SIGNIFICANT STAR WARS: Episode VIII

The Last Jedi

The Most Divisive Star Wars Movie of All Time

(and yes, the best Star Wars movie since Empire)

In an upset; an overblown explosion of dramatic flare; a shocking turn of events, a new Star Wars movie has dropped, and many audiences are totally split down the middle, making this the most (literally) significant Star Wars film, maybe of all time. And that's not because audiences are simply split; they're split because with this film (Episode VIII in the film's canon), the franchise is pushed beyond its boundaries and marches forward in directions many fans CLEARLY are not ready to start getting on board with.

Truthfully, having limited my expectations to absolute zero (of course as a fan I was always going to be hyped but I also wanted to go in as blind as possible), I was absolutely blown away by not just how different TLJ was but by how well I adapted to the drastic changes that were created by director Rian Johnson, who has taken this franchise by the balls and dragged it to new territory and honestly, after viewing Jedi, I'm 100% on board with the man helming a brand new trilogy for us nerds to lock ourselves into eternal, irrelevant banter for the rest of our geek days.

  Because The Last Jedi isn't just different from what we know and love about Star Wars. It completely rebounds from Force Awakens and works as a direct companion piece to it. It takes everything we know and love about the world of Rey and Kylo Ren in a "classic" Star Wars world, shakes them up and spits them out in totally new territory. And on its own territory, the film actually makes multiple statements and dares fans to not look back at the past with nostalgia, but to look forward with hope and determination at the ever-changing future. This theme, more than any, was the driving force (no pun intended) of the film and it is Johnson's apt ability to provide plausible room for growth, change and a clear vision of what to expect going forward that makes this latest chapter of the franchise arguably the most intriguing yet.

I am going to break this down character by character, plot by plot, so if you haven't seen it, here's the SPOILER WARNING:

*SPOILER WARNING*

I AM NOT HOLDING BACK FROM HERE ON OUT, IF YOU READ SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T WANT TO READ, SUCKS TO BE YOU, LET'S DO THIS THANG







  Indeed part of what makes The Last Jedi so different is that it literally goes against the grain. It abandons formula no matter how much as it looks like Empire Strikes Back. It takes every single expectation and idea of what to expect in a Star Wars film and rebels against any and all fan service and genuine expectation, making it not just the most surprising Star Wars picture yet, but the most ballsy. It breaks out of its shell right from the opening scene; at least Luke and Rey's first scene.

F**k yo lightsaber

  If Johnson ever wanted to make an opening statement that this was going to be HIS movie and not the movie fans want, he nailed it with Hamill's first moment. We pick up right where Force Awakens leaves off. Rey hands the lightsaber to Luke with a gleam of hope in her eyes. Luke takes a deep sigh and with the look of Clint Eastwood, he tosses the saber behind his shoulder without looking back. Sure, it's a moment played for laughs but it's also a very clear implantation of an idea that this story isn't about to go the way audience's expect. Luke LITERALLY says to Rey "This is not going to go the way you think." Right off the bat Johnson makes his message clear.

 And what a message it is. Johnson sprinkles the film with dialogue that echoes his intentions with the direction of the story and a huge chunk of that is the rebellion of expectation; the anti formula of "classic" Star Wars. In a sense it's bleak and cynical but for Chewie's sake, it's a breath of fresh air that we didn't even realize this franchise needed.

  I will drive home this point until it's embedded in every ignorant fan's skull: Going against expectation. This is the most important, relevant and demanding force of the film's biggest surprises and strengths.

  I mean, for crying out loud, we find out who Rey's parents are and in the most unexpected turn of the galaxy, who are they? NO ONE. And the fact that we find out Rey's parents are no more than junk dealers who sold her for drinking money make her character simply that much more heartbreaking. The reveal is such a blow; such a kick to the nuts, that it gives so much more gravitas to her being a nobody that makes her that much more special.

  Think about it. Luke was a nobody for nearly TWO full movies before we were told he was the son the galaxy's biggest asshole. Ever since the "father" reveal Star Wars has rested upon the shoulders of twists, tropes and cliches. I'm not saying this as a negative aspect but it has tainted audience's ideas of what to expect in a Star Wars film. And this trap of tropes isn't helped by the fact that the next film revealed Leia to be Luke's sister, followed by an entire trilogy of prequels exploring how Vader would become Luke's father.
  By having Rey be special and be akin with the Force, and be so powerful in the Force, with no ties or bloodline to any Skywalker or Kenobi LITERALLY makes the character unique. It allows the audience to embed a connection with her with no explanation as to why she is the way she is. It also allows that final shot (the one with the kid and the broom) to carry that much more significance.

  The second twist, while arguably not as special, is one that I appreciate maybe even moreso and it almost mirrors Rey's twist in the rebellious nature of expectation and that would be the Snoke twist.

Andy Serkis looks fabulous

  I mean, here's a guy who appears to be even bigger and badder than Emperor Palpatine (because Force Awakens loved reminding audiences that everything this round is very much so like the old stuff but shinier and "more threatening") who immediately became shrouded in mystery, causing floods of fan speculation. Fans suspected Snoke to be everyone from Darth Plagueis to Mace Windu (lotta knuckleheads on Reddit out there...) and who was Snoke in the end? A NOBODY.
  Honestly, as with Rey's parents, I can't praise this enough. Here we are with the new "big bad" and even when fans don't want history to repeat itself, we can't all help but wait for Kylo Ren to turn to the light side at the last minute, kill Snoke and avenge the good guys. And for a moment; a mere glorious moment; in what is arguably the biggest highlight of the film, this happens exactly that way. Ren gives Snoke a real "Maul" by slicing him in half. It is a moment that, for part two of this trilogy, goes completely unexpected and is a moment filled with awe and excitement. Because folks, Snoke was never the big-bad. This is Kylo Ren's story and where Force Awakens drove home the point that "Ren is no Vader," Last Jedi nails in the coffin that Ren is the villain no matter how much we don't like it. If killing Han was Ren's descending into evil, killing Snoke was Ren's control over that evil.

 What does it tell you that some of the film's biggest twists had no cliche explanation behind them? If nothing else, my biggest takeaway from TLJ is that all expectations stripped, Rey is the hero, Kylo Ren is the villain and there are to be no ties with twists or grander plans that are to get in the way of their destinies (Look at me diving into the nerd abyss). 10 POINTS TO THE TWISTS.

  But what a film it is, even without Rey and Ren. Yes, this was Daisy and Driver's movie and they both NAILED IT, but let's get into the nitty gritty of the geek excitement...

DRAMATIC MARK FACE

 First, say what you will about his acting chops in general, but Mark Hamill gave the performance of a lifetime and while it will never be recognized by critics' standards, it is one to be noted. Hamill does such a bang-up job at transitioning from cranky mentor who wants to die to sacrificial hero who goes out as the legend he no longer wishes to be. His role, like Harrison Ford's, is one that is tragic but poignant. Where Han's purpose was to give Kylo Ren a driving force in becoming evil, Luke's purpose is to give Rey inspiration to become whatever hero she needed to be. The major difference is Luke feels empty, guilty and betrayed of the Jedi name. Feeling responsible for helping create the galaxy's current biggest dickhead, Luke strands himself on an island to die alone. Johnson presents Luke in such a sad way but by the film's end, his character arc feels so warranted, it makes sense that he goes out the way he does.

  Because, to prove he's the galaxy's biggest badass, Luke performs one last Jedi mind trick by projecting himself from the island, lightyears away in order to fulfill his showdown with his once failed patawon, Kylo Ren. In a move that was either too powerful, or too satisfying, Luke truly becomes "one with the Force" if you will and allows himself to die peacefully, proving his point to Ren. It's one of the many moments that will divide audiences but a moment that continue's Johnson's moral. The past is dead. We are to move forward. Hell, Kylo Ren even has the line to Rey "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to." THIS IS THE POINT OF THE WHOLE MOVIE (10 points to Hamill).

Staring contest of the Galaxy

  Aside From Rey, Kylon Ren and Luke, the other characters are served justice as well. For one, Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron is actually given purpose; a miracle considering he was originally to be killed off in TFA. Here, Dameron goes from being rambunctious "flyboy" to militant pilot who learns the importance of instructions of mentors, as to not kill off an entire fleet of his crew.

Dern is no Mon Mothma, but still a total babe

  If there was ever a purpose of sacrificial heroics in the actual wars of Star Wars, it was expressed in 2016's Rogue One. If there was ever a purpose to the weight and gravitas of losing soldiers in the wars of Star Wars, it was expressed in Last Jedi, and Poe is the centerpiece to this construct. When Dameron becomes responsible for killing the entire Resistance bomb squad, his stubborn attitude is given a lot more severity. This seemingly useless plot-point gives significance to both Carrie Fisher's Leia and newcomer Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo as his superiors. In the heat of their debacle, Dern's Holdo sacrifices herself in arguably one of the highlights of the film when she launches the commanding ship through an imperial destroyer AT LIGHTSPEED. If no other takeaway from this subplot, no one will argue that the silent sequence of Dern's sacrifice is one of the most visually appealing moments of the film. It is also refreshing to see lightspeed projected in such a unique and equally intense manner (10 points to Dern). And while we're at it... 10 points to Carrie Fisher's outrageous Marry Poppins moment. Y'all know the one.

  Finally, and importantly I must add, there's the controversial subplot containing John Boyega's Finn and Kelly Marie Tran's Rose. If there's only one understandable complaint fans have made towards TLJ, it's that the sub-plot of these two characters is literally a sub-plot. You could axe the casino-planet story line from the entire film and it would scarcely make a difference (granted the plot demands the film to swing from point A to point B, but it still feels bloated). That said, the plot is necessary if, not for equality reasons (10 points to diversity), than if only for Finn who transcends from paranoid (if selfish) companion on a mission to blindly find Rey, to a hero who learns the importance of self sacrifice for the greater good, and helping save animals (yes, there's a PETA subplot shoehorned in to piss even more people off) and what it all boils down to is that without this entire subplot, Finn might as well have been scrapped from the film. Yet his journey with the adorable (and sometimes annoyingly cutesey) Rose helps him gain a more level-headed confidence so that when it's time for him to have yet another showdown with former manager, Captain Phasma, he's ready to play hard, and when it comes down to the final battle, he goes in fully expecting to die for a greater cause (10 points for Boyega).

co-worker feud of the galaxy

 SPEAKING of Captain Phasma, we can't go without talking about the villains. Granted, we've already discussed Snoke but when it comes to The First Order, I can't help but feel like Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, and all the folks of Star Wars are sort of taking a rib-jab at the nazi fascist persona the villains take on. Right from the opening we have Poe crank calling General Hux aboard ship and while the "Disney humor" is a bit jarring, it's a welcoming reminder that the villains are sort of ridiculous. With this film alone, Domhnall Gleeson becomes the shining running joke of the First Order. Between being mocked, overstepped and talked over, General Hux becomes the Gabe of the Empire. 

Think about it.

Captain Phasma becomes a one-note joke as well as her presence here is saved for a surprise, after the trash-compacter throwaway line used to write her out of TFA. And yet, after a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Finn battles with Phasma for all of a singular moment before she falls to what fans will think is her impending doom, until she inevitably resurfaces for one final cameo in Episode IX. And honestly, it's not so much that the villains are turned into jokes, more so that their super-serious evil intentions are trumped by the self aware nature of "good vs. evil."

  Because if there's a driving theme to TLJ, aside from leaving the past behind (and killing it, if you have to), it's that the world isn't so black and white. Granted, we're literally talking about an entire galaxy of films based on the notion of Jedi vs. Sith; the grand lore of good vs. evil, but between Luke's rebelliousness of teaching Rey; because more than "teaching good," one must understand the dark side in order to obtain balance to the Force; and between Kylo Ren's inevitable desire to do good, while embracing the still juvenile, ever-so-sickening drive for evil (his "fire everything" moment towards Luke shows he's not ready for any kind of leap towards the light), and Rey's entire journey into understanding who she is as she grapples with the ever present darkness that exists within her, the themes are so strongly bold in the sense that this is no longer a simple matter of choosing good or evil. Hell, even when Kylo Ren CUTS SNOKE IN HALF, the audience expects him to turn and yet we realize it is an act of power so HE can be the supreme leader. Because, again, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

Like when Luke graphically milked the teat of this wild space-cow. 

Yep. Totally unexpected.

And suddenly the mystique of the blue milk feels a bit sour.

  If there's one takeaway from The Last Jedi; just ONE, it's that this is not only the most bold, anti-formula, and anti "Star Wars" movie ever made, it's also the most adult Star Wars movie ever made. Sure, ignorant fans are hating on the movie for being deemed slow, boring or non-revealing of its twists, but the film nor this new trilogy was ever about fan service. If The Force Awakens was a fast paced, action-packed romp of nostalgia that felt like "old Star Wars" in vain of A New Hope (and by the third act, a little TOO much like A New Hope), The Last Jedi is the 180 towards the future; a film which has a plot structure built upon the bones of Empire Strikes Back but literally goes against every single major trope and expectation. It feels like a middle chapter but damn, what a middle chapter it is. 

  Last Jedi takes every establishment JJ Abrams built; all the characters and set pieces and has pushed everything in motion. Suddenly, there are stakes. Everything is bigger and yes, much, much better. We realize that while we all had the contact high from Force Awakens, because it was the best Star Wars movie in over 30 years, it was a mere appetizer of this new world while The Last Jedi is the three-course meal. And honestly, given just the disgusting amount of backlash I've seen from the film, in only three days time, I can tell you right now this is where Star Wars peaks. At least new Star Wars. Does JJ have it in him to spark up a big finale that can compete with a picture like TLJ? If decades of trilogies have taught us anything, the answer is absolutely not. Granted, I love Return of the Jedi (and not only do I love the Ewoks, but I don't think they RUIN the movie - Grow up, folks), but at the end of the day it doesn't compare to Empire, and arguably not even A New Hope. 

  Here's my final point: Stop complaining and STOP comparing Star Wars to Star Wars. For Yoda's sake, the most general consensus to the prequels is "Well they don't even compare to a fraction of the original trilogy," WHO CARES? Let it be it's own shitty thing. Because even amidst all those mountains of shit, there are small nuggets considered to be diamonds to some. My message is this: The Last Jedi is no Force Awakens. Nor should it be. It exists as its own beast entirely and it can arguably stand alone on its own two feet. It just so happens that it exists smack-dab in the middle of arguably the biggest, nerdiest franchise of all time. So on that platform? There's lots of discussion and debate. 

  In the end, we can pick and choose all we want, but listen to the film's message. Let it beat you over the head. 
All together now:

LET THE PAST DIE. KILL IT IF YOU HAVE TO. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE.

WAIT. I FORGOT.

Also, 100,000 points to ghost puppet Yoda. Holy Obi, ghost-puppet-Yoda deserves ALL the points.

Let's give it up for drunk-ass ghost-puppet Yoda

That is all.
Thank you.
Good night.

P.S. Real talk, how can these dudes see out of those masks?

May The Force be with you all.