help however he can. It is at this time that Rey begins transmitting coordinates into the Unknown Regions obtained from the wayfinder to the Resistance. The Resistance mobilizes, readying themselves for the impending conflict.

[The Unknown Regions- Exogol]

Rey follows the coordinates found in the wayfinder to the same spot Kylo did earlier in the film. Rey lands outside the giant cube floating above the ground and makes her way through the same underground passages. The cube, composed of black rock, floats several meters above the ground and is so massive that one corner can not be seen in frame when the camera is at another. As Rey travels down into the depths of the planet, giant Sith statues can be seen. Where Rey and Kylo’s experiences begin to differ come in with where Rey discovers Palpatine. Palpatine is not in the same chamber that Kylo discovered him in, but in a huge arena, surrounded by Sith loyalists in dark cloaks in the grandstands. Palpatine is being supported by some kind of mechanical arm, possibly connecting him to life support machinery. Rey begins to confront Palpatine. During this conversation Sideous reportedly confirms Rey’s lineage and goads her on to take up a lightsaber and strike him down (very much like how he encouraged Luke to do the same thing 30 years prior), telling her that only in killing him will she gain the power needed to save her friends. Palpatine also apparently makes statements alluding to the belief that Vader could not betray Luke due to their familial bond and that same kind of bond would ultimately cause Rey to do what the Emperor wishes. During his taunts, the sickly Sith opens the roof of the stadium chamber revealing that the sky above is filled with Star Destroyers soon to be embroiled in conflict with the approaching Resistance. As the battle between the First Order/Empire and the Resistance begins to rage in the skies above them, Rey gives into the Emperor’s commands and decides to strike him down.

Through means that are still a bit foggy to me, Ben Solo was able to leave the wreckage of the Death Star and his former persona behind and travel to Exogol with the purpose of joining Rey to help her face down Sidious. Before leaving the Death Star wreckage, Ben abandoned Kylo’s lightsaber so now he’s walking into a warzone with no weapon. When he arrives on the planet, he encounters the Knights of Ren who are guarding the entrance to the arena where Rey and Sidious are. Ben reportedly dispatches each of them using only the Force. After doing this he enters the arena as Rey is about strike the Emperor using Leia’s blade. Ben grabs Anakin’s lightsaber and warns Rey to reconsider what she is about to do, to not kill the Emperor in anger. Seeing Ben arrive pleases Sideous. He then uses his power to bond them together and begins to syphon power from that bond and direct it into himself. As the power flows into him, the once silky and decrepit Palpatine stands tall and strong once again, restoring himself to a much younger, healthier state.

[The Skies over Exogol]

While all this action is happening on the ground, much more explosive events are happening in the sky. The Resistance and the First Order are locked in battle. The details I have on what happens during this branch of the plot are a bit sparse at the moment, but here’s what I have been told. The Resistance arrives and they are confronted with hundreds of Palpatine’s Sith Star Destroyers. Their goal is to take out the flagship of the destroyers, where General Pryde is located. Taking out the flagship will supposedly sever communications with the rest of the fleet and prevent them from being able to navigate the perils of the Unknown Regions. At one point during the battle Finn and Jannah (joined by others, but exactly who is not clear to me right now) land on Pryde’s flagship to destroy it. They recognize this as essentially a suicide mission but Finn and Jannah in particular see the price they may have to pay as wort it to prevent more children from being abducted like they once were. One of my sources described it to me like a D-Day type mission for the Resistence where they attempt to land on to a moving Star Destroyer amidst the battle scene.

Having returned to full strength, Palpatine then shoots lightning into Ben, forcing him to fall into a bottomless abyss, never to be seen again. Sideous then shoots lightning into the sky at Resistance ships. He reportedly continues to make statements about how Rey will join him. In defiance of this, Rey grabs both Anakin’s and Leia’s lightsabers and Palpatine turns his wrath on her. It’s lightsaber vs. lightning at this point and when it seems like all hope is lost for Rey, the spectors of Luke and Leia come to her aid. They jointly work toward overpowering the Emperor, deflecting his lightning back toward himself, killing him and unleashing an explosion powerful enough to make the arena start to crumble around them. Darth Sideous, the last of the Sith Lords, is finally dead. At this same time Finn and Jannah complete their mission and succeed in destroying Pryde’s flagship. The two are prepared to go down with the ship, but are rescued at the last second by the Falcon. Rey escapes the crumbling arena.

[The Resistance’s Jungle Base]

Having won the day, the survivors of the battle regroup at the jungle base and celebrate. What follows is apparently celebration across the galaxy, once again mirroring what is seen at the end of Return of the Jedi.

[Tatooine]

For the end of the film, the heroes then travel to where everything began. The desolate, sandswept planet of Tatooine. Between defeating Sidious and this moment, Rey has disassembled Anakin and Leia’s lightsabers and used their components to construct one of her own that I’m told contains a golden/yellow blade. Rey buries the leftover pieces beneath the Tatooine sands at the site of the Lars homestead. As Rey turns to join Finn, Poe, Jannah, Chewie, R2, 3PO, BB-8 and D-0, a stranger calls out to her. The stranger apparently speaks of how nobody has been seen around this land for a very long time and asks Rey for her name. This is the second time in the film that this question has been posed to her, but unlike her response on Pasaana, Rey has decided who she is. She gives the name Rey Skywalker to the stranger, adopting the name of her masters and revealing the primary meaning of the title of the film. As Rey begins to rejoin her friends, she catches a glimpse of some familiar glowing figures, watching over her. The assembly of heroes look off into the distance at the horizon of the desert planet and watch twin suns set on a universe filled with hope.

The End.

[ZoSoRose]

Wow it tanked critically

[Jw224]

21 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Wow it tanked critically

Yeah, a lot of people seem to hate it 😬

[rocknroll41]

Yeah, it’s a shame  oh well. Life goes on!

[rocknroll41]

If this movie really is as bad as reviews are saying, then I’ll just have to try to enjoy the movie in a comedic “so bad it’s good” kinda way, like Justice League and Venom! 

Or, at the very worst, maybe the movie will at least have enough bits and pieces for me to enjoy individually. That’s how I feel about TLJ, at least.

Edited December 18, 2019 by rocknroll41

[downzy]

8 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

If this movie really is as bad as reviews are saying, then I’ll just have to try to enjoy the movie in a comedic “so bad it’s good” kinda way, like Justice League and Venom! 

Or, at the very worst, maybe the movie will at least have enough bits and pieces for me to enjoy individually. That’s how I feel about TLJ, at least.

Remember the critics loved The Last Jedi. 

The fact some are not loving this one might be encouraging.