“This is not going to go the way that you think.” That line perfectly summarizes The Last Jedi. Written and Directed by Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi is the second entry in the sequel trilogy and Disney’s third outing in the Star Wars series. Picking up where Awakens left off, The Resistance flees before the full might of the First Order, suffering heavy casualties along the way. Poe, Finn and new character Rose devise a plan to aid their escape, but it is obstructed by time and a Vice Admiral. As they move, Rey must convince Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to train her, despite his misgivings and belief that the Jedi must end.
I enjoyed the film overall. The third act did drag-on, but the characters and conflict held my attention throughout. It also corrects the main problem of its predecessor, as it doesn’t borrow as heavily from past films, although there is some cyclicality in place. It also subverts saga conventions, as the traditional hero confronting the villain scene goes arie, although this does contribute to the third-act drag. This development has me speculating how Episode 9 will play out, especially with what unfolds during the denouement. A few character moments will polarize fans, but I’ll save that for later. Other than it being the darker second act in a trilogy, there’s only one scene where some fans can scream “Empire remake,” and even then it’s reaching. Heaven forbid we have trenches and walkers.
The acting ranges from decent to excellent. The side-characters were believable, even if they weren’t written deeply. Carrie Fisher’s real-life daughter even gets a handful of lines. The main cast is where the acting shines. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver reprise their roles perfectly, each building off their character’s experience in the previous film and what develops here. Boyega is still great as Finn and Tran plays Rose decently; while not bad, their story is the weakest of the plots, although they do have a mild chemistry. A part in the third-act did seem forced, but considering what Rose has been through I’ll let it slide. Laura Dern was ok as VA Haldo, although I will admit her character arc pulled a fast one on me. I thought they were going either the traitor or incompetent officer route Mark Hamill is the film’s highlight, giving debatably his best performance as Luke. He may not have agreed with the script’s direction, but he acted his heart out and made the material work.
The special effects and action scenes are magnificent. The mixture of CGI and Practical effect is still top tier, although there was one spoiler related moment that could have been executed better. Unlike past Numbered entries, there is no lightsaber fight per-say, but the third act does contain lightsaber action. Although they feature prominently in several scenes, the Porgs weren’t that annoying; in fact, they had one moment that was darkly comedic. Speaking of comedy, there is plenty placed throughout. While most felt nature and did cause him to crack a smile, there were several moments that pushed things too far. John Williams once again composes the score. While not as memorable as his first six, it was still decent; I’ll have to listen to the music independently before divulging my full verdict.
Johnson directed the film well. His camera angles made sense, and he got workable performances from his cast—one of my main criticisms when it comes to Lucas’s style. His writing is more likely to split fans. While I personally didn’t mind where his story went, I understand why others don’t. If I were placed in Johnson’s shoes I wouldn’t have used the same climax, but I give him points for guts. Now, I’m looking forward to the novelization even more than I had been.
From this point forward there will be spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the film, go do so. For those who have or just don’t care, you are clear to proceed.
The film’s main revelation was the specifics of Kylo Ren’s fall to the Dark Side. In a surprising twist, Luke attempted to kill the boy as he slept. Luke had sensed the growing darkness in his nephew, and fearing what it could unleash upon the galaxy, the Jedi Master acted. Kylo managed to wake in time, the raw power of his counter-attack collapsing the roof. He proceeded to raze the academy. This is the film’s most polarizing moment, borderline out-of-character. As a lifelong fan, I understand perfectly why some fans won’t enjoy this plot development. In Legends, Luke Skywalker would never do something this drastic, even when he was briefly apprenticed to Palpatine. Even if Luke sensed the growing darkness, why would he attempt to kill Kylo, especially in a manner that echoes Darth Plaugis? This is the Jedi who redeemed Darth Vader, an action both Obi-wan and Yoda thought was impossible. How could he go from that to an action the Jedi of old would have sanctioned?
Based on how the narrative unfolds, I have a theory: Luke was deceived by the Dark Side, just as his predecessors were during the Clone Wars. Snoke manipulated Luke at the same time he manipulated Kylo, stirring power in one and paranoia in the other. Luke’s paranoia eventually overcomes his rational mind and he moves to act, igniting his green-blade as Kylo slept. He hesitated, the Light Side speaking to him, pulling at Luke’s attachment. Just as sentiment had saved Luke from Palpatine, it in turned saved Kylo from Luke, but it, in turn, damned them both. Ben awoke to find his uncle standing over him, weapon ignited. Confusion turned to fear, and fear to anger, and he lashed out. Like his grandfather before him, Kylo believed his master had betrayed him, and this betrayal cemented his turn.
Many have said that the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself. While drastic, it is a sentiment I agree with, to a point. Luke’s arc is conflict, and regret. The action he thought would save the galaxy from Darkness is what helped bring about its rise. This is why Luke went into exhale, cutting himself off from his friends and the Force itself. While I don’t wish to spoil everything, by the film’s climax Luke puts the past behind him and forgives himself, although it does involve a machina ex deus. By now, it’s no secret he dies in the end, and as of this review, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about that, although I do understand why they went there. Hopefully, he comes back as Force Ghost in episode 9.
As expected, Rey trains under Luke, but not how we all thought. Most of her training is philosophical, with Luke lecturing her on aspects of the Force without delving into things too deeply. She does practice with her saber, but it’s self-taught. There’s not much presented that will quiet the “Rey is a Sue” crowd, but she didn’t do much that is out of the realm of possibility for a force sensitive of her training, given her potential. She does confront Snoke, but he easily ragdolls her; the Dark Lord could have killed her at any moment if it weren’t for his plan to have Kylo do the deed. This is how I imagine Luke’s confrontation with Palpatine would have been shot if technology in the 80’s was more advanced.
Like his uncle, Kylo is conflicted most of the film, continuing off from where he was in The Force Awakens. Snoke belittles him for failing to defeat Rey; while he doesn’t say it aloud, the implication is that his pain should have given him the strength to defeat Rey, given their experience levels. At one point Kylo has the chance to kill Leia, but sentiment prevents him from pulling the trigger; his vanguard eventually intervene. Kylo’s conflict climaxes in the third act when Snoke goads Kylo into killing Rey. Kylo turns the tide by killing Snoke instead; however, this isn’t a betrayal of redemption. Kylo supplants Snoke, becoming the new Supreme Leader. While this seemingly wastes Snoke’s character, with one film remaining I won’t call it yet. For all we know this could end up being part of Snoke’s plan, in order to seal Kylo’s fate to the Dark Side forevermore.
Part of the film takes place on Canto Bite, a gambling world first mentioned in The Legends of Luke Skywalker novel. Some of the worlds patrons are war profiteers, selling weapons to both the First Order and Resistance. Like Luke’s arc, this adds a shade of gray morality to the film, showing that some people don’t care about right and wrong as long as they can turn a profit. Not the grey I was expecting, but I’ll take it.
Leia finally gets to use the Force actively, but the context is polarizing. The General is blasted into space during an attack, and wills herself back towards an airlock. While extreme, given Leia’s force potential is equal to her Father and Brother, it’s not that farfetched, especially if she gave herself fully over to the Force. Besides, it’s not like she walked it off like a papercut; she was in a coma for most of the film. Plus, its not the first time a character in Star Wars has survived the coldness of space; Galen Marek anyone?
While polarizing, the
Last Jedi is a well-made film, building off and exceeding its
predecessor. While not at the same level as Empire, it easily matches
Return and Revenge as a whole. 
No comments:
Post a Comment