STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI ■ The dark side and the light
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI broke me. In fact, I’ve been reeling for so long that I stopped writing movie reviews. The thing is, I’ve no problem ripping apart the latest release that most other critics love or championing an entertaining popcorn movie that critics dismiss. But there’s something about STAR WARS that makes me feel lost in space when it gets big things wrong.
The mistake, I feel, is at least partially with me and the reality that I watched THE LAST JEDI three times in the space of 24 hours. What an emotional rollercoaster ride. The first time, I adored it, even telling Movie-Weekly superstar Ray Bannerman that it was the best STAR WARS movie since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. After the second viewing, I liked it less. After the third, I was ripping it apart.
There’s a lot to like about THE LAST JEDI, but there’s a lot that grates and doesn’t stand up to repeat viewings. The action is fantastic: clever, beautifully presented and, at times, original. The dialogue is snappy and, for the most part, the humour works, too. It’s great to see more of the returning characters, the old and the newer, and they have some beautiful moments. But that’s also where the problems start. The easiest way for me to frame it is to say that one of the biggest problem of THE LAST JEDI is it’s a sequel to THE FORCE AWAKENS.
Where JJ Abrams played it safe with THE FORCE AWAKENS, sticking to the tried and proven, THE LAST JEDI writer/director Rian Johnson seems to want to surprise audiences with the unexpected more than anything else. Most notably, Luke (Mark Hamill) does unexpected things that stand as a stark contrast to the eternally optimistic character we knew from the Original Trilogy. Leia fares a whole lot better in a fitting farewell to the late, great Carrie Fisher, but the newer characters seem to suffer.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) has the best storyline of the new leading trio, but the other two get a dirtier end of the stick. Finn (John Boyega) is essentially left to rehash the same ‘hero or coward?’ character arc that was explored, and answered, in THE FORCE AWAKENS. Kelly Marie Tran does the best she can with Rose, but what starts out as an interesting supporting character eventually descends into lazy love-interest territory. It doesn’t help that Finn and Rose’s united arc is to hatch a hairbrained scheme to take the longest of shots at saving the fledgling Resistance fleet by way of a casino-planet sequence that reeks of shoehorning in something for the sake of selling toys.
Then there’s Poe. That heroic pilot from THE FORCE AWAKENS is now a flyboy whose head is so far up where the sun don’t shine he’s willing to sacrifice the lives of all of his pilots just to prove a point. His mutinous character arc is resolved in a lazy way where the two leaders who have been opposed to his underhanded tactics forgive his sins by admitting they like him. It’s plot points like this—or the unnecessary secrecy of newcomer Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) that effectively enables Poe’s mutiny (not to mention how her story arc is resolved)—that work at first glance but fall apart when you dig a bit beneath the surface.
It’s a recurring them for how Johnson has handled this approach to his STAR WARS story. On one hand, he seems interested in addressing some of the shortcomings and questions of THE FORCE AWAKENS. On the other, Johnson takes a cavalier approach with his George RR Martin-like treatment of supposedly important characters.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is by no means a terrible movie and has a collection of enough saving-grace moments that ensure it needn’t be unfavourably slotted next to the Prequel Trilogy in terms of quality. The main issue, at least for this lifelong STAR WARS fan, is that Johnson’s answers to some of the bigger lingering questions from THE FORCE AWAKENS create more problems (and questions) than they do satisfying resolutions.
On one hand, I applaud Johnson for taking big risks with such a reverent IP. On the other, I still can’t shake the feeling of disappointment and the reality that I have so little desire to watch it again.
