What does "Star Wars" mean to you?
Picking up upon the immediate
aftermath of “The Force Awakens.” “Star Wars: Episode VIII- The Last Jedi” sees
the Galactic Civil War reborn anew as the insurgent remains of the Galactic
Empire assembled under the banner of The First Order have successfully
destabilized the governing body of the New Republic.
With the special ops Resistance
military now finding itself in the position of an actual resistance against the
resurrection of the Empire, desperation begins to settle in as heroes Poe
Dameron and Finn reunite in order to save their armies from being picked off by
First Order militia that are in hot pursuit.
While the Resistance desperately
clings to survival along the chase, Rey chases the disillusioned hermit Jedi Luke
Skywalker in hopes of attaining answers regarding the manifestation of her
newfound Jedi abilities and convincing him to return to the war effort in hopes
of rallying the galaxy behind a new hope for the future.
Our heroes grapple with the
legacy and follies of the larger than life figures they struggle to defy and
live up to and just as they’re forced to come to terms with the good and the
ugly of their own galactic legends, in the process of doing so, the film poses
a similar question for the audience to grapple with.
What does “Star Wars” mean to you?
“The Last Jedi” ultimately serves
as a bizarre double down, critique, and in some ways, planned subversion of the
problems of overt plot similarities plaguing “The Force Awakens” regarding its
relationship to “Episode IV: A New Hope”
The film kicks into gear in a
capacity blatantly evocative of the impending evacuation that set the stage and
tone for the original trilogy’s sophomore entry, “The Empire Strikes Back.”
With the immediate introduction of Resistance X-Wing Ace Poe Dameron, along
with a quick reminder of how much Oscar Isaac acts circles around nearly
everybody in the cast, the dread filled tone of a rushed evacuation of
impending doom quickly shifts to that of a rousing action sequence that completely
subverts the expectation of the film snapping onto a preordained plot rail,
only for the ramifications of said sequence to kick in and set up a dilemma
that may arguably have put them in a tighter bind.
Meanwhile, Rey’s efforts to win
over a tired and cynical Luke, himself disappointed by his inability to keep
his nephew Kylo Ren on the straight and narrow, struggles with her own naïveté
of the nature of the Force and a lack of understanding regarding the fracturing
of the Skywalker family, forcing her to question her ultimate worth to the
Resistance and while mulling over the significance of her mystery shrouded
past.
These instances of past legacy
haunting a future obsessed with it permeate the entire film in ways that I
suspect the more discerning viewer may find to be rather polarizing.
Flowing into a narrative as
familiarly fragmented as “The Last Jedi” riding cleanly off of the closing to
“The Force Awakens,” with very little sense of a time skip unfortunately
reinforces a narrative that continues to feel like a smaller portion of a far
longer movie that doesn’t fully stand on its own two feet outside of being
sandwiched by 2 batches of substantially long footage.
Overall story structure becomes
this weakly executed serialization’s greatest weakness, as getting through the
hurdle of failing to be presented with storytelling that feels more
naturalistic and developed than the introductory installment reveals a
generally bisected plot that is composed of excellent elements that struggle to
coalesce into an elegant whole or complement each other thematically.
John Boyega and Oscar Isaac’s
chemistry and delivery as Finn and Poe are more on point than ever and are
joined by the delightful Kelly Marie Tran as Resistance Engineer Rose, whose
conviction in a humble role mixed with a bit of hero worship of the larger heroes
create a compelling new player on the board of the war that nearly steals the
show.
The bizarrely cluttered timeframe
of their story however, along with a lack in clarity over the execution of Poe
Dameron’s intended character arc leave a major chunk of the film that comes
across as rather bloated and meandering, which detracts from the other side of
the story.
Rey’s discovery of her Jedi
heritage and the tragedy of Kylo Ren under Luke Skywalker’s tutelage clearly
serves as the worthy thematic backbone of the film’s story, carrying out those
central themes of how poisonous obsession with nostalgia can become and spear
headed by one of the best performances of Mark Hamill’s career, bringing the
development of an iconic film protagonist almost heartbreakingly full circle.
Unfortunately for that storyline
however, in addition to being undercut by the length of the First Order chase
plot, the themes are prevented from resonating the way that they were clearly
intended to as such.
The frustration of this
unevenness builds to a boiling point across the films long running time,
compounded by an inconsistent portrayal of the First Order’s resources that
almost had me ready to throw in the towel.
And then, the climax kicked in.
When Rey’s search for answers
comes to a head in a confrontation with the villainous Kylo Ren, things take a
turn that twist everything the series had been defining itself as on its head,
that leaves the future of our heroes optimistically vague but nevertheless
uncertain, provides thematic closure for the legacy of the original trilogy,
and cements Kylo Ren as quite possibly one of the best antagonists of the
franchise, with Adam Driver’s masterfully human portrayal of a remorseful yet
ruthless man unable to come to terms with his mistakes finally getting the love from the screenplay it deserves.
“The Last Jedi” boasts a
fascinating narrative study regarding the metatextual evolution of a brand
learning to explore a new identity for the newcomers that it now services while
learning to honor its past without being dominated by it.
What enjoyment you ultimately
take from its rocky but undeniably ambitious approach however comes right down
to the complex question that it studies across its 2½ hour length.
What does “Star Wars” mean to
you?
I ultimately found “The Last Jedi”
a fascinating curiosity, deconstructing it as a study of a brand evolving
beyond the impact of its legacy and accepting that its future lies in its
ability to lay what constructed that legacy to rest, focusing on the present
rather than fear for future outcomes.
As a piece of cinematic
storytelling however, it leaves almost as much to be desired as it does hit
certain aspects clean out of the park.
If you liked “The Force Awakens,”
your favorite characters all return and develop in ways you’re more than likely
bound to find equally as satisfying. Those hoping to see the potential that the
previous film set up come to fruition the way it didn’t quite manage to in that
feature however, will likely leave more disappointed with “The Last Jedi” than
with the flatter elements of “The Force Awakens.”
For those interested in the pulp
storytelling the franchise is famous for, this is perhaps the least “Star Wars”
feeling film of the franchise and considering the meta-narrative that the movie
focuses on simultaneously hits a poignant conclusion that could lay foundation
for a powerful conclusion in the form of “Episode IX” yet misses that, in its
focus on cautionary tales of the dangers of not moving onward towards the
future while living in the now, the emotional weight and mythological heft of
the legendary figures receiving full character arcs hilariously overshadows the
new contributions that are supposed to be carrying the future, you could very
well flat out dislike it.
Middle ground is undeniably
decreasing on whether or not the sequel trilogy is successfully telling a
strong and expansive epic or mundane blockbuster fodder via being too reverent
of its legacy or over thinking a space opera with bells and whistles that are
just uncalled for.
What is undeniable however, is that
despite running a bit too long and needing a revised sense of priorities, “Star
Wars: Episode VIII- The Last Jedi” still features top notch filmmaking full of
engrossing world building, breathtakingly gorgeous cinematography, a fun cast
of characters brought to life by regularly excellent performances, and quite
possibly one of the best cinematic third acts to a feature film 2017 has ever
seen.
There’s a lot to objectively like
about the movie but its true power and the impact it leaves ultimately lies
personally in whatever “Star Wars” means to you.
7 Force Ghosts out of 10
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