Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Billy D — 12 Jan 2018

Clearly this film is divisive, and its easy to understand why. Even among those that did not enjoy the movie, many still agree that it is exciting and well acted. Most who didn't like it tend to take issue with its near disregard for the sanctity of the series. It is a challenging movie, a movie that exists in a moral grey area when Star Wars largely up till this point has dealt in absolutes, blacks and whites. But to me that is invigorating. The prequels were criticized for their poor special effects, poor plotting and dialogue, poor acting, and overall not "feeling" like Star Wars movies, with the exception of Episode III which began to approach the feeling of the original trilogy. We want a movie that feels like the original trilogy, many fans said. Then came along The Force Awakens, with great actors, great dialogue, great practical effects and sets, and which returned the series to the kind of story and plotting fans had been asking for. But then came the criticisms that it was too derivative, played things safe, and didn't try anything new. Now with The Last Jedi, we have a movie with the fine acting, spectacular action, practical sets, shot on film, which takes risks, moves the series in new directions, and broadens our understanding of the force, the light and the dark side, and what it means to be a hero. Yet there are criticisms - how dare they change this, how dare they make this character act in this way, how dare they challenge what I thought I knew...it hardly seems fair to me.

I believe there exist fans who did not like the prequels, who thought The Force Awakens was too derivative, and now are up in arms about The Last Jedi. To any fan that finds themselves in that position, I ask: what do you want? I do not mean that flippantly, but genuinely. What is this Star Wars movie you have in mind that you have yet to see? Because if only the original trilogy is worthwhile in your estimate, than perhaps you do not like the movies as movies as much as you like the fandom that comes along with them. The original trilogy is not perfect, and a lot of criticisms that have been directed towards the prequels and the sequels should, and have been directed at the originals. They are intentionally derivative of older works, much of the special effects do not hold up, the acting is often suspect, and on and on. But they are fun, and they are cherished, and they mean something to many.

I think the problem with Star Wars is that its such a huge universe full of so many possibilities, that sometimes when something in the universe doesnt conform in the way an individual imagined it should, it makes them very upset. But if you asked 100 different fans what should happen with a certain character, or which direction a certain plot should go in, you might very well receive 100 different answers, so how do you begin to please everyone. You can't so you have to make the movie you would want to see, and hope that its a movie that resonates with the fans. In this case, I think Johnson made the movie he would like to see, which is one that does not play it safe and which challenges its audience to think, consider, and discuss.

If you have not yet seen the movie, I would suggest going in with an open mind, and trying to enjoy where the movie takes you, not dwell on how closely the movie confirms to where you hoped it would take you.

And if you dont like it, and you didnt like TFA, and you didnt like the prequels, then I guess you'll just have to write your own Star Wars script and try to get it made.