Seeing as The Last Jedi is perhaps the most divisive Star Wars film to date, and that many of my friends have asked for my thoughts on the film, I have decided to deliver my thoughts here. Now my opinion in the grand scheme of things does not matter in the slightest, but I am honored that my friends care about what I have to say on the subject. I just want it to be clear that my opinion on TLJ is no more valid, important, or correct than your own opinion. You should not read this post looking for validation of why your opinion is right, nor why your friend/coworker/spouse/dog/parents' opinion is wrong, but instead simply to gain one super-fan's irrelevant perspective. Enjoy!
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In most of my discussions about Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, I begin by talking about the director, Rian Johnson. This movie feels different because Rian Johnson is different. When Disney announced that Rian would be directing TLJ, I was both surprised and extremely excited. Excited because he is an excellent story teller who made Looper and three of the best Breaking Bad episodes ever. However, I was also surprised because Rian Johnson is not the safe commercial pick with a long track record of success, which is something Disney has so often deferred to recently. Disney did something unexpected with his hiring, and even more unexpected by not meddling with his work. There were no large scale reshoots like Rogue One had, and Disney didn't fire Johnson like they have with Lord, Miller, and Trevorrow. Instead, they allowed him to make the movie he wanted to make, and say what he wanted to say. For that Disney deserves to be commended, and Rian Johnson alone deserves your hate... or praise.
As with any movie, but especially with a Star Wars film, audiences have certain expectations for a film, and speculation fuels these expectations to the point that we have conflicting mutually exclusive expectations for it. It is largely the unfulfilled expectations that have generated the negative reaction to TLJ, and it goes back to the way that Episode VIII was set up by JJ Abrams in The Force Awakens.
JJ Abrams is a fine director who has made some truly remarkable movies, including his Star Wars installment which touched me deeply as a super-fan. However, JJ Abrams has a crutch that he often leans on in his narratives, and I am not brave enough to outright call this a 'bad thing' (although crutch does have a negative connotation), because it has been used well in his work before, works that I thoroughly enjoy. This crutch being the use of "The Mystery Box." A term I did not come up with, but can see to be true. The writer of the piece linked here describes what the mystery box means, writing:
"It’s all bits of affectation that excite and delight, and as far as meaning goes, it’s all promise and deep questions and lingering intrigue that pull you in deep, deep, deep… but, you know, never amount to anything. And it’s not that the “answers” are bad, it’s just that they were never set up to be meaningfully answered in the first place. That’s the mystery box. That’s literally the design. He doesn’t think it matters what’s inside as long as he makes you think it’s important. He’s literally said this."
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| Director Rian Johnson |
There are several moments in The Last Jedi where Rian Johnson either purposely, or with a stray pinky finger clicks the 'Caps Lock' key and proclaims "THIS IS NOT IMPORTANT, LOOK OVER HERE, THIS IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT." He does this from the very beginning with Luke literally throwing away the lightsaber that stood centrally in the previous movie. Johnson is going to shift the narrative of Star Wars with this film, and he does not have time for pandering fan service, or in his opinion, meaningless questions. So what exactly is Rian Johnson's big idea that's so important it shoves my desperately needed answers to the side?
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HOPE
Ever present since the very beginning of the Star Wars universe, hope has been a necessary and constant theme. When in the course of a David v. Goliath narrative, which the Star Wars saga is, the predominant force seems to be too invincible, it is hope that the underdog holds onto. The very first images we see in the Star Wars saga are the sheer terror and violence of the Empire as they storm Tantive IV, along with the ruthlessness of Darth Vader. As an audience we understand that things are bleak for the Rebel Alliance, and they are mightily outmatched, but shortly there after Luke Skywalker stumbles upon a hologram recording and we are introduced to that iconic plead, "Help me, Obi Wan-Kenobi. You're my only hope." Obi Wan is the savior, he is what the Rebel Alliance is holding on for in their darkest hour. Of course this hope for a savior will soon transfer to Luke Skywalker, their new hope, and that is pretty much the way hope works throughout the entire original trilogy. It passes along from one iconic figure to another, until finally peace is restored. In TFA the peace is undone, and the story
loops back over. The First Order is too big and bad, but the Resistance
holds onto hope that they can find Luke, the savior, and win this fight.
Then, Rey grabs that lightsaber from the snow and suddenly you realize that she is the new new hope. Is she the Jedi that will defeat the First Order? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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By making Jedi these mythical savior figures, Star Wars has always seemed to be more about Jedi v. Sith rather than Empire v. Rebels, but for the first time, TLJ made me feel truly invested in the Resistance (or Rebellion). Poe has a great line where he says, "We are the spark, that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down." I really believe him too, even as we watch the Resistance fleet and soldiers dwindle, the Resistance can defeat the First Order.
Rose says to Finn, "We're going to win not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love." This line is memorable because of how brash it is. It puts the Resistance's cause out in the open and lets you decide whether or not you are on board. Their fight is rooted in a sacrificial love for not just one another, but for all of the people of the galaxy, represented or not. The Resistance is the beacon of hope that all of the galaxy can hold onto, as they have shown through their actions and through their love; all of the galaxy deserves to be represented, heard, and protected. Hope is knowing that there is someone out there fighting for you.
We get some great moments that humanize the Resistance for us, instead of just rooting for them because they are on the same side as the Jedi, or because they are fighting against the evil empire. Rose's sister Paige, dies to drop the bombs and complete the mission in the opening scene, and while Paige never says a single line in this film, she still has a profound impact because of her heroism, and her relationship with Rose. And not a single person would be willing to admit that Vice Admiral Holdo's sacrificial lightspeed through the Supremacy Ship wasn't powerful and iconic. Both of these character's roles are relatively minor, yet still impactful, and they are only in addition to Finn, Poe, Rose, and Leia, who are central characters that make up the Resistance. Every loss the resistance takes hurts us more because we are so aware of those who are fighting for it and the odds they are up against. They are regular individuals. They fight for the same cause despite being nothing alike. They have different personalities, races, and come from different backgrounds—Royalty and a Stormtrooper—they fight together.
Who will save the Galaxy? Rian Johnson says it is all of us.
Me, you, and a stable boy who looks longingly to the stars; when we band together, we are hope.
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THE PAST
So if anyone can be in Resistance and be a source of hope who can be a Jedi? Well, they can be anyone too. Gone are the preconceived notion that a Jedi must inherent their Force ability from
Before I go further into the arcs of the core characters, it is important to discuss how this quote applies to Rian Johnson and Star Wars lore. There is small faction of Star Wars fans that feel as though Rian Johnson has killed their beloved Star Wars and that this film is somehow disrespectful to the original characters. Unless you are George Lucas himself, you have no right to make this claim. Heck, if anyone did it would be Mark Hamill, who admitted he constantly disagreed with the decisions Rian was making regarding Luke, but even Mark realized that Star Wars is not his story. Rian Johnson did not ruin your childhood, and he did not do a disservice to any of the characters from the original trilogy, he simply continued their stories as he saw fit, which is exactly what he was hired to do.
Specifically, Luke Skywalker was a character some fans felt was misrepresented. Luke's character is the poster boy for holding onto the past; his defining flaw in this film is his fear of repeated mistakes. The first way this fear is expressed is through his refusal to teach Rey. This is a rather cowardly move when you consider his best friend Han died to get Rey to Luke, and his sister Leia personally sent Rey to him and she is dependent on Luke's help for her survival. Luke's fear is rooted in the similarities he sees in Kylo and Rey and the mistakes he made with the former. He agrees to help after R2D2 does some master convincing, but even then he does so reluctantly. His willingness and growth directly follow his acceptance of his mistakes with Kylo, as he admits the truth to Rey about what he did that night. He is coming to terms with his past, and no longer holding himself or Rey back.
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| Rey nearly repeating the mistake that Luke has refused to learn from. |
The other instance actually happens previous to this film chronologically, but is illustrated in TLJ. Luke trains his nephew Ben Solo and realizes that Ben is becoming an incredibly powerful force user and Jedi. This is where Luke's fear begins to take control, as he is aware of the mistakes Obi Wan made while training a similarly powerful pupil, Anakin Skywalker. If Ben were to turn to the darkside the galaxy would be under the threat of another Darth Vader, and the blame would rest squarely on Luke's conscious. Luke lets his past experiences with Obi Wan, and his father drive his decision to try to kill Ben Solo. Of course, it is largely because of this action that Ben turns to the darkside. Ben has been betrayed by his teacher, a pseudo father figure in his life, and thus turns to rage. I loved seeing Luke be human and flawed, instead of a perfect, righteous, invincible Jedi. He was flawed throughout the Original Trilogy, and this allows the audience to learn from his shortcomings and witness his growth. Rian Johnson's statement on all of Luke's flaws is that when we let go of the past and the baggage it carries along with it, only then can we begin to grow and do good.
Rian makes this statement with most of the characters in the film, not just Luke and Rey. Poe learns to be less brash and more trusting of leadership, and he learns this from mistakes he made in the past. First, Poe sacrifices a lot of lives to carry out his attack on the Dreadnought. Next he sends Finn and Rose to Canto Bight, a thread of the film many deemed unimportant, but it is critical to both Poe and Finn's character arcs. Poe needed that plan to fail in order to grow into a better leader. He endangered Finn and Rose's lives, only to have them get caught and alert the First Order of the Resistance escape. If Poe doesn't fail here, he doesn't learn from the past and lead the escape at the end of the film. With Finn Canto Bight is the sequence in which he chooses to become part of the resistance for the first time. To outline the key events of Finn's story so far, he 1) Flees the First Order in TFA 2) Tries to flee Han and Rey in TFA 3) Sticks around because he loves Rey in TFA 4) Tries to flee the ship in the beginning of TLJ. He is not fighting for the resistance, he runs away and fights only for his own interests (i.e. his love for Rey), but that changes on Canto Bight. Finn finally learns from Rose what they are fighting for, and who they are fighting against. Seeing DJ's lack of loyalty to a side drives Finn to finally commit (Fun tidbit that I read online somewhere. DJ isn't Benecio Del Toro's characters real name, but rather stands for "Don't Join" which he has stamped on his hat). Finn demonstrates the change he has undergone dramatically, when he tries to sacrifice himself for the Resistance on Crait.
Coincidentally, Rian Johnson shows failure in the one character who will not let the past die, Kylo Ren. He holds on to all of the hurt he has experienced, and it is critical flaw. His past keeps him from completing his turn to the light, and out of rage he stops the attack on Crait to confront Luke one-on-one, and consequently the resistance escapes. Kylo should take his own advice and let the past die.
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I really enjoyed this film because of the direction Rian Johnson took it in. It felt so important to me in every single moment. I cannot wait to see The Last Jedi a third, and fourth, and fifth time. I only hope that you learned from my perspective on the film, and continue to think about and discuss this movie. This ended up being way longer than I thought it was going to be because I have so many thoughts on what I saw in this movie. That is one of the key signs that I really loved a movie too, if I just can't stop thinking about it, and TLJ has taken up permanent residence in my head. If you made it this far in the post, you love me way too much and I owe you something, so text me and I'll be you a meal sometime.
May the Force be with you.
Love
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