Note: The following review contains minor story spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the original trilogy of films.
Star Wars has been a cultural phenomenon going back to 1977, when the original film made its May 25th theater debut. That film, as well as its first two sequels, influenced the creation of Star Wars books, spin-off movies, toys, video games, and television shows. Every conceivable type of merchandise has been created in this iconic film franchise’s image. A zealous fan could purchase an entire wardrobe of Star Wars clothing, toast their bread in a Star Wars toaster, and eat with Star Wars silverware on Star Wars plates. There are probably hundreds of people who actually live in this bizarre way (apologies to any readers who do).
Naturally, the expectations for these movies are sky high, which is partially why The Last Jedi felt so flat. The Force Awakens began this generation’s new trilogy with a great lead character in Rey, (Daisy Ridley) a compelling new antagonist in Kylo Ren, (Adam Driver) and not much else. Everything in Force Awakens is a rehash of ideas from the 70s and 80s trilogy; it’s well made, but very unoriginal. A planet-destroying laser can only be the threat in so many films before the idea wears thin. The few new plot points which could have been expanded on in Last Jedi were vague to begin with, such as the origins of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) or Rey’s parentage.
It’s no wonder, then, that Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson wiped the slate clean with this film. So what if Obi Wan Kenobi turned out to be Rey’s father? What does that affect? Snoke was largely undeveloped as well, and it was hard to care about him while knowing so little. Johnson felt the same way, and took the opportunity to upend audience expectations by revealing these plot points to be red herrings of the series’ ultimate direction.
The problem with Johnson eliminating those ideas is that he replaced them with nothing at all. Everything about Last Jedi involves the destruction of what little transpired in Force Awakens, and the failure of nearly everything characters attempt to do in Last Jedi itself. Everyone, with the exceptions of Snoke and Luke Skywalker, end the movie exactly where they started out. Narratively speaking, it was merely running in place.
It starts on the wrong note with a prank phone call (seriously) and a “your mother” joke, and continues down this odd SNL-esque path. Bombs somehow drop from spaceships in spite of the lack of gravity. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, the original Luke) milks giant space ostriches for a viscous blue fluid he downs like water. Long sequences occur in places unrelated to the overall story, such as a casino resort world, which felt entirely out of place). Yoda even makes a cameo as a “force ghost” who somehow controls lightning to destroy a tree.
In spite of my critiques, some of the film’s ideas were great: the connection between Rey and Kylo Ren was especially intriguing, and I loved the notion that they might team up against both the rebels and The First Order. The movie only teases us with that possibility, however, and takes the much less interesting route of reestablishing both characters in their respective hero and villain roles.
Although the film was a rare misstep for Rian Johnson, who directed the solid 2011 sci-fi film Looper and many of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, it’s still worth watching because of Star Wars’ importance in our culture. The third film might be this trilogy’s saving grace, but it’s hard to see how that could ever be after these first two mediocre movies.
– Reviewed by Michael Kaufman
Daisy Ridley, as Rey
Mark Hamill, as Luke
Gwendoline Christie (as Captain Phasma) and John Boyega (as Finn)
Images © 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd/IMdB