A discussion on The Last Jedi
This will be a very different article for me, one that I have been planning to write for months. Star Wars is no stranger to things being divisive. The prequel trilogy has been divisive, the old Expanded Universe had elements that were divisive, hell, even The Empire Strikes Back was divisive when it was first released. However, it's safe to say that The Last Jedi has become the most divisive element, not just film, in the Star Wars franchise. It seems most people either despise the film for what Rian Johnson and his creative team did, or you loved it. It has been nothing but drama in the fandom as both sides try to argue their respective points online, saying the other side is stupid and wrong for thinking that way. In my opinion, I can see both sides. For the past half year or so, I have been thinking about the film, and while I still enjoy the film and love certain things about it, I have changed my viewpoint on some aspects. Therefore, this article is not an attack on one side or another, nor am I saying one side is wrong or right (unless you harass people online, in which case you are wrong). Instead, this is my take on the five major elements of the film that people seem to have a problem with. I want be going into specific moments, such as "Leia Poppins," rather, these are the things that upset most fans the most.
Luke's treatment
The biggest issue most people have with the film, and the reason I feel most people dislike the film, is how Luke was written. Luke, to many people, myself included, feel like he went from an optimistic Jedi that was able to see the good in evil like Vader, to someone who quit and gave up after giving into his temptation.
People have been divided on whether this was the right course of action for the character in the film. Some people like the twist and turns in his character, and how Johnson took the character in a different direction. Others thought his actions were out of character, and "ruined" the legacy of the character.
When I first reviewed the film, I said I liked the direction of the character. After thinking about it, I have a "different" opinion on the direction. To me, the story that Johnson told with Luke in the film, while cliche in some parts, was written well. HOWEVER, that being said, looking back, I don't agree with what Johnson did to Luke in the beginning and middle of the film. Call me a coward to caving to the pressure, but I feel Luke wouldn't have been that tempted to kill Kylo. But fine, maybe make the argument he caved into the dark side like he almost did in Return of the Jedi, fine. To me, I don't believe he would have given up on the galaxy and his family and friends for 30 years. But again, that's my viewpoint.
However, I do believe that once Luke was visited by Yoda, he made up for his actions during the end of the film, redeeming himself. To me, the end of the film was the heroic Luke we should have had from the very beginning.
The Canto Bight arc
Oh boy, this arc of the film. Even this part of the film was criticized by many of the professional Hollywood critics. I can see what Johnson was trying to do with this part of the film. I can tell he wanted to use this arc to show that special people can come from anywhere, with the broom boy, to show growth for Finn's character and bond him with Rose, and that there are always those who profit and play off of both sides of a war.
However, in my opinion, the arc of the film lasted too long, and in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter, as the point of the mission, to find a codebreaker, didn't matter at all. Maybe that was Johnson's intention, but it felt like a giant tease and a waste of time.
As far as the themes, Rey proves talent can come from nowhere, Finn grew as a character sure, but was handled better in other scenes, and the war-profit lesson is something we've seen in so many other movies.
New characters
All three major new characters, especially Rose and Holdo, were not liked by fans. I'll keep this one simple. I was "indifferent," to DJ, liked Rose, though her line at the end of the film was stupid, and was not a big fan of Holdo.
I've talked about her lack of development before, and I can also understand why she didn't want to tell her plan to Poe in the beginning, but after awhile, you just have to think, TELL EVERYBODY YOUR PLAN. They will have to find out eventually right?
Humor
Humor is subjective. For me, there were jokes in the film that I laughed at and thought was funny, and others I didn't think was funny. I just love how a lot of people nitpick the jokes in the film, especially dealing with Hux.
In my opinion, Hux was always meant as an over-the-top character, so it didn't bother me that he was the brunt of a lot of jokes and abuse.
Finally, we have the the elements of The Force Awakens that many people were theorizing about...that were completely diverted.
Many people wanted to see Rey as a Skywalker or a Kenobi, as of right now, she was a nobody. As I mentioned before, it does show that talent can come from nowhere, plus she is the light side of Kylo's dark. However, there is a part of me that wanted to see her connected to somebody we knew before.
I talked about how mad I was about Phasma's use, or lack of use, in the film.
One element I kind of switched my opinion on in a way is Snoke. I still didn't like they killed him, since we didn't know much about him. But I realize that moment, as well as his character in the films, was meant as a development for Kylo. Whether you think it's a good or a bad thing is up to you.
People have made the argument that we didn't know anything about the Emperor in the original trilogy, so it applies to Snoke as well. I can mostly agree with that, and I imagine we will get either a comic or novel depicting his life and how he took over the First Order, I just wished that could have been explored, or at least brought up in the films.
Also, please show the Knights of Ren in Episode 9. That is all.
