Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Shibumi2001 — 23 Dec 2017

Yes, it's as bad as you've heard. Other reviewers have deconstructed the film and highlighted its many flaws so I won't retread the same ground. But perhaps I can add this: More than any of The Last Jedi's structural flaws - e.g., narrative and character dissonance - to me the most heartbreaking aspect of the film is its underlying cynicism, both in its worldview and its message.

It tells us there is no such thing as good and evil (it's all just shades of grey) and that those who seek moral clarity are on the wrong side of history.

It tells us that "hero worship" is wrong and should be avoided because our heroes (like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo before him) will inevitably fail and let us down.

It tells us that the past needs to be 'killed' because it's useless, serving no purpose other than as a lesson of what not to do.

It tells us that anyone can achieve greatness, not through hard work, effort and sacrifice but through rejecting one's culture, traditions, institutions, and heritage.

It tells us that laying down one's life for another is wrong because that's tantamount to hate and killing who and what one loves.

It tells us that we can learn absolutely nothing about our identity from our parents, even though our parents conceived, nurtured and brought us into the world. I can't think of a message more antithetical to "Star Wars" - the Star Wars George Lucas created all those years ago (post-Kennedy, post-Vietnam, post-Watergate) than that.

And it just breaks my heart.