Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’O, Domnhall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro, Peter Mayhew
Reason for watching: showing Jane all the Star Wars movies
Number of times I’ve watched it: three or four
***
This movie has been talked to death. If a movie was going to break the internet, this would be it. There are plenty of things I would want to praise in a legitimate review: the dynamic between Rey and Kylo, Snoke’s death, Luke’s arc, the yet-to-be-retconned reveal that Rey’s parents were nobody, the light speed ramming, the spirituality of the force, the theme of expectations. But there are many legitimate criticism as well: Holdo’s plan, Poe’s overeagerness to act, Leia’s transformation into Mary Poppins, the entirety of the Casino Planet, Benecio Del Toro, the theme of war being about capitalism, Rose “saving” Finn. This movie be doin’ too much.
Blah Blah Blah. It’s great. It sucks. It’s a masterpiece. It’s a trash. You know what this movie really is? It’s an indicator that Disney is not invincible, and they scare easily. Think about this, other than George Lucas, Rian Johnson is the only person to direct and write a Star Wars movie on his own. And the two theatrical star wars movies since then, Solo and The Rise of Skywalker, were basically made by committee. The panicked after their expectations aren’t met and people flipped out. Say what you will about the Prequels (which on the whole are not better than the Sequels), at least Lucas had a vision and he largely stuck to it (depending on if you believe in DJJ).
But if we are going to be honest, Johnson did not exactly give Star Wars an interesting place to go or a setup to a strong conclusion. Where are they supposed to go from here? Rey is an established good guy, and Luke is killed. All of the original trilogy stars have been sidelined for the new characters. Finn should have been able to sacrifice himself; his arc was done. Kylo is the only person with room to change, and we all know that Star Wars’ bread and butter is the redemption arc. The best way to describe this movie is one of extremely interesting themes and wasted story potential. JJ Abrams opened up so many different paths for the trilogy to take, and it all gets blown away, like Luke’s robe.
7/10. And I really mean it when I say this is a very generous 7 out of 10. If not for the strong performances, cinematography, and well written themes about the past, this would be a 6.
Until I see another one.