I remember watching the closing moments of The Force Awakens, and I was really hyped for the next installment, as Luke was going to return to the screen. The trailer's foreboding dialogue had me intrigued by the thought of where they might be going... Would Rey turn to the dark side?... Has Luke turned dark?... Who is Snook, and how does he fit in the the overall story?
And then I saw this film...
And it wasn't at all what I expected it to be.
While the film itself captures the style of the cinematic series, it runs into some significant challenges with its story, and what should have been significant moments got crossed out in favor of a side story that wasn't necessary. This film has too many self-contained stories that don't have much interconnection. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless the side stories take up time that should be given to more prominent problems.
I was excited to see Luke train Rey, and was glad when those moments came, but they were short-lived, as there were other stories that kept cutting in more than a certain Gungan.
But perhaps the BIGGEST letdown of the entire film was when Chewbacca reconnected with Luke. Luke asks about Han, there is a silence, and it cuts away, denying us any true reaction from Luke. This was a massive narrative fail, especially because of how this news would hit Luke, seeing as his misjudgement led Kylo to flee to the dark side, ultimately causing Han's death. And even without that, look at the relationship between Luke and Han all throughout the franchise. They were extremely close, and Han ultimately became his brother-in-law. This one moment could have been played so many ways, and the story would feel more complete had it stayed in.
And what did this emotional moment get cut for?
We may never truly know, but I think it was for the Porgs. While these things are cute, similar to the Ewoks, they did NOTHING for the story. They were barely in the film, and only really exist for a kinda-funny-kinda-uncomfortable scene where Chewy is eating one in front of a group. In my opinion, these only exist as a merchandising trap.But not everything in this film is terrible. The battles are fun to watch (but nauseating in 3D), and the film isn't a rehash of Empire Strikes Back, which is the biggest thin in its favor. It took risks, even causing a major challenge in regards to the overall direction this trilogy will go. It also has some great social commentary on the people who profit from war, although this commentary is coming from a seemingly-pointless subplot, namely the relationship between Finn and Rose. The chemistry felt forced, and the overall story with these two was poorly written.
Perhaps the other welcome commentary was almost a religious one, and one that lacked a distinct imagery. This comes when Luke seeks to burn the whils, or the Jedi books. He is visited by Yoda (thankfully a puppet once more), who burns them himself, signaling the end of the formal Jedi Order. To me, this almost hinted at the idea that ideals and religions need to be free to adapt and grow over time, and some ideals don't need a text to be taught.
This film was definitely a bridge film, focusing on laying the groundwork for Episode 9 instead of focusing on the story at hand. While the film's story falls short on a number of levels, Star Wars fans can recognize the elements of a good film. I think Episode 9 will ultimately decide my opinion of The Last Jedi in terms of quality, but for now it's an ok installment from a galaxy far, far away.
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