I've been away from the theater, and likewise blogging for a while due to my college experience calling for less general amusement and more nose-to-the-grindstone work, especially given my current situation. But as I've been reminded, it's not exactly a good idea to apply for a job without any credibility. So, for the sake of experience and writing bases, the blog is back open. Expect posts...whenever I see a film.
Kicking off the glorious return is a film that had a lot of hype behind it, and for obvious reasons: the public is always happy to see a new Star Wars film. The series has grown such a phenomenal amount from its beginnings and has become a global powerhouse with its legacy as one of the greatest series of films ever written. I'm fairly convinced you could just make an hour and thirty minutes of Wookiee screaming and it would be a blockbuster hit (nevermind, that one didn't turn out so well) with how popular the franchise is. And why wouldn't something like Star Wars be? With memorable characters, an engaging story and a fantastic score, it's no wonder the series has stood the test of time. And now with the acquisition of Lucasarts by Disney, it's free to continue its ventures into a galaxy far, far away so long as they are profitable. So what did people think of the newest addition to one of the greatest sagas ever told?
Let's just say some people don't take change well.
We can talk about a lot of things that people complain about regarding the newer Star Wars movies. The somewhat bland and self-insert-like main characters, the somewhat recycled story, and most notably, the newer films having the audacity to kill off the heroes of the classics. But I have NEVER seen a Star Wars film so split down the middle opinion-wise as The Last Jedi. Where do I begin?
In this film, now that main character and up-and-coming Jedi Rey has located and made contact with the legendary hero Luke Skywalker, she attempts to coerce him to train her and rejoin the rebellion in order to defeat his former pupil (Edward Lightsaberhands) while the remaining Rebel alliance faces trouble after a First Order trap leaves the command structure in turmoil (Princess Leia has been rendered unconscious, and Admiral Ackbar has been killed by, ironically, the trap). The rebels are facing a problem on two fronts- not only are the First Order ships somehow able to track them through lightspeed and pin them down under constant fire, but their light of hope Luke seems to have no intention of training the young Jedi who sought his help. The Rebels are running out of fuel and manpower, with the First Order closing in.
At the same time, Finn the Stormtrooper wakes up from the injuries he endured in The Force Awakens, and is stopped from finding Rey by the pinning down of the Rebel fleet. After learning from Rebel mechanic Rose that there is a tracker on the ship of the First Order's leader, the two seek a way to disable it and allow the Rebels to escape safely. But both the plans of Rey and Finn may hit a grinding halt due to the interventions of the First Order- especially Rey, who finds herself telepathically linked to villainous Jedi Kylo Ren (Ben Solo). He seeks to convert her to to the dark side at any cost- even if it means destroying everything to get to her (and being shirtless). These plot lines come together on the ship of Supreme Leader Snoke- the big boss of the First Order- in a battle to protect what is left of the Rebels, and indeed the last shards of hope in the galaxy. Is it true what Kylo Ren says? Is it time for the past- including the Jedi religion- to die? And if so, who will die with it?
On the surface, there's a lot to like about this film: Luke Skywalker as a jaded old man, lightsaber battles, epic spaceship combat, and the return of some fan favorite characters are all mixed with the wonderful scenery and score one comes to expect from a Star Wars film- that's something that not even the worst of the films have been able to fully mess up. And yeah: it's still Star Wars at its heart, which is never a really bad thing. But the problems come when you look at a lot of the newer aspects- specifically, the side plots and new characters. I'm talking mainly about one character in particular that really drives home a few of the issues in the newer series: Rose.
Engineer Rose (I don't remember her last name, so let's go with Quartz) represents one of the things I find most irritating about art: the Mary Sue in a pure form. It kind of reminds me of a fanfiction story. She's got every trope on the list- she appeared in The Force Awakens for a brief moment, but suddenly gets thrust into a starring role, has a romantic moment with a main character, is supposedly extremely talented, has a sad backstory, survives a deadly situation, etc. While it's not a horrible version of the trope, it's certainly an obvious one. But the real problem I have with Rose is this- her subplot seems to go nowhere.
The subplot is one of the huge problems with the film- about Finn and Rose needing to disable the tracker on Snoke's ship. Fine and dandy, but they never actually get to that- they're stopped and almost executed- so in reality, there isn't much reason for her to be there- it's Finn who takes out all the enemies and manuvers them around the ship. If he's doing so much already, why not have Finn, a former trooper on the ship, be able to disable the tracker? Or better yet, bring along a droid- you certainly have one to spare. Not only that, but Rose and Finn partake in destroying a planetary paradise for the high-class spaceman (which is supposed to be for arms dealers) in order to escape. And they don't go silently- they tear through the casino, crash through the houses, and utterly wreck the place- for no other reason than, I guess, "Screw the 1%". In fact, they denote more time to them wrecking the upper class than actually disabling the tracker. And all that means absolutely nothing- they're saved by the Rebels anyway, and Rose later almost kills herself while trying to stop Finn from destroying a First Order gun (that gun would later proceed to break the last line of defense the Rebels had). It's a useless plot, and something that ruins most of the film with its pointlessness. Other aspects (like the Porgs, those space penguin things they ham up in the trailer) really don't serve much purpose (the Porgs are only in the first half of the film and the very end, and mostly just scream), and some of the main stories are just a bit silly (I have no idea why Rey and Kylo are connected). The stories are the big issue here, and a lot of the plot twists are frustrating.
But once again, it's the action that saves The Last Jedi from entering prequel territory. There's a lot of great stuff on display here- from a tag-team lightsaber battle against Snoke's elite guards to an impressive display of a ship being bisected by a lightspeed charge. The ship battles and even the finale are orchestrated beautifully, and even the destruction of the high-class area is shown with a high-speed chase. The action sequences bring a lot to the film- and much like any Star Wars, they're the highlight.
Overall Rating: 6.5/7 out of 10
Yes, it's a Star Wars film. But there's a lot of things that slow it down.The great action and tense scenes are balanced out with slow and at times irritating scenes- it's like The Empire Strikes Back on one side and The Phantom Menace on the other. Half the time you have these great sequences, but the other half is boring exposition and characters that are hard to grow attatched to. It's definitely not the worst Star Wars (The Phantom Menace is still a thing), but it's not the best. If you like Star Wars, you'll probably like this one too. My advice? Watch the Jedi training, Rebel scenes and finale. Skip over Finn and Rose- just assume it didn't work and move on.
