Star Wars: The Last Jedi has finally hit theaters. But who is the Last Jedi, really? And what to make of the longest running Star Wars film in the franchise’s history?
[This is a spoiler-free review.]
One thing is certain: regardless of how much you enjoy the film as a whole, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is designed to wring out every possible emotion from its audience that it can. There is much at stake and director Rian Johnson knows this, knows that the film’s emotional core is going to be the primary takeaway no matter what happens on screen. He does everything possible to make certain that there is always something to feel, even if there isn’t always something to track logically.
The biggest problem with The Last Jedi is that there is far too much packed into it. The longest Star Wars film before Episode VIII was Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which was mired with pacing issues, and Last Jedi is unfortunately no different. It somehow manages to have even more story threads going than any installment of the prequels ever had, and is incapable of shepherding each of them to a satisfying conclusion. There are a few diversions too many while the central storyline (surrounding the fate of the Resistance and Rey’s time spent with Luke Skywalker) needs a sharper focus.
The new characters that Johnson introduces us to shine brightly, but need more time to grow. Laura Dern is spellbinding as Amilyn Holdo, but the character’s history needs more context for her overall role in the film to make sense. (She is featured heavily in the YA book about Leia’s early days in the Rebellion, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, but you barely get a sense of that past with her role in the film.) Kelly Marie Tran flipping sparkles in her role as Rose Tico, Resistance maintenance worker who sticks to Finn’s side, but she deserves more attention than the film is capable of giving her, particularly given how important she is to the overall plot. Benicio del Toro’s mysterious turn as “DJ” is an odd extra bit of casting that reads as though Johnson just really wanted the guy in the movie and basically let him do whatever he wanted. He’s fun to watch, but it’s still a bit confusing as to why he’s there.
There are some clever curveballs that Johnson throws into the tale. While much early speculation from fans spouted the common suggestion that The Last Jedi would likely mirror The Empire Strikes Back, there’s far less of the movie in there than one might have anticipated. Instead, there are several places where this film holds narrative hands with Return of the Jedi, often in the most unexpected ways. Occasionally the pieces where you can spot connections to the original Star Wars trilogy are incredibly jarring, but Episode VIII has far too much going on in it to feel like a solid rehashing of previous films.
Most of the overstuffed issues of Last Jedi come down to extra locations that we don’t need or attempts to lighten the tone that don’t fully succeed. It reads as though Johnson was concerned about leaving the film without enough laughs, but many of the jokes are oddly out of place. (The much-anticipated porgs are cute and actually pretty fun to watch on their own, but why they needed to be in this film in particular is anyone’s guess.) The detour to Canto Bight, the casino world full of high-rollers that was previewed heavily by Vanity Fair before the film’s release, is a very distracting B-plot that fails to pay out dividends in the film’s larger scheme, making it a confusing and lengthy diversion.
But despite the unevenness of the film overall, The Last Jedi succeeds in the places where it needs to the most; specifically, in reintroducing audiences to Luke Skywalker, giving more background on Ben Solo’s fall to the Dark Side, and allowing Rey to continue to continue her journey in this story. Mark Hamill has been waiting for this since he stood on a cliffside in The Force Awakens and didn’t say a word, and he gives everything to the performance. Luke Skywalker’s presence carries the weight of this massive tale in most respects, and that presence forces the audience to ask important questions about the nature of this galaxy far, far away; the idea of what balance in the Force truly looks like, the difficulty of inhabiting a legendary figure who is still a flesh-and-blood person, the true purpose of owning one’s failures. The pain that comes from bearing the Skywalker name (for both Luke and Leia) is not made simple for the purposes of this story—Anakin and Padmé’s children have suffered dearly for their legacy, and it’s clear that the galaxy over-relies on them to that end.
The knowledge that Carrie Fisher is gone is the sharpest sting of watching The Last Jedi, and it can’t help but stand out in light of the movie’s arc; when these films started, the plan was to have Force Awakens focus on Han, Last Jedi focus on Luke, and the final film focus on Leia. The events of Episode VIII offer a perfect bridge to that arc, begging questions about Leia’s way forward and the extreme personal sacrifices that can accompany being a leader and a literal embodiment of hope. The greatest loss that we suffer in The Last Jedi is the knowledge that we will never see the Episode IX that could have been. We will never watch our general complete her story.
Still, the saga continues, and this chapter ends with the sensation of a freshly opened wound. It’s hardly surprising for the middle chapter of a three-part story, but all pain is unique. The Force Awakens came for your heart, but The Last Jedi is here for your spirit. With stakes that high, Episode IX is a frightening prospect indeed.
[For the sake of allowing others to enjoy the film, we ask for NO SPOILERS to be given about The Last Jedi in the comments.]
Emmet Asher-Perrin kept all of her feelings out of this review, and will proceed to eat a million cookies in self-congratulation. You can bug her on Twitter and Tumblr, and read more of her work here and elsewhere.
Yeay, finally TLJ review! I wanted to talk about it somewhere, please make the spoiler thread soon!
In general, my impression was positive. It was entertaining and funny, I was glad it surprised me and it wasn’t ESB 2.0, although I agree that it wouldn’t have hurt some editing. The Canto Bight sequence had AMAZING costumes but it felt kind of pointless.
I also agree about the new characters being underdeveloped or, more precisely, didn’t have time to develop.
The movie has a less clear structure than TFA. Thinking about it, I’m not sure where all the stories wanted to go, it still feels like they are building up something, like the whole movie it’s a second act without an internal closed third act.
The best was Kylo Ren/Rey and Rey/Luke moments. That was were emotion was. I would have like to see more Leia, sadly, that’s all we will ever see.
I agree that this would make the film tighter, but it’s funny that you say this, since the thesis of the movie is arguably that the stories of Resistance heroes and Jedi are not the only stories that matter.
This is why I maintain my hope that they recast. We lost Carrie. We still need Leia. We need her full story, now more than ever.
@3 I don’t think they can re-cast. There’s too much Carrie in the General for anyone else to take the role.
It did succeed in extracting emotions though perhaps it was a bit gratuitous about it.
@@.-@ Yes, I think Carrie Fisher made Leia be her. It isn’t impossible, but I doubt it will happen soon. Maybe in an eventual prequel.
Wow, I disagree completely about the pacing or the getting the storylines to a satisfying conclusion. Pacing works perfectly, and the lack of satisfying conclusions to certain storylines I think was intentional, in that Johnson consciously subverts several tropes and delivers the conclusion that is not normally reached in these kind of tropes. Of course, YMMV.
I do agree about DJ, the character doesn’t do much for. And I do believe that this is a sort of ESB, in fact, it’s several little ESBs contributing to a larger one overall, but without being an ESB copy.
I have to disagree with you about Kelly Marie Tran’s performance – she performs as if her character is supposed to have all this weight and focus, and that we’re supposed to care about her, but the audience isn’t given enough information, backstory, or time, so instead she comes off as an overexcited nobody. The whole Canto Bight sequence was ill conceived, heavy handed and didn’t do any of the actors involved any favors. Plus the little urchins all look they were costumed for Oliver, not Star Wars.
Space Oliver. Come on, most of the Resistance or First order troops are dressed as if they’re part of a WWII film, that’s Star Wars.
Not all questions arising from TFA have been answered, and some answers are questionable. Definitely agree about the call-backs to ROTJ in addition to ESB. Not at all an ESB ending. Feeling concern about the close calls with godmodding. I liked a lot of the humour, although this movie’s dialogue was surprisingly heavy on anachronisms and I’m not sure those are all going to age well.
@9 The dialogue was very millennial at times. While it should make for some good tumblr posts, you might be right about it not aging well.
@8 Oliver in space would be pretty interesting. More interesting than Canto Bight probably. :)
In the top picture, are these… books!? In Star Wars!? Has the action moved to a galaxy much, much closer?
@@.-@ I disagree. I think she can be recast. Her loss is very sad, but not that uncommon. The Harry Potter movies come to mind. If I’m honest, I kinda wish they had set the movies further in the future so none of the original cast could be in them. I don’t feel like they have really added much to the story. I know I’m probably alone in that, but as a kid born in 1970, it has been hard to watch knowing that those characters can never be as good as they were when I saw New Hope as a 7 year old.
Still, I did enjoy the movie.
This was a looong movie, but was very well paced, as I never got bored. If I had to cut anything, it might be that Canto Bight diversion, but that storyline had a lot of moments in it that I quite enjoyed, and offered some contrast in a tale that otherwise would have felt quite claustrophobic. I thought Rose was a great addition to the ensemble, and the trio of Finn, Poe and Rey, as well as their antagonist Kylo, continued to give us strong performances. I also liked the porgs and the crystal foxes, and those racing beasts, nice additions to the Star Wars collection of alien beings. While a lot of the plot unfolded as I expected, there were a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Its predecessor, The Force Awakens, was almost a remake of A New Hope, but while a few moments in this story echoed The Empire Strikes Back, The Last Jedi was its own story, and was better because of that.
The movie was a lot of fun, I can see why people are calling it the best Star Wars movie since Empire. My wife who is generally harsh on SF movies, and especially long ones, quite liked it, and that is a tribute to its makers. We saw the first movie on our honeymoon, and have seen all of them together, although she is not a big fan of the prequels.
More than that I cannot say without being spoilery.
JJA has a dilemma, no mistake.
Recast; or kill General Leia off screen, or kill her in the open using a CGI re-creation.
Not an enviable decision. I don’t think Carrie Fisher can be recast — Leia is not James Bond (an avatar for a certain type of suave masculine destruction), nor is she Dumbledore (a side character who provides exposition to the main characters). And cgi humans still don’t work right (Tron II, young Ego, young Leia, barefaced Superman).
@12 Athreeren
Answering that would take us in spoiler territory.
Go and see the movie and you’ll see it’s plausible. :)
IMO the film felt off. Not sure exactly what it was—pacing, logic holes, millennialisms—but I was very underwhelmed. I was hoping for more risks and less status quo. Rogue One is the best of the new films, I think. The one standout was Luke. I thought Hamill was brilliant.
Three hours in the theatre for about two hours worth of movie.
It’s not bad, definitely an above average film, but not as good as any of the original 3 and not as good as TFA or (certainly!!!) Rogue One which falls short of being the best entry in the franchise only because it can’t have existed without that which came before.
Luke drips with weary gravitas, Leia is Leia, Kylo and Rey are a nuclear reactor that is powering the franchise. Everything else is tacked on schmalz. Poe is a New Coke Han served with a big Wedge Antilles. Two films in I still don’t get what Finn is doing there. I don’t know what Benny the Bull was doing there, bit he did do it at a really high level. The other characters are interchangeable and forgettable. Except Snoke, he’s just pointless.
I do like Hux. The character is what it is, but that dude is a hell of an actor.
If you like Star Wars you’ll like this one. It’s good, not great.
It’s weird, I thought it was a pretty good movie, but overall I didn’t really like it? I’m conflicted.
I didn’t like a lot of the ‘twists’ and lack of answers to questions from TFA.
My other main problem is that the place where it ends leaves me with basically no hype whatsoever for Episode 9. I can’t really say more due to spoilers, but if Episode 9’s story follows the cues of the last scene in the movie and if the villains are the same as at that stage in the movie, then it’s not a story that I’m the least bit interested in.
But, Mark Hamill was fantastic, so there’s that!
I did feel emotion, a hollow distance developing towards a universe that captured my imagination and I will always hold a certain fondness for, no matter what comes next.
I suppose I need to see it again. Maybe I’ll feel differently with a second viewing. Or perhaps the third installment will help me piece things back together.
If the Disney handlers would just stop with the bombastic showboating and let it be Star Wars. There were some moments where they managed it. Episode VII nailed it when Rey put on the Rebel pilot helmet and ate her dinner sitting against her makeshift AT-AT domicile. And then they felt the need to throw in Star Killer base. Episode VIII felt like a two and a half hour continuation of what feels to me like Star Killer base syndrome.
I don’t begrudge you all your enjoyment of the film. I just wish Disney would breathe. Just…breathe. And let it be Star Wars.
Edit: To add that the bombastic showboating was a matter of scale morethan plot choices (the space battles in particularfelt like an entirely different space opera universe to me), with a few exceptions to how some of those plot choices resolved in some really bizarre attempts at misdirection.
The problem I had with The Force Awakens was that it felt like a lesser version of ANH (It will always just be Star Wars to me!) and I was expecting this to be a rehash of ESB judging by the trailers. I was so pleasantly surprised that this turned out not to be the case. Quite a few times I was expecting it to go a certain way it went in another direction and it wasn’t afraid to show unfortunate consequences for people’s actions. I liked that that characters actually felt human instead of heroic archetypes.
I felt resistant and confused after the first viewing; I was really having a hard time processing it. My second viewing just wrecked me emotionally, and I was totally on board for all 152 minutes. I’ve seen that pattern a lot on Twitter—it suddenly clicks for people after a rewatch. I think it’s because Rian kept setting up traditional Star Wars beats, then not resolving them in the expected way. This is in stark contrast to what J.J. did: he was making a Lucas movie, but Rian subverted my expectations. Because Rogue One, while different stylistically, was such a familiar story, this was the first Star Wars movie that really felt different, and that took some adjustment. I compared it to listening to a new symphony while humming a very familiar one in my head. Very dissonant, for me at least, until you can listen to it again by itself.
Long story short, I had a very pensive 24 hours Thursday night into Friday, but now I just want to watch it again immediately. It may be my #3 Star Wars movie at the moment.
In terms of pacing, what struck me is that this was the first Star Wars saga film that I couldn’t immediately divide pretty neatly into three acts (even if other films might have a bridge scene here and there between acts). I’m going to have to watch it again to start figuring out how it breaks down, but the filmic pacing is a lot more modern and probably owes more to Rian Johnson’s own scripting and directorial style than to following the Lucas playbook. Especially with the length, I kept feeling like there were false endings (especially when things felt like callbacks to the classic ESB cliffhanger) simply because of instinctually counting story points
Kylo and Rey are going to be stars of slash for a long time. Good chemistry there.
Did you notice that every guy was making mistakes that had to be fixed by the women?
Very diverse cast, looks like where I live in Reston Virginia.
My understanding is that the porgs are there because the puffins on the island are protected so they just cgi’d them into porgs. Also, merchandising.
Edit: I want to see a Maz Kanata movie. “Union troubles”
It’s a disjointed and ill paced film, with an entire B plot (Canto Bight) that needed to be scrapped and re-written. Worst of all, there were no significant character developments – everyone might as well have been jogging in place. Pretty disappointing.
I disagree that the characters didn’t grow; of the main group, I think Kylo, Finn and Poe have experienced character-changing moments, particularly around the idea that you don’t win by destroying what you hate, but by saving what you love.
Canto Bight was a complete waste of time — nothing that happened on the side quest affected the main plot t all, and it was only undertaken because one character kept a secret that there was no logical reason to keep other than that it needed to be kept to motivate the side quest to Canto Bight.
Thinking of certain mysteries and characters that were built up in TFA and then let down, dropped or dismissed quickly here, yes that seems weak and unsatisfying, but is that a problem of the film or of moviegoers? How much of our expectations were based on the 2 hours of TFA and how much on thousands of hours of videos and listicles on mashable and vulture and screenrant? After Empire, there was a real possibility that Harrison Ford would not return. Would it have been perceived as a huge let down if the opening crawl told up that Jabba had executed Han and we moved on to other things?
As for the rest, I’m still not sure how I felt about TLJ. It was a good film, although there were a few moments where I was more aware than usually that I was watching CGI sprites that took me out of the moment. The real issue is that so many characters fail to live up to their own expectations, or the expectations of the other characters or audience. That’s a first for Star Wars. Han returned at the last second in ANH because that’s what happens in this sort of movie. Luke redeemed his father because that’s what happens in this sort of movie. Jyn turned from runaway into committed hero because that’s what happens in that sort of movie.
But here, almost every character fails to do what is expected, either by their comrades or the audience. I wouldn’t say it’s shades of grey, as some reviewers have described it. It’s almost as if Rian looked at the situation he was left with and said, “everyone expects Kylo to do this, so let’s do that instead” and then repeated the process with every other character. I’m still not sure how feel bout that.
@Strong Dreams – Exactly. There were many plot points that felt like a calculated defiance of expectations, and I imagined those choices were made in an effort to make the film feel fresh and unpredictable. It didn’t work. The more I think about it (just saw it last night) the less I like it.
I still don’t know how I feel about this movie. Immediately afterwards, I was left feeling distinctly underwhelmed and unsatisfied (it’s hard to say why without delving into spoiler territory). However, we took our kids with us and so there were definitely parts where I was a little more focused on them, and aware of how antsy they were getting. But while nothing in this upset me the way The Force Awakens did, nothing in it really delighted me the same way either. I hate to admit it, but I felt kind of bored and wondering when it was going to end, and what the point of all of it was. Specifically one of the plot threads which seemed completely pointless and resulted in no overall plot movement at all – it was just frustrating. Especially becuase there WAS some really interesting stuff that, in my opinion, got underserved. The questions I was hoping would be answered were NOT answered satisfactorily to me, and certain characters, I think, departed far too soon and just left me asking, “why?”. And…I also kind of find I’m not really that interested in what happens in the next one.
If you want to know the truth, I think in part I’m still in a bit of shock. There are still a few things I’m trying to process and I also have a feeling that were I to see it again, I might have a different opinion. But at least right now, I don’t feel the same way about it as I did Rogue One, which I loved instantly, or even The Force Awakens, which really got me interested in the new characters.
I think this movie needs another viewing. And some discussion. :) Over to the spoiler thread!
@Lisamarie, I agree that there was just so MUCH in the film. I need to see it again simply to better process how things fit together and where different subplots and characters mesh. My first sense is almost that it’s as if there was a basic movie and then all the additional scenes and people you’d see added in the expanded novel adaption were added into the film itself in a fashion that made the actual structure of the movie seem off as a Star Wars film (as I noted before, in terms of it lacking the three act structure of the other films). This one is going to be far easier to digest when I can pause it on Netflix in a few months in between scenes
Lisamarie – you said something that really clicked with me(and similar to what I told my roommate last night): ” I hate to admit it, but I felt kind of bored and wondering when it was going to end, and what the point of all of it was.” Not that I felt bored exactly but…I had trouble tracking the grand and sweeping themes that I’m used to seeing in Star Wars. What was the point of this movie? Where was the sense of high drama that I’m accustomed to with Star Wars? There were a few scenes that really clicked with me(yay!), but overall…I’m not sure where this trilogy is going. I’m just a bit confused!
One other related thought…told this to my roommate last night as we were trying to process. I feel like the prequels, for all their flaws, had a story worth telling – the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. That story and those themes were so rich and poignant. The execution was sometimes off(yes, the acting/writing was not always perfect!), but the thematic elements that define Star Wars were there. I feel like this trilogy(and this movie in particular) is the opposite. The execution is brilliant. The dialogue is great, the acting is amazing(I do love the new characters so much – Finn is my fav!) and I can enjoy the craft that went into this movie. But…where are the thematic elements that I’m used to? What story is this trilogy trying to tell? Again – I’m still processing and it’s hard for me to say where I’m at. I don’t know if I can yet say I “liked” this movie, as much as I enjoyed some of it. Will hop over to spoiler thread to be more specific with several of my thoughts…
I really don’t get why people are saying that the Canto Bight sequence should be cut out. It’s quite important to Finn’s journey as a character, to me.
@31 – at least for me, it was economy. I agree Finn’s journey needed taking, but I wish they had found a way to do it such that the plot integrated more tightly (or at least advanced) the story. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy any of the scenes – I actually did and I love Rose and Finn – it was just that after the movie was over I realized it was all a wild goose chase, and also took away from many of the things I felt got short changed.
The wild goose chase is also part of the whole point Johnson was trying to make, subverting movie tropes, etc.
DJ is there for a very important reason: he embodies the movie’s overall theme of the tension between the legends of heroes and the compromises of reality. Poe wants to be a hero, but he just gets people killed. The Jedi Knights are revered as the protectors of the Republic, but they were truly incompetents who let the Republic fall.
And DJ is all of that in one stuttering dude (spoilers follow this, so highlight the text if you want to read): the moment when he shows up with a ship to save Finn and Rose, the moment when he uses her necklace to break in and then gives it back, and we’re led to think that he’s a rogue with a heart of gold — but reality isn’t that clean. In the end, he betrays them, and that betrayal is the most devastating loss the good guys suffer in the movie, and it’s because DJ is still a person who has to survive, and the only way for him to do it is to sell out to the First Order.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
I just learned today that DJ (who is never named in the film) is short for “Don’t Join”.
I have to say after just watching TLJ last night, I was quite delighted. I laughed, I cried. My heart raced. Sparkle of a new Star Wars episode? That was perhaps some of it, but it was a great story well told, although a bit long.
Canto Bight – could have done with less of that. BUT – I believe it was a necessary diversion for the continuation of the saga. Character building (though not enough) relationship building (same) and foreshadowing – this all could probably have been done in a more organic way, but I’ll live with it. I thought the beasts were amazing.
I’ve noticed a lot of questions on this thread around looking and wanting more of the old tried-and-true Star Wars thematic beats, the classic 3 acts, the hero, the rogue, the princess. The constant push and pull between dark and light. I think we can safely say that none of that applies now, and that is the point. That, if nothing else, was the whole point of this movie. And I am truly pleased with that new direction, now the story has become unpredictable. Yes, TLJ forced that unpredictability sometimes, but let’s let those kinks get worked out in IX, if they ever get worked out at all. (Un-pre-dictable!)
“Let the old things die. Kill them if you have to.”
@34 – totally agree with you about DJ and truth be told (edited for spoiler), I’m glad they didn’t go the ‘rogue with a heart of gold’ trope with him. It’s not that they don’t exist – they do, and we’ve seen them in Star Wars. But the other part of that also exists.
@35 – I think the wild goose chase does play into it thematically, along with the general theme of failure (which is surprisingly, not quite as depressing as it sounds…) but it still, during the viewing, felt dragged out. But I do want to watch it again now that I’m not constantly wondering ‘but what’s going on with X?’ – I can just let the story breathe and go at its own pace, and pick up on more of the overall threads.
@36 – Not sure you wan to be quoting the villain here ;) That said, [character on the hero side] actually says something very similar (although I can’t recall the exact quote) which I also thought was interesting – hearing basically the same sentiment from two different perspectives, but one of them is twisted. So I’d go with the other version, really :)
Also, I disagree that, while things are definitely changing, I don’t think the push and pull between dark and light is gone from the saga at all. I think we’re still set up to explore that in some possibly interesting ways, but I can’t say more without spoiling.
@37 LisaMarie – Actually, totally agree with you! I don’t necessarily think the tidal push and pull of dark and light is gone, because that is at heart what these movies are about, and maybe I spoke too strongly in my first comment. I think how that push and pull plays out will be different, hopefully in surprising ways. It is like the idea of “The Grey Jedi” that got bandied about before the movie came out – what is Light, what is Dark, and what do those ideas even mean? It has been pretty clear up until now. I think that clear delineation will change.
And why not quote the villain? He is, IMO, the most conflicted of the characters, and probably the most interesting.
@Magnus: As a writer, there’s a risk you run in actively choosing to deny all plot tropes or conventions of storytelling – you might end up with a film about nothing. The Last Jedi is one continuous and very slow paced chase scene that comes dangerously close to being about nothing.
@26
“I disagree that the characters didn’t grow; of the main group, I think Kylo, Finn and Poe have experienced character-changing moments, particularly around the idea that you don’t win by destroying what you hate, but by saving what you love.”
I strongly disagree. Leia didn’t risk her life getting the DS plans to Obi Wan for an idea like that. Bothans didn’t give their lives and the whole cast of Rogue One didn’t undertake a suicide mission for it either. The entire SW story is about war. War is about killing people and breaking things; “destruction” in a word. Destroying what you hate is HOW you save what you love.
I actually thought this was a good movie. But Roses line was jarringly stupid, especially since we’d just seen another character do the exact same thing, but successfully (sorry so vague….spoiler free i hope)
@40: The core of the Star Wars saga is about saving what you love instead of destroying what you hate: Luke Skywalker refusing to kill Darth Vader and instead redeeming him. TLJ for the first time starts to expand that concept to non-Jedi characters. This is a new direction, but a conscious and—I think—necessary one if the contradictions between Luke’s faith in RotJ and the larger Rebellion are to be resolved. I’m sure there will still be war and killing in IX, but I expect the intention and the definition of heroism to be different. And, of course, as soon as Rose says that another character does exactly what she described.
I didn’t get to see TLJ yet, so even if this a bit off topic, but TFA was mentioned here a couple of times. So I’m sorry for being harsh, but here it goes.
I hated, really hated ep. XII… a lousy remake of ep. IV… I mean the rebellion/resistance? I mean, they won and crushed the empire in episode VI (as being folded out in over 50 books, and expanded universe, which some were recognized as official continuation by lucas (see timothy zahn’s trilogy)) , so how come the empire or whatever they call it now is back? If you’ll try to tell me that according to Disney’s version there is no expanded universe, and the empire was never crushed, than why change the name from rebellion to resistance? Where did those new bad force users come from, as Palpatine and Vader were the last woithout knowing apprentices? Countering that again, if there is some place for the continuation that we new from expanded universe, than how come Han acted as if he is only a bit convinced that there is some “force” out there? Rey being a uberNinja Jedi without teaching? wow, even Vader can’t compare with that. Carry’s acting was lousy. and just overall, from the mysterious bad guy and his conversation with the antagonist, overall a copy paste from the OT. Finn/Rey/Poe by themselves act well, but there is no time (unlike ANH) for the characters to get to know each other and become the new “family”… all in all, while better dialogue and casting and storytelling then the prequels, BUT it being ANH all over while not explaining what happened between ep VI and now, felt more like this was alternate universe ANH then some continuation.
sorry I’m just really really dissapointed, I’ll go eat some chocolate while trying to relax
I mean come on, I like the effort, but is it to much to ask being original? unless it is no continuation but a true remake which is not. (trying to imitate mysterious Palpatine all over, trying to imitate naive dreamy Luke all over, trying to imitate Han, and so on, linking a cute droid to luke, ahh rey all over…)
@39 – Transceiver: I disagree completely. He subverted the tropes with a purpose, and told a story with a theme, or several themes.
magnus@33, 44:
No doubt. But I lot of people who are complaining happen to be FOND of those tropes. That’s kind of the point, even if they aren’t genre-aware, or even self-aware enough to put it in those terms. Subverting expectations doesn’t always lead to enjoyment. Especially for people who love a particular kind of story, or a franchise.
And then there’re people who complain when everything’s predictable. I like my tropes and my predictability in good measures, but you can’t please everybody, and at least Johnson did the movie he wanted to make, apparently.
I was deeply affected by the Ach-To moments but it will go over most peoples heads. They want to be entertained first and foremost and are in the market for a fun, superhero popcorn flick. See what made the most money this year and highest rated across all the rating systems despite their flaws. Its a Star Wars film in the sense that its not going to win an Oscar for its acting, its polarizing which is what has happened ever since the Empire Strikes Back came out and we have to have marketing opportunities for Porgs since that seemed like a prerequired condition Disney presented Johnson with when this film was made. This all being said the ending was a bit overblown but there is precedence for it in the Star Wars Rebels TV series with several episodes having similar Escape type plot sequences. Again, this will go straight over the any non-dedicated Star Wars fans head. Most people I talk to haven’t even seen a Star Wars film they are so young and part of this newer generation. They see no harm in bashing film because they honestly think it is a bad film and judge from the perspective of an outsider with the whole modern short attention span in tact to boot.
On another note you can tell they drew inspiration from the EU making the characters for these films. If Abrams, Kasdan or anyone denies it they are flat out lying. The Kylo Ren costume design all the proof you need.
Magnus @44, this is a sincere question and not a troll. Can you explain to me what those themes were, preferably in detail?
I have only seen TLJ once, and I left the theatre supremely underwhelmed and thoroughly confused as to what the point of the movie was. I also left with little desire to actually see how this story ends.
The biggest problem for me was the inconsistent logic of the actual story. There were multiple instances of Deus Ex Machina and plot armor so thick that it was actually immersion breaking. There were side trips which could have paid off in believable ways, which instead were handled in contrived and arbitrary fashion. Even Rey’s main arc was arbitrary, she is awesome because the plot requires it, not because of anything shown to us in the movies.
I left the theatre feeling like the writers and director truly don’t understand how the Star Wars world works, let alone the real world. The perfect example is saving what you love not destroying what you hate. That’s a great sentiment in a vacuum, but in the context of the story world as laid out to that point the actions of the person who made that quote should have resulted in the destruction of everything they loved. Instead they were saved by authorial fiat/Deus Ex Machina and not by anything internally consistent with the story. That’s just lazy writing and a breach of the writer/director-consumer relationship.
I was busy with work and then away from computers for a while, sorry I never replied. I don’t think it’d be worth it to wast time writing out a detailed listing of the movie’s themes, when there are dozens of articles on the web (including this site) regarding the film.
1. So far generally, this trilogy is about legacy. Specifically, Last Jedi is about how people treat legacy, whether through hero worship (Rey/Rose), self-aggrandizement (Poe/Kylo), or expectation (Luke/Snoke). Disney films usually draw parallels between heroes and villains by explicitly dressing them up in the same suit as flip sides of the same coin, but Last Jedi has so many parallels between its leads that it’s rather mesmerizing. Each had to come to terms, in their own ways, of how legacy shapes and warps each one’s beliefs. In a very sly way, Johnson is critiquing the very nature and failure of fandom, telling them that people actually aren’t necessarily what you think they should be in life, which is really why I believe certain fans are subconciously angry about this film: they can’t face the truth of their own shallow, preservative beliefs.
2. If by “Deus ex Machina” you mean “The Force”, then so be it, since it has proven to have a will of its own (Ben Kenobi states so). As for side trips and plot armor, you neglect to give examples, so I’m left to believe these as shallow criticisms without merit.
3. Rose’s sentiment was the perfect encapsulation of the film. It’s the old adage: how can you destroy the monster without becoming a monster yourself? Killing the Emperor would have turned Mace and Luke to the Dark Side. Merely destroying what you hate leaves one with a hateful spirit. Saving what you love remind one of what one is fighting for. The two options are not mutually exclusive. It’s possible to save what you love without losing yourself in the process. When Finn headed for the cannon, which Poe and Rose correctly deemed as useless suicide, he wasn’t thinking about being a hero, he was dwelling on getting revenge, much like Poe did in the film’s beginning. Rose represents the spirit of the Resistance (and the galaxy in general) whom, despite morally-testing hardships in her past, “rose” up to become the hero even she never thought she was. Then, when the Deus… I mean, the Force steps in, it’s completely consistent with what has come before, in terms of power and character (Kylo/Rey’s meetings, as well as a scene from Rebels in which Yoda uses the same power). This “breach” you speak of between filmmaker and consumer is rather empty, and I’d rather not think of myself as a mere “consumer”. Some fans, I suppose, love the legacy of that label, as if it entitles them to anything and, at that point, are they really “fans” or do they just destroy what they hate for the sake of it without realizing what they could love? I’ve seen this myopic hatred happen to many franchises, which is why it’s time for fandom… to end.