Loose lips sink starships.

https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/co..._relationship/

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/wdamd"><a href="//imgur.com/wdamd"></a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
.

On Tuesday I spoke at length with Rotten Tomatoes spokesperson Dana Benson regarding the movie ratings site's Audience Score of 55% for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I was curious to know whether there was any merit to conspiracy theories that have circulated in recent days alleging organized vote campaigns to drive down the film’s scores from their “proper” levels, and why there is such a big disparity between the mediocre Rotten Tomatoes audience ratings and other, higher critics' and viewers' responses, such as the “A” rating from Cinemascore.

Benson, who is the Vice President of Communications at Fandango, the parent company of Rotten Tomatoes, told me that Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes are fully confident in the ratings and scores for the Star Wars picture. She assured me that Rotten Tomatoes has gone to great lengths to verify their ratings' accuracy and authenticity.

“We have several teams of security, network, and social database experts who constantly monitor reviews and ratings to ensure that they are genuine,” Benson said. “They haven’t seen anything unusual with The Last Jedi, except that there has been an uptick in the number of written user reviews submitted. Aside from that, everything is normal and we don’t see any unusual activity. We looked at The Last Jedi compared to other blockbusters and it has been consistent with those past films.”

Some critics and social media commenters have questioned the gap between the Rotten Tomatoes score and the ratings on other services, highlighting it as proof that there is something amiss with the Rotten Tomatoes numbers. Though Quartz and other outlets have explored how the score may be rigged, the simpler and far more credible explanation is simply that a lot of people don’t like the movie.

One widely circulated story about an anonymous individual who runs the Facebook page “Down With Disney’s Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys” claims that this person created bots to manipulate the Rotten Tomatoes score. But Benson and other company reps I spoke to dismissed such claims as nonsense. Although anyone can post whatever they want on the site in the effort to drive ratings either up or down, Rotten Tomatoes has nearly two decades experience at identifying and controlling for such efforts to push the scores in one direction or another.

I pressed Ms. Benson for her hypothesis, but she chose not to offer a theory as to why the gap between Rotten Tomatoes’ critics' reviews and those of fans now stands at 38 percentage points, 93% to 55%.

“I can’t explain why there’s such a disparity,” Benson told me. “How we take this is that people are super passionate about this movie. On the positive side, our site is popular, and it has become an important platform for debate and discussion.”

Benson noted that Rotten Tomatoes isn’t the only social media platform with such mixed reactions to The Last Jedi, and added, “We’ve been working around the clock to ensure the numbers are right. Authenticity is very important to us. We have security teams, network teams, database teams who work so hard, it’s a little disheartening for them to see people make such [accusatory] claims without knowing the facts.

https://screenrant.com/rotten-tomato...di-user-score/

Vindication

Though Quartz and other outlets have explored how the score may be rigged, the simpler and far more credible explanation is simply that a lot of people don’t like the movie.

The Hate is Real.

It's already explained to you that someone subverted the rating system with bots.

Some one didn't read RT just said it's real no one subverted the system.

So a bunch of angry Star Wars fans got pissed because they read fan theories for 2 years and the Director didn't pick one of those? Boo ****ing hoo.

if it was only that Simple It's not just one reason.

Some hate the shit humor in the movie and the plot holes.

Others hate the how Rey is overpowered with no explanation

Some hate how it tosses all the Story threads from TFA in the Garbage and does it's own thing.

I personally won't be seeing Rian's trilogy after this.

I don't like his style of Sci fi at all.

The humor that has been in past Star Wars movies? Don't buy it.

Rey is overpowered? Need a training montage?

Rey wasn't overpowered in this movie.

She owned some dudes who had no force ability with her lightsaber, and moved some rocks.

She kicked Kylo ren's ass in TFA and ended with a Tie in TLJ doing this with no blood line/history of real teaching.

Lets not act like she had any real moments of learning from Luke in TLJ.

Kicked his ass? She was on the defensive for the almost the entire battle in TFA. And even then....he had just taken a Chewie blast and a lightsaber wound. The only time that she had the upper hand was at the end when she got all pissed off and went psycho. It's not like she doesn't know how to fight or that it takes some special skill or training to wield a lightsaber. It's a ****ing sword basically.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rWF0f183tSA" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Half-assed fantheory here, but you can handwave Rey being overpowered with the force without any of the training that was implied by prequels / Legends canon, but maybe only having a few force wielders at any given time magnifies the innate abilities of those who are force sensitive. Since the Force binds everyone and anything, it's not as "tied up" as it was during the Old Republic era by duo of powerful darksiders and a plethora of Jedi.

Thus why you see Finn not eviscerate himself with a lightsaber in TFA.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...htmlstory.html

Q&A Rian Johnson on the evolution of the Force in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' and more spoilers

As Obi-Wan Kenobi once told young Luke Skywalker, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things — it surrounds us, and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”

Ever since Tatooine’s favorite farm boy learned about the Force, “Star Wars” fans have devoured every bit of the universe that’s come alive in the galaxy far, far away over the course of eight movies and counting. But in Disney’s weekend box-office smash “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” writer-director Rian Johnson (“Brick,” “Looper”) takes bold leaps and shakes up the “Star Wars” universe, sending “Force Awakens” heroes Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) further into the fight between light and dark with one surprise after another. How much does “The Last Jedi” redefine the rules of Force physics as we know it — and what do these tantalizing new possibilities mean for the future of “Star Wars?” Who is Snoke, anyway? What exactly can Force ghosts do from beyond the astral plane? Has Kylo Ren ever kissed a girl?

Back in Los Angeles between globe-trotting appearances, a week after his star-studded premiere, Johnson answered all these burning “Star Wars” questions and more. Heavy spoiler warning: Best to read after watching “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“The Last Jedi” takes much of what we all thought we knew about this 40-year-old franchise and how the rules of the Force work, and expands them in some wild new ways. Knowing the doors you were going to open, what were your consultations like with Lucasfilm’s in-house protectors of the canon while writing the script?

There is a man named Pablo Hidalgo who is the sweetest dude in the universe, and he’s one of several keepers of the flame at Lucasfilm. It would always be a conversation, and if the story required it and if it felt like it stretches into new territory but doesn’t break the idea of what the Force can do, Pablo was down — I got the blessing.

The evolution of Rey’s relationship with Kylo Ren takes an intense and pivotal turn in “The Last Jedi.” We learn that Supreme Leader Snoke has linked them through the Force, as if he were connecting a call at a switchboard — an idea thematically mirrored in Poe’s “bad connection” scene with Hux earlier in the film. Where did that idea originate?

It was always through the demands of the story. With the Force connections between Rey and Kylo I thought, “OK, I need to get these two talking. But if I put them face to face they’re going to either fight, or one of them has to be tied up” —

Well, they could also make out …

They could also make out! I’m going to give you a spinoff movie …

Even if they make out, then they can’t be talking. So I knew I wanted them to talk, and to talk enough to where we could go from “I hate you,” to her being forced to actually engage with him. That’s where the idea of these “Force connections” came from, which is kind of a new thing. It’s a little bit of a riff on what happens with Vader and Luke at the end of “The Empire Strikes Back,” but it’s entirely new in some regards.

I’ve got a catchy name for Rey and Kylo’s sexy “Force connection” sessions for you: “ForceTime.”

[Laughs] I’ve heard “Force Skyping,” but that’s good! I’ve got to talk to Apple. There’s a real big co-branding opportunity here.

Some of these revelatory new Force possibilities might be challenging for fans to accept. Are they such a stretch within “Star Wars” science and the greater franchise?

The truth is, because “Star Wars” until “The Force Awakens” has been set in amber and we hadn’t had a new “Star Wars” movie in 10 years, you forget that they were introducing new Force stuff with each movie, based on the requirements of the story. Force-grabbing didn’t come around until “Empire,” it wasn’t in “A New Hope.” Same with Force ghosts. They’d introduce new ideas of what could happen with the Force each time.

After the climactic battle on the salt planet Crait we learn Luke was projecting himself from his island the whole time. How does that scene rewrite the rules of the Force? Could a Force user projecting themselves physically influence the world around them, not just the minds of others?

That’s a question. When Luke shows up he’s projecting, it’s like a hardcore variation of what Kylo and Rey have been doing the whole time and that’s why it takes so much out of him. In the version that we play, no. We tried to play really, really fair. In terms of his footsteps – we removed all of his foley — there are no footstep sounds. They never touch. And if you look, the salt flakes that are falling are sparking off of Kylo’s saber and not off of Luke’s.

What about Force ghosts and the suggestion that Jedi masters wield even more previously unknown powers from beyond the grave? Can powerful Force users create physical, tangible manifestations?

The one point where we do introduce a bit of a twist in terms of Force ghosts is where Yoda calls down the lightning onto the tree. That, I think, is a tantalizing hint of the potential of someone who is a Force ghost interacting with the real world.

Hypothetically speaking, can dark Force users become Force ghosts?

I think that would be interesting. We haven’t seen them in the movies as far as I can remember. But that would be really interesting considering the dark side is about self-preservation, trying to find immortality, and the notion that the light side actually got to it through selflessness — what would the dark side version of that look like? There’s so much cool [stuff] to think about if you’re willing to open your head a little bit!

Another surprise in this film is seeing Leia use her latent Force powers after decades of being the Skywalker twin who doesn’t wield the Force. Why was that an important parting gift to give both Leia and Carrie Fisher?

That was something Kathy [Kennedy] was always asking: Why has this never manifested in Leia? She obviously made a choice, because in “Return of the Jedi” Luke tells her, “You have that power too.” I liked the idea that it’s not Luke concentrating, reaching for the lightsaber; it’s an instinctual survival thing, like when you hear stories of a parent whose toddler is caught under a car and they get superhuman strength, or a drowning person clawing their way to the surface. It’s basically just her not being done with the fight yet.

I wanted it to happen [for Carrie] and I knew it was going to be a stretch. It’s a big moment, and I’m sure it will land different ways for different people, but for me it felt like a really emotionally satisfying thing to see.

Han’s dice are a nice touch that resonates with Luke, Leia and Kylo, not to mention the fans, and a callback to how he got the Millennium Falcon in the first place.

When I wrote it, it was something that was in “The Force Awakens.” I think they shot it and didn’t end up using it: When Han comes onto the Falcon, he takes his dice out of his pocket and hangs them back up, like, “This is mine again.” When it got pulled out [of “The Force Awakens”] I thought, even if it’s not directly set up I think you’ll get it that these are Han’s dice. The notion that they get used different ways ending with Kylo, I liked.

Fans have been obsessed with Snoke’s origins since “The Force Awakens,” and while we get to know him much more in “The Last Jedi,” you don’t necessarily give that answer. Does it matter who he was?

Not in this story it doesn’t, which is not to say it wouldn’t be interesting — they might explore it in the next movie or elsewhere. I wrote this script before “The Force Awakens” came out, so when I wrote it, the “Who is Snoke?” mania hadn’t arisen with the fans yet. Even if it had, my perspective is it’s similar to how the Emperor was handled. The first three movies you know nothing about the Emperor because you don’t have to, because that’s not the story. You know exactly what you need to know. Whereas in the prequels, you know everything about him because that is the story.

In this movie, Rey doesn’t really care where he comes from, so if in any of their scenes he had stopped and done a 30-second monologue about how he is [Darth] Plagueis or whoever, Rey would have blinked and looked confused and the scene would have gone on … and we would have ended up cutting it in the editing room because it doesn’t matter to the story right now.

Why does it matter, then, who Rey’s parents are — the idea that she doesn’t come from a lineage of “special” Jedi kin?

It felt like the way to go because it’s the hardest thing that she could possibly hear. It would be the easy thing for her to be defined by, “yes, this is how you fit into this story — it’s because your parent is so and so!” In that moment, for Kylo to be able to use that [information] as a knife and twist it to try and get what he wants, felt like the most dramatically potent option.

Please explain the dramatic necessity of giving Kylo Ren a shirtless scene.

At the premiere I heard somebody in the balcony say, “Yesssss!” You can see Adam was training hardcore throughout the whole process. It’s fun but it also has a specific purpose, which is the increasing feeling of uncomfortable intimacy. That was sticking with the theme of trying to give Rey the hardest thing you could possibly give her, which would be unavoidable intimate conversation with this person that she wants to just hate. This was just one more way of upping that ante.

So … is this the first time Kylo has ever held hands with a girl?

I actually talked about that with Adam [Driver]. Adam was like, “So … have I actually kissed a girl before?” I would think maybe he has. Maybe after hours in the Jedi camp, there was a game of spin the bottle — “spin the lightsaber…”

LMAO

Rian is a gem.

I cannot WAIT to see his trilogy.

:shake: you are incapable of debate. You just ignore the numerous examples given which prove that bloodlines and training aren't required for the force to manifest itself and be used.

Saw it this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. Going to catch it again sometime in the next few days. TLJ and Rogue One are easily my favorite outside of the OT. I liked TFA too, but it’s defintely third for this generation.

Fanboys are annoying as ****.

"Pablo was down — I got the blessing."

Fan bois, please shut the **** up with your fan boi theories. Pablo was down with it and it's his freakin' job to know what is, and is not within the scope of the star wars universe.

Maybe I'm naive, but I think it's obvious what's going to happen. The image of the kid at the end...the decimated resistance/rebellion...the First Order taking a fairly huge blow in losing Snoke, his damaged ship, etc. The children of this movie were an excellent reminder that the battle will be won with them. The movie starts out (or exists mostly) 10-15 years later...General Leia has since passed and the new rebellion has recruited and raised a generation of fighters that will be led by Poe, Finn and Rey.

It's the easiest way to deal with the character of Leia and also the most likely way to be realistic in dealing with the wounds that each side experienced.

bloodlines is forgivable, but Rey doesn't have the training or shear experience in using the force if it's similar to how the Old Republic Jedi trained the "Younglings".

Total deus ex machina

:facepalm:

Luke had NO TRAINING and used the force in far greater measures than just lifting a pile of rocks.

Get over it.

He got his shit pushed in by Vader, and he was holding back.

Kylo Ren is no Vader.

But we are not talking about TFA.

We are talking STRICTLY about TLJ.

Rey did nothing out of the ordinary with her force powers in that movie. Shit, they did a GREAT job showing Snoke wiping the floor with her.

you brought in Luke in the discussion, and it's all relative especially if Ben's training was complete

I know.

The things Luke did before Yoda...compare them to the things Rey has done.

Same ****ing ballpark.

The only thing that's a LITTLE out of her depth is the mind trick and that might be explained by Obi-Wan being her grandfather.

Looks like Mark is doing well. He's one of the main characters in the Star Citizen single player campaign. And he's never looked better. LMAO

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/...ff-a-ign-first

https://cdn3.dualshockers.com/wp-con...Squadron42.jpg

LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO

https://vtt.tumblr.com/tumblr_p197b3lH761t3n54u_480.mp4

I don’t much care how derivative (or not) a movie is as long as it’s good. There’s too much stupid in TLJ and whether people like it or not it exists as part of a larger story/universe. I think part of the problem is that some (myself included) saw this as chapter two in a larger story and Rian did a piss-poor job of making a sequel - he did his own thing that just doesn’t fit within that story. Toss in all kinds of plot devices that require elaborate explanations or a complete disconnect from the previously established rules of the Star Wars universe and lay on all kinds of dumb and you get a crap movie - but that’s just my opinion and anyone who loves it should go right along enjoying it.

Kids loved The Phantom Menace. Two brothers I babysat when it came out bought all the ****ing toys and saw it in theaters like 7 times

[QUOTE=RINGLEADER;13299832]he did his own thing that just doesn’t fit within that story. [/qoute]

How does it not fit? It doesn't fit within many fan theories about what was going to happen, but fits just fine connected to TFA.

Like what?

What rules were broken again? Johnson worked with Lucas' guy that has his finger directly on the pulse of what does and does not fall within the universe and he approved everything.

RT is never going to admit that bots subverted their system. Their system cannot confirm that the person rating the movie has actually seen the movie, let alone is an actual person.

Not even close Luke was having trouble envisioning the training blaster, and in all intents purposes was a weak bitch compared what Rey did from VII to VIII. She was being thrown around by Ben at 1st then second meet they were on equal footing, even though Ben had YEARS of training

Something else that isn’t even close. One grew up on a farm with parental figures while the other grew up fighting to survive. Which one was mentally stronger when they discovered their ability. Rey was tied down and about to be tortured when it happened. Luke recently had his world turned upside down.

It’s just an apples to oranges comparison, IMO

Wow, epic level of bitching on this thread. I saw it last night and I enjoyed it a lot. I get amused by all the vitriol spewed by haters on the internet. Some people don't know how to have fun. Was it perfect? No. Was it very enjoyable sci-fi with characters I love? Yes.

I just don't get some of the bitching. Luke was always a whiny dude, big surprise he's now a crusty old man.

Rey only beat KR in TFA because he was wounded and he was mentally and emotionally shattered by having just killed his own dad, snokes even mentions it in this movie.

The humor was fine, Star Wars has always mixed in a lot of silly humor. This was a lot better than the comic relief of Jar Jar.

Expanding the force abilities is also consistent. The Jedi in the prequels were powerful, but not all that much since they couldn't sense the sith or even Annakin getting married and having kids. In the original trilogy, the force was used in all kinds of ways beyond the prequels such as Luke visions while training, and dead people talking to him and appearing to him. Is it that hard to believe that a magical force that moves objects with mind power and allows communication with the dead can float a chick through space or allow visual communication across space?

Some people just need to lighten the F up.

All that’s required is to sign up using an email address and vote.

It could easily be subverted.

Well stated, directly from Hamill.

Rian didn't make that decision, though.

That was JJ. HE stuck him on that island.

Rian gave us a viable character arc and an amazing finish from that setting.

There isn't a shred of drama if Luke is like "hey, look, my old lightsaber, let's go KICK ASS young rey!"

That's because she had a moment with the force.

Just like Luke in Episode IV.

Get over it.

Rian Johnson absolutely made that decision.

Rey finding Luke on Ach-To could have gone many different ways, from Luke explaining that he sought to find the first Jedi Temple in order to defeat Snoke and Kylo Ren, to explaining that he sought to find the Tree of Knowledge (which is what it was, figuratively speaking) so that he could create a better Jedi Order or to the creation of a new order of Force users, etc.

It wasn't necessary for Luke to be a dour man, hiding from the situation that he partially created while refusing to help his sister, The Resistance and the galaxy.

But that was Rian Johnson's decision and some people hate the film because of it and it's pretty clear that Mark Hamill doesn't like this characterization, either.

This Luke reminds me of the dark Knight rises depressed Batman

I think it's a stretch that green saber, ass kicking Luke Skywalker straight up abandons the rebel cause without a word and allowed someone with the raw strength of Kylo to wreak havoc on the galaxy.

But JJ just had to have his mystery box, and as per usual, didn't plot out the consequences his mystery would have on the overall story.

Rian picked up JJ's loose thread and stitched it up beautifully.

Going to go see it again today, this time with the kid. She's a closet nerd, so I'm interested in what she's going to think about it.

After the first viewing, the two main things I couldn't stand were the slow motion chase through space and the way Luke went out. I'll see if my reaction changes on a second viewing (NOT 3D this time) and try to pick up all the little eggs I missed the first time through.

For the record, I wasn't commenting as to whether or not I agreed with RJ's decision but that he had more than one place to go with the story.

I liked it so much better upon the second viewing. I didn't think about "plot holes" or where the story was going, blah, blah, blah and just sat back and took it all in.

Like so many others, the first viewing threw me off because the story didn't go as expected, or even as likely but the second time around was a blast because I knew what was going to happen and realized that I had no control over the story.

The speculation and expectations were gone, so I enjoyed it for what it was. Hopefully, you have the same type of experience.

And thus invalidating the entire measurement scale. Internet polls never have been nor will they ever be scientific. They can't be relied upon. They have no standing.

“I said to Rian, ‘Jedi’s don’t give up.’ I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong."

A young apprentice goes dark and kills padawan on his exit - the master goes into hiding. Hmmm... where have I heard this before?

Isn't what luke did exactly what obi-wan and yoda did after the fall of Anakin? During the movie I thought, "oh here we go, Rian is going to get crushed for following the same story line", and then the actual reaction is that it's so out of character for a Jedi. Wut? Mark, why do you think you (Luke) were doing your training on freakin' Degobah?

ha ha ha.... this is awesome! Thumbs up for step-dads everywhere!

I went in with zero expectations and thought the movie was good. All that mattered to me was that my daughter loved it....and she did.

You mean like obi-wan did? and Yoda? It's odd to me that this is so shocking. Rian even freakin' nodded to the fans that this exact scenario had already played out when R2 shows Luke the hologram of Leia talking to Ben - asking him to get back in the game.

Jesus... green saber, ass-kicking Yoda abandons the cause without hardly a word and allowed someone with the raw strength of Anakin/Vader to wreak havoc on the galaxy... and he at least had obi-wan. Luke was alone. Why is this such a rediculous stretch?

Fair enough - and I agree, ultimately it was up to Rian, but I do think that was a tough decision due to JJ's storytelling in TFA.

Eh, I don't know about that. Luke looked shocked and disappointed that Rey found him at the end of TFA. If he was only doing those things his reaction wouldn't have made much sense to me.

Obi Wan was protecting Luke, who was thought to be the only person in the galaxy capable of defeating Darth Vader.

He was also only one of two surviving Jedi after Order 66 (at least as far was we know).

Yoda didn't go into hiding because he was running away from a problem that he himself created.

He went into hiding so that he could live long enough to hopefully train someone that could defeat Vader and his Emperor.

I don't think you understand this movie or the past movies.

Then you don't have a creative mind.

There's no ****ing way that there was only ONE solution to the Luke being on Ach-Too.

If it was me Luke wouldn't have been a MacGuffin in the first place.

Read your two posts above out loud to yourself and let me know if they make any sense. So obi-wan was protecting luke because they believed he was the only one capable of beating darth vader... and yoda was waiting to train just such a person. Yet, luke is allowed to grow so old that yoda believes he is "too old to begin the training" and obi-wan has to convince yoda to do it at all in the first place. That's odd.

Luke wasn't the MacGuffin.

Snoke was the MacGuffin.

Good god, just make it stop

tap out? If I have that wrong, tell me how.

What the **** are you even talking about?

Yoda was testing Luke's resolve.

JFC, just ****ing stop.

I think you and I have different definitions of MacGuffin. What I meant was a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues. The conflict of TFA was largely who could complete the map to find Luke Skywalker first.

Can you have a conversation without being an asshole? The point is, yoda and obi-wan chose exile in much the same way luke did. It isn't this massive leap as some are claiming it to be.

Relax, we're just discussing a movie.

wut

apprentice turns dark, kills padawan, remaining jedi go into exile.

What? Obi Wan and Yoda were the remaining Jedi in the galaxy, the rest of whom had been hunted down and killed by Vader and the Emperor.

Luke went into a self-imposed exile of his own volition.

That's exactly what I'm saying. In both cases (yoda/obi wan & luke) when their apprentice turned to the dark side, the "remaining Jedi" went into a self-imposed exile on their own volition. Yoda and Obi Wan didn't have to go into exile, they could have fought and lost, but they did to stay alive. Did Luke do anything so different?

Mark: I was wrong about what Rian did with Luke.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OONALPqf3X8?ecver=1" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Someone please defend RJ for the scene in which the First Order is blowing up Resistance ships as they are heading towards Crait and the laser beams are arched towards the ships instead of being a straight line.

Projectiles. Was established in TFA. Literally in the first scene.

Also, STAR WARS you nincompoop, who cares.

huh? He's not some soft NY city actor. He was a marine. Looks cut enough to me.

This is the first time you've noticed that the turbo lasers in Star Wars don't behave like real lasers? Let's see if you can spot the issue in these shots from the original films. (If you need a hint, go to your nearest light switch and turn it off an on several times).

It's surprising that people so completely miss the point of the entire discussion of "balance" in the force, the fact that Luke has recognized a problem in the entire Jedi approach, that Snoke says he knew Rey would come when he saw Kylo, etc.

Had plans on watching this.. heard about the shit ending with Luke and have 0 desire to check it out now at the movies or on TV. For sure give 0 ****s about the next one.

It was way better with the second viewing. The enjoyment factor did not go down with seeing it twice, at all. The sub light chase is still annoying to me, but I saw it this time more like Hux being sadistic and hounding them until they couldn't run anymore more than some obvious and critical tactical error on his part. He had won, he knew it, and was going to inflict as much suffering on the Resistance as he could. Hell, Snoke even called him his "rabid cur" at one point.

Luke going out like he did made more sense this time watching it. I don't think I was taken off guard by it, and it actually plays out within the story being told. I get why people hate his story in this - Luke is the ultimate success story good guy, like maybe ever. We all pretended to be Luke at some point when we were little. That character is ingrained in our minds as the guy who always wins at the end for the right reasons, and we wanted to see him have a warriors death if it ever came to that. I think RJ had an impossible task to tackle in presenting Luke's death, but seeing it again I felt way less aggravated about it.

Oh, and that scene where Luke tells Leia that nobody is ever really gone almost gave me chills, considering Carrie's fate. Crazy.

Good move!

Forming an opinion based on other people’s opinion is always the correct course of action.