As there have been many reviews in recent weeks of the latest in the behemoth of the film world that is Star Wars, I figured it was high time I weighed in with my two cents. This is mostly due to the fact that there is a lot of negativity being directed at the film, much of which is unwarranted and nitpicky.
One such complaint is the darkness that we find in our returning hero, Luke Skywalker. Anyone that is upset that Luke is moody and impulsive and not perfectly centered with the light side of the force, apparently didn't actually watch the original trilogy, in which Luke was moody and impulsive and not perfectly centered with the light side of the force. Luke was a kid that was shown great power, and then watched three potential mentors die before they were able to truly train him. So he tries to become the mentor he always hoped to have, and gives up when he fails. Is this surprising? Not really. I came out of Last Jedi knowing that they did justice to Luke's character. They gave him a redemption arc that explained his absence, deepened his character, and, like in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, showed him overcoming his weakness to beat incredible odds and save the good guys.
Despite some consistency, however, Last Jedi is not necessarily what we've come to expect from Star Wars, but then we need to ask ourselves, why are we complaining about variety? Let's face it, we all complained that the Starkiller base was too much a repetition of the Death Star. Last Jedi tells a wonderfully fresh story in a world that still feels very much like Star Wars at its core. If we begged for variety then, we should not fuss too much that we have it now.
There are other such complaints, but I feel confident that most of them rest on one of two main principles, "Star Wars needs to be perfect or else it's terrible", or, "Star Wars can't do anything new or different ever". I didn't like the lighting effects on Yoda - did you not see the lovely heavy black lines on the original Rancor before the special edition? Snoke's death is too short - it's built up as much as Obi-Wan's, Yoda's, and arguably even Han's. The Porgs are cheesy - umm, Ewoks? The desire to nitpick has become quite the past time for far too many of the internet's regulars, and, though I enjoy getting into the details as much as the next guy, I am hesitant to judge anything based on too heavy an analysis, especially art and entertainment.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a fantasy/sci-fi/adventure film. That means it's primary role is to entertain. Additionally it's supposed to tell a story, amaze and awe the viewer, and get the adrenalin going from time to time. Last Jedi succeeds on all fronts at meeting it's primary and secondary objectives. There are few films I've ever seen that were as fun to watch as this film. I had one loss throughout the film of my suspension of disbelief (seriously, who designed the throne room? It looks like a sci-fi movie set, which isn't very Star Wars-y at all), but I had remind myself to breathe at least once as well (and no, it wasn't when I first saw Adam Driver with his shirt off). Considering catching my breath is fairly rare for me, that's a big point for the film.
One of the main themes that runs through the film (and upsets the most die-hard Star Wars fans) is the subverting of expectation. Luke doesn't come round and train Rey right away, Snoke's killed rather easily, the complex plan of the main characters doesn't work, Poe's practically a minor villain, etc. I would probably argue it's a little too much, especially if you want to keep your fan base happy, but no one can deny that The Force Awakens expanded that fan base. We've got fresh blood and their entertainment should be considered as well. In the modern age of picking apart every scene and every trailer and every interview, there are too many people that think they already know exactly what's going to go down. Why would a studio invest in making a film that someone already guessed every plot point? What would be the fun in watching a movie where you read the plot on some blogger's prediction just a few days before? There's danger in being too predictable, and danger in being too unexpected. The Force Awakens erred in favor of the former, and Last Jedi in favor of the later. Perhaps the trilogy will end with balance?
Expectations and such aside, if there's anything that Last Jedi definitely got right, it knows how to be visually stunning. I know most of you are thinking of the light speed ramming sequence when I say that, which, I'll admit was a highlight, but I felt the sound (or lack thereof) was the essence of that moment. The most visually interesting scene for me was the battle on the salt planet. The red on the white was just a mix of colors that you don't see in hardly any other battle scene in film history. It took an otherwise familiar scene and made it new again. It breathed life into something that would otherwise suffer from being compared to the battle for Hoth as just a copycat of an old Star Wars trope. I've not heard that, and I don't think I will, thanks to some spectacular visual work from a great team at ILM.
Anyone that knows me well knows I can write much more, should I be so inclined. Let me know if you'd like me to address a specific issue with the film in the comments below, but for now, I'm ready to wrap up. I recommend purchasing Last Jedi. It's worth every penny, if you like the rest of the franchise, or if you're just getting into it. Last Jedi works best as part of a whole, but it's a great film in so many respects that, with some background information perhaps, there's no reason it can't stand alone to some degree as well.
Finally, we love you, Carrie. Thank you for being our princess when guys couldn't like Cinderella.
