One 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' scene prompts an unexpected warning from theaters
Read no further if you haven't yet seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Significant spoilers ahead.
Utter silence.
When Vice Admiral Holdo used the last remaining Resistance cruiser to slice Supreme Leader Snoke's warship in two, did your entire theater collectively gasp? Or did someone stand up and shout "The sound is broken!" at the movie theater gods?
Apparently, the latter scenario has happened often enough to prompt a posted warning for moviegoers: Yes, the sound cuts out at one point. No, it's not a technical issue.
The scene occurs late in The Last Jedi. The First Order has almost snuffed out the last of an escaping wing of Resistance transports, so Holdo (played by Laura Dern) cooks up an inventive maneuver: She'll point the large decoy cruiser she's piloting directly at the pursuing First Order flagship and fire up the hyperdrive, wreaking havoc on the enemy warship and sacrificing herself in the process.
She pulls it off and, in a breathtaking sequence of shots, we see Holdo's cruiser strike a fiery path of devastation across Snoke's wedge-shaped ship. And, in an artful twist, director Rian Johnson elected to have the sequence play out in silence. The enormity of Holdo's sacrifice and the blow it deals to her enemy is conveyed entirely via images. No words, no music, no sound effects.
Unfortunately, the creative decision caused enough confusion among AMC moviegoers that signs were posted in two theaters, according to a spokesperson. It's not clear who posted the signs, and they've since been removed, but actor Paul Scheer shared a look at one in a photo posted to Facebook.
"The Last Jedi contains a sequence at approximately 1 hour and 52 minutes into the movie in which ALL sound stops for about 10 seconds," the sign reads. "While the images continue to play on the screen you will hear nothing. This is intentionally done by the director for creative effect."
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
