Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
PG-13 | 2h 32min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | 15 December 2017 (USA)
Synopsis: Having taken her first steps into the Jedi world, Rey joins Luke Skywalker on an adventure with Leia, Finn and Poe that unlocks mysteries of the Force and secrets of the past.
ALERT!! The following review contains massive spoiler alerts about the characters and plot of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. If you have NOT seen the film please read my official spoiler free review. This one is for those who have seen it and want to discuss the content.
I will not restate my thoughts from my official review and hope you have read that one as well. Here I would like to just talk through some of the concerns I had and questions that still linger. I would love to hear your thoughts as well.
Granted I loved this movie. I have been a Star Wars fan since seeing the original in 1977 and it is easy to forgive most sins. Yes the Ewoks annoy me and Jar Jar was so horrible. But I can look past that the same way I can look past anything in this one. So what might come across as negative is just me stating the things that stuck out to me as odd.
Let’s start with Princess Leia. The emotions of seeing her on screen were powerful. The sadness of knowing Carrie is no longer in this world is probably felt by all. Early on in the film there is a massive attack on her war ship and she is exploded out into space, floating unconscious. Seeing her in a dead like state floating in space was emotional. She looked at peace in a world she loved to be in. In a life she was devoted to. I wanted that to be her final screen moment. To see her float away would have been an amazing tribute to her and her character. Then she uses what I can assume is the force to propel herself – looking so comically like Mary Poppins – back to the ship and it sucked the life out of that scene. What was a beautiful moment became a cheesy convenience. Granted no one wants to say bye to our beloved Princess but that would have been a special way to do it.
Next is the story line of Finn and Rose. I understand that they needed something for Finn to do. There had to be a way to work him into the story. Rey is out with Luke, Poe is dealing with the new commander, The First Order is in full swing. Finn doesn’t have a lot to do. But sending him and Rose to this casino to find a burglar was so pointless. That mission did nothing. It accomplishes nothing. Was it a way to simply include Maz in there too? Which again was so not needed. Then they had this story of Rose and this society of rich folks. The beating of the creatures and how the kids were abused. None of it made any sense to the film. It was like a side mini-movie. If you think about it they could have stayed on the ship with Poe and the story would have had 100% the same outcome.
Snoke is dead and we still know nothing about where he came from or what his agenda was. He appeared in THE FORCE AWAKENS and now is gone. I don’t guess I need to know more about him but to create such a visual and commanding character to only have him die in a simple fashion seems strange. I guess it is no different than when Darth kills The Emperor in Return of the Jedi. Now we have Episodes 1-3 to show us how he became that. Here though it seemed abrupt and too easy. Could he really not see what Kylo was planning? That entire scene felt too much like the scene in Episode VI. I am thankful that Kylo didn’t have a complete change of heart. The fact he was still dark helped. If Rey had converted him that easy I would have been more disappointed.
I am still not convinced that Kylo told Rey the truth about her parents and what he saw. I think he was manipulating her to join him. I don’t want her to be his sister of course or anything that formulaic. I see the point that they are showing that you can come from a bleak lineage and still do something great. The fact that she was an orphan of terrible parents and still change the world is the Star Wars way. At the same time that information felt anti-climactic.
I loved how they handled Luke’s character and final death. He went out like a boss and that final showdown with Kylo was fantastic. We forget that Luke became one of the greatest Jedi of all time. We remember the whiney young Luke who complained a lot (like his daddy). We remember the brash fighter who kept having to be saved by Han. But Luke was powerful and turned Darth around. Impressive. So the Luke we see at the beginning of this film didn’t need to be the Luke we saw at the end. And the scene with him and Leia is so emotional. It is brief but tearful for sure.
As I think about this film more I am sure I will have more questions.
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