I've been struggling to codify my reaction to this film over the past several days. I'm not sure I would say it's a
bad film, but I don't think it's a particularly good film either. And I definitely don't believe it was the right film.
There were some bright moments, though, and none brighter than Mark Hamill's performance. After his opening scene, I feared that Luke would be portrayed as mostly sullen and unresponsive, but I was delighted to see the spry, brash, and impulsive Luke begin to shine through once again. He's easily the best asset of the film.
Another bright moment was the unexpected but captivating psychic link between Rey and Kylo Ren. That was a stroke of genius, as someone clearly recognized the pitfall of having these two principal characters geographically estranged for the majority of the film. It was an unconventional break from the typical Star Wars formula, but it absolutely worked: their interactions were always heartfelt and believable.
That said, I can't overlook the puzzling narrative decisions that have been made in this new trilogy thus far.
The Last Jedi doesn't seem to really follow
The Force Awakens. Many of the beats in the latter film are dramatically altered or ignored in the sequel, leaving gaping holes in both logic and explanation. One example is the film's treatment of Supreme Leader Snoke, who was an incredibly important character whether Rian Johnson thought he should be or not. To simply dispatch him without any sort of explanation of his origin or influence on the First Order smacks of weak, unplanned, disjointed storytelling.
In that same sense, it doesn't feel as if
The Last Jedi leaves the story in a better, more developed condition than where it started. The film teases a breaking of the mold with Rey and Kylo Ren (and their brief partnership is nothing short of dazzling), but at the end leaves them in much the same place as before: Rey is the raw but powerful heroine and Kylo Ren is the volatile antagonist.
The Force Awakens and the pre-release marketing for
The Last Jedi also led us to believe that Rey would hone her skills under the tutelage of Luke, and that both of them would likely be transformed in the process. That didn't happen. Rey leaves Luke's island having learned next to nothing, which again feels weak and underwhelming. Now we're expected to believe that, without any real training whatsoever, Rey will become a Jedi on her own.
Probably my biggest beef with the film, however, is the film's characterization of Luke Skywalker. Despite Hamill's strong performance, I cannot bring myself to accept that Luke would ever abandon his friends and family and simply deposit himself on a remote island to die. That's just not who he is. Luke was always the hopeful one, the go-getter, the never-quitter. I can buy that Luke would feel a considerable sense of failure over Kylo Ren's fall, but there is no way Luke would have sulked for 20+ years without realizing (by means of the Force or not) that something else was at work.
It seems more likely that Luke would have sought to understand the influence the Dark Side in an effort to save Ben Solo and, in all likelihood, would have discovered Snoke in the process. If anything, that beat would have given some much-needed agency to Luke's character. From a pure narrative perspective, it's always more interesting for characters to be
doing something. Leia is leading the Resistance. When we meet Han, he's a smuggler again and actively searching for the Millennium Falcon. Why, then, is Luke shackled to the "tired old hero needing a jolt" trope? It just doesn't fit.
I could go on and on about my feelings, but I'll end this post with a simple "Likes" and "Dislikes" list. Enjoy!
LIKES- Mark Hamill's portrayal of Luke Skywalker
- The psychic connection between Rey and Kylo Ren
- Porgs
- Luke's (too brief) reunion with R2-D2
- Benicio Del Toro's surprisingly intriguing character, DJ
- Impish Yoda (an exact recreation of the ESB puppet!)
- The anime-esque lightspeed collision sequence
- The final confrontation outside the Rebel base on Crait
DISLIKES- The film's poor characterization of Luke Skywalker
- Slow-speed spaceship chases
- Roasted porgs
- General Hux (I still don't like this guy)
- Unoriginal and unexplained plot holes (i.e. tracking through lightspeed)
- Leia's Mary Poppins superpower moment
- The film's (and this new trilogy's) poor characterization of C-3PO
- The inclusion of Rose
- The entire Canto Bight subplot
- The abrupt death of Supreme Leader Snoke
- The second abrupt death of Captain Phasma
- The absence of any explanation for Snoke and/or the Knights of Ren
- Luke's death
- The awkward establishment of Kylo Ren as the main villain
- The underwhelming "spark of the Rebellion" finale
- The absence of Lando Calrissian