The Star Wars franchise is near and dear to the hearts of so many people. So when a new film comes out, the internet explodes with both joy and angry towards every single moment of the film. From 2015’s The Force Awakens, people loved the nostalgia factor given by J.J. Abrams’s direction of the film, but didn’t see any love for the weak-willed nature of its villain and its supposedly Mary Sue lead. This year its sequel, The Last Jedi, releases in theaters with a reception more polarizing than the previous film.
Star Wars Episode VIII finishes the year of cinema as it becomes its most polarizing film. The critics loving the film as Rotten Tomatoes sees its rating as ‘certified fresh’ with a 93% rating, while its audience score is a measly 55% as of this review. So its a great film or the worst one since the prequel days?
As J.J. Abrams steps down the director chair, Rian Johnson rises to the occasion to challenge the expectations of the fans wanting to see more of the Skywalker saga. Unfortunately, his vision he had for the film didn’t coincide with what most fans. I personally loved the film, knowing the director and what he was already planning for the film. Obviously I will also plug-in my spoiler-free review and how I felt about the movie when I thought everyone was actually gonna love it too.
As a die-hard Star Wars fans while also been trying to understand film for the past few years, I understand why a lot of people didn’t like the film but I also understand that some go too far in dissecting the film and forgetting the point of the film. I will try to convince you guys that it is still a really good film from all the nitpicking and unfulfilled promises we have all from the film. So let’s start:
**Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi**
Too much humor
A lot of people are complaining with the Disney-fication of the Star Wars franchise. The amount of humor in the film was really high that was said to be a darker than the last one. The short answer to this complaint is that The Empire Strikes Back was a both funnier and darker than the original. Expectations may be off as what people expected when it is said that a film would darker than the last is that there would be a tonal overhaul in the film.
In the case of Star Wars film, a darker film resides in the outcomes in the films. From the turn of Luke and the rebellion successfully destroying the Death Star, to getting his hand severed and learning his father is the main antagonist. A darker tone doesn’t exactly mean a brooding film; it is more of a means on how you tackle the themes of your films. Star Wars will always have its comedy, it is an essential part of Star Wars. The comedy may seem a bit too much in the new trilogy compared to a more tamed original trilogy. With a different director and a different era of film, the comedy may always seem off at-first when you marathon Star Wars on a yearly (or monthly, I don’t judge) basis.
A Broken Skywalker
“This is not going to go, the way you think” as Luke would say as the film tries to tackle the fan theories everyone has been thinking of for the past 2 years. As Luke just blatantly throws his Dad’s lightsaber behind, I was both humored and intrigued. Looking back into the end of the Return of the Jedi, Luke seeing dead people and what not. It seems everything was going right for him and we would expect him to go into the path of being the wisest of the wise mentors after more than 30 years, the likes that of Yoda and Ben Kenobi would have been. But from the opening crawl of the Force Awakens, we knew that something was wrong with the farm boy since the last we saw him.
The only similarities Luke had with his old masters was his gorgeous beard and his likeliness to mess with his students first before teaching them anything. Also, they like to go into hiding when they messed up pretty bad. A lot of complaints go through how cheated people feel as they see the man who took down Vader became a broken grumpy old man, but people can go through a lot after 30 years. Rian Johnson didn’t want to suddenly turn him into a one-dimensional old mentor for the sake of the new trilogy needing it. He wanted him to be the reason it happened in the first place. He was the reason Kylo Ren turned to the dark side, and throughout the film, we see how Rey and *deus ex* Yoda helped him understand his predicament. No one is perfect and Luke must understand that “failure is the greatest teacher.”
Star Wars Villainy 101
When Darth Vader come on screen for the first time, it was a sight to behold. A Jedi turned Sith, more machine than man. Nothing was more terrifying in the whole galaxy. He was menacing, threatening, and always seem to be two steps ahead. So when the new trilogy arrived, people were expecting a villain of the same caliber and same level of darkness. Kylo Ren’s story was not of pure evil that Vader showed; when he showed weakness, people felt disgusted the same way when Luke has been broken in the film. So when Kylo Ren became a more complex villain than Vader, people felt threatened on what he is suppose to be.
Unlike Darth Vader, Kylo Ren’s conflict extend throughout his story as is so unsure of himself while Vader was so sure and strong in the dark side; only during the Return of the Jedi do we see the conflict in him as Luke feels it in him and tries to pull him back to the light. Since the Force Awakens, people complained that Kylo Ren was just an annoying kid coupled with bursts of rage. But joke’s on you, the reason the other side of the spectrum love him is for the same reason. If you were a filmmaker, you wouldn’t just want to make another villain who is basically like its predecessor. It would be very lazy and uninteresting watching through the 8 films seeing different people portraying the same archetype of villainy.
The greatness of the Kylo Ren’s character comes with the film tacklin the dynamic of the master and apprentice differently from the original trilogy. The apprentices challenge the ideals of their own masters as they struggle to find their place in the galaxy they live in. Snoke’s role in Kylo Ren’s story was a brief; he was never meant to have complex backstory or any for that matter. He was never a main villain. He was stronger, smarter, and better than Kylo Ren but it was never his story. Killing him off removes Kylo Ren’s shackles as he is finally shown to be the true antagonist of Rey. The story must continue on without the masters, they have learn everything they have from them, and now, they must use it to shape their own destiny.
Finn, Rose, and a Detour
From the whole film, the detour on Canto Bight is the weaker of the plot threads of the film. It was never subtle on its themes on the animal cruelty and capitalism and what not. It didn’t sync well with Kylo Ren and Rey’s story. It didn’t have a sense of urgency as much as being chased down by the Empire did in Episode V, but it would also be an unfair exaggerate that this weak point causes the film to be bad. It was still able to set the stage for the final act which determined the course of action both Finn and Poe made when their time came.
Poe having to have to understand that he mustn’t risk it all for the rebellion, even though it was odd that Vice Admiral Holdo never said a word about her plan to escape. Well maybe you don’t have to explain yourself to the guy who just got demoted from commander to captain or maybe i am just trying to defend too hard. As Poe learns to be more modest of his actions, Finn was there to fill his place as he loves his friends so much to die for them, and that fake-out sacrifice feels for me as though to somewhat redeems the lackluster Canto Bight. It still wasn’t the strongest storyline; it was just bad when you compare his journey to that of Rey.
Rey’s Lineage
For me, it was a no-brainer to make Rey’s parent as nobodies. There were no set-ups as who they could be with the Skywalker bloodline was already in Ben Solo. The only reason people started asking it was with the greatest plot twist in cinema was about its heroes’ parentage looming over the legacy of Star Wars. The sequel trilogy tackles the probelem to make sure that people understand the parentage is not important for our place in the greater scheme of things.
It is set up with Rey is trying to find out who her parents are as to the audience curiously wanting to know who they are. Yet the film also understands that people are making too much of a big deal of Rey’s lineage and people would judge her by such. The film made it known that such linage wasn’t the end all be all of someone.
Let the past die, kill it if you have to
I think the polarizing aspect of the film was not its quality. Rian Johnson’s vision of the film was the more likely the cause. When most of the Expanded Universe was removed from canon, people felt betrayed again that a film part of the main trilogy didn’t go the way wanted it to be. Rian Johnson made a film no one knew where it was heading and we don’t even know now where Episode IX is heading. He made a film full of twist and turns that at some point, people would disappointed it never went the way they thought it out in their heads for the past 2 years.
Kylo Ren may have exaggerated on killing the past, but the message is clear that we must not stay in the past, we must move on to what lies ahead. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a great film, we must not try too hard to compare it with what has come before. The Empire Strikes Back was not as praised as it was today. People didn’t like the fact it ended with its heroes losing his hand and the final battle. People couldn’t accept that Vader was his father. Will people slowly like it more, or is Star Wars already too big to accept change?
You may still think that the film was bad.You may still have complaints about the film. You may think there still are plot holes in the film. But what is Star Wars without it? What is Star Wars without lazy soldiers not destroying a fleeing escape pod? What is Star Wars without a big gaping hole conveniently put to destroy the greatest battle station in the galaxy?
Nas Velasco 