MAJOR SPOILERS
If you haven't seen The Last Jedi and want to remain pure, don't read this. If you don't care about spoilers....hell, you still may not want to read it. Consider yourself warned.
How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Last Jedi
I suppose I expected there would be some fans that were let down by The Last Jedi, but I didn't figure on the split with the fans being 50/50 (according to Rotten Tomatoes) on whether they liked the film or not. No Star Wars film is ever going to make everyone happy. There is no way to make a film that captures what the original trilogy gave us. You know, the intricate character development, giving us origin and background information on the characters, definitively tying up loose ends in the plot, and a penchant for giving the fans just what they expect. You know....on second thought, the original trilogy didn't really do those things in the way our memories are telling us they did. I'm going to argue that The Last Jedi is closer to the vibe and tactical story telling of the original trilogy than any of the 5 films that came before or after episodes 4 through 6.
Before I begin what promises to be an exhaustive and probably little read diatribe, I want to acknowledge that yes, absolutely there are some problems with The Last Jedi. There are some cringe inducing moments. There are some downright head scratching moments. I don't want to tell anyone they are wrong for not digging those moments. I don't want to tell any Star Wars fan they are wrong for not liking the movie....but I'm going to anyhow. Just to give an example or two on what I didn't really enjoy, I will say I didn't care for the way they brought Leia back from the almost dead. I didn't mind that it happened so much as the execution of it on film. It was very weird looking.....like she was Mary Poppins flying in from the heavens. I think it would have worked much better if her body had been rescued and the force brought her back in that manner. Another aspect of the film that I didn't care for was not so much that it was there, but that it was really underutilized and unnecessary. I'm speaking about Canto Bight, the high brow gambling city. That sounds contradictory, but if you are not going to have two central characters explore that world a little more while trying to pull off that plot line, just chuck it and make the situation a bit more simple. It seemed like a very forced way (no pun intended) to make a political point (and yes, The Last Jedi has some politics woven into it and I think we may see some of that spill over into the final film).
There are other little things, but I'm not here to dwell on the 10% of the film that I wasn't on board with, I want to break down why I feel like the film was true to the original trilogy, more so than any of the prequels. More than Rogue One. More than The Force Awakens. I'll try to go through some complaints that I have read and talked to people about over the past couple of days. Hopefully I can convey my experience in a way that may make someone take pause and see the film a bit differently.
I want to start by saying I believe that the prequels are a burden to the sequels and have rewired the way a lot (most?) fans think about episodes 4 through 6. Try to recall the time when there was no prequel. Remember seeing A New Hope for the first time and try to do so without allowing any of the other films to compromise your mind. ANH was a simple story. We met a crazy looking villain early on and had no idea where he came from. We met a girl that was called "Princess", but had no idea what was behind her royal lineage. We got to see a simple farm boy of no particular importance grousing about his place in the universe. We met a hermit that seemed to be a little more than met the eye. The story moved on from there and we went on a thrill ride the likes of which film hadn't seen before. The hero defeated the villain by using a thing called the force. Luke wasn't trained in using the force, but completely let it control him as he destroyed the Death Star. Not unlike the force using Rey and her keeping pace with an under trained Kylo Ren. We seem to forget that Luke had little training and was able to channel the force and understand it enough to let it control him. During A New Hope we were given small details about who the characters were and how the story got to the point where we dropped in, but we were not soaked in it. It wasn't central to the story and for any film to be worthy of your time, it should be a good story. The story trumped the details. The prequels took the mystery out of the cinematic Star Wars universe and the sequels now have to compete with that. The fans want their expectations met and only want a "twist" they expect. They want a literary film instead of one that asks the viewer to take a ride and get caught up in the inertia of the story. Instead, we now wait for expected developments and let our preconceived notions control our enjoyment or dissatisfaction. Hell, there are a large number of people that hated the film before it was even finished being made. How does a filmmaker expect to satisfy a fan base in this climate? They can't, so Rian Johnson made his vision and I applaud his effort. While Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder turn out predictable fan boy satisfying films, Johnson took a more artistic approach and made the movie he wanted to see. A movie that pretty much forgets the impact of the prequels and nuzzles up to the originals like it should.
The Empire Strikes Back came along and picked up some time later. We didn't know exactly what had been going on, but we see that the rebellion was still the underdog and that the Empire had regrouped and still controlled the galaxy. Relationships between the characters developed and some of it was just implied....we didn't even get to see what happened. We got to see Luke use the force with a little more confidence and started to get a sense that it could be manipulated by those that had a special connection to it, and they could be trained to use it in all sorts of beneficial ways. We know it could be used to move objects and for telepathy. We learned it could be manipulated to give the user additional physical powers. Again, we hold Rey's use of the force against her, but were OK with how Luke used it under similar circumstances. The force using and being used by a young whipper snapper is another parallel between The Last Jedi and the original trilogy. When we get to the climax where we learn Vader was Luke's father, we gasped! How can this be? We got what we didn't expect and that was so important to the original trilogy. Han was frozen and in the hands of a bounty hunter. Nothing was going right for the good guys. The film ended without resolution and there didn't look to be any hope. A mainstream movie ended with the bad guys winning? This film turned the twist ending into an iconic moment in film history and filmmakers of all sorts have followed that model since. The movie ultimately was about dealing with adverse circumstances and even failure. Once again we can see how The Last Jedi runs along beside the original films. TLJ is full of failure. Poe is reckless and undisciplined and gets many people killed. Rey can't turn Kylo. Kylo can't turn Rey. Rey can't get Luke to come save the day. Fin and Rose don't get the job done leading to the death of many resistance soldiers.
With Return of the Jedi, we move further into the story. We saw Jabba the Hut and his lair.The good guys had infiltrated the camp and had a plan devised to get Han Solo back. We didn't need Lucas to tell how all of this happened, we could use or imaginations to fill in the details, but it wasn't central to the story and remember, the story is what is important. Luke learned from Yoda that Leia was his sister and passed that knowledge on to her. The film got away from itself with the Ewoks helping to take down the Empire (which even as a youngster I wasn't impressed with), but we got to see a final battle between Vader and Luke and low and behold we get some time with the Emperor. We don't know where he came from. We don't know why he was a bad ass that was ruling the universe and kept Vader on a tight leash. We didn't have to, the story wasn't about him. The film hashed out father and son.....good and evil issues. It completed the story, or so we thought. There were many questions that were unanswered and I don't really remember to many people caring. If you did, you read the novels and got into the extended universe. The important thing was the story. I'll get to the Snoke and Emperor parallels in just a moment.
The prequels came along and filled the gaps in. Often times in weird ways that didn't quite fit what we thought we knew about the characters and the force. Lucas tried to fit everything together and it made for a saturated mess of information that wasn't really necessary. Episodes 4, 5, and 6 worked because of the story and the characters executing their roles. The prequels felt very much like it was a cash grab and in my opinion it set up these sequels to be over scrutinized. They carry a weight of expectation. Fans now expect every character to be connected. They expect every moment to have significance beyond what is being shown. We want an explanation for everything and it has to fit into OUR ideas of what we think Star Wars is or what it should be. The prequels gave us all the information we thought we wanted, but it rewired us to believe that the original trilogy had all this information that it didn't have. They stole the magic. They stole our imagination. Sorry....I just had to take another shot at the prequels. I know it's heavy handed writing, but I want to make sure that this point is not lost.
One of the complaints I have heard more than once is that Snoke was taken out too early and he didn't come clean about who he was and how deep his involvement may have been throughout the history of the Star Wars timeline. Looking back to the original trilogy, the Emperor wasn't given back story. He wasn't even given a great deal of screen time, but we knew he ran the universe and probably shouldn't be trifled with by some farmer boy that worked on harvesting water. He was ultimately killed by his apprentice in a conflicted act of compassion and confusion. Fast forward to TLJ and we see the same circumstance. Kylo Ren acknowledged a "pull to the light" in TFA and is in a struggle with himself that wasn't helped by his connection with Rey. The two characters are conflicted about who they are and who they will become. They have no connection to their family and feel as though they were left to find their own way without guidance. This confusion and connection causes Kylo to kill Snoke. Not only did this mirror the events from ROTJ, but it also defied expectations of the audience. It's what was so gripping about episodes 4 to 6, you felt surprised and had to adjust your expectation and sensibility. It was a fantastic move and it let you know, in no uncertain terms, that this film isn't about Snoke. If he had started telling Rey about who he was, what would it matter to her? She has no frame of reference. She didn't even believe Luke Skywalker was real. Rian Johnson held true to the original trilogy on this and didn't service the fans.
Another top issue is Luke Skywalker.....and pretty much everything about the character, from the way he reacted to Rey to his demise. First off, these first two films have been largely about Luke, even if he wasn't a screen presence in TFA. What was the original trilogy about? Mainly Luke Skywalker. Luke has spent the couple of decades secluded. He has rethought this whole Jedi thing. Over time he came to the realization that he no longer believed the Jedi were always right, that they were always the light. He was finished being a Jedi and a hero. He saw himself as a failure. He unsuccessfully started a "Jedi Academy" and basically took Han and Leia's son away. He almost murdered Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) in his sleep. He had been in seclusion and convinced himself that he needed to just wait out death. He wasn't Obi Wan. He wasn't waiting for the right moment to emerge and save the day. He was waiting for it to be over. Rey came along and he lightly trained her, but did so in a way that only allowed her to develop as a force user, not necessarily as a Jedi. The force uses people to maintain balance and some people can connect with it and manipulate it. Rey is strong in that regard and the force has "awoken" in her and leads her. Rey is helped by Luke, not all that different that Luke was trained by Yoda. That is a reflection of TESB and holds the line with the formula of the original trilogy. The deviation, much to the chagrin of many fans is that Luke doesn't get involved in a way that was expected or wanted by the fans (including myself). Director Rian Johnson was true to the plot line and the story. Luke didn't want to be found. He didn't want to come back and join the fight. He wanted to be left alone. He did what he could to help without changing who he had become. He let himself go back to the force. He was exhausted and he was finished. The character went out in an unexpected way, without fan service or kissing the pasts ass.
Character development has always been an up and down affair when it comes to Star Wars. As I have tried to hammer home, the story is what it's all about. The characters were secondary to the story in episodes 4 through 6. TFA was heavy in nostalgia with the old characters, but it also had to quickly set up a new generation of characters to carry the story. That was a difficult thing to do, but in my opinion, JJ Abrams successfully rebooted the franchise for a new generation of fans, while giving the older fans a reason to come back and re-engage. I believe there was plenty of character development where it was needed to push the story and set up the climax for episode 9. No character has been given the once over like Kylo Ren. We know a lot about him and there should be no questions now about his motivation. He constantly feels betrayed and isn't about to trust anyone. He likes his power and uses it to take what he wants. He has little nuance in how he uses the force and when he doesn't get his way, becomes a bully. Rey is a little behind in this regard, but she has the same general situation as Kylo, but has maintained a positive outlook on her life. Only when the force starts moving in her does she start becoming conflicted. Only when she sees how things really work does she start to develop an edge. Her naivety is wore off fast in this latest film. She is becoming a willing participant in the story. Poe Dameron was also given a lot of room in this movie. We got the feeling he was a hot shot "do gooder" that liked being a hero, but in this film we got to see that he is a very flawed person. He has the ability to lead, but has no patience. He is loyal to the cause and genuinely cares for the people around him, but is a risk taker that never sees where a miscalculation can turn a controllable situation into a disaster. I believe the character development was in line with the original trilogy. It didn't give us everything, but it gave us enough to understand their motivations in the story.
This is already way too long, but since I'm here, I'll address the point that there was no climax and that the film didn't push the story forward. I disagree with this notion. This is the second of three acts. There shouldn't be an expectation of climax to the story, only to some situations and characters. TESB had the same climax as this film and it's considered by many to be the gold standard of Star Wars films. The story has taken us to the edge of disaster and hopelessness. As fans, we can now speculate on what might happen and in the fashion of the original trilogy, it's very open ended. We expected to know who Snoke was. We expected to know Rey's origins. We expected Luke to save the day and lead the charge towards the finale'. We expected a Leia and Kylo moment. We got none of that and that should be OK. The story is on going and now that we have had our heads spun by not getting what was expected we can have fun speculating on how our heroes are going to emerge. Will there be a time jump? We saw the kid at the end....just a slave kid who was apparently strong with the force. Is the rebellion going to be young people rising against the authoritarian regime? Is Rey going to train a new generation of force users that are not specifically Jedi or will she continue to work with Chewbacca? Will Kylo rule with his emotions and be undone by his search to bring Rey to his side? Will Poe emerge as a dependable leader? Will Fin find his calling within the resistance (he has seemingly bought into it by the end of TLJ) and will his relationship with Rose continue? Are C-3P0 and R2-D2 going to have continued roles? Will there be an uprising of the people based on the centralization of power and wealth that the First Order is trying to achieve? Is Snoke really dead? Was Kylo trying to minimize Rey's confidence by planting in her head that she had no role in this story? That she really wasn't important? Is Luke gone for good? These things intrigue me and make me excited for the next film. My expectations have been turned upside down by The Last Jedi. I'll forgive the purple hair, the under utilization of Benicio Del Toro's character of DJ, and a couple of oddly placed jokes. I'll forgive Leia Poppins. I'll let the notion of running out of fuel go to. I will embrace the Porgs. I love the new ways the force can be used. I anticipate seeing how the relationship between Huck and Kylo Ren develops and how the inevitable show down with Rey and Fin will play out. All options are on the table and just like with the original trilogy and with The Last Jedi, expect the unexpected!
All in all, I think this film is going to be looked at much better by Star Wars fans in a few years. I trust that Rian Johnson is a big Star Wars fan that followed the original trilogy battle tested formulas and brought a refreshing twist to the franchise. I believe he has made one of the better Star Wars movies. It entertained me as a movie lover and it maintained my excitement as a Star Wars fan. I hope I helped to soften some rough edges for a person or two. Remember, in the end, it's just a movie and if you are a Star Wars fan, there is so much to like in this film that I implore you to not let a few instances ruin it. In this film we got a bad ass fight with Rey and Kylo destroying the Elite Praetorian Guard, Luke projecting himself and making a fool of Kylo, Poe phone trolling Huck, and all the sweet looking action that took place on the salt planet of Crait, Luke face to face with Leia, and the epic opening space battle. Not to mention Luke meeting the force as he looks out at the setting suns. A most fitting farewell in the way that the character wanted it. Nobody is having their childhood raped. Nobody is dying because of the direction Johnson took in telling this part of the story. Be glad we have more Star Wars. I don't want to live in a galaxy without it!
Key lines of relevance in the sequels.....the very first sentence in The Force Awakens was muttered by the legendary Max Von Sydow (as Lor San Tekka) and he said (and I believe it to be accurate)....
"This will begin to make things right"
In The Last Jedi, the Luke and Kylo characters both had lines that could be applied to the film....
Luke "This isn't going to go the way you think"
and Kylo "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to".
