The reception for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has gone one of two ways: that it's the greatest piece of cinema ever crafted, or that it's a garbage heap of a movie. You look at Rotten Tomatoes alone (at the time of this review) and you see that critics gave it a 93%, while audiences felt it was more a tepid 55%. Which is an interesting split in and of itself- why the varied responses? What's so polarizing about this movie? Is it AMAZING, or is it the worst thing since non-sliced bread? (which is the kind of quality joke that unfortunately exists in this movie) Well, as always, it's not as simple as that. I'll go on record to say that really liked "Last Jedi", but there is a good deal about the movie that works against it, that brings it down for me, from 'great' to maybe just 'good'. Let's get into it.
"Last Jedi" takes place shortly after "The Force Awakens". The Resistance, led by Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer's final performance, which is very sad, as her role in the series was obviously not finished here in "Last Jedi"), struggles against the oppressive force of the First Order and Kylo Ren (who is as delightfully angst-ridden as always). Elsewhere, Rey (still played by the wonderful Daisy Ridley) seeks the guidance of the now curmudgeonly old Luke Skywalker (who, yes, is played quite curmudgeonly by Mark Hamill). Also, Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac, who really steals the show here) and Finn ( John Boyega, who like everyone else here, is real good) are back too and have important roles to play, as well as newcomer Rose (an awesome addition to the cast in my book, played by Kelly Marie Tran).
It goes without saying there is a crap-ton of things going on in this movie, which is probably its biggest detriment, and brings us into:
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THE BAD
- NARRATIVE STUFF: PACING, LENGTH, STORY STRUCTURE
Sounds like a snooty, 'filmy' issue to have with a movie, but it's the biggest problem hindering "Last Jedi".
There is simply way too much going on here, way too many characters being given focus and plot importance, and while individually there is nothing wrong with these sections of the movie (in fact they're all pretty good), when spliced together and intercut between one another, the pacing and intensity of some of these scenes is jeopardized.
Like for instance: the main thrust of the movie is that the last of the Resistance and their spaceships are being hounded down and shot at by the First Order's Ships. The Resistance is running out of fuel and via a plot device, are unable to escape the First Order. Those aboard the Resistance's ships (notably Poe and Leia) debate what to do to get away and survive, all the while losing ship after ship and burning through the remainder of their fuel. It's tense, it's weighty, and it kind of feels like "Star Trek" (in a good way).
But then you cut to scenes involving Finn and Rose traveling to a Vegas-like planet to find a master hacker (to help the Resistance get away from the First Order, basically), which are slow and mostly comedic. And then you also cut to scenes involving Luke, Rey, and Kylo Ren, which also lack the sort of looming doom and urgency that the scenes on the Resistance's ships have.
Again, all these scenes work well enough on their own, but glued together leaves the movie feeling kind of start-and-stoppy.
- HUMOR : IT'S CRINGY
I am getting real sick of this Disney brand (bow to your overlords, and may their Entertainment Empire rule for millennia to come) action-adventure humor. Like comedy in an action-adventure-sci fi movie is fine, it's good. There's plenty in the original trilogy of "Star Wars" movies, it's what made the world over fall in love with "Avengers", and a lot of the old staples like "Back to the Future". it's necessary sometimes. Levity and lightheartedness keep a movie from feeling too self-serious- it gets the audiences laughing with it instead of at it.
But it doesn't work here. And the more I thought about it, the less funny the jokes and gags in "Last Jedi" felt to me. Like when Poe Dameron is patched through to the evil General Huxley (played by Domhnall Gleeson, who co-starred with Poe's Oscar Isaac in the fantastic "Ex Machina") he makes a 'yo momma' joke. Which was a hilarious joke to make in 2006, but then sadly stopped being hilarious in 2006.
And there are so many moments like that. Like there was a man behind the movie screen pushing a button every 5 minutes that said "JOKE" on it. I got a similar vibe from "Thor: Ragnarok", that the comedy they put in the movie robbed the drama some of its weight. I think it was a lot worse in "Thor" than it was in "Last Jedi", but even still. It ends up feeling like I'm watching a visibly nervous comedian up on a stage, who makes eye contact with me in the audience and mouths the words 'please laugh'. It feels desperate.
THE GOOD
- CHARACTERS: QUALITY AND QUANTITY
Yes, there are a lot of characters here, but goddamn did I actually care about all of them (except maybe like, Snoke). And that's because the movie made me care about them, made them feel like real people with personalities and character flaws and goals and all that good stuff. Not the deepest characters ever created in fiction, but so much more than your average action-adventure movie fare.
My biggest issue with "Star Wars: Rogue One" is that I didn't care about any of the characters. Yes, "Star Wars" is a science fiction epic about magic swords and spaceships, but the reason "Star Wars" ever succeeded in the first place is that the audience cared about those people holding the magic swords and flying those spaceships.
"Force Awakens" established Rey, Kylo, and Finn as real, interesting characters, and "Last Jedi" pushes them all forward, develops them in really interesting, often times unpredictable ways. The same with Poe and Luke, who along with Rey and Kylo are the most interesting characters in the movie. Finn is still great, but feels a little less important here in this movie (though I will be interested to see where he goes from here, with the kind of love-square "Star Wars" is setting up).
I mentioned her already, but I also really like the addition of Rose to the cast. Not only does she tie in beautifully with the movie's opening scene, but she stands out as someone who is not a badass in the "Star Wars" universe. She's a bit of a dork, and a realist. She feels like a normal person who stumbled into the "Star Wars" universe. She isn't leading the charge- she's working in the boiler room. And she's great for that.
The Rey-Kylo-Luke stuff is also all great. Not only does it add more motivation and pathos to Kylo's fall to the dark side, but their complicated relationships with one another show us a side of "Star Wars" not seen before- not light or dark, but grey.
-NEW STUFF: NOT JUST NOSTALGIA
"Last Jedi" is written and directed by Rian Johnson (known for "Looper"). And it really does feel like it's coming from an actual human being's imagination. It feels unique to him among the other "Star Wars" movies, and the biggest thing that feels unique to him is how different he wanted it to feel.
You think, like "Force Awakens" was for "A New Hope", "Last Jedi" will be a remake of "Empire Strikes Back"? Rian Johnson laughs.
You think Snoke is gonna be the new Emperor, that Rey and Kylo will have a massive struggle against in the final movie of this new trilogy? Rian Johnson laughs.
You think Rey's the kid of Luke Skywalker? Maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi? Yoda? Rian Johnson laughs.
And most importantly- You think Luke Skywalker is gonna show up and demonstrate his now-god like Force Powers? That he's gonna take down a fleet of First Order with a wave of his hand? Oh, Rian Johnson laughs. And he laughs at you.
Maybe that's the problem so many people had with this movie- how it felt so different from what they knew, from what they expected. How it didn't deliver the goods when it came to the fanboy moments, that the movie "RUINED LUKE SKYWALKER". For better or for worse (and I see it as for better), "Last Jedi" took delight in throwing the audience narrative curveballs.
But it was these oddball story choices that led to my next topic.
- MOMENTS: THEY'RE COOL
This review is already long enough, but it deserves to be mentioned- there are some stellar sequences in "Last Jedi".
The standout has to be the scenes in Snoke's Throneroom, intercut with Laura Dern's character's sacrifice that allows the Resistance to escape. This is a moment where the different story moments all line up perfectly, for ultimate dramatic effect.
It's fantastic stuff.
THE PROGNOSIS
"Last Jedi" is far from perfect. There are as many issues as there are positives. At 2 and a half hours, it stands as a little bloated. But the good ultimately outweighs the bad.
Maybe I'm being mean, or oversimplifying, but I think what made audiences in particular unhappy with "Last Jedi", to go so far as to say that they hate it, is the amount of different. One of the biggest themes of the movie, established multiple times by multiple characters, is to let the old die. To bring on the new, the different. To take chances. And I think that's what "Last Jedi" was, in many ways. It was a risk, especially in comparison to "Force Awakens". And I hope that that desire is something that stays with the people making "Star Wars", with people making superhero movies, with everyonemaking movies.
Bring on the new, the different, the unique. We've seen these movies, and so many movies like them, way too many times. No more remakes- just make.
Also tone down on the Marvel-humor please thank you.
Score: Puppet Yoda's Back Baby/10
