[This blog is for cinematic and televisual musings, book rantings, geek glees, and media reviews, and true to its name, there are spoilers here, so consider this your warning: SPOILER ALERT!]
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the most recent segment in the (so far) 9-part series, not including the off-shoot stories such as Rogue One and the upcoming Han Solo origin story, is causing quite a storm in the media and in the Star Wars fandom. It has grossed enough revenue to replace Wonder Woman as the record box office smash, topping $1 billion. Despite this monumental cash flow, this film has the entire fandom split in two over the authenticity of the story to the Star Wars canon (if that can still be argued, since the majority of the original canon was done away with when Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise), and over the course the plot takes throughout the movie.
Although I have not been exposed to the Star Wars canon in the books other than through in-depth conversations with friends who were, I have been a huge Star Wars fanatic since I was a kid. Luke Skywalker was my first movie hero; I was four or five the first time I took the Star Wars adventure, and since then, his character remained fixed (and still does to this day) as one of the true heroes I could emulate and look up to. When the prequels (Episodes I, II, and III) came out when I was a teenager, it was wonderful to relive with my parents all the ecstatic anticipation at being once more diving at head-first into the Star Wars universe with them, and it was a blast. The prequels leave a lot to be desired in terms of plot, execution, and scripting, but overall it filled in the gaps of the backstory that the originals (Episodes IV, V, and VI) needed. When I found out about Episode VII when I was in college three or four years ago, that same joy came roaring up in me. The adventure was going to begin again, and this time, it was going to be better. We all knew it. I won't go into my Force Awakens review here (I'll save that for another post), but I will say this: I absolutely loved it. It got rid of the bad taste in my mouth from the prequels and revived in my heart all that adventurous, stomach-churning, hair-raising, tear-jerking space adventure and rebellion we all loved the original Star Wars episodes for.
After waiting the interminable two years, The Last Jedi finally premiered. I wasn't able to get premiere tickets, so I attempted to remain blind to spoilers (which, surprisingly, I was able to do), although there was one thing I was not able to ignore: people's uproar toward it. Fans were going bezerk over it, and not in a good way. Two years of never-ending waiting and this was the surprise that awaited me. To say the least, I was terrified. If I have not emphasized it enough already, this story, its world, its characters (both old and new) mean the world to me. They are akin to family to me, but more than any others, Luke and Rey held an iron-tight grip of fear on me. I knew Leia would remain good; she is just that much of a badass and that strong that I had no doubt. But when the trailers were released for the film and it slowly revealed both Rey and Luke's struggles between the dark and the light, this terrible dread filled me. Even as I sat in my seat in the theater, I had a pit in my stomach as I waited for the movie to start. This may sound ridiculous to most, but keeping to the authenticity and to the heart of these characters was really important to me.
I will say right now, I was not disappointed. At all.
Now, for the heart of the blog post, my review of The Last Jedi. In a word? Brilliant. 5/5, two thumbs up, etc. etc.
I loved it.
All of it.
But even as I watched it, I realized why so many people were upset. And, at the risk of upsetting more people (which will no doubt happen whether that is my intention or not), I thought people's objections were ridiculous.
Now that I've ticked off a lot of you, let me explain why.
What I want to focus on in this particular review, rather than give a diluted, overall review, is to talk about Luke and Kylo Ren. Not that I disliked the other parts of the movie, but from what I'm gathering, Luke's apparent "change in character" is what threw most people into a tailspin in their reactions to this movie. But, because I can, I will say this: I loved the Resistance infrastructure and the emphasis on not only giving your life when it is necessary but also knowing when to keep your life for the sake of others and to keep fighting. (The scene where Rose knocks Finn's ship out of track before he sacrifices himself had me bawling--this movie did such an amazing job at showing when, like Rose's sister, your life is a truly good and needed sacrifice, and when, like Finn's life being saved, it can be for something further than sacrifice). And Leia--oh my goodness gracious. As stiff as the choreography was, I loved her taking herself through deep space to get back to the ship just by using the Force. Freaking awesome. (Can I get a "holla" for a Jedi film about her?? Dang, I wish Leia could have been a full-fledged Jedi!) And Finn, and Po, and Rose. All of them. It presented realistic problems that such a dynamic as the Resistance would face, and it presented it well and with many jaw-dropping actions to-boot. Fantastic.
Now on to Luke. As soon as Rey approached him with the lightsaber and he tossed it into the grass, I knew where this was going to go. I was laughing. Can anyone blame him? He went into hiding FOR A REASON, and a good one, too. Not only was he running away from the mistakes he'd made in his past, he was keeping away from Kylo Ren in a justifiable attempt to help keep the universe from being in any more peril than it already was if the Dark Side got a hold of him.
For this, let's take a step back and look at the Star Wars story arc as a whole.
Episodes I-III detail in great length the origins, struggles, obsessions, love, and eventual downfall of Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father. Episode III, in particular, gives great detail to the fear for his wife Padme and how his paranoia led him to become a pawn of Darth Sidius, a lord of the Dark Side. Attaching himself to the authority that came with such a power shift, while at the same time haunted by his past (not necessarily with regret, at least not until much later), Anakin, now turned Darth Vader, commands as the force of evil (no pun intended) to remove the Rebellion (the Resistance in its early stages).
When Episode IV opens, Luke is a teenager longing for adventure away from his farm, when he is confronted with not only the reality of the Jedi but that Darth Vader "killed" his father. He has lived the entirety of his life in the shadow of the fear of the Empire and the horrors they commit across the galaxy. Sure, everyone hears of the Rebellion and their attempts to destroy the Empire, but nothing has been truly successful so far. Luke is eventually bound up in the adventure in ways he cannot fathom when he meets R2D2, finds Old Ben (Anakin's old Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise), and begins training in the ways of the force. Just as Luke is beginning to understand his place in this epic struggle, Old Ben is "cut down" by Darth Vader (though it has been argued, and this I tend to agree with, that Ben wasn't cut down but became one with the force, coinciding perfectly with Vader's killing blow). Luke loses the closest link to his past, and a father figure, that he ever had and has lost his aunt and uncle in the midst of the fray. Already in his bourgening attempt to fight against the Empire, he has lost virtually everyone that he ever cared about--all at the hands of the Dark Side, the Empire.
Episode V, Luke goes to seek training from the last Jedi Master in the galaxy, Yoda. He is taught control and discipline, while at the same time allowing space for the Force to work through him, but also to surrender himself to the power that he has been "chosen" to wield (for lack of a better term). Before he is aware of his lineage, he is confronted with the haunting image of his face on Darth Vader's person. The terror of that moment can't be underestimated. Remember all of the horrific things Darth Vader has done since falling to the Dark Side. As it is bound to happen, Luke and Vader confront each other, and Luke loses his hand. Not a big deal, right? Come on people, it's one thing after another with Luke. His every interaction since becoming a Jedi has had some sort of horrific emotional or physical trauma. As though all of these things weren't enough, Vader chooses this time to force Luke to accept the reality of his birth: he is Vader's son.
Let's take a special moment to really ponder this. The person responsible for virtually every act of evil committed at the hands of the Empire, the Dark Lord Vader, is his father. Luke is justifiably horrified and shocked, to say the least. It's as though Old Ben and Yoda were merely preparing him not only for life as a Jedi but also to face the horror of his lineage.
Episode VI, Luke has not only accepted his lineage (something not many of us could do at all, let alone under those kinds of circumstances), but he has made it his mission to get back to Vader and convince him to come back to the Light and abandon the Dark Side. He senses good in him, despite all reports to the contrary, and is willing to risk everything to save his father and the galaxy. Confronted with not only Vader but the Dark Lord Sidius and tempted with the (in my opinion, justifiable) desire to cut down Sidius and kill him, Luke is nearly killed by him. Here Vader finally shows the last shred of humanity he has in rescuing his son and dies as a result. Few stories of redemption match up to this one. The heartbreaking scene of Luke removing his father's mask never ceases to make me cry, even to this day. This particular chapter of the story ends on a particularly high note, for the moment the galaxy is at relative peace, and Luke seeing through the Force the visages of his former Masters, Yoda and Ben, and his father, Anakin.
Fast forward thirty years to the opening of Episode VII. Even though this background isn't filled in until Episode VIII, I'll place it here. Han and Leia had a son whom they named Ben (after Old Ben from Episode IV), and Luke, having become a Master Jedi by this time, senses a great power and leaning toward the Force in him and takes him and a dozen other students to be trained in a budding Jedi school. In the midst of this, the newest Dark Lord Snoke has taken to conquering the galaxy as his predecessor Darth Sidius did before him, creating the First Order. Whether it is that Ben had a propensity to the Dark Side or whether it was his arrogance that led him to that leaning, his heart is soon turned. Luke senses this, and there are no justifiable words to describe what that must have been like for him. For a brief moment at reading Ben's heart, Luke must have remembered in an instant all the horror and evil that such a turning to the Dark Side created in his time as kid, let alone what he was sure would come again as a result.
This is why I just walked you through a very basic summary of the overarching story of Star Wars, focusing on Anakin and Luke's arc. The Dark Side isn't something to be trifled with or to be brushed aside. It cannot be overemphasized that a young Jedi such as Ben turned to the Dark Side so soon would be horrifically disastrous for any good or hope in the universe. Look at the entirety of Episodes VII and VIII.
Now let's address right now one of the biggest things that shocked even me about his character: his temptation to kill Kylo Ren while he slept. Let me say now, it may have shocked me, but it didn't surprise me.
Why?
Go back two paragraphs, and reread it.
It may not have been a justifiable temptation for Luke to cut down Ben in his sleep, but his instinct wasn't inaccurate or clouded by emotion. Episodes VII and VIII detail at great length the horrors that Ben, turned Kylo Ren once he surrendered himself to the Dark Side, commits against even those closest to him.
Guys, he kills his own father. He kills Han Solo.
Do I need to shout this through my computer screen?
HE KILLED HIS FATHER. In cold blood.
Kylo Ren is EVIL. He may have occasional moments of conflict, but even those cannot justify the carnage that he willingly wroughts. The path of destruction he creates is truly terrible.
But Luke, in hiding for thirty years, tortured by the memory of what the Jedi used to be, what they helped create (his dive at the Jedi religion leading to the creation of the Sith Lord and the over-emphasis on the ancient texts was spot-on), is blamed and spat on for having a moment of terror and weakness in wanting to rid the world of what would surely be a terrible evil.
BUT HE DOESN'T.
He doesn't take Ren's life. He admits outright to Rey when telling her the truth of that night, that the moment soon passed and he felt nothing but guilt and shame for it. He had more than ample time to kill Ben before he awoke. But he didn't.
No one seems to comment on how terrible Kylo Ren is. He killed his father and countless others, tortures, berates, commands, and kills his Dark Lord to take over his power hold, but Luke is the bad guy in this movie?
Am I missing something here?
For those of you still declaring Luke as the bad guy in this film, does the ending matter to you at all?
He completely spends himself fighting Kylo Ren and distracting the First Order to help what little is left of the Resistance get away. Through one hell of a Force Projection, Luke takes on the Dark Lord Kylo Ren and kicks his butt, to boot. Not only that, he gives Kylo Ren an apology for failing him as his master. I personally do not believe he needed to apologize, but he did.
Even if Luke had truly lost himself and become a completely different character (I do not believe that, as detailed above, but some do), surely such an act of sacrifice would merit some level of redemption even from you? Force Projection, especially of that caliber, is akin to draining every bit of your life force. It isn't just coincidental or an easy-out that Luke becomes one with the Force at the end of the film just as his master Obi-Wan Kenobi did before him. It was truly an act of self-sacrifice to do what he did.
Was it upsetting to see, even temporarily, that your childhood hero from the Star Wars of old had his human moments and faults of anger and pride and despair? No doubt. You're talking to someone who was crying through most of the movie at seeing her hero so torn up inside. But I hope I've also detailed why Luke's character didn't take a nose-dive; they didn't ruin Star Wars. It is taking a new direction. Hence my title, "Live and Let Die". The legacy and the adventure of this fantastic universe is changing hands, as it should.
I'll end my rant on Luke with this: Mark Hamill, who was admittedly not happy with the change Luke underwent any more than most of his fans were, came out publically both on Facebook and in this interview, stating very clearly that although he was originally upset, once he saw the film he came to really appreciate what director/writer Rian Johnson saw for Luke. He loves the film. If he can get over it, then you can, too.
Luke and his story arc aside, this film brilliantly followed not only the evolution and revolution of the Resistance fighters and their roots in the Rebellion of the earlier films but also the necessary change the Jedi needed to undergo.
I know there are many who will read this and still be peeved by my review and my 5/5 rating, but frankly, I don't care. If I felt those objections were legitimate, I would probably agree with you. But 99.9% of the objections I've encountered don't have an authentic basis as a defense for the story. Most people are complaining simply because it is new and it is different than the previous stories. If you want the old stories and nothing else, don't see the new films! You are more than welcome to go back and watch the previous movies. But please don't ruin the fun the rest of us are having in this story.
One last note before I wrap up: there has been a lot of freak outs because of the supposed plot holes the film has. From what I'm gathering, mostly from not knowing the origins of Snoke and who Rey's parents are. Let me remind you, this is the second film in a trilogy. The story isn't over yet. And maybe this is just me, but Snoke's background isn't that vital to me. He is a Dark Lord. He has an obvious connection with the Dark Side of the Force and having enough power to manipulate the Force to deceive both Rey and Ren. Isn't it more important that Ren had the chance at redemption after killing Snoke and didn't take it and instead took that dark throne for himself?
And about Rey's parents: what does it matter if her parents are who Ren claims they are, just drunks who sold Rey for drink? That alone is disturbing and horrible (to say the least), but I think we are already forgetting just how important the scene is of Rey confronting her infinite reflections in the cavern beneath the Jedi Temple. The fact that we see the silhouettes of who Rey's parents are and are then only given Rey's reflection spells to something that the entire film really emphasizes: live and let die. Ren himself tells Rey that her desire to know who her parents are is her greatest weakness. The fact that the reflection showed her drives home the need to embrace the present and let go of the past. Not to say that Rey's desire to know her parents is bad or unjustified, but there is a point where the past needs to become the past.
I'll say it again: I loved this movie. I didn't feel betrayed or bamboozled or any of the extreme negative reactions people are having. Y'all have every right to not like it, but I have every right to love it. I hope this review helped shed light on that.
May the Force be with you, my fellow movie patrons! May our next meeting be as raucous and adventurous as this one. See you next time.
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