Film Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Times have changed, and today it’s hard to imagine anyone selling a kidney to secure a tent spot outside the cinema just to be first in line for the premiere of a new Star Wars film. Today, such a film is viewed much like any other major Hollywood blockbuster, and it seems increasingly likely that genuine excitement within geek circles would now be sparked more by a new Marvel or even DC Universe release than by another Star Wars instalment. This shift is largely due to Disney acquiring the franchise from George Lucas, meaning the new Star Wars films must be viewed within the context of industrially produced film series where accounting imperatives and playing it safe to appease the broadest audience take precedence over any artistic vision or originality. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as evidenced by The Force Awakens, the first part of the new post-Lucas trilogy, in which producer and director J.J. Abrams played it safe by largely repeating the formula of the original 1970s trilogy, thereby avoiding the pitfalls that ruined Lucas’s prequels. However, for the second instalment of this new trilogy, Disney inexplicably opted for a radically different approach. Rian Johnson, a name highly regarded among sci-fi fans for Looper, was chosen to direct The Last Jedi. Disney entrusted him not only with directing but also with writing the screenplay—an unusual degree of creative freedom for a project meant to be a commercial safe bet for a faceless, middle-of-the-road corporation. This, along with inevitable comparisons to The Empire Strikes Back, often cited as the best film in the saga, set exceptionally high expectations, which experience and common sense suggest were unlikely to be met.

The plot begins almost at the same moment where the first film ended: the First Order, the organisation representing the successors of the infamous Empire, continues to consolidate power across the galaxy, with the Resistance—the rebel army striving to restore the Republic—as its only obstacle. Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young woman who joined the Resistance, has come to the planet Ahch-To to persuade Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the legendary Jedi Knight who defeated the Empire thirty years ago, to rejoin the fight. To her dismay, Skywalker, who has been hiding there for six years, shows no enthusiasm for returning to action or training Rey, who possesses the Force, in Jedi arts. Meanwhile, Rey’s comrades, led by Skywalker’s sister, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), face far greater challenges, as they are pursued by the First Order’s fleet commanded by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Leia’s son and Skywalker’s former apprentice who has embraced the dark side. The tiny rebel fleet manages to retreat from its base at great cost, but the First Order tracks them relentlessly, seemingly having mastered the technology to follow ships through hyperspace. A desperate chase ensues, with the rebels’ dwindling fuel reserves pointing toward only one possible outcome. A group of rebel fighters, including Finn (David Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and mechanic Rose Tico (Kellie Marie Tran), decide on a desperate plan to infiltrate the First Order’s command ship and sabotage the tracking device. To do so, they need a code-breaking expert, believed to be found on the gambling planet Canto Bight.

Johnson’s strongest reference point while creating this film was clearly The Empire Strikes Back, widely considered the boldest and finest entry in the saga—a film where childish hero fantasy gives way to something closer to real life, a darker and far more serious story where good guys get beaten up and the routine happy ending is replaced by a cliffhanger fitting such a narrative. Johnson, however, decided to go even further, sacrificing the very mythology of the entire saga in his attempt to give The Last Jedi an even darker character. Thus, its former protagonist—once the ultimate authority and flawless optimist who even managed to redeem a villain like Darth Vader—is transformed into a grumpy, weary, and depressed old man, ultimately revealed to possibly bear responsibility for the catastrophe that revived evil in the galaxy and destroyed his life’s work. Audiences will therefore be unpleasantly surprised, just like Rey, the nominal protagonist and Skywalker’s presumed heir, who spends much of the film stranded on a rock in the middle of the ocean watching the aged Jedi Knight amusing himself by herding giant sea creatures. In these scenes, it’s not difficult to recognise echoes of The Empire’s sequences where Yoda trains young Luke on the swampy planet Dagobah—but equally, given the tragic lack of humour and charisma in the elderly Luke, it’s easy to conclude that The Last Jedi falls short of its predecessor.

It seems Johnson was somewhat aware he couldn’t surpass The Empire, so one of the main plot motives became an attempt to turn a new page, even at the cost of not only discarding but also revisionistically undermining the past. Thus, the Jedi—and everything they did and believed in—are declared a failure, and this verdict comes from a character who, within the Star Wars universe, should represent the highest moral authority. Even the rebel Resistance is portrayed as a bunch of incompetent fools, losers, and idiots; General Leia fails to assert authority even over her own small band of followers, who choose the worst possible moment to stage a mutiny. Poe Dameron, meanwhile, comes across as someone who thinks he’s swallowed all the wisdom in the universe, ready at any moment to defy direct orders rather than heed common sense, and because of this, almost brings utter ruin to the rebels. His comrades Finn and Rose fare somewhat better during their adventure on Canto Bight, but one of them will still make a completely nonsensical gesture in the final act that nearly finishes off what Poe Dameron began destroying.

On the other hand, The Last Jedi does have a few positive aspects. Chief among them is the character of Kylo Ren, who is far more complex and convincing, giving Adam Driver, unlike in The Force Awakens, much greater opportunity to showcase his acting talent. The script also attempts to portray the First Order as more interesting than in the first film, primarily through Kylo’s relationship with Supreme Leader Snoke, portrayed beneath a grotesque mask and CGI by the ever-reliable Andy Serkis. The main villain also serves as the catalyst for a rather unexpected twist, establishing a compelling dynamic with Rey as his counterpart, to whom he feels a deep psychic and emotional connection. Unfortunately, the potentials Johnson discovered remain unexploited, and this is precisely why The Last Jedi failed to become the new Empire.

The new Star Wars film, rather than relying on plot or characters, boasts top-notch special effects and considerable effort invested in creating several striking alien worlds and numerous interesting extraterrestrial species. The scenes on Canto Bight (featuring Dubrovnik in several shots) present an interesting homage to Cloud City from The Empire, much like the icy planet Crait evokes many memories of Hoth from the same film. However, the effort put into set design, costume design, and special effects is, in some cases, seriously compromised by a disregard for the laws of physics—such as a space battle where enemy craft are attacked with bombs resembling those dropped during the Second World War using gravity. Far more attention, as well as bile from hardcore fans online, was drawn by the scene where General Leia’s character flies through space like Mary Poppins, making The Last Jedi difficult to take seriously. While this film deserves praise for attempting to be different, such praise cannot hide the fact that the attempt was largely unsuccessful. This conclusion, to which Mark Hamill has publicly aligned himself alongside hordes of angry fans, suggested that Disney, if it had wished to avoid further complications, would play it safe in the next sequel—and such playing it safe would not necessarily always be a bad thing.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version was posted here.)

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