God, I hope not.
I think I would argue that the
Finn and Rose subplot wasn't pointless, but I'm not sure how to articulate it. First of all, the black guy and the Asian woman had their own plot, which in itself is a big deal. Second, it was a side of the universe that we haven't really seen at all, I think. The high rollers, the people living large off the misery of others. That spark that Holdo and then Poe talked about -- for Finn and Rose, seeing those people, that inequality and that complete disinterest, help rekindle that spark.
And it's a reminder that even at the end, when no one comes to help the Resistance, it doesn't mean that they're alone. There are still places where that spark is burning. It just isn't strong enough to burst into flame yet.
I agree that
the Finn/Rose side quest was poorly executed compared to the rest of the film, but it's important to putting the Force battles in context of what the Rebellion is supposedly fighting for. The only excuse I have for Maz giving them such a shitty quest in the first place is that she was running from active gunfire and not thinking very clearly.
You're right I totally misspoke on
the Finn & Rose side plot being pointless. It did show a lot of things that needed showing, and oh! The kids. The kids were great.
But
it was VERY badly executed and was one of the things that threw off the pacing of the movie.
In other movie pacing opinions, I am so over big long fight scenes, of any type.
I didn't mean to argue with you specifically, Jilli. It's a very common opinion I've seen expressed, and like I said, I've been trying to figure out how I felt about it.
I feel like
when Finn says "it was worth it" and when Rose says "now it was worth it" they are both right, even if it ultimately does not help the Resistance escape the First Order.
So, not pointless.
Also, I know it was a long movie and I have seen numerous comments about pacing problems, but I did not check my phone once to see how much time we had left so I can't buy into any of that.
I didn't mean to argue with you specifically, Jilli.
Don't worry, I didn't feel argued with! It was a point that didn't occur to me originally, and I wanted to acknowledge that.
Right about the point where
Luke astrally projected (with a haircut and beard trim) to fight Kylo,
I leaned over to Tim and whispered "Jesus, this is long!" I'm usually not aware of movies' length, but TLJ was too long for me.
Hey, if I could
astral project,
I'd make myself
look young and skinny
too.
In a movie with Oscar Isaac and John Boyega, WHY did we get Adam Driver shirtless?
I think that was a deliberate dig at Marvel. Especially with the "Put a cowl on" line.
Finally saw The Last Jedi. My son loved it. I thought it was good. Probably better than TFA but it hasn't displaced my love of the OT.
It did feel a little long, but not horribly so. At no point did I feel like "Why are we wasting time on this?"
I am a bit miffed at them
killing off the original cast one movie at a time. Though Luke's send-off was pretty badass and him flat-out threatening to haunt Kylo if he struck him down was fantastic.
I also agree that Poe
spent the whole movie being a giant fuck-up without really being called on it, other than Leia demoting him at the beginning.