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Actor Mark Hamill really doesn’t like the way his iconic character, Luke Skywalker, acted in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He went so far as the bash the movie and director Rian Johnson for the creative direction they took with his character. He’s wrong. Let me explain.
Before I do, I should acknowledge a review that is contrary to the point I’m about to make written by one of my colleagues. I respectfully disagree with his assessment:
I enjoyed The Last Jedi, but I don’t like the direction Rian Johnson is taking everything
Johnson’s first task was to direct Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He’s been tapped to give Disney a live-action television show for its upcoming streaming service. He’s also going to be launching a new trilogy. In other words, Johnson is setting the direction by which Disney is going to expand the Star Wars universe as much as it possibly can.
This brings us to The Last Jedi. As a movie, it was well made. It had holes and was too long, but generally the twists were great, the storyline was good, and it matched up nicely with the start of something bigger. That’s the goal. They want this to be bigger.
I agree that the movie was enjoyable, but I disagree about the direction Johnson is taking it. I think it’s incredible that he’s expanding it beyond the Skywalkers. They’ve played a major role in the first eight episodes of the saga and will likely play a role in the 9th episode even though it’s assumed Kylo Ren will be the only Skywalker prominent in it. What Johnson is doing with the Disney series and the upcoming trilogy will most likely be to bring The Force (and therefore the audience) to parts of the galaxy we’ve never experienced. In a world where Marvel is the best “universe” that’s expansive enough for a following, it’s good to see a competitor. No, DC didn’t do it with their attempt.
Now, on to Hamill. He made his feelings very clear, even calling the character he played in episode 8 “Jake” Skywalker:
Mark Hamill Is Dissapointed Over The Portrayal Of Luke Skywalker In The Last Jedi
“I said to Rian, ‘Jedi’s don’t give up.’ I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong. So, right there we had a fundamental difference, but it’s not my story anymore. It’s somebody else’s story – and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. …That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry. Well, in this version, see I’m talking about the George Lucas Star Wars. This is the next generation of Star Wars, so I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s Jake Skywalker. He’s not my Luke Skywalker, but I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.”
Here’s the thing. Jedi might not give up under most circumstances, but Skywalker’s character gave up more than once. In a famous scene on Dagobah, Jedi-in-training Skywalker gave up on pulling his X-Wing Fighter out of the swamp. Granted, he was still learning, but nothing in the following movies would lead us to believe he was a mature master Jedi. He only became a Jedi by facing Darth Vader for a second time. What happened after that until the start of episode 7 is mostly a mystery.
It’s understandable that Hamill would want his character to be a wise, honorable Jedi like Obi Wan Kenobi or Yoda, but to say this wasn’t really Luke Skywalker is simply not his call to make. But we don’t even need to dissect the psychology of a fictional character to see what Hamill is wrong. Let’s look at the two honorable Jedi who preceded him. Following the events of episode 3, both Kenobi and Yoda went into hiding. They disappeared four decades while the Empire tore across the galaxy. They had, in essence, given up. The only reason they emerged at all is because Skywalker went to them both for help. Had he not, both would have died doing nothing to stop Vader or the Emperor.
Just like Skywalker.
Fans might be disappointed that The Force wasn’t as pure with Skywalker as they’d like, but this is the direction the saga and universe are heading. Live with it.
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The movie is dogshit.