ST Canto Bight

I keep seeing people complain about the Canto Bight section of TLJ. What I'm not understanding is why people don't understand the significance of Finn and Rose going there?

 

Because there is no significance?

 

Since that's a question, no, there's a lot of significance to this section of the film.

 

You mean the out of place social commentary on arms dealing and animal rights?

 

Vegan and animal rights spiel... just what you want in a Star Wars movie.

 

No.

(sigh)

No.

 

Canto Bight might have less to do with the film narratively, as Finn and Rose's plan with DJ ultimately fails aboard the Supremacy, but that entire subplot is intentioned to develop Finn, essentially going from a selfish deserter to a committed member of the Resistance/Rebellion.

 

In order to desert something you'd have to first pledge your loyalty to that thing, no? Also, Finn as coward who learns to believe in something was the arc of the previous movie. Being most generous Canto Bight is a retread. Least generous it is pointless. In all cases it ends with political commentary with roughly the subtlety and thought put forth of a children's book.

 

There's that element. The Canto Bight section of TLJ does a huge amount of world building.

 

Canto Bight was about a guy who only met with the Resistance a couple of days ago and helped them out big time. When he tries to leave to go about his business, he gets threatened, guilt-tripped and brainwashed - almost in to suicide.

 

No, that wasn't really the arc of the previous movie at all. In TFA Finn went from someone who just wanted to run away from everything to someone who cared about Rey but very little else. He didn't go to Starkiller Base to help the resistance, he went there to rescue Rey, he said so himself. Hence Han's speech about people counting on them.

In TFA Finn is still relatively selfish in what he fights for. He fights to get Rey back safely, but ignores the general picture. In TLJ he learns that you can best save and protect those you care about by creating circumstances in which everyone is save. This is where he truly accepts his role as a rebel who chooses to fight for the cause.

 

To me, none of that stuck out. So why exactly is it a problem, and why wasn't it a problem in the previous films? Are those messages wrong?

 

Were you asleep during the Canto Bight scenes then? (wouldn't blame you). The political agenda stuck out like a sore thumb, and Star Wars isn't the place for High School level political commentary.

 

In my five viewings so far, I haven't fallen asleep at any point. Was the problem just having too many such messages from one place?

 

I agree, but I'm not sure why you would come to that conclusion about the Canto Bight scenes.

 

It was basically an incredibly naïve and border-line "after school special" attitude on class, while ignoring actual realities.

Not to mention that we're apparently supposed to cheer what Finn and Rose did despite the fact that, if anything, they just made things worse.

It was a waste of time plot-wise, and just really preachy. The previous films showed the "unaligned people making money" idea without having to beat you over the head with it.

 

No, they are not wrong but the whole sequence with it's topic was so overdone (they could have even inserted flashing text elements to underline it a bit more) that it felt out of place.
Further - and that is my main issue - is, that those fools freed animals and left the kids behind.
Imagine Finn or Rose saying :"Wanna come with us?" to the broom boy and later you see the scene with the boy using the force to grab something (Why not having a black FS girl?).
A new character would have been placed for 9 and the whole CB sequence would have even made sense storywise.

 

Also it's ridiculously out of place given the situation. The "HISHE" video was right on the money here. When a plot line is The Resistance literally running for their lives with the FO right behind them, time is of the essence, and Rose and Finn are trying to save them, this isn't the place to take a massive detour to preach to us about war-profiteering, or have Finn and Rose waste time with this little stunt that, if anything, will just make things WORSE!!

Rian, in this context, I don't care. That's the thing, he has all of these ideas that just don't flow together coherently.

It also makes Finn and Rose look REALLY bad.

 

To me, I know why they did Canto Bight. For one thing. Without it, you just have the enclosed space chase, the rural Ahch-TO and the barren Crait.

One thing the OT did was expand the confides of the alien galaxy, beyond Rebel bases and Imperial ships.

That's why we got Mos Eisly, Bespin, Jabba's hideout and Endor.

Same thing in TFA with Takodona. (Too bad Hosnian Prime was cut).

Without them, the movies seem too claustrophobic.

The second reason was to give Finn an adventurous locale for his Hero's Journey. It's the departure into the "Unknown World" for his hero's Journey. Before he makes the return to his "Known World" on the Supremacy.

Makes sense. In TFA, Rey's "unknown worlds" were Takodona and Starkiller base.

Finn's were Jakku and Takodona.

Since Rey gets to have Ahch-To as her "Unknown World" in the continuation of her Heroine's Journey in TLJ. It's only fair that Finn gets to have one as well. Otherwise he wouldn't be undergoing a Hero's Journey.

 

I dug it. The designs are excellent, the guards in particular. I also think the initial instrumentation is a variation on the Cantina classic, like the band playing is covering a classic song.

 

I disagree. It fits quite nicely. The Resistance was in a dire situation and this was a hail mary pass.

 

And yet, he did help the Resistance at SKB before he rescued Rey. He wasn't primarily motivated by the Resistance's goal, but only because he thought it was hopeless and they would lose. TFA Finn was not selfish. There is nothing selfish in wanting to escape to live life by his own terms. Choosing not to sign up was never a selfish thing. Regardless, the plot is still a retread. Finn goes from fleeing to suicidal sacrifice for others. It's just that in the movie that blatantly copies the other movie, the plot has to be contorted to fit the retread because Finn hadn't signed up, hence there was nothing to flee from.

 

It is just a side quest, like Star Wars always has. In this case, it is important for 1) character growth for Finn, Rose and Poe (who allowed them to go there) and 2) to create the issue of DJ hearing the plan and telling it to the FO.

 

I was fine with the Canto Bight subplot. Yeah in the end the plan failed but that's the point. Plus John Williams' music is great. The music reminds me of a Mario Kart level.