In Defense of Star Wars: The  Last Jedi
 

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It is the end of 2020 as I write this.  It has been three years since Star Wars: The Last Jedi premiered in movie theaters and the film continues to receive fresh criticism.  Criticism is not altogether a bad thing.  However, the framework of the ongoing criticism of The Last Jedi is structured in such a way that anyone who has a positive opinion of the film is perceived as needing to be silenced (i.e. kicked off of social media and fired from their job) while anyone who has a hateful opinion of the film is justified, regardless of how thoughtless or venomous the opinion.  In some circles, the more hateful the opinion, the better.

 

Recently, I read an article where Star Wars legend Alan Dean Foster called The Last Jedi a “terrible” film.  I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Foster and enjoy his work immensely.  But it saddened me that - three years after the fact - someone with the gravitas of Mr. Foster is sticking their knives into The Last Jedi.  It got me thinking.  And now it has me writing.

 

 

Who am I speaking to?

 

This article is not intended to change anyone’s mind.  In fact, I doubt that it will change anyone’s mind.  In fact of fact, I’m not even sure if this is an article, an essay or just “brain spew.”  As all creative people know, sometimes there are things inside of you that you just have to get out.  That, more than anything, is the purpose of this writing… to flush these thoughts from my system.  

 

Those who hated The Last Jedi will likely will begin skimming (…not reading) the remainder of my words in short order, take the odd phrase or remark completely out of context and tell all of their social media followers what an idiot I am.  Those who enjoyed The Last Jedi will likely garner little to nothing new and will eventually lose interest in my words as well.  Similar to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I suspect only one or two of you will make it to the end of this only to gain a measly handful of fresh insights.

 

Before I continue too far, it is only fair that I introduce myself to the reader.  I was born in 1975 and am fond of saying that I “grew up in a galaxy far, far away.”  Star Wars has been my lifelong obsession.  NOT because I spend my money on plastic action figures.  NOT because I read every book and comic.  NOT because I can recite every line of every film.  But because these stories are ingrained within me.  Because these stories do (…and always have…) inspire my imagination and help set my moral compass.  I am proud to say that the two artists who most shaped my creative nature are Jim Henson and George Lucas.  Mr. Henson helped teach me to read.  Mr. Lucas taught me how to dream.

 

 

I should not like this movie.

 

- The confounding space battle where bombers drop bombs on a ship… in outer space.

- One of the most forced cameos of all time, featuring Maz Kanata.  

- Perhaps the slowest chase sequence in cinematic history.  

- Admiral Holdo butting heads with Poe Dameron and failing to explain her plans for no… apparent… reason.  

- “Grumpy Old Man” Luke Skywalker.  

- An awkward Yoda scene.  

- Rey’s growth in power without any formal training.  

- An entire marketing campaign built around… porgs.

 

The list above are aspects about The Last Jedi that are normally brought up when the film is criticized.  I will examine these points one by one as we continue.

 

There’s a saying that “the whole does not equal the sum of the parts.”  In many ways, The Last Jedi seems to shoot itself in the foot at times.  I should not like this film.  There are reasons not to like this film.  Yet, as someone who has appreciated Star Wars for the past 40+ years, I cannot help but to love it.  You read that correct: “love” not “like.”  All despite its flaws.

 

Hopefully some of you will at least do me the honor of allowing me to defend my stupidity.  However, now that my opinion is out in the open, I have a bad feeling that many readers will begin skimming the rest of this article starting… now.  

 

 

Three step process

 

The number three is commonly used in storytelling.  In many stories, three events happen to the hero either before or during their quest.  Three is something of a magic number for writers as two events are often too few for the hero to prove their worth.  Four events are often too many and drag the story down.  And five is “right out.”  

 

“You have three wishes.”

“You must complete these three tasks”

“You will be visited by three spirits”

“What are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp?”

“You must answer me these questions three.”

 

And then there are trilogies (…a story told in three parts …as you are all familiar with), Three Musketeers, Three Bears, Three Blind Mice, Three Stooges, Three Amigos …and let us not forget the Triumphant Trio.  As the old saying goes, things happen in threes. 

 

In the classical narrative structure, each of the three events that the hero must undertake is more difficult than the preceding one.  Additionally, each event is progressively more personal to the hero.  Dear reader, please keep this in the back of your mind as we continue.

 

 

Bombs away!

 

There is a tradition within Star Wars films where the story opens en media res (…Latin for “in the middle”).  The idea is that the audience is dropped in the middle of the action with no or little idea as to what is going on.  The Last Jedi, of course, opens with the First Order attacking the Resistance; who are evacuating their not-so-secret-anymore base.

 

The sequence begins with Poe Dameron establishing himself as having more bravado than anyone else in Star Wars… Han Solo included.  His “tooling” of General Hux and single-handedly taking on the Dreadnaught is an extremely well-written action sequence by any measurement (...good to know my cousins and I weren't the only ones who played The Dreadnaught Factor on Atari back in the day).

 

As the sequence progresses, Resistance bombers - slow and lumbering - enter the battle to destroy the First Order Dreadnaught before the Dreadnaught can destroy the Resistance flagship containing Princess Leia*

 

(*One small aside… While the character now holds the rank of General, Leia Organa will always be a princess by birthright.  No other rank can take that away, even if her title is blatantly changed to appease those who are easily offended by terminology now deemed politically incorrect.  However, in my opinion, the rank of general is a demotion for the character.  To quote Lor San Tekka, the old guy from the beginning of The Force Awakens: “To me, she’s royalty.”)

 

As the Resistance bombers prepare to attack the Dreadnaught, two questions come to mind:

 

1) Where were the bombers when the Resistance assaulted Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens?  Remember, the events of The Last Jedi take place immediately following The Force Awakens.  Therefore, from the perspective of the characters involved, the attack on Starkiller Base happened yesterday.

 

The internet is really good at getting caught up in Star Wars and treating it like it is real history.  Clickbait questions of “how come they did this?” and “why didn’t they do that?” are strewn across the web.  The authors of these 200 words or less “articles” on ad-laden web pages are seemingly incapable of understanding that fictional characters do not have free will nor can they make their own choices.  The characters do “this” or “that” because a professional writer with the talent to produce a 200+ page movie script chose to make the characters do those things.  

 

In reality, the writers and designers of The Force Awakens did not conceptualize of the bombers for the attack on Starkiller Base.  For The Last Jedi, the bombers are a story element necessary for this action sequence …which then leads to question 2.

 

2) Why use slow bombers that were ultimately destroyed very easily?  Why not use fighter/bombers like Y-Wings?  Only one of the 8 or so bombers reached their target.  In real life, this would have been a poor battle strategy.  But Star Wars is not real life (…spoiler alert).  This is a story and stories are meant to teach us lessons.  Both the audience and Poe Dameron will learn these lessons later in the story.

 

The bombing sequence deviates from the main battle action and takes the audience within one particular bomber; introducing us to characters we know nothing about.  In the context of Star Wars, this has never really happened before.  Normally we see nameless Rebels, with no backstory and no emotional connection to the audience, die without much sympathy or memory and all in the name of the greater cause.  Perhaps this is why slow, lumbering bombers were used; to give the audience a little time to know these disposable characters.

 

In this particular case, the audience is introduced to Paige Tico, a gunner in one of the bombers.  In the final few minutes of her young life, Paige will perform three (…three!) acts to save countless lives, including Princess Leia.  First, she survives a fall down the bomb bays.  Second, she kicks the ladder causing the bomb release controller to fall down to her.  Third, she catches the controller, releases the bombs and saves the Resistance.

 

Again, it is strange that gravity fed bombs would be dropped onto a ship in outer space.  The sourcebooks explain that particle accelerators allowed the bombs to “fall” onto the Dreadnaught as opposed to simply floating into space.  Yet, it is an odd ending to an otherwise wonderful sequence.  It’s akin to taking the last bite of an otherwise enjoyable meal and biting your cheek.  For people with short attention spans (...and the latest smartphone), that last bite is all they remember and they quickly forget everything they enjoyed up to that point.

 

And as for Paige Tico, she is also quickly forgotten.

 

 

Where’s Rey?

 

I must admit, I did not like Finn in The Force Awakens.  I found the character to be inconsistent.  He was raised from birth to be a solider yet he played the role of the plucky, comedy relief sidekick to Han Solo through most of the film.  That juxtaposition made me largely dislike the character.

 

The first line of dialogue spoken by Finn in The Last Jedi (…”Where’s Rey?”) instantly changed my opinion of the character.  Finn’s singular focus in this story is Rey’s well being.  Alan Dean Foster, in the same interview where he called The Last Jedi “terrible,” revealed that he was told by Disney not to give any hint of a romantic relationship between Finn and Rey when he wrote the novelization to The Force Awakens.  

 

Love and romance are two different things.  I find it gratifying that Star Wars chose to portray two young people of the opposite sex with a strong, loving, friendship-based bond that has no romantic or sexual sub-text.  They simply CARE for one another in a selfless and giving way.  It is a beautiful example of humanity when you think about it.  Imagine a world where more people act like this.

 

 

There’s Rey

 

The audience is now brought back to the island, back to the closing shot of The Force Awakens where Rey is offering the long lost lightsaber to its rightful owner, Luke Skywalker  There is no dialogue between the two characters, yet Rey’s plea for help is loud and clear and Luke completely understands what she is wordlessly asking.  Luke, tentatively, takes the lightsaber.  The audience expects him to activate it, hold it up in the air, vow to destroy the First Order and be struck by lightning in a He-Man “by the power of Grayskull!” moment.

 

Instead, Luke discards the lightsaber by throwing it over his shoulder.

 

When I saw The Last Jedi for the first time, it was the very first showing of the film in my city.  The theater was packed with Star Wars “die hards,” more than a few in costumes, all highly anticipating the film.  Everyone in the theater laughed at Luke’s reaction.  Were they laughing because what they just witnessed was comedic?  Or were they laughing because it was completely unexpected?

 

 

Slower, more dull

 

It’s well known that a phrase commonly used by George Lucas during the filming of the original Star Wars was “faster, more intense.”  The point being that he wanted the action to be…well, faster and more intense.  By contrast, The Last Jedi gives us a rather slow moving chase scene between Resistance ships low on fuel and big honkin’ First Order Star Destroyers who casually lob shots at the Resistance ships.

 

While it is a seemingly non-exciting situation, it is a play on the “running out of time” theme used in many stories.  Still, should anyone get excited over a car chase at 25 miles an hour where the trailing car is simply waiting for the lead car to run out of gas?  

 

While this plot point does not ruin the overall story, I think an opportunity was missed early in the sequence.  When the First Order discovers the plight of the Resistance ships, General Hux should have said something to the effect of “why kill a wounded animal when you can watch it slowly suffer?” in his wonderfully sneering voice.  In my opinion, this would have gone a long way in explaining why the First Order was simply toying with the Resistance ships.  It would have also given more credence to the character of General Hux and his pitiless nature.  

 

 

The Kanata cameo

 

One of the more perplexing moments of the story is when Poe contacts Maz Kanata to ask for her help.  It’s a brief sequence with a lot of dialogue that, ultimately, propels Finn and Rose on their mission to Canto Bite.  Maz was a compelling enough character in The Force Awakens but not so much that she needed to be “shoehorned” into The Last Jedi for this brief conversation.  Unless the point was to remind the audience that Maz still existed, there really was no reason why these plot points couldn’t have been handled in a different way.

 

While this scene, in my opinion, is awkward in the context of the larger story, it’s not enough to ruin the story and make me dislike the film.

 

 

Do you know what the chain of command is?

 

One of the great things about The Last Jedi is Poe’s relationship with Leia.  Poe is the cocky star quarterback of the football team who shoots first and asks questions later.  Leia see the greatness in him but needs him to be more tactical, more thoughtful.  She wants him to stop thinking like the glory seeking quarterback and start acting like the head coach.

 

In a way, Leia’s training of Poe is a shadow of Luke’s training of Rey.  Leia sees the potential greatness in Poe and is trying to hone it into something great.  Luke knows the potential that Rey can achieve, but he failed in teaching these things to Ben Solo and fears he’ll only make things worse if he fails with Rey.

 

After Leia is incapacitated, and Admiral Ackbar is killed, Admiral Holdo is given command of the Resistance fleet.  The first thing that strikes me as odd about this is that Poe has no real idea who Holdo is.  This is despite the fact that Holdo and Leia are friends, that Holdo is third in line to command the fleet, and that Poe is the best pilot in the Resistance (…as per the opening crawl to The Force Awakens).  Given the importance of the two characters in the Resistance and the smallish size of the Resistance, it’s odd that the two characters do not know each other.

 

Also strikingly odd is Holdo’s skepticism of Poe.  Yes, Poe is a hotshot.  Yes, Poe was recently demoted by Leia.  But, given the situation they find themselves in, what is Holdo’s motivation for keeping Poe in the dark?  Granted, the narrative needs Poe to form a mutiny later in the story; meaning that Poe needs to be “out of favor” with the current leadership of the Resistance.  As with Maz Kanata’s cameo, I think this could have been handled in a different way.  It’s an awkward sub-plot but is not enough to unravel the overall story.

 

 

Bitter Old Jedi Hermit (aka, The Crux of the Matter)

 

"[The hero] cannot live in the society he saved."

- Victor Davis Hanson 

 

In 2010, an animated film called Megamind was released.  The film is told from a super villain’s perspective, one who feels he has lost his self worth ever since he defeated his long time nemesis, a good guy hero named Metro Man (…a clear and obvious parody of Superman).  Late in the film, it is revealed that Metro Man was never defeated and killed…. but rather decided he no longer wanted to be a super hero, faked his own death, went into hiding and now dreams of becoming a musician.  I felt the message of Megamind was terrible and remember thinking to myself “true heroes would never act this way.”  Luke Skywalker included.

 

Yet, seven years later, I was sitting in a movie theater watching Luke act exactly that same way.  We don’t really know what happened to Luke in the years between Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi.  We do know that he tried and failed to train Ben Solo.  While various stories since The Last Jedi, including The Mandalorian, various comic books, novels and my own ambitious unsanctioned writings (…available here on thefoolscrusade.com) have tried to fill in the gaps, stories that tell the real truth have yet to be written.

 

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Heroes and Music

 

All Star Wars fans should be familiar with the Hero’s Journey.  This is a common literary method whereby the hero starts out as a lowly farm boy on Tatooine and ends up as the heroic Jedi who defeats the evil Emperor.  From King Arthur to Harry Potter and Jon Snow, nearly every story ever written involves the Hero’s Journey in one way or another.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the classical narrative structure normally has the hero character taking three progressively more challenging and more personal steps as they progress through the story.  It is easy to see that Rey is on a Hero’s Journey in The Last Jedi.  However, Luke is also on a Hero’s Journey in The Last Jedi but it is presented in a much smaller and more subtle way.

 

Before going any further, it is worth remembering that the Star Wars films are generational.  One trilogy presents Anakin Skywalker’s generation, then Luke’s generation, then Rey’s.  In music, the same motifs, the same notes will often be played by different instruments through the course of a symphonic performance.  The same holds true in literary writing where different characters will play the same roles in different generations.  

 

The parallels between Luke (…in The Last Jedi) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (…in A New Hope) are obvious.  Obi-Wan trained Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.  Obi-Wan went into exile following those events (…the upcoming Disney Plus series notwithstanding).  When Luke came along, asking to “become a Jedi like my father,” Obi-Wan saw his chance to correct his previous mistakes.

 

Similarly, Luke trained Ben Solo, who turned to the Dark Side and became Kylo Ren.  Luke went into exile following those events.   When Rey came along, offering Luke his long-lost lightsaber, Luke saw history repeating itself.  

 

The literary parallels between Luke and Obi-Wan were clearly and deliberately written in the same chord.  The difference is that Luke realized the chorus was repeating itself over and over again; like a tune playing over and over inside your head.  Unlike Metro Man, Luke did not want to be a musician, he did not want to play that part in the symphony of life anymore.  He decided to stop playing.

 

 

The Unheroic Hero

 

As I mentioned earlier, Luke’s story arc in The Last Jedi is something of a Hero’s Journey and it happens in three (…there’s that number again!) steps.  Admittedly, these are not big steps; in fact, they are very subtle and happen very quickly.  Interestingly, all three steps involve someone from Luke’s past and the person at each step is increasingly more personal to Luke.

 

1) When Rey arrives on the island, Luke wants nothing to do with her.  Luke doesn’t want to talk to her, doesn’t want details on why she’s come to him.  He doesn’t even want to know her name.  Luke locks himself inside his hut and tells Rey to “go away.”

 

Enter Chewbacca who breaks down the door to Luke’s hut.  The result?

 

Luke sits down and listens to Rey.

 

2) Rey tells Luke that Leia sent her.  She (Rey) is to receive Jedi training from Luke as the galaxy needs his help in defeating the First Order.  Luke, however, refuses to train Rey.  Rey follows Luke as he goes about his daily routine but learns nothing of value.  At some point, Luke sneaks onto the Millennium Falcon.

 

Enter R2-D2 who plays that secret message from Princess Leia …the same message which sent Luke down his original Hero’s Journey.  The result?

 

Luke agrees to give Rey three lessons (…magic number!).

 

3) Luke’s training is not what the eager and headstrong Rey is expecting.  Luke structures the training in such a way as to convince Rey to see his point of view, to see that her powers are more likely to be abused than used for good.  The training turns into a struggle between Rey’s determination against Luke’s stubbornness.

 

And this brings us to the last step of Luke’s Hero’s Journey.  It is a short yet highly important scene which is, unfortunately, completely overshadowed by Rey’s misadventures in the Mirror Cave.

 

At the 1:10:25 mark of the film, Luke reaches out with the Force and makes a connection with his sister, Leia.  Luke discovers something that Rey didn’t tell him, something Rey didn’t know:

 

Leia is in a coma and clinging to life. 

 

 

Who is Luke Skywalker?

 

I fully realize that I’m using some literary assumptions when I state that Luke, in the moment he made contact with Leia, decided that he was going to fight for her.  I have no source to prove that Luke had a change of heart other than to look at the pattern:

 

- It was Leia’s message for help that set the stage for Luke to leave Tatooine in A New Hope.  

- It was a vision of Leia “in pain” that prompted Luke to leave Dagobah and go to Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back.  

- It was Darth Vader’s threat to turn Leia to the Dark Side that prompted Luke to fight Vader (…and very nearly turn to the Dark Side himself) in Return of the Jedi.  

 

Only Leia could convince Luke to leave the island in The Last Jedi.

 

Legend has it that Kathleen Kennedy convinced JJ Abrams to direct The Force Awakens by asking him the question: “Who is Luke Skywalker?”  Every heroic act accomplished by Luke Skywalker was prompted by Leia.  He simply CARES for Leia in a selfless and giving way.  That is the literary pattern with Luke.  That is the reoccurring theme.  

 

THAT is who Luke Skywalker is.  

 

 

Where’s my lightsaber?  It’s “Power of Grayskull” time!

 

As I mentioned earlier, the 45 second scene were Luke connects with Leia is overshadowed by Rey’s journey into the Mirror Cave (…ultimately, one of the more unforgettable scenes in the film).  The Mirror Cave scene is edited in such a way that it is impossible to really understand if Luke had a change of heart as I suggested above.  When Luke arrives at Rey’s hut - presumably to tell her that he is now willing to train her and fight the First Order - he finds Rey interacting with a Force projection of Ben Solo/Kylo Ren.

 

In that moment, Luke realizes that his doubts and fearful assumptions about Rey are correct.  Rey cannot resist the temptations of the Dark Side.  Training or helping Rey would fail and end up causing more harm.  This is the final straw as the frustration built up between Rey and Luke comes to a head.  Rey ultimately leaves Luke.

 

 

Where’s my stick?

 

When I walked out of the theater after that first showing of The Last Jedi, my companion asked me the question “did you like it?”  I don’t remember my immediate response but I do remember saying something to the effect of “the Yoda scene was a little weird” during the conversation.

 

For starters, I didn’t think Yoda’s appearance was completely necessary.  Similar to Maz, it seemed to be a cameo for the sake of having a cameo.  Yes, it is nice that Yoda is still watching over Luke, still guiding and teaching him.  Yoda’s words about failure being the best teacher are resoundingly true.  But, at what point does Luke become enlightened to that fact without needing to get whacked in the head with the ghost of Yoda’s walking stick?

 

I will admit that the scene has grown on me after subsequent viewings.  However, I think the scene would have had more impact had Yoda expounded upon Luke’s true failure.  I do not mean what happened with Ben Solo nor what happened with Rey (…ultimately, Luke’s failure with Rey is that he did not trust her the way Obi-Wan and Yoda trusted him (Luke) in The Empire Strikes Back).  Yoda should have helped Luke realize that he (Luke) has lost his faith and that, more than anything, led to Luke’s downfall, exile and inexplicable bitterness.

 

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you fail.”

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Rey’s powers

 

One of Alan Dean Foster’s gripes about The Last Jedi was Rey’s sudden surge in abilities without formal training.  In all honesty, this wasn’t even something I considered an issue until Mr. Foster questioned it.  I also debated if I should broach the subject as I don’t want this writing to be perceived as my opinion vs. Mr. Foster’s opinion.  Still, the question got me thinking.  And thinking now has me writing.

 

It should be remembered that Luke received very little training as well; a few days with Obi-Wan and, years later, a few days with Yoda.  Certainly neither Luke nor Rey received the 10+ years of formal Jedi training that Anakin Skywalker did (….and look how well that turned out).

 

Aside from lightsaber combat skills, there are only two “Force powers” that I remember Rey displaying in The Last Jedi.  The first is an ability to use the Force to call a lightsaber to her hand; however, this is a skill she used at the end of The Force Awakens.  In fact, in The Last Jedi, Snoke taunts Rey with this skill during their confrontation, showing that she has yet to master the ability.  

 

This ability to retrieve an object with the Force was first displayed by Luke when he was a captive of the wampa early in The Empire Strikes Back.  Curiously, both Luke and Rey were able to accomplish this feat instinctually and without any formal training.  

 

The second “Force power” displayed by Rey was at the very end of the film as she lifted the rocks blocking the cave entrance.  Technically, this was a skill that she learned from Luke, but on a much smaller scale.  

 

One of the plot lines of The Force Awakens is that the Force is…ahem… awakening within Rey; certainly without her choice and with seemingly no reason.  This progresses through The Last Jedi in that the Force is growing stronger within Rey and in parallel and/or symmetry with Kylo Ren’s powers.  To quote Snoke: “Darkness rises and light to meet it.”

 

Having the Force grow within you and undertaking Jedi training are clearly two different things.  In this regard, I feel that any criticism about Rey’s lack of training are unwarranted.  Similar to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, Rey is at a stage where she can feel the Force but (…to paraphrase Obi-Wan) she cannot control it.  In the time between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, Rey will learn the Jedi ways under Leia’s guidance …and with the Jedi Texts she stole from Luke.

 

 

Porgs?  Porgs.  Porgs!

 

The world was first introduced to porgs (…the rodent like birds on Luke’s sanctuary island) in the “Sizzle Reel” released in the months prior to the premiere of The Last Jedi.  Of course, the internet went nuts about them and the film’s marketing department did what they could to profit off of that popularity (… because that’s what marketing departments do).  

 

Ultimately, the creatures served little purpose in the film aside from a comedic moment or two with Chewbacca.  For the most part, they were just in the way and their shrill cry became rather annoying after a while.

 

I really can’t say if “the cuteness factor” is a good thing or a bad thing.  Star Wars is a big universe and it has room for the cute (porgs), the ugly (Jabba), the beautiful (Padme), the cool (Han Solo) and even dorks (Jar Jar).  However, it cannot be ignored that in the Disney era of Star Wars films, we have been introduced to (…in successive order…), BB-8, porgs, D-O and Grogu (…aka “Baby Yoda”).  I won’t go so far as to say these things have no place in Star Wars, but their cuteness should not be made to overshadow the more important themes and aspects of the story.  While they can be hooks to get eyes on the screen, there’s more to the story than just these cute characters.  Truthfully, though, this is a marketing department problem, not something the filmmakers can be blamed for.

 

 

The Holdo Maneuver

 

I really can’t pass up the chance to comment on what was one of the more extreme moments in The Last Jedi.  In fact, it could be considered one of the most extreme moments in any Star Wars film.  The moment when Admiral Holdo sacrificed her life to save the Resistance by ramming her ship into the First Order fleet… as her ship jumped into hyperspace.  There had been a build up of overlapping, interspersed action sequences prior to this and a corresponding increase in the tempo of John Williams’ soundtrack.

 

And then there was silence.  Holdo’s ship tears through the First Order Fleet like lightning or cracks suddenly forming in ice.  I don’t remember the reaction of the audience when I saw this for the first time, but I do remember reading reviews where the reviewer stated they heard audible gasps from the audience.  It was a brilliant filmmaking moment to have this happen in silence.

 

 

Saving the Resistance

 

I’ve repeated the number three several times during this essay.  As I said, writers will have three things happen during the course of a story in ever more dramatic and personal ways.  In The Last Jedi, the Resistance (…and, specifically, Princess Leia) is saved no less than three times in ever more dramatic ways by characters willing to sacrifice themselves for the people they love.  The characters who die are ever more personal to the audience.

 

The first is Paige Tico.  She destroyed the First Order Dreadnaught, allowing the Resistance (…and her sister, Rose) to escape.  Admit it… you forgot about Paige ten seconds after she died, didn’t you?  

 

The second is Admiral Holdo.  Holdo is a character we got to know a little bit during the film.  You may not remember her out-of-place evening dress or her purple hair.  But her death is quite memorable given the spectacular nature in which she saves the Resistance.

 

To quote my favorite band “There must be the third and last dance…”  One last sacrifice.

 

 

The Final Hope

 

Hope in an interesting word.  Ashley Eckstein, the actress who voiced Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars wrote a wonderful little piece about Ahsoka and the hope that the character symbolizes.  With all due respect to Ms. Eckstein, the word hope, in the context of Star Wars, has traditionally pointed directly at Luke Skywalker.

 

At the end of The Last Jedi, what’s left of the Resistance is stuck in an old base on the planet Crait.  The First Order has breached the base’s defenses and stand poised to kill everyone.  The Resistance has called for help, but no one is coming.  Despite the sacrifices of Rose Tico, Admiral Holdo and countless others, the Resistance has run out of hope.

 

“The galaxy has lost all it’s hope.  The spark is out.” - Princess Leia.

 

This is, of course, when Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, projects himself across the galaxy, making it appear as if he is on Crait.  Luke kisses his sister on the forehead, saying goodbye, and steps into the line of fire.  Luke single handedly stops the First Order and fights a beautifully filmed duel with Kylo Ren (….reminiscent of several Japanese and Chinese films that I enjoy).  Luke provides the Resistance survivors with time to escape.

 

As he has done so many times before, Luke fights to save Leia’s life.  Had Leia been killed earlier, Luke’s intervention would have had no weight to it, no motivation.  But for Leia, and only for Leia, Luke put aside his self-pity and fought.  And not just fight, but sacrifice himself so that Leia - and her dream - could live on.

 

Because THAT is who Luke Skywalker is.

 

And it ripped our hearts out when he died.

 

 

And now, page two

 

We’ve talked about the bad.  We’ve talked about the ugly.  I feel compelled to discuss the good of The Last Jedi but I feel that would more than triple the length of this essay …and my fingers are getting tired.  Below are the “good moment” points that I’d like to discuss:

 

- Poe and Leia’s relationship

- Snoke and Kylo Ren’s relationship

- Kylo’s hesitation and inability to kill Leia

- Rose’s introduction

- Finn’s character development

- The dyad

- Rey’s determined faith

- Daisy Ridley’s acting

- Andy Serkis’ acting

- Never trust a DJ

- Poe’s mutiny/Return of the Princess

- Snoke’s death and the Throne Room Battle

- “Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love.“

- Luke Skywalker vs Kylo Ren

- “Every word of what you just said was wrong.”

- Finn and Rey’s reunion

- The epilogue …it chokes me up every time (…go easy on me Pablo!)

- Picking up where The Last Jedi leaves off

 

Perhaps someday I will be compelled to write another article focusing on those points.  But, for now, I need to wrap this puppy up.

 

 

More criticism… because there always is.

 

While working on this article, I couldn’t help but to think of some other criticism of The Last Jedi which really bothered me.  In April of 2020, film editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon (the editors of The Force Awakens and long time contributors of JJ Abrams’) added their voices to the criticism of The Last Jedi.  To quote Markey directly ““It’s very strange to have the second film so consciously undo the storytelling of the first one.”

 

I find these statements curious for a number of reasons.  One is that the script for The Last Jedi was written and completed prior to the release of The Force Awakens in 2015.  Originally, BB-8 was to accompany Rey on her search for Luke at the end of The Force Awakens.  However, this was changed so that R2-D2 would go instead of BB-8 to accommodate The Last Jedi script. 

 

Secondly, JJ Abrams was the executive producer of The Last Jedi.  This means that The Last Jedi would not have gone into production until and unless Mr. Abrams signed off on the script.  If The Last Jedi truly undid the storytelling of The Force Awakens, it was done so with the consent of the man who wrote The Force Awakens.

 

If we are going to be fair and honest in our criticism, it must be pointed out that the “storytelling of the first one” (i.e. The Force Awakens) is actually a retelling of the original Star Wars from 1977 (…now subtitled A New Hope).  The Force Awakens consciously repeated the same themes and story elements that Star Wars fans had seen 38 years earlier (…well, at least those of us who have been around that long).  

 

Interestingly enough, The Last Jedi does use a number of the same themes and story elements found in The Empire Strikes Back, but they are done so in a more subtle and non-linear way.  As if looking at a shadow in a mirror while upside-down, they do not evoke an immediate memory back to the original.  Again, like music, sometimes the same notes are played by different instruments.  But sometimes the same notes are also played in a different octave or even in reverse order.  Familiar situations resolved with unfamiliar results.

 

Reading between the lines of Markey and Brandon’s criticism, it was almost as if they were saying that The Rise of Skywalker (….also edited by Brandon) was doomed to fail because of how things ended in The Last Jedi.  With all due respect, but this is why they are editors and not writers.  As a writer, I would say that The Last Jedi had the perfect ending for setting up the final part of the trilogy.  The First Order now dominates the galaxy.  Luke Skywalker has given the few survivors of the Resistance a new spark of hope.  And, most intriguing to me, Rey and Kylo Ren are growing in power …with NO Masters to guide them.  Just think of the possibilities that could have been explored with those plot points?

 

Now, I feel it only fair to say The Rise of Skywalker was a great film and I very much enjoyed it… but could have been much more.  Maybe I’ll expound on that some other day.

 

 

Final Criticism

 

When it comes to any film, I’ve always maintained that “I shouldn’t have to buy the sourcebook to understand what I’m seeing on screen.”  The audience should leave the theater understanding what it was they just witnessed.  Films are meant to be watched not explained.  

 

This is true for The Last Jedi and I do understand if there are aspects of the film that people dislike.  However, all stories are intended to be thought-provoking to one degree or another.  From “Three Little Pigs” to Aliens*, before you raise your voice or start drumming your thumbs on your smartphone, let some thoughts provoke themselves in your head before becoming critical.  While thoughtless, knee-jerk reactions are a form of criticism…. they are still thoughtless, knee-jerk reactions.  

 

We’re Star Wars fans after all.  What’s the point in being hateful to one another?  We're already obsessive geeks in the eyes of the rest of the world.  Do we really want to look like angry obsessive geeks?

 

(* Come to think of it… what was the point of Aliens?)

 

 

"See you around, kid."

 

Congratulations, you have been chosen by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Xur and the Kodan… Oh, sorry, wrong sci-fi flick.  But seriously, congratulations to any reader who has made it this far and done so without skimming over any of the words I’ve written.  It’s a heck of an accomplishment and I wish to pat you on the back for it.

 

Have I changed anyone’s opinion on The Last Jedi?  My guess is… no.  Once you are swept up in popular opinion, it is hard to fly against that flock of bluebirds.  Whether or not you agree with me is not the point.  My hope is that the next time you watch The Last Jedi you’ll consider my words before becoming too critical or dismissive of what you are watching.

 

Now, please go to the streaming service of your choice (…well, I guess there's only one choice, huh?).  Call up The Last Jedi, sit back and enjoy the show.  If you find yourself tensing up over the things you don’t like, simply recall the lyrics to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song: 

 

“Just repeat to yourself: it’s just a show, I should really just relax."

 

 

 

Just one more thing…

 

Can someone please explain to me how Luke could continue to Force project Han Solo’s lucky dice even after he (Luke) died?

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