First Impressions | Star Wars The Last Jedi

“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. 

Second Time Around | Star Wars The Force Awakens

            Like most children of the 80’s and 90’s, I loved Star Wars growing up.   I played with the toys, spammed watched the films and craved.  While my “fanboyism” has toned down in recent years, my love for the franchise hasn’t wavered; toys have been replaced with novels and spectacle with storytelling.  This is partially why I was excited when Episode 7 was announced in the wake of Disney’s buyout.  This excitement grew with the teaser trailers, Nostalgia welling inside as Harrison Ford spoke those famous words, “Chewie, we’re home.”  I saw the film opening night, and I loved it.  Abrams had delivered on his promises. 

Now that two-years have passed and the initial hype has subsided, how does the film hold up?  Overall, I still enjoy the film, but my critical eye picks out the flaws easier.  Aesthetically, it’s closer to the original trilogy than the prequels were.  While Lucas did use practical effects on those films, the post-production rendering made some hard to spot amidst CG.  Think of it like the color-blindness test; where do green end and yellow begin?  Special effects have improved greatly in the decade following Revenge of the Sith, allowing the two to blend exquisitely; the CG models are even given a practical tint, and the puppet-suit work makes me explode with joy.

The story is where the flaws are noticeable, although there’s only one that leaves me shaking my head.  Many have called Force Awakens a remake of a New Hope.  While I understand the sentiment, I respectfully disagree.  There are similarities—and both films share similar beats—but the main Star Wars films have always been cyclical, recurring elements drawn from the Hero’s Journey archetype popping up over and over.  To use a musical analogy, think of the series like a symphony:  there’s a handful of recurring notes, with new ones sprinkled in between.  To me, complaining about Jakku or the Cantina is nitpicking.  The Droid McGuffin I concede partially, but it’s not a bad way to store information; who’s to say Leia is the first person to execute that idea?

Starkiller Base I will concede.  While an interesting conceptual idea—while I would have preferred something akin to the Sun Crusher, a weapon that stores and unleashes solar power is cool—did we really need another Death Star?  It was asinine already that Palpatine built a second one in Return of the Jedi—even though it did fall in line with his character’s overconfidence—but a third is ludicrous.  We’ve entered Spaceballs territory now.  That said if the base is a necessity, why push it out this early?  Starkiller should be an endgame problem.  At least Lucas having two Death Stars has a real-world reason behind it:  was meant to be endgame, but he pushed it sooner in case Star Wars was a one-off.

            Another common criticism is that Rey is a Mary Sue.  A Mary Sue is an idealized, seemingly perfect character, often the result of author insertion; this part is especially common in fan fiction.  They can perform tasks better than others, usually above what their training or experience should allow.  What does Rey do that garners this label?  She’s a great pilot and picks the Force up quickly, allowing her to defeat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel. 

On the surface, an argument could be made for Rey being a sue, but when one looks deeper and takes moments into proper context, things make sense.  Rey grew up on a scavenger planet, and she’s around junk starfightersters all day.  She was also Unkar Plutt’s ward—film never fully states this, but the flashback infers—and he had possession of the Millennium Falcon.  While Rey does state it hasn’t flown in years, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t seen it fly, or handled the controls herself.  She did know the specifics of Plut’s additions, so it’s not a far stretch.  There’s also the possibility of flight simulators and bumming lessons from outsiders, but that’s a large IF.

As for the Force, each moment has a reason for why it makes sense.  Although she’s untrained, Rey’s raw potential is immense, and like her predecessor’s she likely used The Force subconsciously her entire life.   This changed when she touched the Lightsaber and the Kyber Crystal called, giving Rey her first step into a larger world.

Given her potential, it’s not farfetched that Rey would be able to turn Kylo’s mental probe back on him, especially since he approached the action nonchalantly with his conflicted mind.  Also, other than what drove Kylo’s turn most of his life and training haven’t been explored deeply; for all we know this is the first time he’s attempted to probe a fellow Force Sensitive, and he has the unfortunate luck to come across one with immense potential. 

I will concede that she does pick up the Mind Trick and Force Grip rather quickly.  That said, the progression still feels plausible.  By that point, Rey knows she can manipulate the Force—from a combination of Kylo’s probe and the Kyber crystal’s call.  It’s only natural that she’d stretch out and test her capabilities, with raw power balancing out finesse and training.  Her persuasion attempts take several passes to yield success, and Rey is surprised when she calls the lightsaber to her hand. 

This moment I concede partially, as on the face it is absurd that Rey could overpower a trained Force User.  However, there are precedents for this in Legends.  Darth Zannah comes to mind.  In Darth Bane Path of Destruction, Zannah rag dolled two experienced knights simply with her rage.  While the knight’s level of power isn’t specified, Zannah pulling this off with minimal training is still impressive.  This president factored in with Kylo’s wound and mindset—along with some bias from the Kyber crystal—and it’s plausible for Rey to pull the saber. 

Kylo had two major disadvantages doing into the duel:  his conflicted mind—worsened by patricide—and his abdominal wound.  While Kylo could draw strength from his pain like other Dark Siders, his mind would prevent this ability from working properly, especially if his training were incomplete.  While it’s mere speculation since this time hasn’t been explored yet, I’d say Kylo’s skill level is between ROTJ Luke and AOTC Anakin.  He’s trained decently, but still has much to learn, getting by on raw potential instead of finesse.  Even so, this potential allowed him to disarm Finn and dominate Rey. That’s right, Kylo dominated a majority of his duel with Rey, his strength forcing the initiate to give ground.  It was only when she gave into the force—inadvertently tapping into Force Augmentation—that Rey turned the momentum and Kylo’s wound became his Achilles.  If Kylo hadn’t been injured, I have no doubt he would have eventually disarmed Rey.  Power alone can only get one so far. 

As for how the duel is choreographed, I find it more satisfying than the prequel trilogy.  While the duels are the highlight of those films, there were many moments that came across as unnecessary fluff; stage choreography at its finest.  Here, the duel is staged in a manner akin to Empire and Jedi; most motion isn’t wasted and strikes make strategic sense.  It also has the advantage of advances in film techniques, making it an amalgamation of both trilogies styles.  I know some complain that the duel is boring, but given the combatants it made sense.  These aren’t fully trained Jedi and Sith hacking at each other; these are—for lack of more appropriate phrase—novices. 

Rey isn’t perfect.  While she does pick up on the Force quickly, she has one fatal character flaw:  she refuses to accept her family isn’t returning for her.  Because of this, she lingers on Jakku for years, with nothing but herself and hope; her need to linger is so great Rey doesn’t wish to leave for five minutes.  It takes outside forces to pry her away.  Despite this, she’s willing to help people—BB8 and Finn come to mind.  Some might thrust this under SUE, but the willingness to help others doesn’t a SUE make; by that logic, dozens of other characters are sues.  Besides, this willingness could be exploited by the Dark Side. 

Family issues aside, Rey doesn’t have much else that makes her an engaging protagonist.  She’s rather basic.  Luke was the same, but Mark’s acting balanced things out.  Daisy accomplishes the same thing here.  If an actress of lesser talent had been cast, we might be in a prequel situation, with fans lambasting both the writing and it execution.  While I did enjoy the sequel, this issue remains. 

While I mainly wished to keep this discussion to Episode 7, The Last Jedi brings up an interesting point that can be applied here.  As Kylo puts it, Rey looks for father figures to fill the void in her heart, jumping from Han to Luke; it’s safe to say she has a paternal complex of some sort.

As I’ve mentioned several times, Kylo Ren is a conflicted character.  He views himself as Darth Vader’s true heir, but like his grandfather before him he’s sentimental.  While the movie cut this part out, the novelization made it clear that Kylo knows about his grandfather’s redemption, but views it as a moment of weakness.  He claims not to have the same weakness, but he’s burying it inside.  Therefore Snoke demands that he kill Han Solo, to kill this part of him.  Vader thought he had killed his wife, and buried the guilt with anger; to avoid making the same mistake, Kylo MUST kill his father.  He succeeds, but the action unbalances him. 

 Some might call foul at this, but there is a precedent within the films:  Anakin’s duel with Obi-wan.  Anakin was unbalanced the entire fight, caused by Padme’s supposed betrayal.  This unbalance is what lead to his defeat, and his incarceration in the iconic suit.  It’s also responsible for one of the duel’s most memorable exchanges:  the Force Push impasse.  Anakin’s potential was far greater than Obi-wan, yet his old master matched him.  How could this be so?  While Obi-wan’s dedication and finesse played a part, it alone wouldn’t be enough to overcome the Chosen One’s raw might.  Even with all his strength, a lack of mental balance prevented Anakin from overpowering his former friend. 

Just a little aside, to me, Kylo Ren is Anakin executed correctly.  While the Chosen One’s arc in the prequels makes dramatic sense, Lucas’s direction and writing brought it down.

Finn and Poe most viewers seem to be happy with.  Finn’s desertion of the First Order feels natural, especially after what he witnessed during the opening scene.  Hs desire to flee to the Unknown Regions can be viewed as cowardly, but given his first-hand knowledge of the First Order it’s understandable.  He makes up for it later anyway.   He had several awkward moments, but they made sense within the context of their scenes.  He’s also responsible for one of Han’s best lines in the movie:  “That’s not how the Force works!”  His lightsaber fight with Kylo can be considered wish fulfillment audience insertion, as everyone who’s watched a Star Wars film has wanted to wield the elegant weapon for a more civilized age in combat. Poe is an ace pilot in the spirit of Han and Wedge.  The two have a good repour, but it is a headscratcher how he managed to escape from Jakku.  The film explains it offhand when the pair reunites, but it’s vague.  One area where the novelization is better.

Now we come to Han Solo’s demise.  I understand the anger, and it’s not misguided.  No one enjoys seeing their favorite characters die; Lord knows there’s plenty of Red Wedding Reaction Videos to prove this point.  However, just because we love the character doesn’t mean they should be exempt from death; as much as I love many of the Legends stories, it became predictable over time, especially when Lucas’s edict was factored in.  No possibility of death neuters consequence, and drama.  Chewie did eventually get a meaningful death, but he was the only one.  Disney’s buyout killed the edict, and with Harrison Ford onboard it was only a matter of time before Solo died; we all know Ford wanted him to die in the original trilogy.  Ford got his wish, and Han received a meaningful death, one that impacted the dénouement and aspects of the sequel.  A divisive dramatic choice, but it’s one I find myself siding with.    

While not at the same level as the original trilogy, The Force Awakens is a step up from the prequels when all elements are considered.  The acting and direction are great, the special effects are far more pleasing to the eye, and Williams delivers another epic score—although that’s one element I will admit the prequels executed better.  3.5 Kyber Crystals out of 5.