Looking back on Star Wars, part 10: The Last Jedi (2017)

Yet of all the controversies about The Last Jedi, none matches that what the movie does with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Even Hamill openly–and often–disagreed with where Johnson took the character. And how could he not? Seeing the guy who helped save the galaxy reduced to a “get off my lawn” grump, who chugs green milk freshly squeezed from quadruple-breasted sea cows, is heartbreaking. It’s also maddening since we never see how Luke ended up like this other than in flashbacks. At the same time, one can easily argue this is the best performance of Hamill’s entire career. And because of this, we still understand why Luke has become this way.

Take the three lessons (two in the theatrical cut) that he teaches Rey. Neither the Jedi or the Sith own the Force; even with both gone, the Force will still remain, “binding the galaxy together.” Remember when Luke tells Rey that the Jedi are partly responsible for the rise of the Empire and the creation of Darth Vader? Rewatch the prequels, and you’ll see that everything Luke said was 100% correct. Most significant of all is that the reason Luke blames himself for Ben Solo’s fall to the Dark Side is that he put too much stock into his reputation as a hero. Like Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his father, Luke thought to become a Jedi meant he was no longer fallible. He, like we did, assumed heroism equaled perfection with tragic consequences.

Yet of all the controversies about The Last Jedi, none matches that what the movie does with Luke Skywalker. Even [Mark] Hamill openly–and often–disagreed with where Johnson took the character. And how could he not? Seeing the guy who helped save the Galaxy reduced to a “get off my lawn” grump, who chugs green milk freshly squeezed from quadruple-breasted sea cows, is heartbreaking.

That, of course, leads to the most hotly debated moment of The Last Jedi: that Luke almost murdered his own nephew. To fans, this was a massive betrayal of everything Luke had ever stood for. After all, this was the same Luke Skywalker who still saw good in Darth Vader. Yet he could only see darkness in Han and Leia’s kid? This is also the same Luke Skywalker who, once upon a time, nearly killed his own father in a fit of rage. Because sometimes, even the best of us can fall prey to temptation.

Even the way in which Luke died angered fans. Instead of using bilocation through the Force, what fans really wanted was the very thing Luke ridiculed Rey about: for him to face down the First Order with nothing but a “laser sword.” Well he technically did, just not physically. Besides, this is another point of criticism of the film that completely misses the point. Instead of using the Force to kill Kylo Ren (as a Sith would do), Luke uses the Force solely for defending others just like Yoda taught him many years ago. Moreover, he finally embraces his role as a legend, one that no one can literally touch. And having the last thing Luke sees before “becoming one with the Force” be a twin sunset is appropriately poetic.

But if all these criticisms towards The Last Jedi are misplaced, then what are the real problems with it? How about after all his character growth in The Force Awakens, Finn (John Boyega) completely slides back to acting cowardly,  just so he can go through the almost same character arc all over again?

Or how about Finn’s designated new love interest Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), who can’t help acting like an excitable fangirl even while chastising the evils of the intergalactic rich? Or how she saves Finn from sacrificing himself to stop the First Order by trying to sacrifice herself because they’ll win by “Not fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love” even though that’s exactly what Finn was trying to do? And never mind that pairing Finn and Rose up completely undermines the obvious chemistry that was brewing between Finn and Rey.

How about the entire Canto Bight/master codebreaker subplot which not only goes on way too long but is ultimately a complete waste of time? All this so Johnson can insert a clunky message about the evils of war profiteering (which could also be a dig at Lucasfilm over how they merchandise toys with the word Wars in it) and give the otherwise excellent Benicio del Toro as “DJ” something to do.

What about Admiral Holdo, in which the only things memorable about her character are that she’s played by Laura Dern, has purple hair, and that she does that jaw-dropping hyperspace Kamikaze? Or that, to make room for this character, Admiral Ackbar (Timothy D. Rose) had to die off-screen?

Or how about General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) who acts like even more of a stereotypical, over-the-top space-Nazi than he did in the last movie? Or how about how the return and death of Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) proves that she didn’t ultimately matter whatsoever?

What about that fight scene in Snoke’s throne room? Sure, it looks visually awesome, and seeing Rey and Kylo fight side-by-side gets the adrenaline pumping. And then it becomes increasingly obvious that all those élite guards are “waiting for their cues.” Or how, yet again, Rey seems to have almost complete mastery over the Force despite still never having proper training in how to use it?

More from Movies

• James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy casts more major DC characters
• New Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer pushes Arthur to his limits
• 7 actors who could replace Ezra Miller as The Flash in the DC Universe
• Masters of the Universe reboot’s new domain could be at Amazon’s Prime Video Streamer
• James Gunn gives interesting update of Superman and Supergirl movies at DC Studios

And of course, what about the longest and slowest outer space chase scene in the history of Star Wars, all because the Resistance ships are running out of fuel and the First Order somehow can’t move their ships in closer? Never mind that the First Order could easily have some of their Star Destroyers hyperspace in front of the Resistance fleet to cut off their escape. Oh no! We can’t have that, otherwise half of the movie’s plot is gone.

As for what everyone does like about The Last Jedi? Well, there’s no denying that it’s wonderfully shot and that the cinematography looks beautiful. The same goes with its editing, particularly in how Rey and Kylo’s communication via their Force bond is presented. Johnson’s use of the color red, be it in Snoke’s throne room or during the attack on the salt planet of Crait, is particularly striking. The scene between Luke and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), which uses the original puppet from The Empire Strikes Back, is especially moving. The same with Luke and Leia’s final scene, particularly as this was Carrie Fisher’s final performance before her tragic death. And yes, the Porgs are cute, dang it!

Nevertheless, there’s no denying that, for as much as critics praised The Last Jedi for its boldness, it still alienated and divided the audience. The blowback against the film was so severe it affected the entire franchise. Some believe it’s what contributed toe mediocre box office returns of Solo: A Star Wars Story the following spring. Plans to move ahead with a new Star Wars trilogy directed by Johnson are now up in the air. The backlash against The Last Jedi also may have resulted in J.J. Abrams deciding to take over as director for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with rumors circulating about the movie “undoing” what Johnson did.

In what is, perhaps, the great irony about The Last Jedi, a film that speaks about the virtues of failure is itself considered by fans to be a failure. Not a financial failure, of course (at over $1 billion worldwide, it’s the second highest-grossing Star Wars movie behind The Force Awakens), but an artistic one. Yet whether you see The Last Jedi as a cinematic masterpiece on the level of The Empire Strikes Back or misfire on par with the worst of the Prequels, it will always be the one Star Wars movie we will talk and debate about for years to come. Hmm… maybe Rian Johnson got wanted he wanted after all.