2. Kids playing with Luke Skywalker figurines in the final scene. BECAUSE DISNEY NEED TO SELL THE TOYZ. This doesn't sour the film as much as the previous scene, but if the Leia scene didn't exist and this one still did, it would still keep me back from overlooking the other minor problems I had with the film.
I wrote the same and since then I've been listening to other opinions that mostly love the final scene, taking it for what I believe was its true intention, showing the optimism of hope. I can believe that was the intent, but coming from a Star Wars film, one of the great merchandising tools of our lifetime, I can't get past seeing it as selling the mania to future generations.
Is there anything these kids could have done that would not inspire this response? If they were lightsabering around it wouldn't change anything, lightsabers come in all kinds of buyable shapes and sizes. I suppose the one could have just been telling the story to the others, but is that how kids work? Do they sit down to tell each other stories at that age, or do they act them out? It's been about 25 years for me, but the toy version feels like the most realistic thing they could have been doing. We got past the cynicism for The Lego Movie, when are we gonna get past it for Star Wars? (I feel I should point out that perhaps the most important plot/character point in the film, Rey's decision to not join Kylo Ren, is a choice against cynicism.)
What are you talking about? Legos ARE toys. There wasn't a lego film then legos made from that film. And I don't know about you, but I never played with soldier action figures based on real life people. Chris Kyle isn't a massively popular action figure.
Your line of argument is so confusing. It presupposes that this scene was the only thing that they could've done, that this is the only way they could've ended the movie, then you appear to negotiate as if the screenwriter was cornered by this apparently logical conclusion. People do this kind of technique all of the time, in order to justify their defense.
No, there's plenty of different conclusions they could've gone.
The entire trilogy up to this point has people telling stories. There could've been an older person of authority telling the story of Luke Skywalker with kids surrounding him. That happens, that's still true and authentic. Point being I have no problem with the idea behind the scene, just with the execution. Even the lightsaber broom isn't so much a problem because lightsabers are just swords. But action figures? Knowing the course that the film series took because of the merchandising (Harrison Ford being told by Lucas that he wouldn't kill off his character in RETURN OF THE JEDI because no one would buy dead Han dolls), it leaves a pretty sour taste in my mouth. Add to the fact that Disney is infamous for milking films for all its toy worth, it just sours more. And to tie that all up, the way it's shot, with the kid's hand moving the action figure toward the camera (!!!) triggered instant 90s toy commercials in my mind. No. It's a bad scene, regardless of the idea behind it, because the execution is god-awful.
1. The concern going into The Lego Movie was that it was a cynical way of boosting Lego sales.
2. While that may have been an outcome, it only worked because the movie was so good.
3. The movie itself actually undermines Lego's business model because it's about being creative outside of specific Lego sets.
4. Turns out the cynicism towards The Lego Movie is unjustified.
About that...
Etc.
All of these on-the-fly creations are sold worldwide but, for what its worth, the cynicism IS sold separately.
But let's toss that argument aside for a second. Even if those on-the-fly creative sets weren't sold with their instructions on how to make them, the entire thesis of Lego has always been that you can create what you want (I've been doing it for years before THE LEGO MOVIE released), there was never a hard rule for or against doing it, the film just simply co-opts the instructions vs. creativity and poses it as an argument. And all goes back to the fact that legos are toys, I relate to legos as toys, I relate to STAR WARS as a movie. You don't seem to even acknowledge why 1SO and I are cynical about it - so much of the problems of STAR WARS do appear to it being more of a merchandise platform than how it works as a movie series. Even if it's home made, it still pulled me out of the movie, reminding me that these movies aren't made for themselves, but for merchandise. There's no commentary on this - it's just a flat acknowledgment.
Again, I love the idea behind it. I think actually what would've worked better was if the kids were playing pretend. "I'm Luke Skywalker" "I'm Darth Vader" and acting like they have the force/lightsaber. I think you would agree with that? Regardless of the action figure being homemade or not, it's still a product that's being pushed in our face by the camera. It's still saying, "You need an action figure to play STAR WARS, kids!" And that just pushes merchandise on people. Also, it's silly. These figures are already over advertised just by essence of the movie itself. You don't need more.