 |
| photo courtesy of starwars.com |
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
The new Star Wars movie, written and directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), picks up where 2015’s The Force Awakens left off: with the
Resistance in dire straits, with Luke, the last Jedi, in hiding, and with a
hopeful new heroine on a mission to bring him back. But convincing Luke (Mark Hamill)
to make his triumphant return proves to be much harder than expected, and at a
time when Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) seem
more unstoppable than ever, Rey (Daisy Ridley) realizes that she may have to
look elsewhere to find the hope the galaxy so desperately needs.
In many ways, The Last Jedi evokes the spirit of Star Wars past, building to thrilling crescendos (space battles, unexplored
worlds, lightsaber fights, last-minute escapes), exploring family drama (it gives
the original trilogy characters much more to do), and meditating on themes of
heroism, hope, sacrifice, and the nature of good and evil. Like The Force Awakens (which borrows the
plot of A New Hope), The Last Jedi uses the original trilogy
as its raw materials, lifting key scenes straight from The Empire Strikes Back and Return
of the Jedi and providing a number of structural, visual, and musical
references to those films. (Of course, it also inherits a rebooted original
trilogy premise from The Force Awakens.)
 |
| photo courtesy of nytimes.com |
But more often than not, The Last Jedi seems determined to tear
it all down, changing up the Star Wars formula
to create genuinely fresh, unexpected twists. It’s not until those moments,
when the movie begins to shed its more traditional, homage-laden storylines for
new ones, that the movie really kicks into gear. Johnson clearly (and rightly) finds
much greater enjoyment in the new storylines; there’s a noticeable uptick in
pace and passion as the movie moves beyond the older material and into the
unknown. In fact, the change is so dramatic that I start to wonder: shouldn’t
this entire sequel trilogy have started about an hour or two into The Last Jedi and cut the rehash
altogether?
Yet at the same time, The Last Jedi’s efforts to subvert
formula create a few moments that will likely irk some committed fans. Kylo Ren’s
Last Jedi motto is “kill [the past]
if you have to,” and that almost seems to be Johnson’s operating principle; his
story has a habit of undermining or subverting developments from The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi which seemed, at the
time, essential to the ongoing story. It’s no surprise, then, that The Last Jedi makes some of the larger Star Wars storylines and character arcs
feel slightly incoherent.
 |
| photo courtesy of nerdist.com |
On the whole, however, The Last Jedi is a strong, daring entry
in the Star Wars series. It’s a long
way from ideal—with an overlong run-time, an on-the-nose subplot, a few
gimmicks, and a jokier tone than the franchise has seen in a while (thanks
Marvel Studios)—but classic Star Wars
escapism, solid attention to character, and a much-needed dose of originality
help The Last Jedi transcend its
faults.
BEWARE: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS
Let’s go character by character.
 |
| photo courtesy of polygon.com |
Rey. Rey begins the movie much as Luke
begins The Empire Strikes Back,
making the journey to an old Jedi master to receive his training. As the
primary (read: Jedi) protagonist, it’s fitting that she gets the largest chunk
of the movie’s screen time, going from Luke on Ahch-To to Kylo Ren on Snoke’s
ship and then to the battle on Crait. Johnson does some interesting things with
Rey in The Last Jedi, giving her
several quiet character moments; one of the smartest choices is the Force-link
between Rey and Kylo, which gives the two most important characters the chance
to actually relate to one another in a meaningful way. Only in the movie’s last
act does Rey get shortchanged, taking an (odd) second seat to Luke in the final
scenes.
Rey’s most important scene in The Last Jedi has to do with the
revelation that her parents are “nobody.” It’s a wise choice from a
storytelling perspective—you can only be “so-and-so’s” child so many times in
one franchise—but at the same time, it feels like a bit of letdown. For one
thing, it essentially retcons The Force
Awakens, which more or less implied that a) Rey is someone, and b) Rey is
caught up in the Skywalker legacy in an important way. For another, it sort of
undercuts the “Skywalker saga” approach to the franchise. If Rey isn’t a
Skywalker but she’s going to be the major protagonist fulfilling the legacy of
the Jedi going forward, then what was the point of Episodes I-VI and all the
buildup around the exceptional Skywalkers? On the other, if the Skywalkers are the crucial family of the story,
then why should we really care about Rey? To put it another way, we’re heading
into an Episode IX without a single sympathetic Skywalker character—Carrie
Fisher has died, meaning her role in IX will presumably be cut short, Luke
Skywalker has died in-universe, and Ben Solo is now firmly fixed on his
villainous path.
 |
| photo courtesy of denofgeek.com |
Luke. Johnson gives the original
trilogy characters a much larger share of the spotlight than they got in The Force Awakens. It’s a welcome turn,
because *let’s be real* they’re the ones we showed up to see. His badassery at
the end of The Last Jedi more than
makes up for his short appearance at the end of its predecessor, even if it is
a bit odd that he gets to do all the
third act heroics (what about Rey, our ostensible protagonist?). Luke’s
self-doubt is one of The Last Jedi’s
best plot threads, taking Luke to an unexpected place and spinning the
teacher-pupil dynamic on its head. It also makes his long-awaited return all
the more meaningful, allowing him to face his mistakes and be the hero he
should have been this entire time.
Luke’s characterization, however, isn’t
entirely in continuity with his past
character arc. The Last Jedi expects
us to believe that the Luke of Return of
the Jedi would ever consider killing young Kylo, or that Luke would
confront Kylo without any intention of redeeming him. I ain’t buying it. But the
movie thankfully resists the temptation of having Luke be totally disillusioned
with the Jedi (or unwilling to see them continue) in the end. Instead, it
allows him to nuance and ultimately reaffirm the Jedi position (something else
he arrived at in Return of the Jedi, for
those who are keeping score). For him to do otherwise would be a descent into
total moral equivocation, completely undercutting the basis of the franchise.
P.S. I was pretty disappointed there
wasn’t an epic Luke v Kylo duel. Or, any third act duel for that matter. So
there’s that.
 |
| photo courtesy of movieweb.com |
Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran). These two
characters serve as the instigators of one of the movie’s more enjoyable
storylines, and their budding relationship is a good decision for the franchise
going forward. Almost everything about their plot thread is great: the Canto
Bight scenes, the betrayal of DJ, the face-off with Phasma (Gwendoline
Christie). Only the unfortunately on-the-nose “there’s a dark side to wealth”
subplot weighs them down, but even that gets a nice payoff at the movie’s
conclusion, promising a new generation of Rebels.
 |
| photo courtesy of wmagazine.com |
Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Leia (Carrie Fisher). The Resistance
folks get perhaps the most straightforward story arc, running away from the First
Order (convenient how they can’t just destroy the Resistance ship outright, isn’t
it?) and learning lessons about how to be a hero along the way. Poe is still an
interesting character, and it’s a good thing that the movie forces him to spend
most of this movie on the ground. He evidently learns his lesson by The Last Jedi’s final scenes, which see
him calling off the suicide mission to take out the First Order cannon in order
to save themselves for another day. Leia, meanwhile, nearly matches her brother
for badassery, casually flying with the Force and never being afraid to pick up
a blaster when necessary.
 |
| photo courtesy of starwars.com |
Kylo Ren, Snoke, Hux, and Phasma. Kylo Ren’s arc in The Last Jedi is one of the best; he
gets acquainted with Rey and flirts with the light… only to assume leadership
of the First Order. It’s a smart move to avoid repeating the redemption arc
from Return of the Jedi, but I can’t
help but wish we could have dispensed with Snoke earlier (like, in
pre-production) and had Kylo be the leader from the get-go. He makes a much
more interesting primary villain. His decision to kill Snoke is a sound one
from a storytelling perspective; Snoke only barely threatens to be an
interesting character toward his final moments. Along with Phasma’s quick death,
however, his demise makes us question why both characters were built up in The Force Awakens. Domhnall Gleeson’s
Hux, by the way, manages to be much more engaging this time around; he’s funny,
cutthroat, and pitiful all at once.
 |
| photo courtesy of variety.com |
The future. So where does The Last Jedi leave us leading up to
Episode IX? I would be lying if I pretended a part of me weren’t saying, like
Luke Skywalker, “it’s time… for Star Wars…
to end.” Even though The Last Jedi’s
more memorable sequences (Yoda! And that Rey & Kylo lightsaber brawl!) do a
lot to rectify the situation, the sequel trilogy still operates out of a fundamental
disappointment: reusing the structure of the original trilogies rather than
forging something truly new. But if any movie can break that trend, it’ll be
Episode IX, the first sequel whose set-up doesn’t bring to mind overt
comparisons to Star Wars past.
Watch the trailer here.
 |
| photo courtesy of theverge |
No comments:
Post a Comment