It’s always an exciting time when I get the opportunity to review a new Star Wars film, which until a few years ago I never thought I would be able to do as an adult. The Last Jedi continues that streak of excitement by bringing us back into the universe of Star Wars- for better or worse. In the time since its release, I’ve read numerous articles as fans and professional critics alike have either decried or proclaimed the franchise altering film and the potential repercussions this film represents for the future of Star Wars.
I will say upfront: I enjoyed the film, but it was nothing at all like I would have dreamed of. But that’s okay and perhaps by the end of this you’ll understand why it’s ok for you too.
When The Force Awaken’s came out, I recall leaving the theater with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I enjoyed what I watched, but I wasn’t screaming with excitement. What I loved where the new characters and their humble beginnings, I loved how much as fans we questioned the origins of these characters and the potential conflict points we could see brewing even in this new Star Wars venture. But I personally hated many of the design choices and most obviously, the loud echoes of A New Hope.
At the time, what I saw from The Force Awakens was a frightened franchise owners who’s timid actions hadn’t dared stray too far away from A New Hope. But despite that, there was still a spark, something about it that hinted at something new, something bold and perhaps exciting for a new era of Star Wars. But The Force Awakens purposefully failed to answer this central question: What was SW becoming? Which is where I think some of the blowback on The Last Jedi stems from. If the Force Awakens raises the question- The Last Jedi simply grabs ahold of your hand, smiles, and destroys everything you thought you understood. But there’s a reason for that: both the original and now sequel visions of Star Wars can’t exist at the same time.
Truthfully though, Star Wars has been changing for a long time and the problem stems from a time between the original trilogy and the (perhaps doomed) prequel series. Without getting too deep in the weeds, Lucas began allowing outside storytellers to expand the Star Wars universe, with what aptly became known as ‘The Expanded Universe.’ This expanded content did a lot of good things for Star Wars (along with some arguably bad), but in the grand strokes it kept Star Wars from feeling out dated, and out of touch with what audiences craved for at that moment in time. In a sense, it was a proper balance, the older fans could cling to the original films and what they believed ’true’ SW was, while a new generation of fans could latch onto an ever expanding pool of stories and media, including the prequels.
In a sense, the non-unified Star Wars vision has segregated many fans. There those who are original purest’s, those who proclaim the prequels as the best, those who find the expanded universe to be best and of course the fractured segments of various combinations of beliefs. Disney was arguably correct to simplify the timeline for this reason, but that only solved part of the problem. Those who viewed their particular content, as the ‘real’ heart of SW were doomed to be swayed by Disney’s new, unified vision of Star Wars.
Upon Disney purchasing the Star Wars property. The expanded universe was swept away all at once, and now, Star Wars was a single vision with a much simpler timeline. Though the problem of a segmented fan base persists even today, this also has provided Disney with the opportunity to begin to filter in selective parts of the expanded universe, that once would never have made it into a Star Wars saga film. These elements would not be restricted to characters or storylines, but even thematic themes, tones, and a much deeper appreciation of the force itself. Arguably the most central aspect of Star Wars itself.
It becomes perhaps a bit more clear in hindsight, why Disney would release a New Hope clone: The Force Awakens before The Last Jedi would arrive to deconstruct many of the golden idols that have propped up the Star Wars saga films in the past. Though it doesn’t service fans in the long run to repeat a story- it did serve the purpose of securing enough confidence in fans to continue on this journey with Disney. The Last Jedi is simply the first step into the new universe Disney is crafting, and it’s my personal belief, this universe will echo that of the expanded universe much more closely- though obviously with it’s own spin.
The Last Jedi is a rather perfect representation of all the SW tropes we thought we knew coming crashing down. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the satisfaction of knowing where Episode 9 will rise to, and what new “universe” we will enter as a result. It’s for this reason I think some people are perhaps a bit too preemptively harsh on The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi has intention however. The destruction of the SW tropes are most obvious in Luke Skywalker. Many fans expected a wise, powerful and capable Jedi. But what we encountered was an old, tired and emotionally troubled man who’s loss of his (arguably) favorite student sent him into a tailspin. Luke’s failure as a teacher, his failure to ‘pass on what he’s learned’ to not just the next generation, but his literal flesh and blood makes him resent all the triumphs his life has amassed. But more than just simply this, Luke’s character is destroyed purposefully, as a vessel to destroy our perception of the Jedi. If Luke fully believed and committed to what the Jedi of the old believed, than arguably Rey (and by extension the audience) too would carry that message on and nothing new would come of it. But through Luke’s insistence of the Jedi’s faults and failure’s- Rey has the opportunity to craft something new. But before that can ever happen. The status quo must come to an end.
We see this again with Poe. His recklessness and frankly his adventurism that has led so many SW characters on successful adventures the first victim of the course change The Last Jedi took. On a personal note, this had to happen. It needed to happen. Look no further than Han Solo’s performance in The Force Awakens, as he concluded to simply ‘blow it up’ in regards to Starkiller base, followed by his ‘you wouldn’t want to know’ plan that hinged the entire effort of hundreds of lives in the balance- to evade the base shields was the most ridiculous example of SW adventurism trumping any form of logical planning. It also signaled the obvious conclusion of the film that the good guys would win and Han Solo probably wasn’t going to make it out alive. The writers literally said “lets just ensure Han Solo is in a perilous situation, but we don’t have the screen time to explain how he does it too.” One could argue, that Han’s death was the first real indication that Star Wars was on a path of change. Solo’s own bombastically simple adventure ploy ended- with his own death. The theming of The Last Jedi simply wouldn’t allow this to happen. Characters would be tortured, lives would be lost and consequences would be met head on.
Poor planning and adventurous spirt has consequences and this teachable experience happens again and again as we see with Finn and Rose as well. Perhaps one of the easiest things to nit pick in The Last Jedi is Finn and Rose’s adventure to Canto Bight and what appears to be a complete failure on their part- leading many to wonder why it was even included- if it didn’t further the plot. But what many (including myself) perhaps missed at first, is this plot point serviced two different elements. First, it further’s Poe’s storyline- and solidify’s Poe’s failures in acting first and thinking second- by very nearly killing Finn, Rose and BB-8 in the process.
But perhaps even more importantly we’re introduced to a new concept in SW with the potential to shape beyond simply Episode 9. We’re introduced to the SW underworld through the lens of the powerful and elite. From the perspective of those who don’t hold political positions but likely hold political sway with every credit they collect from the war profits of selling armaments to both the First Order and Resistance. They’re revealed to be the truly despicable and horrific profiteers in the galaxy- living off the nonsensical war machine that has burned through the galaxy from the Empire through the First Order. While it’s anyone’s guess what Episode 9 may bring, I would be surprised if this element didn’t play a part. Perhaps even the biggest part? Lets not forget that the Republic governmental system is destroyed and even by The Last Jedi- there is no indication that any replacement system has been organized either. What is left of the galaxy but the scum and villainy?
Lastly, and unfortunately an after thought, this finally resolved the conflict between Finn and Phasma. This, arguably is one of the weaker elements of the plot and deserves a few raised eyebrows. But ultimately it may yet be meaningless, if Phasma is to survive and return in Episode 9. Only time will tell.
From the ashes we now have the opportunity for something new. Something more. The Last Jedi provided us not only with the destruction of these tropes, but hints at where SW may be leading us. We saw new Force powers and abilities never before seen on film, we saw heroism as not simply ‘being heroic’ but through the hard choices and perseverance of the characters. We were exposed to perhaps the truest of evil, the profiteers behind the scenes and all of characters grew as a result of the constant barrage upon their character flaws- even Kylo Ren, grew as a result of this turmoil and the choices made throughout the film.
As is true in every ‘middle’ movie in a trilogy, The Last Jedi tested our characters, it beat them, it tore them apart and more than that- it provided the ground space for them to build a resolution. As we see at the very end of the film, as all of our heroes and villains are laid out nicely across a dividing line and are set for the final confrontation. What that final conflict takes shape as, it’s difficult to know. It seems unlikely we’ll be seeing a second Starkiller base, it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing the climatic confrontation between Kylo and Rey fought before the Supreme Leader as it was paralleled in Return of the Jedi- no, I believe: we’ll be seeing our first taste of what this new universe has to offer. New aspects of the force we never knew, new locations we never imagined and enemies we didn’t see coming.
Beyond this point I can only speculate, but as far as I see it- it’s an exciting time for Star Wars fans. No one has destroyed the past, we can all relish in the classic conflict between Empire and Rebels, but we should also be encouraged by what we see. The next generation will not be receiving a recycled story, with a recycled conclusion- no, they have the opportunity to shape their own destiny.
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