PLEASE DON’T READ THIS UNLESS YOU’VE SEEN THE NEW STARWARS
We really wanted somewhere to discuss a couple of things about the Star Wars film and we’ve been looking into storytelling and how narratives are assembled so here goes…
‘The Last Jedi’ is the rare franchise movie that embraces its series’s tropes and subverts them at the same time. What stood out to us as the most dramatic subversion was that this was the first Star Wars film, arguably since the original ‘A New Hope’, that felt wholly informed by its director’s sensibilities. Sure, Irvin Kershner gave ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ a sense of seriousness that didn’t seem to interest George Lucas, and The Force Awakens was full of J.J. Abrams’ stylistic flair. But ‘The Last Jedi’ is definitively a Rian Johnson movie, perhaps even more than it is a Star Wars film. From the irreverent, slapstick humour and gorgeous, jaw-dropping visuals (Vice Admiral Holdo’s sacrifice, we’re looking at you) to the thoughtful rethink of the Jedi mythos Star Wars fans have taken for granted, ‘The Last Jedi’ steps away from the rest of the franchise. Rian Johnson has refined his unique style over the course of his career, but the fact that he was free to express it fully here is thrilling. Turning Star Wars into a property people will want to revisit year and after year is going to require diversity in perspective, tone, and approach. The Last Jedi appears to be proof that filmmakers will be given the freedom to reimagine Lucas’ world in ways he never would have thought of. That’s a direction we’re very much interested in.
Secondly, the new characters; Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo was a highlight, especially as a foil to Poe. It was interesting to see how they had the same goal, but executed it completely differently. Conflict among the good guys in Star Wars is rare and exciting (especially when Poe declares mutiny to a shocked C-3PO), and it helped keep the drawn-out middle of the film moving. I was happy to see Kelly Marie Rose as Rose Tico. Having an Asian woman as part of the ensemble is a step toward better reflecting society, and she was great. I would have liked to have seen her develop more, but that’s hard, given the already long runtime of the film. I felt like her friendship with Finn was really worthwhile, though I question the romantic aspect. (Their kiss seemed unjustified, but she does think she’s dying.) Benicio Del Toro’s DJ is a terrific character, but he side tracks the main narrative. It’s nice to have a character with some shades of grey.
The moment where Leia shoots Poe may be our favourite thing in the film, both because she was overdue for some decisive physical action, and because it works so sharply against the hotshot-hero dynamic the Star Wars films love. The downside there is that his sulky little mutiny doesn’t just cost them some time and cost him some dignity. Sending Finn and Rose out on their mission directly leads to DJ giving up the Resistance to the First Order, which gets most of the Resistance killed. As much as we loved the movie subverting Poe, he ultimately faces no consequences for getting virtually all his allies killed.
Even though this was very clearly a film which had its own direction, it was great to see the comparative nods to previous Star Wars stories. This would be the betrayal by DJ feels like a pretty clear reference to Lando Calrissian in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and also the training scenes with Luke and Rey were similar to Yoda and Luke from the same film.
