ST Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) in the ST

Totally disagree. The film was a little over 2.5 hours, and she was featured throughout 1.5 hours. She actually had far more screentime than in TFA, and I thought she was very effectively used.

There's a reason her performance got so much mention for this, and not the first one. It was a beautifully written, and performed, supporting role. It was a crowded film, but RJ made room for her. TBH I think it's the best Leia entry since TESB, putting my superficial, metal bikini loving side aside.

 

TESB is a film where she got the least amount of independent agency. She didn't do much herself. ANH and ROTJ is when Leia has significance.

I see what you're saying but I'm not talking about little "scenes" or cutaways to her. I'm actually talking about character relevancy and depth, which in a 2.5 hour film, she didn't get the attention she needed. TFA was the same way. Because of the film always being on the run, more so than ANH, she never got much to work with.

"There's a reason her performance got so much mention for this, and not the first one. It was a beautifully written, and performed, supporting role. It was a crowded film, but RJ made room for her. TBH I think it's the best Leia entry since TESB, putting my superficial, metal bikini loving side aside."

The only time we got this wonderful moment was when Carrie wrote the scene between her and Luke. Or re-wrote it...

But it doesn't matter now does it? Rian made the mistake of not including Carrie more thna what she should have considering the situation and now Carrie is gone. She should have not been reduced to such a small role after those force powers were displayed from her.

 

We fundamentally disagree. I don't think the "only" scene she got of note was Leia/Luke, not by a long shot. And I don't think RJ made a mistake with my favorite character at all. I think this was easily Carrie's best performance in the role, and despite ROTJ being my favorite episode, I think Leia's presence was far stronger in TLJ, even with less screen time. In fact I'd call TLJ a love letter to Leia; the entire Resistance plot actually revolves around her, and her legacy.

So we're not going to see eye to eye on this.

 

Her presence was "stronger" but she was gone for almost all of the film for another "coma" excuse Rian used, probably because of the character over-saturation. That is the problem at hand Jaqen. There are so many characters in TLJ where the older ones cannot shine through the film too much or they will over-take it(the newer writers don't have time nor can write properly for her).

The most missed opportunity was not taking any account to implement moments that connect with her and Padme. No mention, no nothing. Same with Vader. Same with Kylo. Nothing of intimacy. Or very little to say the least.

Like I said...She wasn't given time to flow into the movies smoothly. It all came lightning fast the past 2 movies have been with no time to slow things down.

 

If you had told me back in 2014 that throughout the Sequel Trilogy:

A) The big three will never share a scene
B) Leia and Luke will share only one scene, with no dialogue
C) Han and Leia will only share five scenes, and only two with one-on-one dialogue
D) Luke and Han will never share a scene

Then I would have been sad.

 

How is Leia "gone for almost all of the film"? She's featured throughout the first half hour, unconscious for an hour, and featured again throughout the last hour of the film.

Do you consider her likewise "gone for almost all of the film" in A New Hope? She's only in the first 8 minutes of the film, and literally the only scenes she has for the next hour and 5 or so minutes is a couple of seconds where we see an interrogation droid entering into her cell and a two minute scene when Alderaan is destroyed. But Leia doesn't get any steady screentime until an hour and 15 minutes into ANH, and the film ends 45 minutes later.

I'm not sure how many times you've seen TLJ, but you don't seem to have a firm grasp of how much Leia actually is featured in this film.

She's not a minor character who was barely in the film. For reasons only you can ascertain, that's simply how you perceive her.

 

Huh?

 

When Luke, Leia, and Han appear as spirits, at the tend.

 

What are we talking about? Luke and Leia do have a scene with dialogue.

 

Did I read that her arc in Empire isn’t strong? It’s incredible, and incredibly personal to her. It’s about letting her guard down and letting herself actually feel beyond just a cause. When she finally tells Han, “I love you” it’s a tremendous acomplishment for her, and the look on her face when Slave I departs reinforces her regret that she wasn’t honest with herself before. The same with her expression when she and Luke watch the Falcon depart. Both she and Luke have gone through personal journeys and they both end the film with more depth.

And my fear with the new films was Leia was going to be behind a desk on some planet with a cameo. I didn’t think they’d make her a General still leading the fight front and center, while the two male leads ditched the cause. I didn’t think they would actually give her the Force moment, not did I ever expect she’d be positioned for the third film to be the most likely key component in the villain’s redemption. I thought it would be the young people and Luke. So I’ve been nothing but happy, except for the bitter sweetness of Carrie not being around to film and celebrate it.

 

The same person who said that Leia barely exists in TLJ is the same person that said she had more significance in ROTJ than she did TESB.

I'm just gonna assume we're living in two totally different realities and call it a day.

 

Yeah, not to start arguments ... just pointing out how profoundly her story in Empire has always been for me. Just a nudge that I think they did a great job for her in all her films, and especially considering it’s in a department that traditionally pushes women over the age of 35 out of the picture for blockbusters. I think my only complaint over the last few years was wishing she had a presence in the first half of Force Awakens setting up exposition her Resistence and had a few of her more playful asides... like both her deleted scenes.... and wanted her to fire a blaster and go on the Starkiller mission. Other than that, no complaints from me.

 

Yes, Leia has a good amount of screen time, but what specific actions of hers are crucial to The Last Jedi? Meaning if you remove her from the movie does the film come to a complete halt? For example, you can't remove Leia from The Empire Strikes Back because she is the only one who can hear Luke call out for help through the Force. Without Leia, Luke wouldn't have been rescued and would have died.

 

Luke called out to Leia in ESB, and it's likely she called out to him in TLJ, while she was injured. Had Luke not felt her presence, perhaps he wouldn't have done his astral projection, saving the Resistance. Likewise, she is the leader that binds whats left of the Resistance together, I would define that as crucial.

 

Leia's greatest contribution to TLJ is emotional; her presence, her lessons, her connections to various people help drive the arcs for Luke, Poe, Kylo and Holdo. Which is what support characters do, and she is firmly a supporting character in this ST.

Now from a purely plot based perspective?

Leia becoming incapacitated and unwittingly revealing the homing beacon is what sparks Finn's entire journey.
Leia halted Poe's mutiny and quells his desire to resist. Had he succeeded the entire Resistance would've been wiped right there in space.
Leia is the entire reason Luke trained Rey, and rejoined the fight in the end. She's instrumental to every major Luke development in TLJ.

 

She didn’t have a sense of independancy as much before. Before that, it was mostly Han Solo whom made much of the story pull forward. The screentime she had was more satisfying yet her actions were diminished until the end of the film.

 

She could have also stopped his initial disobedience (whether or not Poe made the right call is honestly up in the air) by ordering the rest of the fleet to halt the attack that apparently had no reason to happen but I guess Poe can simply wrest control from Leia by pressing the mute button. So...good job, I guess.

 

yeah, but then there's no movie - you have to make some allowances for the thrill ride. Otherwise how to explain Luke Skywalker's inane thinking in this horrible Jabba master plan.

 

If the only point of a character in a film is to have a "sense of independancy", then you have a crap ton of amazing, but pointless, characters running around in Star Wars.

 

I love this Leia discussion and couldn't agree more about the rich performance Carrie gave and how complete Leia's arc has been. Leia to me has always been my favorite character -- and always will be.

 

I always felt Leia felt a little passive in ESB, though the posts here about her arc have changed my mind somewhat about her role in that film. I still think I prefer ROTJ.

Honestly TLJ is my favorite Leia film. Even if she isn't the "lead" in the whole resistance side of the movie, in-universe she is the clear figurehead of that whole subplot. I loved being able to finally have an exploration of Leia's role as a leader. In the OT, she tends to be overshadowed by the close proximity of Han and Luke and their arcs IMO. Her role in TLJ felt very complete to me and acts as a fitting tribute to the character since now she prob won't be in IX

 

I also loved her role in ESB. I have always felt that good romance > no romance > bad romance. Leia + Han in ESB is good romance that treats both characters with respect. Leia is afforded vulnerability with Han, courage with her commitment to the Rebellion to the last transport on Hoth, decisiveness and leadership in her dealings with Lando after his betrayal, strength in her resolve at the end after everything she faced, and loyalty to Luke and Han throughout that movie, all while portraying her as humanly imperfect. In a borderline self-defeating way, she is incredibly stubborn. ESB is my favorite Leia movie.

I also really enjoyed the writing for her in TFA. I was very pleasantly surprised, given the state of Hollywood, that she was written in romantic scenes with Han. Women over 50 in Hollywood movies typically watch as men their age date women in their 20s or 30s while they play the role of mother/grandmother. Also, I'm generally skeptical of how SW approaches writing mothers, but Leia in TFA really set up what I thought would be important Kylo/Leia story. I think RJ did a better job directing her performance than JJ, and I also think she was shot much more beautifully in TLJ, but I definitely prefer her writing in TFA.

 

I thinks it's a crying shame - The thing I was really looking forward to in the ST was a reunion between the big 3 & even the Luke & Leia scene luke wasn't actually even there ..........

 

When she slapped Poe in the face that felt deeply out of character for her.