Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Ryan E — 22 Jan 2018

The trailers for this one really led us on. I thought the film would be an interesting and engaging delve into the slightly greyer areas of the force, a darker turn after the rather fluffy re-introductory Force Awakens of 2 years ago. It really seemed like something philosophically interesting was going to be built upon; with Luke's asserting the need for an end to the force, Rey clearly tempted by Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren evidently not nearly as committed to the First Order as Hux/Snoke. So much potential, so much wastage.

Some of these themes were indeed touched upon, and in my opinion formed the backbone of the salvageably coherent storytelling. Luke did have his issues with the force, but everything we know about him was trashed in the process (from Darth Vader's saviour to a bearded, sea walrus-milking, antisocial hermit with some lame one-liners. A man who claims not to want to be found despite leaving a map to where you could find him!! (clearly Rian didn't bother to think that one through)). Rey toyed with the dark side, though it was unclear exactly how given how little training she actually receives or what purpose the cave scene served. Kylo does, also, betray the First Order, but these decisions are ultimately inconsequential as he immediately doubles down on his efforts to destroy the resistance after Rey departs and his mother is miraculously resurrected in goddess-like fashion anyway (don't get me started). As in the Force Awakens, after Death Star 2.0 is destroyed and we pick up the action in TLJ with that apparently not having been an issue for the First Order, some of the major plot points seem to have no consequence or impact. It makes them difficult to believe, let alone care about.

The above, for me, were the most engaging elements of the story, though deeply flawed in execution, and I think would make a cracking film if fully developed and explored in a coherent manner that actually tied them down across the 3 films.

Aside from that, there were too many distractions.

Our protagonist suffers the inconsequentiality problem too, being too accomplished, too talented, too beautiful and too boring to care about. The stakes just aren't high enough and there is no character development to track and see unfold. And then we find out she has no history either, thanks for nothing! I can see how some fans might cheer this writing choice for being daring, but in the world of complex universe building it is hardly logical to hint at a potentially momentous revelation about the key character throughout an entire film, only to have it come to nothing. This is made especially fraught when the decision feels influenced at least in part by contemporary political motivations. Politics before plot? Bad choice. More on that below.

General Hux and the First Order are too incompetent to fear, all this Weasley brother does is scream incoherently while his partner in crime, Emo Ren, sulks and throws tantrums. Although I do admire their performances (they've done as directed), they're just not valid villains. Captain Phasma isn't even present and we're supposed to fear her. And Snoke! Why build the guy up if we're not going to see him do anything of consequence? He's clearly an extremely powerful Sith, surely a final boss, but is left emasculated and wasted before he has any real chance to lay out his vision.

The entire side-plot is a nonsense, leading to nowhere, signifying nothing. Rose is too perfect, showcasing her immaculate politics and making excessively gooey statements at inappropriate moments (starving Fin of a noble and natural conclusion to his arc and imperilling every one of her remaining rebel friends at the same time). There are just too many plot holes in this sub-plot to mention, the entire thing was more distraction than story for me. To cite a few, how on Earth does Rose revere Finn as this legend of the resistance with him having only just finished blowing up the Death Star 2.0? Their forced romance also feels gratuitous, I just don't know why its even there. Why does the director feel the need to feed us 'save the panda' propaganda? Especially in a context in which they'll only be recaptured the following morning and there are CHILD SLAVES who could be incorporated into the plot and rescued instead!

The anti-capitalist, anti-slave labour, pro-animal rights, anti-weapons manufacturing, anti-gambling and pro-wealth redistribution messaging was way too overt. Rose makes direct reference to her already overplayed 'downtrodden-but-determined' stereotype by elaborating on her already pointless story with an even more pointless backstory touching on these very themes, almost directly to camera!

Weaponising light speed is lazy and breaks the internal consistency of the Star Wars universe.

The main plot point, this exceptionally technologically advanced spaceship slowly running out of fuel and coming to a halt, is completely implausible in Star Wars (of course, implausible things happen in this fictional universe, but the writers must at least APPEAR to want to build a world that respects some form of scientific logic, or at least think about it). Why didn't they just hyperspace a few miles further to reach their new base? Why didn't the First Order send out some other ships and encircle them? Why didn't they just put a thai fighter on auto-pilot and crash it into them at light speed for that matter?! It felt silly to me, a forced contrivance from a writer bereft of good ideas who needed to fill a couple of hours' worth of Star Wars cannon.

Admiral Ackbar is killed with no ceremony whatsoever.

Who the heck is this new Vice Admiral we've never seen before and who Poe isn't even aware exists, despite him being a fairly high ranking member of this relatively small resistance group? And why doesn't the position go to Admiral Ackbar (personal choice)? Thirty year's of solid service and no promotion! (OK he's dead at the time, but should be kept alive for it!).

Why did Vice Admiral Holdo keep her plan a secret?

Was it me or was Rian hinting at closer-than-usual friendship between Leia and Holdo ? Surely unnecessary if so.

Too many silly jokes, prolonged for too long. Yoda insulting the sacred Jedi texts by saying they're not page turners, Rey asking Kylo to put his shirt on and Poe trolling General Hux like Bart Simpson prank-calling Bartender Mo ... dear God.

Luke throwing away the lightsaber! Cheap and gimmicky. Not necessarily an issue if built upon capably, but it wasn't. This being the main cliff-hanger of the film before made this even more egregious.

Rian Johnson really should not have adopted the central theme of his film into his writing approach. The 'kill the past' narrative just felt, to me, like him trying to excuse his unwillingness or inability to write a coherent story that fits into the wider cannon effectively, or even respects the major plot points developed in the prior film. He themes were a coded way of asking us for forgiveness, or better, to preemptively ward off the criticism he maybe knew was coming.

On the positive side (yes, there is one), I thought the music was solid (though not spectacular), the actors put in decent performances (particular kudos to Mark Hamill and Adam Driver I think on those counts) and the visuals were stunning.

So, on a technical and professional level, I really have few gripes. On an artistic and thematic one however, way off. And this is almost entirely the fault of the Rian Johnson.