The Last Jedi is Star Wars’ coming of age
[WARNING! Spoilers ahead!]
Never have a Star Wars movie earn astounding notoriety since George Lucas think it’s a good idea to introduce an annoyingly voiced Gungan while Luke Skywalker’s brief flirt with Princess Leia nearly turns incestuous.
As with Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, a positively reviewed flick has all but split professional film critics and fans… if Rotten Tomatoes’ ratings are anything to go by.
Director Rian Johnson certainly took some calculated risks by experimenting with the tropes and devices under-girding the traditional narrative of a galaxy far, far away. Not everyone was impressed, of course, and who dares defy the expectations of rabid enthusiasts and provoke geek rage, except an earnest filmmaker taking a more than three decades old space opera into new frontiers?
By TLD’s middle act, the death of First Order supremo Snoke makes it clear that J. J. Abrams will have a harder job fabricating a convincing sequel to Episode VIII. Eyes are now on The Force Awakens director to see if he would continue the bold story angle preferred by Johnson or decide that the next film should pay more homage to its roots and appease conservative folks of the fan-base.
As critics have pointed out, the thematic agenda of TLD is to break apart from Star Wars’ conventions as Kylo so emphatically puts it (“Kill it, if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you are meant to be”). After all, the main complaint about The Force Awakens is that it is so clingy to the format of A New Hope, it might as well be the latter’s carbon copy for the 21st-century audience.
Which is why the advantages of Johnson’s radical shift should not be dismissed: firstly, the reliance on nostalgia and its star power — Mark Hamil, Harrison Ford and the late Carries Fisher as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa, respectively — is a safe bet that the new Trilogy will not upset fans the way the Prequels did even if it diverts from conjuring a groundbreaking story.
Secondly, Johnson remedied TLD’s likelihood of being slaved to its history by not giving what its fans crave: a familiar plot structure with some of its legacy elements left intact. Hence, there is no real one-on-one lightsaber duel (nope, the one between Kylo and Luke does not technically count); Rey does not belong to a prominent bloodline of Force-sensitive individuals that we know of; and it is now Leia on her own (which is now complicated by Fisher’s death in 2016) with the demise of Han and Luke.
Fans can choose to discern a blessing in disguise in these developments — the gradual passing of the baton to the new-gen heroes, namely Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), who, by this stage, have proven their worth in moving Star Wars forward. Pragmatically speaking, there is only so much you can milk out of everyone’s favourite characters since 1977. Even Harrison Ford would have agreed that it’s about time the new blood take over.
It is not to say that Johnson’s narrative gamble does not have its imperfections. For instance, while TLD shines is its ability to upkeep an engaging storytelling for most of the film, it fizzles in the final act, falling rather short of the high-noted conclusion typical of other SW features.
Also, as the film’s writer, Johnson has decided to leave out a customary — and bona fide — lightsaber fight (note: Rey and Kylo did not actually clash against each other wielding ‘laser swords’), instead substituting that with Kylo’s bout against Luke’s astral illusion (it takes two physical beings to tango). This has far-reaching implications for Kylo’s development since he has never won a lightsaber duel onscreen. The uncertainty thereby pervades whether Episode IX would even allow him one.
Yet, risk is the feature of Johnson’s creative decisions so understandably, not all developments in the story receive unanimous approval. This is not going to go the way you think, says Master Luke; indeed, fans can see why.
But not opening up TLD to fresh possibilities would have denied it some of its interesting subplots, which, again, is another point of contention.
There is the Finn-Rose Tico story in the Monte Carlo-inspired city of Canto Bight as well as Rey unexpectedly ‘Force-bonding’ with Kylo from another end of the galaxy. Who can forget Kylo’s uncovered and bulky torso in the sight of Rey just to spice things up?
Those moments are coupled with other twists and surprises: Think Luke Skywalker is always the good guy abiding by the Light side of the Force? Wait till you hear Kylo’s damning account of the Jedi master’s attempt to kill him.
Wish to see General Leia make good use of her Force abilities? Be mildly amused as she Force-pulls herself back to the Raddus cruiser à la Mary Poppins after the ship’s bridge is blown open.
Eager to know more about the Darth Sidious-archetype Snoke since his first appearance in The Force Awakens? Sorry, he will be killed earlier in the new trilogy before you can confirm your Jar Jar Binks theory about him.
Not forgetting that the Resistance has discovered a new use of lightspeed, as demonstrated in what could possibly be one of most stunning scenes in Star Wars film history.
Johnson’s strength is his acumen in determining what each scene should entail in order to strongly stir the audience for the 152 minutes length of TLD. Conspicuously, he is open to new ideas that would shake the Star Wars narrative out of its familiarity, splicing in startling events which seasoned SW fans would not have foreseen or would even be bothered by. These amounted to no small deal of discomfort for the conservatives but sooner or later, somebody would start demanding for innovative approaches to invigorate the franchise. In a practical sense, The Force Awakens had missed that opportunity after a decade of hiatus for SW flicks; Johnson was simply doing what should have happened earlier.
Whatever the case, J. J. Abrams would be unwise to snub TLD’s dramatic turn of events which could be brought into Episode IX. Any efforts to reverse undesirable outcomes would appear rather contrived — not that some hardliners in the fandom can help it — and plus, Abrams has already inherited a tougher act to follow from Johnson. Additionally, Fisher’s passing leaves it uncertain how her character would proceed in the next film.
In spite of the disappointment TLD brings to some fans, it is not quite accurate to suggest that’s due to Johnson completely letting go of the old notions which shape Star Wars films. In most cases, it is about redefining those narrative devices and then pushing them further, inevitably away from fans’ liking.
Rey does have parents whom we are curious to find out, though to Johnson, it’s not obligatory that they have to be canonised as people of prestige — or just because Luke discovered to his horror the real identity of his father in The Empire Strikes Back.
The very essence of TLD truly has been about the same, old things not executed in the same, old ways. It may not work all the time and, granted, the plot could have been done differently or closer to what fans have been long accustomed to.
Still, with several years of cultural popularity, it is hard to imagine a Star Wars story that could not evolve out of its traditions.
Batman was semi-realistically depicted in a modern world while Marvel’s Thor decided it is no harm being funny following a series of gloomy superhero flicks in recent times. Even Rouge One struck a chord by ostensibly tapping into current geopolitics.
The Last Jedi should never feel inhibited in what it can unprecedentedly become and still be relevant. Eventually, it’s time for Star Wars to come of age.
