Looking back on Star Wars, part 10: The Last Jedi (2017)
By Mike McNulty
The most controversial entry of the Star Wars saga, Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi deserved both praise and condemnation, but for all the wrong reasons.
"YODA: “The greatest teacher failure is. We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.”"
Don’t hate me for saying this, but when I first saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), I liked it. I even went as far as to rank it as one of the top Star Wars movies of all time. As you can imagine, many of my friends thought I lost my ever-loving mind. What can I say? I was naïve. These days, I’m far more conflicted about the movie than I was two years ago. After subsequent rewatches, and without the benefit of wearing rose-colored 3D-glasses, it’s clear that the eighth chapter of the “Skywalker Saga” has serious narrative and structural problems.
Yet for as good as I thought the movie was, even I, when I first watched it, thought writer-director Rian Johnson trolled not only the entire Star Wars fan community but also the very mythology of Star Wars itself. Except “trolling” isn’t the right word for what Johnson actually did. Because Johnson wasn’t trying to intentionally anger his audience. He was, according to him, trying to start a “conversation.” He was trying to “subvert expectations” of those who went into The Last Jedi with their own version of the story already written, choreographed, and played out in their imaginations. And he was definitely trying to deconstruct and redefine Star Wars beyond those who grew up with the Original Trilogy and the prequels. In doing so, he also created the most audacious, provocative, and controversial Star Wars film to date.
Considering Johnson’s earlier work like the neo-noir Brick (2005) and his time-travel thriller Looper (2012), it’s amazing that Disney gave him so much free rein with such a beloved franchise as they did.
A simple internet search won’t take you very long to find a plethora of articles and YouTube videos under variations of the title “Top 10 reasons why The Last Jedi sucks” and “How The Last Jedi forever ruined Star Wars.” On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics score stands at 91%, while the audience score is a shocking 43%, one of the largest disparities between critics and fans on that site. One fan actually spent several months re-editing the entire film into a “better” version. That I even had to open this retrospective with a preëmptive apology shows just how contentious people still are over this movie.
At the same, however, much of the criticism towards The Last Jedi criticizes it for all the wrong things. For starters, if you really want to point fingers, look towards The Force Awakens. As outlined in the previous retrospective, Abrams deliberately left much of that movie open-ended. In turn, this gave Johnson the freedom to take the story of the new trilogy into virtually anywhere he wanted. Considering Johnson’s earlier work like the neo-noir Brick (2005) and his time travel thriller Looper (2012), it’s amazing that Disney gave him so much free rein with such a beloved franchise as they did.
A common complaint often brought up is Poe Dameron’s (Oscar Isaac) story. Granted, much of what happens could’ve easily been avoided if Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) told everyone, Poe included, the full details of her escape plan. But in the broader strokes, Poe’s evolution from a cocky, insubordinate, hotshot pilot to a thoughtful and capable leader makes complete sense. It’s also deconstruction done right. Because as Poe learns, while breaking the rules à la Han Solo can get things done, it often winds up getting people unnecessarily killed.
Another major complaint is the death of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) in the second act. After all the build-up The Force Awakens did in making him into the next Emperor Palpatine, to suddenly have him killed felt cheap. Then again, the very reason Snoke dies is because he thinks he’s the next Palpatine. Despite his mastery of the dark side, he’s nowhere near being the master manipulator the Emperor was. Besides, seeing Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) slice his former master in half and team up with Rey (Daisy Ridley) is the most satisfying moment of the entire movie. Plus, Kylo Ren becoming the new Supreme Leader of the First Order is a perfect inversion of Darth Vader’s redemption in Return of the Jedi.
Many assumed [Kylo Ren’s mantra of “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to”] summed up the goal of Disney’s Star Wars, that fans should toss aside the old and embrace the new. But even those who praised the movie got this completely wrong.
But this also creates two more gripes viewers have against the film, the first being the reveal of who Rey’s real parents are. Or rather who they’re not. Instead of being a Skywalker, a Solo, or a Kenobi, she’s the daughter of anonymous “junk traders” who “sold [her] for drinking money.” This so angered those who felt Rey had to be someone “special” that they missed one of the most crucial points The Last Jedi makes. A Jedi, like any hero, doesn’t always come from a specific bloodline or lineage. A Jedi, like Rey, like Luke, like Anakin–and like the stable boy at the movie’s end–can be anyone and come from anywhere.
The other is Kylo Ren’s mantra of “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” Many assumed this line summed up the goal of Disney’s Star Wars, that fans should toss aside the old and embrace the new. But even those who praised the movie got this completely wrong. Kylo Ren wants to destroy the past as a means of avoiding his own pain. Nor does he seek to actually learn from the past–much less his mistakes–like the other characters do. Little wonder, then, how his quest to “let everything die” is presented as villainous instead of virtuous.
Fans also complained about the various depictions of Force powers, ranging from the picayune (“How can Yoda’s Force Ghost summon lightning?”) to the justified (“Leia Poppins” does look rather silly). This included Rey and Kylo’s use of the Force like some sort of Skype chat. Never mind that this helps intensify and complicate Rey and Kylo’s relationship with some obvious romantic tension. Or how it provides a unique take on push-pull dynamic between light and dark. Or how it foreshadows what Luke ultimately does at the film’s climax.