Last Jedi Review and Star Wars Movie Rankings
This post contains spoilers, and if you not seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi yet why the heck are you reading a review, just go watch it and make your own judgment before reading my thoughts.
NOTE: I've updated this review and ranking after further reflection and conversions as of Feburary 22nd, 2018.
Having now watched the newest installment of the Star Wars saga three times and taken some time to let it stew in my mind, I feel ready to offer my thoughts and opinions on this movie and conclude with my updated rankings of all the live action films. I want to be as fair, nuanced and insightful as I can.
The Last Jedi is a difficult movie to evaluate because the pros and cons and so connected and so extreme that sorting it out is a mess. So what did I think? Here's my review thesis: The Last Jedi is by itself a decent movie but in the context of the Star Wars saga timeline it is abysmal; there are three aspects of why this movie doesn't work: From one perspective, the fault lies with the set-up provided by The Force Awakens. There is also the fault of ham-fisted ideology and mixed messages. Finally, there are the missed opportunities and unacceptably dumb decisions made by characters.
So let's get into it, shall we?
First, was there anything good in The Last Jedi?
Sure. The action scenes are generally good (though nowhere near what Rogue One gave us), the cinematography is amazing when we're on Ach-To and Crait. Poe get's more screen time, and the showdown between Luke and Kylo is just awesome. Would it have been cooler if Luke were actually present? Maybe, but I'm fine with what we got. Adam Driver and Mark Hamill both gave outstanding performances. John Williams's score is perfect.
But none of that is enough to cover the plotholes and propaganda. I said there are three sets of problems that The Last Jedi has, so let's look at each. First, the set up from J.J. Abram's The Force Awakens. This movie had a tricky line to walk, with J.J. Abrams remixing A New Hope and setting up Episode VIII to be a remix of The Empire Strikes Back with regards to Luke Skywalker and Rey. One reason we didn't get Luke being the wise old Jedi master was that doing so would be seen as a remix of ESB. J.J. clearly sets Luke up this way at the end of TFA with the Jedi robes and everything. In his efforts not to be Empire 2.0, Johnson made the mistake of keeping the training in exile plot idea, the main parallel and changing the character relationships instead. Which is frustrating because he could easily have kept Luke as wise and old if not heroic and just had Luke leave with Rey early on. Want to break the mold? That's how you do it.
And this problem plagues The Last Jedi like Darth Plageius the wise. The movie is self-consciously trying not to be ESB.
Also part of this problem is the narrative of the Sequel trilogy as a whole. Historically, when rebellions succeed in toppling a regime, we don't see that regime resurging thirty years later like nothing's happened. They hand around, sure. But consider, for example, the Americas after the war with Britain. The next war with Britain did actually occur a little over thirty years later in the war of 1812, but it was a tamer version of the previous war. Most of that thirty-year period was filled with some early growing pains and questions of purpose and identity. I think a prime example is the whiskey tax "wars". I mean, imagine if Episode VII had opened with New Republic troops taking on spice merchants who wouldn't pay the Republic's taxes? You have action, but you also have an in-universe plot point established because now the New Republic is being shown as the strong ones and you could play with the identity crisis of how the New Republic is trying to avoid the possibility of becoming the empire.
Likewise, following the French revolution, we have another example of a new order arising from rebellion and the initial result is chaos until Napoleon arrives. Imagine Snoke as a Napoleon figure, ostensibly supporting the ideals of the New Republic but becoming an emperor. Yes, this is similar to Palpatine but Snoke could be less the gifted politician and more of a trouble-maker because he is building his own faction. For added effect, make him, like Napoleon, a Republic War hero.
There are a host of other examples: the South American wars of independence, the Texas revolution, the fall of the USSR, and even the aftermath of WW2 in Europe.
The only historical scenario close to what the Sequel Trilogy has given us is actually World War Two where the Germans came back with great fury. But there was a different ideology driving the Germans in WW2 than in WW1. Nor is the Galactic Civil War comparable to WW1. If anything, the Clone Wars are the WW1 of the Star Wars galaxy, with the GCW being WW2 but minus the allies and only featuring the resistance groups inside Nazi Germany.
Build new factions who's ideologies and goals are born out the events of the Original trilogy instead of just bringing back the Empire. That's all I ask.
Okay, I'm going to move on to the second set of issues: the film was preachy and confused in what it was preaching. The first is bad enough (and is something I call out in Christian movies all the time too) but the second is unforgivable. If you think you have something worth telling people, at least be clear on it. Because bascially the only sermon point I got in Johnson's message is that men are stupid and should just listen to women.
Yes, I am an anti-feminist and I will call out feminist nonsense when I encounter it. And my Force does this movie have feminist nonsense and I'm not just talking about Rey. I could talk about how Rey is basically a feminist power fantasy, and how her lack of physical loss or defeat in this movie only reinforces that reality (imagine if she was wounded and struggling in the scene where she moves the rocks; imagine she can't do it at first and then remembers something Luke told her and keeps trying until, straining, she lifts them and hold them long enough for everyone to get out before collapsing in exhaustion) but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Rey though is not the main feminist issue with TLJ (though she is an issue). That dishonor goes to Holdo. As a foil for Poe she works, but the complete turnaround in perception, from Poe's nemesis to old friend of Leia's who makes a sacrifice we're supposed to cry about is a bit much. A simple fix would have been a passionate debate between Holdo and Leia where the latter reprimands the former for dissing the people entrusted to her by not telling them the plan. There is literally no reason not to tell the rebels her plan and her refusal to do so ultimately results in loss of life, or to at least confirm that there is a plan even she decides to withholds the details. And yet we're never told that she was a bad leader, which she clearly is. Instead, Poe was wrong for not trusting her.
And let's talk about the hyperspace thing. So, leaving aside how this completely changes the nature of Star Wars battles, I find it beyond hypocritical that Holdo sacrificing herself to save the resistance is presented as noble but when Finn tries the EXACT SAME THING, Rose stops him and says some gibberish about winning by saving those we love which is EXACTLY WHAT FINN WAS TRYING TO DO AND ROSE JUST SELFISHLY DID FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL. And this is even more ironic because at the beginning when Finn wants to leave so he can save Rey ("saving what we love"), Rose calls him selfish and yet she literally jeopardizes the lives of every other Resistance Fighter because she acts selfishly. Without the appearances of Luke Skywalker, she would have doomed everyone.
So the message here is evidently "men shouldn't be heroes." Because otherwise, the movie is presenting conflicting ideologies
Another missed opportunity was letting Poe's mutiny have an effect.The unauthorized mission has disastrous results, but Poe's actual mutiny has no direct influence. It's almost as if the movie is not only saying "toxic masculinity" is bad but also laughing at the ability of a chauvinist to actually impact things.
NOTE: I've updated this review and ranking after further reflection and conversions as of Feburary 22nd, 2018.
Having now watched the newest installment of the Star Wars saga three times and taken some time to let it stew in my mind, I feel ready to offer my thoughts and opinions on this movie and conclude with my updated rankings of all the live action films. I want to be as fair, nuanced and insightful as I can.
The Last Jedi is a difficult movie to evaluate because the pros and cons and so connected and so extreme that sorting it out is a mess. So what did I think? Here's my review thesis: The Last Jedi is by itself a decent movie but in the context of the Star Wars saga timeline it is abysmal; there are three aspects of why this movie doesn't work: From one perspective, the fault lies with the set-up provided by The Force Awakens. There is also the fault of ham-fisted ideology and mixed messages. Finally, there are the missed opportunities and unacceptably dumb decisions made by characters.
So let's get into it, shall we?
First, was there anything good in The Last Jedi?
Sure. The action scenes are generally good (though nowhere near what Rogue One gave us), the cinematography is amazing when we're on Ach-To and Crait. Poe get's more screen time, and the showdown between Luke and Kylo is just awesome. Would it have been cooler if Luke were actually present? Maybe, but I'm fine with what we got. Adam Driver and Mark Hamill both gave outstanding performances. John Williams's score is perfect.
But none of that is enough to cover the plotholes and propaganda. I said there are three sets of problems that The Last Jedi has, so let's look at each. First, the set up from J.J. Abram's The Force Awakens. This movie had a tricky line to walk, with J.J. Abrams remixing A New Hope and setting up Episode VIII to be a remix of The Empire Strikes Back with regards to Luke Skywalker and Rey. One reason we didn't get Luke being the wise old Jedi master was that doing so would be seen as a remix of ESB. J.J. clearly sets Luke up this way at the end of TFA with the Jedi robes and everything. In his efforts not to be Empire 2.0, Johnson made the mistake of keeping the training in exile plot idea, the main parallel and changing the character relationships instead. Which is frustrating because he could easily have kept Luke as wise and old if not heroic and just had Luke leave with Rey early on. Want to break the mold? That's how you do it.
And this problem plagues The Last Jedi like Darth Plageius the wise. The movie is self-consciously trying not to be ESB.
Also part of this problem is the narrative of the Sequel trilogy as a whole. Historically, when rebellions succeed in toppling a regime, we don't see that regime resurging thirty years later like nothing's happened. They hand around, sure. But consider, for example, the Americas after the war with Britain. The next war with Britain did actually occur a little over thirty years later in the war of 1812, but it was a tamer version of the previous war. Most of that thirty-year period was filled with some early growing pains and questions of purpose and identity. I think a prime example is the whiskey tax "wars". I mean, imagine if Episode VII had opened with New Republic troops taking on spice merchants who wouldn't pay the Republic's taxes? You have action, but you also have an in-universe plot point established because now the New Republic is being shown as the strong ones and you could play with the identity crisis of how the New Republic is trying to avoid the possibility of becoming the empire.
Likewise, following the French revolution, we have another example of a new order arising from rebellion and the initial result is chaos until Napoleon arrives. Imagine Snoke as a Napoleon figure, ostensibly supporting the ideals of the New Republic but becoming an emperor. Yes, this is similar to Palpatine but Snoke could be less the gifted politician and more of a trouble-maker because he is building his own faction. For added effect, make him, like Napoleon, a Republic War hero.
There are a host of other examples: the South American wars of independence, the Texas revolution, the fall of the USSR, and even the aftermath of WW2 in Europe.
The only historical scenario close to what the Sequel Trilogy has given us is actually World War Two where the Germans came back with great fury. But there was a different ideology driving the Germans in WW2 than in WW1. Nor is the Galactic Civil War comparable to WW1. If anything, the Clone Wars are the WW1 of the Star Wars galaxy, with the GCW being WW2 but minus the allies and only featuring the resistance groups inside Nazi Germany.
Build new factions who's ideologies and goals are born out the events of the Original trilogy instead of just bringing back the Empire. That's all I ask.
Okay, I'm going to move on to the second set of issues: the film was preachy and confused in what it was preaching. The first is bad enough (and is something I call out in Christian movies all the time too) but the second is unforgivable. If you think you have something worth telling people, at least be clear on it. Because bascially the only sermon point I got in Johnson's message is that men are stupid and should just listen to women.
Yes, I am an anti-feminist and I will call out feminist nonsense when I encounter it. And my Force does this movie have feminist nonsense and I'm not just talking about Rey. I could talk about how Rey is basically a feminist power fantasy, and how her lack of physical loss or defeat in this movie only reinforces that reality (imagine if she was wounded and struggling in the scene where she moves the rocks; imagine she can't do it at first and then remembers something Luke told her and keeps trying until, straining, she lifts them and hold them long enough for everyone to get out before collapsing in exhaustion) but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Rey though is not the main feminist issue with TLJ (though she is an issue). That dishonor goes to Holdo. As a foil for Poe she works, but the complete turnaround in perception, from Poe's nemesis to old friend of Leia's who makes a sacrifice we're supposed to cry about is a bit much. A simple fix would have been a passionate debate between Holdo and Leia where the latter reprimands the former for dissing the people entrusted to her by not telling them the plan. There is literally no reason not to tell the rebels her plan and her refusal to do so ultimately results in loss of life, or to at least confirm that there is a plan even she decides to withholds the details. And yet we're never told that she was a bad leader, which she clearly is. Instead, Poe was wrong for not trusting her.
And let's talk about the hyperspace thing. So, leaving aside how this completely changes the nature of Star Wars battles, I find it beyond hypocritical that Holdo sacrificing herself to save the resistance is presented as noble but when Finn tries the EXACT SAME THING, Rose stops him and says some gibberish about winning by saving those we love which is EXACTLY WHAT FINN WAS TRYING TO DO AND ROSE JUST SELFISHLY DID FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL. And this is even more ironic because at the beginning when Finn wants to leave so he can save Rey ("saving what we love"), Rose calls him selfish and yet she literally jeopardizes the lives of every other Resistance Fighter because she acts selfishly. Without the appearances of Luke Skywalker, she would have doomed everyone.
So the message here is evidently "men shouldn't be heroes." Because otherwise, the movie is presenting conflicting ideologies
There is not a single male character in this film presented as noble despite making some of the exact same choices as the female characters. As if to signal the coming dominance of feminist action movies, I was saddened to see that in all of the preview trailers before The Last Jedi, only one seems to have a male hero as the central character (Early Man). The rest were either ensemble (Jurrasic World, Jumanji, Avengers) or Female leads. The very argument for female heroes, that girls need women to look up to, applies to boys and male heroes. I have nothing against female heroes provided there are male heroes too, because like The Last Jedi taught us, there is a need for balance.
Lastly, there are missed chances and stupid character choices.
The big one the way Johnson had Finn and Rose encounter trouble on Canto Bight. They park on the beach and are told by a dude not to park there. I don't know, I think anyone with a brain would have landed in the grasslands outside the city anyway or at least moved it once the problem was realized. It's a stupid decision that isn't excusable because "oh we all make mistakes". Only an absolute idiot would do what Finn and Rose did.
A missed opportunity was, of course, having Ackbar taking over following Leia's injury. Not only would his heroic death be a fitting end, but his audience familiarity would actually add to any friction between him and Poe since we'd be torn over who we agree with. And because both are males, this eliminates gender as a reason for conflict. Because the only reason Holdo seems to dislike and distrust Poe is that he's a cocky male that became the whipping boy for toxic masculinity in this movie.
Lastly, there are missed chances and stupid character choices.
The big one the way Johnson had Finn and Rose encounter trouble on Canto Bight. They park on the beach and are told by a dude not to park there. I don't know, I think anyone with a brain would have landed in the grasslands outside the city anyway or at least moved it once the problem was realized. It's a stupid decision that isn't excusable because "oh we all make mistakes". Only an absolute idiot would do what Finn and Rose did.
A missed opportunity was, of course, having Ackbar taking over following Leia's injury. Not only would his heroic death be a fitting end, but his audience familiarity would actually add to any friction between him and Poe since we'd be torn over who we agree with. And because both are males, this eliminates gender as a reason for conflict. Because the only reason Holdo seems to dislike and distrust Poe is that he's a cocky male that became the whipping boy for toxic masculinity in this movie.
Another missed opportunity was letting Poe's mutiny have an effect.The unauthorized mission has disastrous results, but Poe's actual mutiny has no direct influence. It's almost as if the movie is not only saying "toxic masculinity" is bad but also laughing at the ability of a chauvinist to actually impact things.
Well, I could ramble on but let me rate this movie for the last time and then do my rankings. Final Ranking: 4.5 out of 10.
Rankings:
First, there's my subjective ranking (i.e. the movies in order of my personal enjoyment) and next is my more objective ranking (i.e. the movies in order of quality and objective standards).
And yes, I consider "E.T." as a live-action Star Wars movie and the first standalone so I include it in my rankings.
And yes, I consider "E.T." as a live-action Star Wars movie and the first standalone so I include it in my rankings.
Subjective:
10. The Force Awakens
9. The Last Jedi
8. Return of the Jedi
7. E.T.
6. Revenge of the Sith
5. Attack of the Clones
4. Empire Strikes Back
3. Rogue One
2. A New Hope
1. The Phantom Menace
Objective:
10. The Force Awakens
9. The Last Jedi
8. Attack of the Clones
7. Return of the Jedi
6. The Phantom Menace
5. E.T.
4. Revenge of the Sith
3. A New Hope
2. Rogue One
1. Empire Strikes Back
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