Why I Love... Star Wars: The Last Jedi
It's taken longer than I would have liked but I'm back with my next bout of random film musings. As I mentioned in my first post, the aim with this blog is to take a positive approach to discussing my love of film. By which I mean, only focusing my time on the films I love and while that may be an easy enough goal to state, it's actually more difficult in practise. You see it's easy to criticise something we don't like, to list all the things that made us mad or disappointed us about a film, but to break down exactly why we like a film with any degree of critical awareness I for one find much more difficult. Hence this second post arriving almost a week after I originally intended. It was easy enough to pick out the bits and pieces I liked but to try and figure out exactly why they resonated with me the way they did and form some kind of coherent essay from those thoughts took a lot more work than I was expecting. I think I felt a little more apprehensive as the subject of this post proved, to say the least, divisive amongst it's intended audience. So I wanted to try and present my thoughts in a way that might, perhaps, allow anyone who responded negatively to the film on release, to understand what it is those of us who love the film, enjoyed so much. So enough preamble, without further ado here's...
Why I Love... Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Okay, okay, so there's a little more preamble before we get on to the film itself as I honestly believe that I can't talk about why I like this film so much without at least a brief history of my relationship with the Star Wars franchise. As a kid I went until about the age of 7 or 8 before I even that Star Wars was a film, as prior to that I'd only encountered the truly ridiculous array of Star Wars figures that a friend owned. One afternoon round at my Grandma's with nothing to do, she suggested I watch "some film" that my cousin had recorded and that was it, my less than grandiose introduction to STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (though it will always just be STAR WARS to me). I was utterly blown away by the film and was so impacted that I even chose Luke as my confirmation name (but only after being assured I couldn't pick Han). Little did I know, but was soon to discover, that not only were there two more STAR WARS films but my cousin had recorded them both as well (I miss VHS). So that was it. Over the course of two days I went from having no idea this series even existed to having watched them all multiple times. I was hooked, sort of. You see as much as I loved the original film, I wasn't quite as enamoured with the sequels even then. Yes THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is an undeniably great film but at that age I found it too dark and depressing and while RETURN OF THE JEDI brings back the sense of adventure, I didn't like the way Luke had become so serious and at times, arrogant. As I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate the fact that Luke calling himself a Jedi in the third film, when he's had like two weeks of training, is entirely consistent with the whiny farm boy of the first film who wants to run away from home and become a pilot with absolutely no training whatsoever. By the way, anyone who complains about Rey in the most recent films as being too gifted too quickly really needs to rewatch the orig trig as Luke becomes a master of just about everything with very little effort but I digress. If this assessment of Luke's character arc seems like I'm being unfair, keep in mind that he's my favourite character in those films precisely because of how flawed they present him as in terms of his maturity and decision making. Also keep this in mind when I eventually get around to the actual subject of this essay. The prequel movies also provided my with mixed feelings. I was hugely excited for each entry (having attended midnight screenings of them all) and yet, like many others, was disappointed in the results. THE PHANTOM MENACE is a very well made film, especially considering it was George Lucas first film as director since the original movie, but was riddled with tedious plotting, ill advised humour and indecipherable dialogue. It did give us Darth Maul though so there's that. It also presented us with easily the worst Jedi ever in Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn. Don't get me wrong, I think Neeson's performance is one of the film's few highlights but damn, his character exercises some of the worse judgement in cinema history and directly causes all the tragedy that is to follow. Never forget. ATTACK OF THE CLONES was entertaining enough on release but has aged as badly as any film from the early 2000's and while REVENGE OF THE SITH has the dubious honour of being the "best" of the prequels, it's still pretty far from the quality of the original films. It is still better than RETURN OF THE JEDI. Fight me. So then we get to the 3rd era of STAR WARS cinema with JJ Abrams' THE FORCE AWAKENS and you know what, it's fine. It's fine. It is not a bad movie. It's just that everything I dislike about Abrams as a filmmaker, namely his over reliance on nostalgia and mystery, is on full display in this film. That being said, I absolutely love the new characters this film introduces. Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron are all charismatic and likeable heroes that I enjoy watching interact with the landmarks of the STAR WARS universe we as fans know all too well, and I will forever maintain that the film's antagonist, Kylo Ren, is one of the very best characters the series has produced. That the plot doesn't make a lot of sense (how exactly did the First Order get so powerful?), the stakes are vague (how does destroying five planets in close proximity destroy an entire Galactic Republic?) and the returning characters are positioned purely to play on nostalgia (Han Solo's character arc through RETURN OF THE JEDI is completely undone in THE FORCE AWAKENS, purely to get him back to being the smuggling scoundrel of A NEW HOPE) are all criticisms that are lost in the thrill of finally having a new STAR WARS film. In the interest of positivity (and to not waste too much more of your time) I'm going to skip ROGUE ONE entirely other than to say that the infamous scene towards the end of that film of Darth Vader mowing down rebels, as thrilling as it is, doesn't make a lick of sense, makes the plot of A NEW HOPE worse by association and really indulges the very worst aspects of the STAR WARS fandom, but I digress. With all that in mind, let me finally get to the point of this essay and tell you exactly why I love THE LAST JEDI.
It's the best made film in the series since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
What?
That's really all there should be to the discussion but fine, I'll put the work in. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a deconstruction of everything the STAR WARS films have become in the pop culture but unlike many similar films, once it has completed it's deconstruction it uses what it left to reconstruct the very meaning of the franchise in to something that could support the telling of stories for the next 40 years or more. Still not convinced? Fine, let's roll our sleeves up and look at exactly how the film achieves this lofty goal. It's often quoted, by people who have completely misunderstood what they've just watched, that the theme of this film is, "Let the past die, kill it if you have to". Except the character stating that life philosophy is THE VILLAIN OF THE MOVIE. I think the most damning legacy of THE DARK KNIGHT is that through Heath Ledger's amazing performance too many (mostly white male let's be honest) movie goers have taken to looking to the villain of a film to fulfil their power fantasies. Don't get me wrong, it's been in the franchise since Darth Vader but the abundance of "Why So Serious?" merchandise post 2008 really signifies that as the explosion point for this particular mindset. So with that in said, let's be clear, Kylo Ren is not only the villain of these films, so everything he says including the identity of Rey's parents isn't to be taken at face value, he is also a direct criticism of the idea that only a select "chosen" few have the power and the destiny to save the galaxy. He is resolute in his belief that being the grandson of Anakin Skywalker entitles him to act out his own vision for the galaxy and is completely oblivious to his own failings. If the film does have one easy to sum up meaning then of course it is voiced by the wisest, and perhaps most flawed, of all the characters in the franchise, your boy Master Yoda, when he states, "Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond." THE LAST JEDI isn't dismissive or disrespectful of it's forebears, as some have suggested, it instead argues that the most respectful thing you can do is learn from the mistakes and failures of those that have come before. This is the most powerful message in all of the franchise for me, and one that is present throughout each and every character arc in the film. The real success of THE LAST JEDI is that expresses this theme through the frankly fantastically structured character arcs of it's 3 main protagonists. I'll likely go into much more detail about how highly I value structure in my next essay, but I will however provide as brief as possibly, explain what I mean with relation to the character arcs in this film.
There are 3 main plot lines within THE LAST JEDI and each follows one of the main protagonists, Rey, Finn or Poe. Each of these plot lines not only contribute to the greater meaning of the film but allow these characters to grow through interaction with two characters that contrast their wants and needs. Rey's plot, which constructs much of the film's thematic meaning, sees her caught between Luke who challenges her belief in heroes and reliance on other people for affirmation, and Kylo Ren who offers her power and the end of her loneliness through joining him. By the end of the film Rey has rejected the easy solutions offered by Kylo Ren and managed to find the self belief to act on her own, which culminates in her saving the rebellion at the film's climax. Poe's plot, which carries the burden of moving the main story forward, also concerns the nature of heroism and personal responsibility through his relationships with Leia who cautions against but ultimately enables his headstrong behaviour and Holdo who dismisses Poe as too reckless to be relied upon. By the end of the film, through Leia's injury and Holdo's sacrifice, Poe has learnt how to be a responsible leader and assures the audience that the Rebellion is in good hands with him. Finally we which the most maligned of the 3 plot lines, but I would argue perhaps the most important. I feel like many audiences expected Finn to emerge in this film as a full fledged hero, but truth be told, most of his heroic actions in THE FORCE AWAKENS are taken out of the desire to protect the things that are important to him. In this film, through his budding relationship with idealistic Rebel Rose Tico and the betrayal of the selfishly motivated amoral thief, Finn grows enough to identify the needs of the many outweighing his own, captured perfectly in his self-identification as "Rebel scum!" during his confrontation with his personal villain, Captain Phasma. Moreover, Finn and Rose's journey to the casino city of Canto Bight provides an entirely different perspective of the Star Wars Universe by presenting us with a new look at the upper classes of the Galaxy who profit from war and the oppression of the weak. In this sense, the Rebellion isn't just about fighting off a would be evil empire, it becomes about correct injustice on a galactic level. Rey, Finn and Poe are each given a moment where what they have learnt becomes key to a decision they have to make and subsequently effects the plot of the film. This may seem like the very basics of storytelling but it is sadly absent from most big budget fair and is executed in this film to such a high degree that it becomes almost masterful.
A frequent criticism of THE LAST JEDI is that it is somehow disrespectful or dismissive of the legacy of the original trilogy, particularly in it's depiction of Luke Skywalker and the Jedi. Now I completely disagree with this assessment but I believe it's probably worth while looking into this more thoroughly as it plays off some of the issues I've already discussed. Now I honestly feel that much of the controversy surrounding THE LAST JEDI comes from audience expectation. Fans of the original trilogy have had over 30 years to imagine the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker and the prequel films certainly raised expectations with regards to lightsaber combat. Compound that with the aforementioned Darth Vader scene from ROGUE ONE and it's not really any surprise that some members of the audience wanted nothing more from THE LAST JEDI than the heroic return of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master. I honestly don't blame people for feeling disappointed when not only does the film not deliver this, it openly rejects these expectations. From Luke casually throwing away his lightsaber in his first scene to his ridiculing of Rey for expecting him to take on the First Order and save the day, it would be easy to misunderstand this' films intentions as derogatory of franchise history. I think many expected Luke to step in as the protagonist but this was never going to happen, instead he has taken up the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in A NEW HOPE and Yoda in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Luke is the damaged hermit figure, it is his role in the film serve as the reluctant mentor to the actual protagonist, Rey. If you accept Luke as continuing the roles of Obi-Wan, Yoda and even Qui-Gon Jinn then it was apparent from the beginning that he would die in this film in a manner that might subvert expectations. Many have argued that Luke's depiction in this film isn't fitting with his previous character and, well, they're wrong. He was always overconfident, tempestuous and prone to succumbing to emotion from his complaints about farm life in A NEW HOPE to abandoning his training in EMPIRE and ultimately his determination to redeem Vader in EMPIRE, Luke was never a "good" Jedi, and that he would retreat into seclusion in THE LAST JEDI through a mix of shame and disappointment is entirely consistent with this depiction. That his conflict from Kylo Ren came from a brief moment of fear and doubt is entirely fitting and plays out wonderfully in both characters conflicting memories of the incident. That's what makes the end of this film so powerful for me, the culmination of his arc is in the acceptance that he's not a perfect hero, he has to come to term with both his failures and the value of those failures. His final scenes are simply beautiful and in the finest moment of visual storytelling in director Rian Johnson's career our last image of Luke is of him sat on a precipice, staring out at twin suns in a mirrored shot from the beginning of his journey in A NEW HOPE. He doesn't have a climatic final battle where he displays his awesome Jedi powers, because that is not what the film is about. Ultimately, THE LAST JEDI is not dismissive or disrespectful about the Jedi, it simply argues that the old ways are not what the universe needs to solve it's current problems and Lucas himself made these same arguments in the prequel films.
Clearly I could argue the merits of the character work in this film for far too long so instead, before I wrap this up I just want to bring up some of my favourite moments in the film as the synergy in these scenes between beautiful visuals, character and theme is simply stunning. The opening battle sequence not only provides the best depiction of warfare in the franchise but also serves as a short story centred of the heroic sacrifice of Paige Tico, a sacrifice that will ultimately have a huge influence on Finn's character arc. The scene of Leia finally utilising the Force is not only beautifully shot but gives the character much earned development that she was robbed of in the original trilogy (she is after all the daughter and sister of two powerful force users but never gets to display any such power herself, nor have any resolution with her father). Luke teaching Rey about the Force not only provides great character driven comedy but also serves to remystify the concept after Lucas' ill-advised midichlorian jaunt. Luke and Kylo Ren's conflicting memories of their parting not only drive both men's character arcs but also serve the film's treatise about how to interact with the past. This theme is continued in the brilliant and moving reunion between Luke and Yoda (god bless them for bringing back puppet-Yoda). Rey's vision in the cave is wonderfully surreal and a magnificent expression of her inner doubts about her own importance. Rey and Kylo's cross galaxy conversations not only provide much needed interaction between the two add a new dimension to the Force. Holdo's sacrifice not only culminates her arc and pushes Poe towards the climax of his, but may be the single most beautiful image in the film. Rey and Kylo fighting together against Snoke's guards while the tapestry of the First Order burns around them is the single greatest fight scene in the franchise and leads to the powerful moment of Rey rejecting Kylo, the siege of the Resistance base leading to the visual of the battlefield "bleeding", Luke's arrival, his reunion with Leia and C3PO, his confrontation with an increasingly deranged Kylo, Rey's rescue of the resistance, honestly there are just too many magnificent moments in this film to discuss them all in depth. But the final image of hope provided to an oppressed child through the story Luke Skywalker and a Resistance ring is probably my favourite as it perfectly sums up the idea of hope vs oppression that hasn't been central to STAR WARS since 1977.
Ultimately STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a great film. But I love it because of how it deconstructs Star Wars, in order to build something new. What once was a franchise focused entirely on the Skywalker bloodline and the notion of "chosen" heroes, through THE LAST JEDI becomes a statement that anyone can be a hero and change the galaxy. It has excellent characters, beautiful cinematography and a wonderful score that all work in unison to express this idea. It is simply put, the best Star Wars film since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and well worthy of a reappraisal by anyone who was disappointed by it initially. Also it has Porgs and let's be entirely honest with ourselves, Porgs are the best.
If you stuck with me up to this point then thank you for reading. Hopefully the next essay won't take quite so long to get out. Here are a couple of other essays (written and video) that helped me to cohere my thoughts on this film. Each of them presents their arguments far more successfully than I do but I hope to attain that level of quality one day.
Film Crit Hulk: The Beautiful, Ugly And Possessive Hearts Of Star Wars
https://observer.com/2018/07/film-crit-hulk-the-beautiful-ugly-and-possessive-hearts-of-star-wars/
Just Write: The Last Jedi and the 7 Basic Questions Of Narrative Drama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE7SkcoyVAI
Patrick (H) Willems: Patrick Explains STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (And Why It's Great)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1VeOlIDD9o
Why I Love... Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Okay, okay, so there's a little more preamble before we get on to the film itself as I honestly believe that I can't talk about why I like this film so much without at least a brief history of my relationship with the Star Wars franchise. As a kid I went until about the age of 7 or 8 before I even that Star Wars was a film, as prior to that I'd only encountered the truly ridiculous array of Star Wars figures that a friend owned. One afternoon round at my Grandma's with nothing to do, she suggested I watch "some film" that my cousin had recorded and that was it, my less than grandiose introduction to STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (though it will always just be STAR WARS to me). I was utterly blown away by the film and was so impacted that I even chose Luke as my confirmation name (but only after being assured I couldn't pick Han). Little did I know, but was soon to discover, that not only were there two more STAR WARS films but my cousin had recorded them both as well (I miss VHS). So that was it. Over the course of two days I went from having no idea this series even existed to having watched them all multiple times. I was hooked, sort of. You see as much as I loved the original film, I wasn't quite as enamoured with the sequels even then. Yes THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is an undeniably great film but at that age I found it too dark and depressing and while RETURN OF THE JEDI brings back the sense of adventure, I didn't like the way Luke had become so serious and at times, arrogant. As I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate the fact that Luke calling himself a Jedi in the third film, when he's had like two weeks of training, is entirely consistent with the whiny farm boy of the first film who wants to run away from home and become a pilot with absolutely no training whatsoever. By the way, anyone who complains about Rey in the most recent films as being too gifted too quickly really needs to rewatch the orig trig as Luke becomes a master of just about everything with very little effort but I digress. If this assessment of Luke's character arc seems like I'm being unfair, keep in mind that he's my favourite character in those films precisely because of how flawed they present him as in terms of his maturity and decision making. Also keep this in mind when I eventually get around to the actual subject of this essay. The prequel movies also provided my with mixed feelings. I was hugely excited for each entry (having attended midnight screenings of them all) and yet, like many others, was disappointed in the results. THE PHANTOM MENACE is a very well made film, especially considering it was George Lucas first film as director since the original movie, but was riddled with tedious plotting, ill advised humour and indecipherable dialogue. It did give us Darth Maul though so there's that. It also presented us with easily the worst Jedi ever in Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn. Don't get me wrong, I think Neeson's performance is one of the film's few highlights but damn, his character exercises some of the worse judgement in cinema history and directly causes all the tragedy that is to follow. Never forget. ATTACK OF THE CLONES was entertaining enough on release but has aged as badly as any film from the early 2000's and while REVENGE OF THE SITH has the dubious honour of being the "best" of the prequels, it's still pretty far from the quality of the original films. It is still better than RETURN OF THE JEDI. Fight me. So then we get to the 3rd era of STAR WARS cinema with JJ Abrams' THE FORCE AWAKENS and you know what, it's fine. It's fine. It is not a bad movie. It's just that everything I dislike about Abrams as a filmmaker, namely his over reliance on nostalgia and mystery, is on full display in this film. That being said, I absolutely love the new characters this film introduces. Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron are all charismatic and likeable heroes that I enjoy watching interact with the landmarks of the STAR WARS universe we as fans know all too well, and I will forever maintain that the film's antagonist, Kylo Ren, is one of the very best characters the series has produced. That the plot doesn't make a lot of sense (how exactly did the First Order get so powerful?), the stakes are vague (how does destroying five planets in close proximity destroy an entire Galactic Republic?) and the returning characters are positioned purely to play on nostalgia (Han Solo's character arc through RETURN OF THE JEDI is completely undone in THE FORCE AWAKENS, purely to get him back to being the smuggling scoundrel of A NEW HOPE) are all criticisms that are lost in the thrill of finally having a new STAR WARS film. In the interest of positivity (and to not waste too much more of your time) I'm going to skip ROGUE ONE entirely other than to say that the infamous scene towards the end of that film of Darth Vader mowing down rebels, as thrilling as it is, doesn't make a lick of sense, makes the plot of A NEW HOPE worse by association and really indulges the very worst aspects of the STAR WARS fandom, but I digress. With all that in mind, let me finally get to the point of this essay and tell you exactly why I love THE LAST JEDI.
It's the best made film in the series since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
What?
That's really all there should be to the discussion but fine, I'll put the work in. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a deconstruction of everything the STAR WARS films have become in the pop culture but unlike many similar films, once it has completed it's deconstruction it uses what it left to reconstruct the very meaning of the franchise in to something that could support the telling of stories for the next 40 years or more. Still not convinced? Fine, let's roll our sleeves up and look at exactly how the film achieves this lofty goal. It's often quoted, by people who have completely misunderstood what they've just watched, that the theme of this film is, "Let the past die, kill it if you have to". Except the character stating that life philosophy is THE VILLAIN OF THE MOVIE. I think the most damning legacy of THE DARK KNIGHT is that through Heath Ledger's amazing performance too many (mostly white male let's be honest) movie goers have taken to looking to the villain of a film to fulfil their power fantasies. Don't get me wrong, it's been in the franchise since Darth Vader but the abundance of "Why So Serious?" merchandise post 2008 really signifies that as the explosion point for this particular mindset. So with that in said, let's be clear, Kylo Ren is not only the villain of these films, so everything he says including the identity of Rey's parents isn't to be taken at face value, he is also a direct criticism of the idea that only a select "chosen" few have the power and the destiny to save the galaxy. He is resolute in his belief that being the grandson of Anakin Skywalker entitles him to act out his own vision for the galaxy and is completely oblivious to his own failings. If the film does have one easy to sum up meaning then of course it is voiced by the wisest, and perhaps most flawed, of all the characters in the franchise, your boy Master Yoda, when he states, "Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond." THE LAST JEDI isn't dismissive or disrespectful of it's forebears, as some have suggested, it instead argues that the most respectful thing you can do is learn from the mistakes and failures of those that have come before. This is the most powerful message in all of the franchise for me, and one that is present throughout each and every character arc in the film. The real success of THE LAST JEDI is that expresses this theme through the frankly fantastically structured character arcs of it's 3 main protagonists. I'll likely go into much more detail about how highly I value structure in my next essay, but I will however provide as brief as possibly, explain what I mean with relation to the character arcs in this film.
There are 3 main plot lines within THE LAST JEDI and each follows one of the main protagonists, Rey, Finn or Poe. Each of these plot lines not only contribute to the greater meaning of the film but allow these characters to grow through interaction with two characters that contrast their wants and needs. Rey's plot, which constructs much of the film's thematic meaning, sees her caught between Luke who challenges her belief in heroes and reliance on other people for affirmation, and Kylo Ren who offers her power and the end of her loneliness through joining him. By the end of the film Rey has rejected the easy solutions offered by Kylo Ren and managed to find the self belief to act on her own, which culminates in her saving the rebellion at the film's climax. Poe's plot, which carries the burden of moving the main story forward, also concerns the nature of heroism and personal responsibility through his relationships with Leia who cautions against but ultimately enables his headstrong behaviour and Holdo who dismisses Poe as too reckless to be relied upon. By the end of the film, through Leia's injury and Holdo's sacrifice, Poe has learnt how to be a responsible leader and assures the audience that the Rebellion is in good hands with him. Finally we which the most maligned of the 3 plot lines, but I would argue perhaps the most important. I feel like many audiences expected Finn to emerge in this film as a full fledged hero, but truth be told, most of his heroic actions in THE FORCE AWAKENS are taken out of the desire to protect the things that are important to him. In this film, through his budding relationship with idealistic Rebel Rose Tico and the betrayal of the selfishly motivated amoral thief, Finn grows enough to identify the needs of the many outweighing his own, captured perfectly in his self-identification as "Rebel scum!" during his confrontation with his personal villain, Captain Phasma. Moreover, Finn and Rose's journey to the casino city of Canto Bight provides an entirely different perspective of the Star Wars Universe by presenting us with a new look at the upper classes of the Galaxy who profit from war and the oppression of the weak. In this sense, the Rebellion isn't just about fighting off a would be evil empire, it becomes about correct injustice on a galactic level. Rey, Finn and Poe are each given a moment where what they have learnt becomes key to a decision they have to make and subsequently effects the plot of the film. This may seem like the very basics of storytelling but it is sadly absent from most big budget fair and is executed in this film to such a high degree that it becomes almost masterful.
A frequent criticism of THE LAST JEDI is that it is somehow disrespectful or dismissive of the legacy of the original trilogy, particularly in it's depiction of Luke Skywalker and the Jedi. Now I completely disagree with this assessment but I believe it's probably worth while looking into this more thoroughly as it plays off some of the issues I've already discussed. Now I honestly feel that much of the controversy surrounding THE LAST JEDI comes from audience expectation. Fans of the original trilogy have had over 30 years to imagine the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker and the prequel films certainly raised expectations with regards to lightsaber combat. Compound that with the aforementioned Darth Vader scene from ROGUE ONE and it's not really any surprise that some members of the audience wanted nothing more from THE LAST JEDI than the heroic return of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master. I honestly don't blame people for feeling disappointed when not only does the film not deliver this, it openly rejects these expectations. From Luke casually throwing away his lightsaber in his first scene to his ridiculing of Rey for expecting him to take on the First Order and save the day, it would be easy to misunderstand this' films intentions as derogatory of franchise history. I think many expected Luke to step in as the protagonist but this was never going to happen, instead he has taken up the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in A NEW HOPE and Yoda in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Luke is the damaged hermit figure, it is his role in the film serve as the reluctant mentor to the actual protagonist, Rey. If you accept Luke as continuing the roles of Obi-Wan, Yoda and even Qui-Gon Jinn then it was apparent from the beginning that he would die in this film in a manner that might subvert expectations. Many have argued that Luke's depiction in this film isn't fitting with his previous character and, well, they're wrong. He was always overconfident, tempestuous and prone to succumbing to emotion from his complaints about farm life in A NEW HOPE to abandoning his training in EMPIRE and ultimately his determination to redeem Vader in EMPIRE, Luke was never a "good" Jedi, and that he would retreat into seclusion in THE LAST JEDI through a mix of shame and disappointment is entirely consistent with this depiction. That his conflict from Kylo Ren came from a brief moment of fear and doubt is entirely fitting and plays out wonderfully in both characters conflicting memories of the incident. That's what makes the end of this film so powerful for me, the culmination of his arc is in the acceptance that he's not a perfect hero, he has to come to term with both his failures and the value of those failures. His final scenes are simply beautiful and in the finest moment of visual storytelling in director Rian Johnson's career our last image of Luke is of him sat on a precipice, staring out at twin suns in a mirrored shot from the beginning of his journey in A NEW HOPE. He doesn't have a climatic final battle where he displays his awesome Jedi powers, because that is not what the film is about. Ultimately, THE LAST JEDI is not dismissive or disrespectful about the Jedi, it simply argues that the old ways are not what the universe needs to solve it's current problems and Lucas himself made these same arguments in the prequel films.
Clearly I could argue the merits of the character work in this film for far too long so instead, before I wrap this up I just want to bring up some of my favourite moments in the film as the synergy in these scenes between beautiful visuals, character and theme is simply stunning. The opening battle sequence not only provides the best depiction of warfare in the franchise but also serves as a short story centred of the heroic sacrifice of Paige Tico, a sacrifice that will ultimately have a huge influence on Finn's character arc. The scene of Leia finally utilising the Force is not only beautifully shot but gives the character much earned development that she was robbed of in the original trilogy (she is after all the daughter and sister of two powerful force users but never gets to display any such power herself, nor have any resolution with her father). Luke teaching Rey about the Force not only provides great character driven comedy but also serves to remystify the concept after Lucas' ill-advised midichlorian jaunt. Luke and Kylo Ren's conflicting memories of their parting not only drive both men's character arcs but also serve the film's treatise about how to interact with the past. This theme is continued in the brilliant and moving reunion between Luke and Yoda (god bless them for bringing back puppet-Yoda). Rey's vision in the cave is wonderfully surreal and a magnificent expression of her inner doubts about her own importance. Rey and Kylo's cross galaxy conversations not only provide much needed interaction between the two add a new dimension to the Force. Holdo's sacrifice not only culminates her arc and pushes Poe towards the climax of his, but may be the single most beautiful image in the film. Rey and Kylo fighting together against Snoke's guards while the tapestry of the First Order burns around them is the single greatest fight scene in the franchise and leads to the powerful moment of Rey rejecting Kylo, the siege of the Resistance base leading to the visual of the battlefield "bleeding", Luke's arrival, his reunion with Leia and C3PO, his confrontation with an increasingly deranged Kylo, Rey's rescue of the resistance, honestly there are just too many magnificent moments in this film to discuss them all in depth. But the final image of hope provided to an oppressed child through the story Luke Skywalker and a Resistance ring is probably my favourite as it perfectly sums up the idea of hope vs oppression that hasn't been central to STAR WARS since 1977.
Ultimately STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a great film. But I love it because of how it deconstructs Star Wars, in order to build something new. What once was a franchise focused entirely on the Skywalker bloodline and the notion of "chosen" heroes, through THE LAST JEDI becomes a statement that anyone can be a hero and change the galaxy. It has excellent characters, beautiful cinematography and a wonderful score that all work in unison to express this idea. It is simply put, the best Star Wars film since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and well worthy of a reappraisal by anyone who was disappointed by it initially. Also it has Porgs and let's be entirely honest with ourselves, Porgs are the best.
If you stuck with me up to this point then thank you for reading. Hopefully the next essay won't take quite so long to get out. Here are a couple of other essays (written and video) that helped me to cohere my thoughts on this film. Each of them presents their arguments far more successfully than I do but I hope to attain that level of quality one day.
Film Crit Hulk: The Beautiful, Ugly And Possessive Hearts Of Star Wars
https://observer.com/2018/07/film-crit-hulk-the-beautiful-ugly-and-possessive-hearts-of-star-wars/
Just Write: The Last Jedi and the 7 Basic Questions Of Narrative Drama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE7SkcoyVAI
Patrick (H) Willems: Patrick Explains STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (And Why It's Great)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1VeOlIDD9o
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