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

This latest cinematic installment, and I say installment rather than addition as addition would suggest consideration of and positive effect upon all or any of the preceding material, to one of the most beloved stories in the world has, with all its promotion, anticipation and critics reception, achieved the incredible feat of creating something of an "emperors new clothes syndrome" across the world.

Rian Johnson, the tailor of this empty garb, has some how been able to convince Disney and those we trusted to parade and praise the work he has done, whilst the public and many of the eager fans clap happily along and cheer for what an amazing spectacle he has created. Then there are those like myself, akin to the little boy staring at the emperors flaccid member in confusion and shock, whom raise their hands and point out the fact that the entire experience is an embarrassment.

Regardless of poor writing, story structure, bad and misplaced humor, sloppy editing, terrible plot devices, blatant marketing and money making "creative" decisions, zero character development and shoddy or hammed up acting by many, I am not sure why those at Disney responsible for the Star Wars property would chose to stray so much from the core material for these chapters in the saga. At their heart these stories are about the legacy of the Skywalker's, even the original title of episode 4 was "Adventures of Luke Starkiller, As Taken From the Journal of the Whills, Saga 1: The Star Wars". So, in my opinion, The last Jedi and then chapter 10 should have at least concluded that arc properly. With the choice for Luke in this movie and the path of Ben Solo, the legacy of the Skywalker lineage seems to have been cast aside in order the start crafting the next chapter for a new generation. The expansion of the Star Wars universe is something everyone wants, be it the fans or those with financial interests, and the creation of material to introduce people to new characters and worlds is wonderful, but not at the expense of the previous material and hard work done by thousands of people over decades.

With the originals, George Lucas aimed to create something ground-breaking and exciting. He used his knowledge of previous cinema storytelling and strong narrative to fashion a new way to tell the same type of story. He wanted to use the latest techniques to craft something fresh but recounted the same kind of messaging his inspiration told or he himself believed. Even in the prequels, be it you love or hate them, were efforts in the same vein yet, unlike Johnson, George Lucas managed to maintain the heart of the universe he created whilst telling the story he wanted.

What Disney and Johnson have done with the Last Jedi is disappointing, with no respect towards the original material or consideration towards the correct tonality for the genre let alone Star Wars itself, something that for all peoples gripes with TFA, the entire team got right and were respectful of. With TLJ they have seemingly tried to make Star Wars more relevant by changing the tone of the film, through choices of language, acting, character prioritization and constantly hammering the message that the old is to be brushed away and only the now, new and future is worth considering. Such a message might sound like a rallying call towards progress and one which may resonate with the ever increasingly impatient youth of each generation, but is one that also has the frighteningly narrow minded connotation that the past should be forgotten, that the old and more experienced are best not considered, that the mistakes previous generations made are better left behind because they were after all mistakes. Yet in doing so Johnson's message forgets the fact that with experience comes learning's that would die as result. The scene with Yoda in the film momentarily suggests that Johnson may begin to craft a worthwhile message but unfortunately he chooses to be "unexpected" and we are not provided with this important lesson as we see Yoda burn the books he considers useless. We see many of these types of lessons clumsily delivered in the film which many chose to defend as brave and bold choices or justify as holding deeper meaning, yet for all the arguing it can not be denied that they are inherently non Star Wars in both content and delivery.

All in all, there is a great deal more to say on the Last Jedi, be it superficially or in digging deeper and searching for answers, comparisons, metaphors, connotations or messages, but my experience with this film is that it is the only Star Wars film I have not enjoyed watching and that was from the very first scene of poor humor between Poe and Hux, right through Luke's space walrus molestation, past the ill conceived side quest & beyond the character assassination of a childhood cinematic hero. I will not be interested in seeing the final chapter of the Skywalker arc and will take solace in the words of Mark Hamill...