The Last Jedi - Thoughts and Critiques

"No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned."
                                                                                                                 -Yoda

I will need to preface this post with a few things.

First, and I think this needs to go without saying but....THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS POST. If you DO NOT want the movie to be spoiled, then stop reading and go over to your Tumblr or Etsy tab now.

Second, in no way am I trying to reshape or devalue your opinion of this film. This is rather less of a review and more of me just working out what a Star Wars movie is (to me) and how I personally go forward from here.

Third, and lastly, I believe this also goes without saying but...I love "Star Wars". So much so that I can't stop thinking about the new movie, and I feel the need to get out some thoughts publicly. So bear with me, if you're up for it.

In a world of reboots, franchises, and a litany of sequels, I think looking at a film or reviewing a film can be less about critiquing at film as a film, or even a film in it's respective genre, and critiquing it more as "How well did it hold up to the rest of the films in the franchise?" rather than just critiquing it in the most pure sense. This is my problem.

As I previously stated, I love "Star Wars". I was born in a generation when the original movies had long since been released in theaters and video; long before the prequels and even the Special Editions of the original trilogy. I remember watching them for the first time as kid with my parents. I was probably about four or five but even then there was for me an allure to these films. They were strange, for sure. There was gold robot, a large dog beast, and everyone had these cool guns that shot lasers. I would run and jump around at my grandmother's with my orange laser pistol that made all those annoying little electronic sounds, pretending to be Luke Skywalker trying to escape the Death Star. As I grew older I rewatched the films and became obsessed. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know every backstory and every background character. I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. I wanted friends like Han, Chewie and Leia. I wanted to learn to be a Jedi by Yoda and Obi-Wan. I wanted to fight Darth Vader and save the Galaxy. This was a world that sucked me in, and I wanted to be a part of it.

Years go on. I grow up. Some mediocre prequels were released. I went to all of them, expecting to be blown away, but even as an adolescent, I was not impressed. They had cool fight scenes, and that was about it. The story didn't grab me as much and I didn't care for the characters. Still, I consumed Star Wars. I read some of the books and comics. I played the PC and console games.  These allowed me to live out childhood dreams. I could be a Jedi. I could fly an X-Wing or the Millennium Falcon. I could fight to save the galaxy from the empire with my friends.

Fast forward to December 2015. It had been a lengthy ten years since the last Star Wars movie was released in theaters. Time had passed. I grew up. I had moved from my home, I lived in a different country for time and I eventually got married. But my love for Star Wars was still glowing bright. I went with a couple of buddies on opening night, December 17th, 2015. I saw "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." and then BAM! The fan fare hit, and there it was, "STAR WARS". My inner child jumped up and down inside me. Like Han and Chewie, I was home.

Did I enjoy "The Force Awakens"? Of course. I watched that movie with not only 3D glasses, but also the metaphoric "Rose Colored Glasses". But, I would see it again with my wife, and for whatever reason, I wasn't quite as captivated.

Another year goes by. A new "Star Wars" was released. This one had no characters we had met before. It was all new, and would bridge Episode III and IV. Yet, when I watched it, I was left wanting more. I didn't care about these "new" characters. They didn't interest me, and I was never sure as to why. Maybe...maybe I wanted to see my old friends again? Maybe I wanted to see Luke after they left me hanging at the end of "The Force Awakens".

Yet another year goes by. Another "Star Wars" comes out. But this is the big one. This is ..."THE LAST JEDI". So mysterious...kind of like "The Return of the Jedi". What did it mean? Who is the last  Jedi? Will someone die? Will someone turn?

My best friend, his girlfriend, her sister, and his brother hop into the car, ready to see the next installment after having just revisited "The Force Awakens" again. We get our tickets, walk to the back to our theater, (I take a preliminary photo of the movie poster to post on social media), we walk into the theater and take our seats...and prepare for the two and a half hour epic.

After it's all said and done, I walk out of the theater, wanting something more. Something...different? But it was something different, wasn't it? It was new "Star Wars", This wasn't like how it was before, right?. In some respects, yes. And at this point, I don't want to tear apart the film, because this wasn't a film I hated, or disliked. I just want to state, for the record, it was pretty good. I just...well...I don't know. I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out.

Let's start with what's good. First of all, and this goes for all the new "Star Wars", it looks great. The worlds look awesome, the battles, no matter if they're in air, on land, in space, etc. are very cool. The creature costumes and effects are also well done. It's like the old times, before everything was CGI all the time. Things look real, which also makes them look weirder, and I think that's a big part about "Star Wars". These places need to look foreign to you. Sure, there's people, but there's also all these weird creatures. It goes back to the classic Cantina scene in "A New Hope". You walk into this bar, but it isn't a normal bar. This bar is on another planet in another galaxy. There's all manner of creatures and they look like real creatures which, for me, takes me out of where I am and places me exactly where these characters are. Practical effects make me feel a part of the experience. Enough said.

I appreciated that they delved into the background of what happened to Luke and Ben (which I was expecting, but still appreciated. Still, left wanting more, which I'll get to). I think this movie also helped to develop Rey a little more as a character and how she's trying to work through learning her powers as well as who she is. Finn also get's a chance to develop a little more. He starts off wanting to run away and leave everyone else behind, like in the last film. In the end, he does get to a point where he's ready to go all in and sacrifice himself by flying straight in the giant laser battering ram, which Rose, a new character, stops him just before he hits, at the cost of her own life (actually, I can't remember if she died or just badly injured). Luke of course goes through a whole 180 in the film, and I'm guessing this was the central point of the film - a great Jedi and warrior, crushed by the fear and failure of his past, coming back around to assist the Resistance in need, with Gandalf-like timing.

With all that said, there are things I had problems with. I'm going to say it again: I love "Star Wars". I love "Star Wars" like I love "Final Fantasy". There are great "Final Fantasy games". There are not so great "Final Fantasy" games. There are some "Final Fantasy" games that people swear to be the best, yet I did not enjoy them (*ahem* FinalFantasyEight *cough*). But, I love "Final Fantasy" and get excited with each installment. I also love "Star Wars", which means I'm not just going to blindly say, "This is a great Star Wars movie!" I'm going to feel certain things and view it a little more harshly. Granted, we have emerged from the dark tide of the prequels, but that doesn't put any new "Star Wars" above reproach. There's probably a lot of emotion I have, and I carry forth a lot of what I stated up top into these movies.

To start, and this is question I have kept turning over in my mind since I saw it last night, What makes a "Star Wars" movie? What makes it good, what makes it enjoyable? I don't have a concrete answer to that. Maybe you do, and maybe this film checked off all those boxes. That's great. For me, there's a lot of points where this both felt like a "Star Wars" movie, but not at all at the same time. For one, I've noticed these movies rely heavily on two things: Explosions and silly humor. I know what you're thinking: "But Mike, you insolent fool, all the 'Star Wars' had explosions and humor!". Yes, but, there's....a lot more now. The original trilogy was ground breaking in regard to special effects. But, not everything was blowing up. I'm going to probably use "The Empire Strikes Back" as my golden standard here, which many of you will find unfair, but this is in many ways trying to be "Empire" (more on that later). In regard to explosions, you had the opening bombing sequence (which was awesome, don't get me wrong), the constant fire fight as they were trying to escape the First Order fleet, Laura Dern driving at light speed into the fleet, and then the large battle at the end. "Empire" had the opening battle for Hoth, the Millennium Falcon evading TIE fighters which crash in the asteroid field...and that's about it. Not much in the way of stuff just blowing up. Now it's about having bigger explosions, and having our heroes make it out just in time.  As for the humor, I like "Star Wars" humor. Scruffy looking nerf herder? Classic. But that was banter between friends. When they would talk to the villains, nothing was really silly or comical. Yet, at the start of "The Last Jedi" (TLJ), Po is bantering and goofing with General Hux, which kind of took me out of the situation. I understand Po is a guy who hasn't much to fear and makes light of a situation ("So, how does this work? Do you talk first or do I talk first?") but I wanted it to be serious, especially when five minutes later numerous people die in battle. And then there's Finn, a character who can be incredibly serious, or very silly, and when he is silly, it doesn't always seem like the appropriate moment. Going back to "Empire", I don't think a single joke is cracked from the time Han is frozen in carbonite to the end credits. It's all serious. "TLJ", however, feels to need to make a joke at any moment. I understand lightening the tension, but I also need things tense. Disney makes it a point to have jokes and wise-cracks in there films, so maybe this is a result of that. I think part of my problem is that I was anticipating a much darker film, and while it had some darkness to it, I still feel "Empire" is much darker.

As previously mentioned, this movie takes a lot from "Empire". Here's a list of things I noticed:
- A Resistance/Rebel ship running across the galaxy from Imperial/First Order fleet
- Young Jedi going to planet to train with Jedi hermit who is famous Jedi Master
- Young Jedi finds dark place and goes to have a vision. Learns more about Him/Herself and the power of the darkside.
- The gang gets double-crossed by gambling thief
- "Join me and we'll rule the galaxy" speech
- Large battle with Resistance/rebel fighters in trenches fighting giant robot walkers.
I read an article online called, "'The Last Jedi' Doesn't Care What You Think About 'Star Wars' - And That's What Makes It Great". In it, it clearly points out that this is trying to be a new thing. This isn't your Daddy's "Star Wars". Times have changed. I see the clear deconstruction of "Star Wars" within this movie, which I'm fine with. It even sort of touches on taking out the Jedi factor all together, just stopping it (which is an idea I really hope they explore in the next film or later installments). Yet, if taking "Star Wars" apart is the goal and completely reorienting what I grew up as a "Star Wars" move, then why also have a death grip on the originals, nearly ripping plots, lines, and scenes straight out of the originals? Maybe it will change after this one? But why have one foot out the door and one in? That's the vibe I got from this.

The last thing I'll say, is that I've really come to hate Kylo Ren. No, not in a sense that he's a really evil villain. No, he has become very irritating. A good villain should do one thing - make you hate their guts for who they are and what they do, but at the same time making you think, "But I understand why you are like this." One of my favorite shows is Breaking Bad. Clearly, there are some terrible people, but no one character is inherently bad, nor inherently good. In the case of Walter White, he starts as the guy you root for...all the way up until the end. When you reach season 6, you hate him. But, then you get to that final episode, and you start rooting for him again. He's a villain, he's lost himself and become so wrapped up in what he's doing he's no longer doing it for this family...but you get it. You saw what his life was before - hen-pecked by his wife, disrespected by his son, works as a humble school teacher and lost the opportunity to make millions with his former business partner, and then - bam- diagnosed with cancer. So he loses it. Tip toes to the edge until he can look over and fall in. You understand how he got there. You don't agree with it, but you understand why. Then there's Kylo Ren. I get it. He's mad. You can tell by watching him choke someone or bash another computer console with his helmet or lightsaber in every other scene. But...why? So, they explain. Luke saw the evil in him. Saw the raw power. So, he thought to kill him. But he doesn't do it. Luke stops. Yet Kylo wakes, sees the saber. Grabs his own to defend himself. And then what does he do? Goes to the dark side. That's it. He's had all he can stand. Life has been too rough. Time to take it up with Supreme Leader Snoke. I waited two years to have his past revealed, and that's it? Nothing else happened? No other terrible thing? I don't buy it, and it makes me hate that whiny character all the more, which is unfortunate, because I like Adam Driver as an actor.

In the end, this isn't "Empire". This isn't the original trilogy. And maybe I need to be okay with that. Have I just completely disowned the "Star Wars" franchise then? Absolutely not. I love "Star Wars". I'm going to keep seeing these movies. But I think it's a new generation, and I need to accept that. I will always have Episodes IV, V, and VI, pre-Special-Edition-ized of course, in my heart and memories. But it's time to pass on the baton, or the lightsaber, and look ahead to a new generation. There's a lot I'm hoping they will explore with later movies. They have some good ideas. I guess they're just not fleshed out to my liking. I'm set in my ways at this point. Maybe I should listen to Yoda: "You must unlearn what you have learned". Maybe I'll try. Or "do".

I've gone on for far too long. WAY longer than I intended. There's plenty of plot hole stuff I could gripe about, but I feel like I've made my point somewhere in there. I will say, one of the best moments in the film was when Mark Hamill kissed Carrie Fisher on the forehead. Even thinking about it now get's me a little emotional. The scene was Luke saying goodbye to Leia, but I also saw it as Mark saying goodbye to Carrie for the last time.

Thanks to all who made it through. This is probably my longest post, if not my longest post in a while. Leave a comment. Maybe I'll see it in six months.

May the Force be with you. Always.