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There have been two semi-reviews of Star Wars: The Last Jedi posted to this site already. That fact combined with thousands of reviews posted on other sites plus the reality that the movie has been out for so long that just about everyone has seen it by now should make me come to the conclusion I don’t need to write my own review. I will, anyway. It won’t be a true review, though. It’s more of a postmortem.
Spoilers.
The original Star Wars universe is gone. Some said the prequels killed it, but they simply bumbled their way through poorly. They didn’t destroy the essence of the universe even though midi-chlorians added an unnecessary and cumbersome element to the universe. Other than that, the prequels only crimes were Jar Jar Binks and being generally bad movies.
What Rian Johnson and J.J. Abrams did with the new trilogy are fundamental changes. I forgave Abrams for putting together uninspiring characters in The Force Awakens because I assumed bringing in Luke Skywalker, expanding on Snoke, and the training of both Rey and Kylo Ren would give us a great dynamic in episodes 8 and 9. Johnson killed all of those hopes and dreams. Luke was too busy milking alien sea cows and whining about himself while Snoke proved to be less of a threat than his Praetorian Guard.
While Kylo Ren and Rey were given zero actual training, they did form a strangely effective relationship that is one of the few high points of Johnson’s efforts. It could have been better, but the synergy was strong. Where he failed was in developing each of these characters properly. They are now the centerpieces of the new universe and if they’re going to deliver in episode 9, they need to be better. Right now, they’re pure potential and unfortunately that potential was already wasted a bit with poor decisions.
Let’s start with Rey. She’s way too perfect. With no training she defeated Kylo Ren and the Praetorian Guard in lightsaber battles. She is compassionate, righteous, and pure. She was able to save her friends with Jedi powers by moving rocks that combined to certainly weigh more than the X-Wing Luke couldn’t lift in episode 5. Perhaps the worst part about her is that she’s fearless. She flew directly onto Snoke’s ship to confront Snoke and turn Kylo Ren without support or training from Luke. Even Neo couldn’t make “the jump” in The Matrix, but Rey seems capable of anything and she hasn’t even learned the secret Jedi handshake.
As for Kylo Ren, he’s interesting. That’s about it. How he killed Snoke was cool. That should have been the turning point for him, so when Rey asked him to halt the attack on the fleeing Resistance ships, he should have attempted to comply. That would have made for an interesting twist in the universe that could have wiped away the sins of the movie. Have Kylo Ren remain torn but wanting to do whatever he’s going to do with Rey at his side. Instead, they turned him into Kim Jong un, a petulant leader with a big temper but lacking the leadership skills to accomplish anything outside of the authority given to him.
There was another huge missed opportunity with Luke. Even if we put aside the complete lack of wisdom he’s gained in the decades since he defeated the Emperor, his death was inconsequential. Some are opposed to the whole “force projection” thing. I didn’t think it was that bad. How he used it was ill-conceived, though. He should have used it to give Leia a message, telling her to trust Rey and pointing to the way out instead of them following the silly crystal foxes. Then, he could have bargained with Kylo Ren, telling him he’ll reveal his location and wait for him if he’d let the Resistance escape. Kylo Ren would agree, then go after the Resistance anyway once Luke told him where he was. It would have fit character better even if we had to miss the pointless shooting and fake lightsaber battle between them. As cool as it was for a moment, learning that Luke was never really there negated the coolness.
I’d like to take a moment to go into an impossible hypothetical. Johnson clearly has a vision of expanding the universe to have the Resistance include characters throughout the “outer rim” that are completely detached from the familiar Star Wars universe for the sake of his new trilogy and upcoming Disney streaming live action show, so we’ll keep with that premise as I offer a “coulda been” scenario. I already mentioned Kylo Ren and Rey should have teamed up. I’d love to rewrite Luke’s part in all this while keeping Johnson’s visions for the future intact.
Instead of having him fishing and whining throughout, what if he tells Rey he will not train her until she demonstrates she won’t succumb to the dark side. It’s a reasonable request considering what happened with Kylo Ren. Have him test her by making her fearful, angry, and even hateful. He would put her through trials that have less to do with standard Jedi skills and more to do with seeing if she has the ability to fight the pull that Snoke will certainly put on her. Then, once she’s passed her final test, he shows her how she was being trained as a Jedi the whole time, similar to how Mr. Miyagi trained Daniel in The Karate Kid. Wax on. Wax off.
Remove the whole “Luke tried to kill me” storyline. Just have Luke wake up one morning to see Kylo Ren standing over him ready to strike him down. Luke wouldn’t have tried to kill him. He’s always been hopeful. Even if he sensed the dark side in him, he would have tried to train it out of him. That whole portion of the movie was silly.
Just a few more gripes:
- Finn fails at literally everything. He’s less relevant than C3PO and without the comic relief.
- Captain Phasma should have stayed in the garbage chute. She was worthless once again.
- Poe Dameron is an idiot. He couldn’t shine Han Solo’s blaster.
- The three new characters introduced – DJ, Vice Admiral Holdo, and Rose Tico -were all throwaways.
- General Hux is only slightly less worthless than Captain Phasma.
- You can’t drop bombs in space.
To finish off my rambling, let me say this. This trilogy so far is why I don’t like Disney. They think about everything from a financial perspective only. That’s not to say they shouldn’t make a profit, but they’ve ruined the Star Wars universe for the sake of expanding it. By doing so, they’ve diluted it with characters we don’t care about and a storyline that’s bound to continue in its social justice warrior mentality. Thanks, Disney. You killed Star Wars.
If there is a better example of the ineptitude of critics, one need only compare The Last Jedi with Dunkirk on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, they’re tied.
Further Reading
Luke Skywalker is wrong about Luke Skywalker
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:
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.
I enjoyed The Last Jedi, but I don’t like the direction Rian Johnson is taking everything
Yes, there will be spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie, bookmark this and come back to it after you’ve seen it.
In all the years I’ve done occasional movie reviews, I’ve never done spoilers. This time, I need to/ This isn’t really a movie review, though. It’s a review of the cinematic universe Disney and Rian Johnson are building. I don’t like it.
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.
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