Second Look - Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Note: This review contains spoilers for the Star Wars Skywalker Saga.

Among the films in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi easily proved the most contentious when it first released in 2017. While critics clearly loved it, as reflected in the Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% at the time of this writing, audiences felt mixed. Some liked the bold choices made throughout the film while others disliked certain plot and character developments. Personally, when I first saw The Last Jedi in a theater, I had mixed feelings on what this film did, but I didn’t fully hate it because I had given the then-unfinished Sequel Trilogy the benefit of the doubt. With this trilogy now long-since completed, I went back and reevaluated my feelings on The Last Jedi, since I now had the full context. Unfortunately, placing this film within that context doesn’t really do it any favors.

To quote the opening crawl: “The FIRST ORDER reigns. Having decimated the peaceful Republic, Supreme Leader Snoke now deploys his merciless legions to seize military control of the galaxy. Only General Leia Organa's band of RESISTANCE fighters stand against the rising tyranny, certain that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker will return and restore a spark of hope to the fight. But the Resistance has been exposed. As the First Order speeds toward the Rebel base, the brave heroes mount a desperate escape....”

Immediately following the events of The Force Awakens, the First Order has assumed control over the galaxy. After Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) leads a costly counterattack that destroys a First Order dreadnought, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) escapes the fray with the surviving rebels through hyperspace. Unfortunately, the First Order managed to track them through hyperspace. As the Resistance looks for a safe place to regroup, Rey (Daisy Ridley) has met with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on an island on Ahch-To, where the Jedi Master has grown weary and cynical. As such, Rey must convince him to train her and help the Resistance. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) feels emotionally conflicted about himself and his place within the First Order.

Rey (Daisy Ridley, right) meets with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, left).

Before we dive into the story, let’s first look at what The Last Jedi did well.

For the most part, the film is well-made. Whenever the characters aren’t in space, the environments and aliens look unique and generally fit within the Star Wars aesthetic. Some incredible CG helps not only bring the world to life, but assist the well-done fight scenes, including the climactic encounter between Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. The film also features some great cinematography, with plenty of striking visuals and nicely shot sequences, including Rey investigating a dark presence under the island. This time around, I did notice just how much the film loved using the color red, particularly within Snoke’s throne room and uncovering the red soil underneath the salty plains of Crait, and while I’m sure there’s a symbolic purpose behind it, I’m not aware of what it is.

When it comes to the creatures, the film places emphasis on the Porgs, a bird species found on Ach-To with a very marketable design, as a source of comic relief, which works fairly well. Despite the film clearly wanting the viewer to connect with the Porgs, however, I’m personally disappointed by the lack of merchandise for the Vulptex, aka “Crystal Fox.” There’s also an interesting mechanical choice in that the AT-M6 Walkers seen on Crait are visually more gorilla-like than the classic AT-AT Walkers.

Give me more of the Vulptices.

Regardless of how a viewer may feel about the script or how the characters are portrayed, the actors generally give good performances. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are certainly highlights, though the Sequel Trilogy cast do a fine job as well. You also can’t go wrong with the John Williams score, which matches what Star Wars fans would expect from him.

Now for the most contentious aspect of The Last Jedi: the story. Based on certain lines of dialogue and the general attitude towards the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance, it’s clear that the film heavily employs the theme of “Kill the Past” (those exact words are even nearly said verbatim). Yoda (Frank Oz) seemingly destroys the sacred Jedi texts to teach Luke that they are useless so he can move on. Kylo Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and tells Rey about her parents so they can try something new. This theme fuels one of the movie’s main messages, that the Star Wars franchise should stop complacently repeating the conflicts of the past and try something new. If The Last Jedi were retooled as a standalone film, then this message would carry more weight and come off more thought-provoking, if still contentious.

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) urges Rey to join him and kill the past.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a standalone film and though the message sounds good on paper, it doesn’t work in practice when the story it’s attached to is presented as the middle part of a trilogy. Within this context, certain plot elements fall flat. For instance, the aforementioned death of Snoke and the reveal of Rey’s parentage come off rather anticlimactic. Even with the angle that Snoke was a stepping stone for Kylo Ren’s further fall into the Dark Side, he feels like an almost pointless antagonist, since the audience is left forever questioning how he rose to power or how the First Order even came to be. Contrast this with Palpatine/Darth Sidious, who felt more believable as the leader of the Empire (though he also had the benefit of the Prequel Trilogy fleshing him out). As for the reveal of Rey’s parentage, it’s not super shocking for a Jedi to come from nothing, considering that’s exactly what happened with Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace. However, The Force Awakens seemed like it had hinted at some greater origin due to her deep connection with Luke, so the idea that she came from nothing comes off anticlimactic. Without the context of The Rise of Skywalker, viewers could also argue that since Kylo Ren was the one who said it, he could have lied to try and sway her to his side.

The double whammy of Snoke’s death and Rey’s parentage easily makes the film come off as trying to get the trilogy over with so Star Wars can move on to something else. However, those aren’t the only issues with the story or the plot. Poe, Finn (John Boyega) and Rose Tico’s (Kelly Marie Tran) secret plan to disable a First Order tracking device with the aid of a master codebreaker falls apart and doesn’t change much of anything, which makes the entire subplot feel completely pointless. Of course, the plan wouldn’t have gotten off the ground if Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) had actually told Poe her plan instead of withholding it for petty reasons. Some viewers may also take issue with Luke’s cynicism, as it arguably feels out of character compared to his nuanced but ultimately idealistic depiction in the Original Trilogy.

Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) created her own problem.

While not much of an issue, Leia using the Force to save herself from floating lifelessly in space personally gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s a powerful moment that later gives her the opportunity to have one final moment with her brother Luke. On the other, it could arguably have served as the perfect moment to write Leia out of the Sequel Trilogy, as Carrie Fisher’s untimely death would later create issues with the filming (and subsequently the storytelling) of The Rise of Skywalker, which originally relied on the actress’ availability. There’s also the matter of her using the Force at all, since she never demonstrated such capabilities in the Original Trilogy. To be fair, this does receive an explanation in The Rise of Skywalker, but within the context of The Last Jedi, the moment can feel confusing, prompting more speculative thoughts like, “Well, I guess a lot can happen in thirty years.”

With all of that said, much like how The Force Awakens copied a lot of plot elements and story beats from the original Star Wars, The Last Jedi does the same for The Empire Strikes Back. This might not be noticeable at first since it shuffles the order of events, but those events still play out and with more contrived circumstances. Rey is trained by Luke on the isolated Ach-To, much like how Luke trained with Yoda on Dagobah, including Rey not understanding the Force and nearly giving in to the Dark Side. Both films feature a chase in space where the heroes can’t use their hyperdrive and a subplot involving a betrayal after travelling to a new planet. Kylo Ren tries tempting Rey to the Dark Side so that they may rule the universe together and Rey is told about her parentage, much like Darth Vader did with Luke in a very famous scene. There’s even a battle involving giant Walkers on a white planet, though this time one colored by salt rather than ice. Really, the only thing The Last Jedi doesn’t do is somehow involve Lando Calrissian.

For better or worse, The Last Jedi represents a turning point for the Sequel Trilogy. Its commentary about the nature of Star Wars films and attempt at pivoting to a new direction may work for some, though the approach falls flat in the context of a trilogy. Ironically, in spite of its bold developments, the film feels shackled to its own roots, as it copies much of The Empire Strikes Back, but not as effectively. Watching The Force Awakens is definitely a prerequisite for viewing this one if you want to take a look for yourself and form your own opinion, but it's otherwise hard to recommend.