Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
New meaning, renewed purpose…
The second chapter in the Star Wars sequel trilogy makes an effort to justify why new stories should be told after the events of Return of the Jedi, and pulls it off.
Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Carrie Fisher
Released by Walt Disney Studios, Lucasfilm
Written and Directed by Rian Johnson
Two years ago, the Star Wars saga enjoyed a triumphant return to the hearts and minds of modern moviegoers when J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens was unleashed across the world. While the majority of critics and audiences screamed in ecstasy by beholding the second coming of fan favorite characters not seen since 1983 – along with being introduced to some promising new faces – The Force Awakens seemed to go out of its way in trying to preserve a look and feel that worshipped at the altar of the original Star Wars trilogy.
The end result made The Force Awakens feel safe and risk-less.
There wasn’t a whole lot of new territory broken in the saga’s long-awaited seventh “episode,” save for the introduction of a new, primary hero and an admittedly fascinating villain designed to create a new dimension in a cinematically unexplored era in Star Wars history, while stopping short of justifying the fact that more stories are now being told. Now, with a new episodic entry entering theaters in the holiday season, Star Wars: The Last Jedi takes the established mythos of a galaxy far, far away and tosses them in a decidedly different direction.
Some of the ramifications of this new course will undoubtedly cause some fans to throw their arms up in frustration – and perhaps even rage – but doing so would likely obfuscate the positive ramifications that writer-director Rian Johnson brings to the table for the Star Wars saga going forward, because of the fact that his screenplay…well, actually looks forward instead of longingly backward.
For the first time in recent memory, Star Wars is playing in dangerous and unpredictable cinematic territory that feels far less safe and far more potentially rewarding than it did two years ago, and that’s a feat that this writer thinks should be celebrated far more than it should be denigrated.
Picking up immediately after the final scene in The Force Awakens, the mysterious Force-sensitive scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds herself in the shadow of the first Jedi Temple on the planet Ahch-To, standing face-to-face with fabled Jedi Master and Rebel Alliance hero Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
Skywalker, the man who famously redeemed his father Darth Vader and helped facilitate the defeat of the Galactic Emperor decades before, is seen by the fledgling Resistance as a beacon of hope in a period of reignited conflict. General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) additionally sees her brother, and the possibility of a renewed Jedi Order as critical components to defeating the militaristic First Order and its enigmatic Supreme Leader, Snoke (Andy Serkis), whose new regime has been built up on the remains of the Empire’s war machine.
There’s one key problem, though. Burdened by the weight of his own legend, Skywalker feels far more defined by his failures than his successes, and has grown to resent what he calls the “hubris” of the Jedi, blaming them for their own decimation in the wake of a critical mistake he himself made with a promising young apprentice. It’s this mistake that has kept him in self-imposed exile when our new hero finds him in his seclusion, and she finds a broken man who does not live up to the legend.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) manages to convince a reluctant legend, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), to train her in the ways of the Force.
While Luke reluctantly begins training Rey to understand the immense power that lies within her, Snoke’s apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) begins communing with the new Jedi trainee while attempting to show her that she need not subscribe to the longstanding conflict between the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, a feeling that brings Ren’s relationship with his own master into jeopardy as he attempts to set himself free from the constraints of the Jedi and the Skywalker family.
Meanwhile, the First Order is on the offensive after obliterating the hierarchy of the New Republic in the last film, and has declared itself the dominant power in the galaxy in the wake of the destruction of key worlds in the democratically-elected regime. This has put the Resistance forces we became familiar with in the last film on the run, their ships increasingly running out of fuel as the First Order fleet begins to gain on them.
General Leia Organa, along with ace X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and former First Order Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) are with the Resistance fleet as they struggle to stay one step ahead of them, and the addition of a new technological prodigy of an ally named Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) may help to give the Resistance a chance to become a spark of hope that could grow to burn the First Order down.
The Last Jedi goes significantly farther than its predecessor in justifying why it may be worth it to tell new stories beyond the ends of Return of the Jedi, primarily because Johnson’s screenplay seems to be aiming to fulfill a mission laid down to actively push the franchise into new territory. In fact, that novelty in themes and storytelling – while making the exercise a unique occurrence in the Star Wars saga – is the thing that many longtime franchise observers will – and, as I write this, are – taking issue with.
When looking at the two films we’ve gotten so far in this new trilogy, however, the majority of situations and scenarios that felt so strangely rigid and unchanging from The Force Awakens demand a bit more than a shove into new territory, which Johnson is all too happy to shove the franchise into in The Last Jedi. Because that change happens so rapidly, though, it will be a difficult pill to swallow for some who enjoy the stories set in this universe, and who have a very narrow view of what a Star Wars film should be.
As mentioned in my review for The Force Awakens, primary issues related from the last film include a near carbon copy of the Rebel Alliance/Empire conflict from the original trilogy, the fact that the Jedi had made absolutely no progress in rebuilding their ranks in the thirty years that had elapsed since Return of the Jedi, and the fact that the status quo of the original trilogy felt very stagnant, preserved in amber since Richard Marquand handed in the sixth episode of the saga.
The Force Awakens set up a time period and a general stream of events that failed to feel very distinct from the original trilogy, which is not good when trying to totally set up an entire new era of the sweeping Star Wars canon between the very distinct eras of the prequels/Clone Wars and the original trilogy/Galactic Civil War.
Once again turning in a terrific performance as Dark Side apprentice Kylo Ren, actor Adam Driver loses the mask to show us the full range of his emotional turmoil in an excellent turn as the conflicted former Ben Solo.
By a total contrast, The Last Jedi goes very far in actually justifying the existence of more stories by aiming to make the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance far more distinct and unique, it makes the primary antagonist’s previous desire to be more like Darth Vader a story point for him to overcome in this film, and it places the main protagonist in the position of taking on the responsibility of legacy that its last champion has willingly relinquished.
Whereas The Force Awakens feels very much like a product that is technically new but is primarily designed to appeal to the people who love the original trilogy, The Last Jedi feels not only unique, but even approaches artfulness. That is nothing but an achievement considering the grandiose cultural ubiquity of the Star Wars franchise.
That artfulness and desire to push the franchise into new territory makes the film a welcome occurrence by showing us what the future of these stories can look like, loftily establishing the positive and negative value of legends and why the stories we tell each other in hushed tones of reverence mean so much. The Last Jedi is about the value of legends, and the difficulty inherent in fighting for what you believe in.
That being said, the watching experience is a bit lopsided because the “A” plot between Rey, Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren is far more interesting and potent than the majority of the film’s subplots. While the late Carrie Fisher turns in another great performance as Leia, the plot sidelines her for a great portion of the film and it falls on the shoulders of Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron and Laura Dern’s General Holdo to tell the story of the Resistance’s active struggle in trying to run from the onslaught of the First Order. That story is interesting, but it has nothing on Rey’s further steps into a larger world.
Former First Order Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) is paired for most of the film with Resistance mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and, while their story is comparatively less interesting than the Skywalker/Ren/Rey plot, the buddy pair up and the journey of self-discovery makes for a welcome addition to the arcs of both characters.
John Boyega’s Finn, however, is also lopsided in the sense that his story isn’t as interesting as the other plots, but the end of it is wonderful. While Last Jedi seems to discount some of the journey that Finn went on in the The Force Awakens, the overarching narrative of Finn becoming a more confident and full-throated Resistance fighter is clear, concise, and effective in totally transforming him into a hero as we barrel toward this trilogy’s conclusion.
The Last Jedi is not a perfect movie, but the active strides it takes in trying to make Star Wars feel new come with an added bonus: it also feels dangerous. It’s a fascinating look at the weight of the Skywalker legacy as seen through the distinct eyes of Rey, Kylo Ren and even Luke Skywalker himself, and they all have very different perspectives on what it means (or, if it even has meaning). Weirdly enough, it’s the member of the trio that is not a part of that family by blood who seems to find the most value in not only maintaining that legend, but in giving it new life as she discovers more about herself with the help of a galactic legend.
As a film, The Last Jedi is a great portend of things to come, but it also adds even more weight to the next part of this story to stick the landing. Whatever ends up happening next, this is an exceptional Star Wars movie and is the most unique the franchise has felt in a very long time.