The Last Jedi

I’m not mad about The Last Jedi, I’m just disappointed.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is out and boy howdy has it fractured the fan base. I’ll keep this simple as not to spoil anything right away.

PLOT

Starting almost immediately after The Force Awakens…..

The First Order slowly chasing the remains of the Resistance in a plodding space ship chase.

Finn and Rose (a lowly maintenance worker and escape pod guard) plot a mission to stop the First Order from following the Resistance fleet.

Rey has found Luke Skywalker and wants to learn more about the Force.

Kyo Ren is all worked up about not being a better Sith, he doesn’t have the respect he needs, still has parental issues and is upset about a girl besting him in a sword fight.

Supreme Commander Snoke has a nefarious plan.

Leia and Poe are at odds about what they should be doing against the First Order.

More conflict.

Action.

Final resolution.

The short and skinny about The Last Jedi.

I have seen this twice, once as a starry eyed fan and then as a guy who has been burned by a Star Wars film before.

I do recommend seeing The Last Jedi. Hell if you are a nerd you already have. If you are a casual fan go see it. If you are a hardcore fan and haven’t seen it….what is wrong with you?

If you are from the haven’t seen it camp, go in open minded. Don’t let the reviews skew your opinion. Form your own thoughts. Don’t listen to the internet prior to screening.

Now I have more to say on the film, but I’ll say it after the break.

There will be some plot talk and potential spoilers.

Go see the film.

Everyone else follow me…….

Now these are my thoughts

The Last Jedi- The good stuff

• The Kylo Ren and Rey story arc is good stuff.
• Rey’s parents confirmed! I couldn’t be happier about this. Thank the gods she isn’t some Obiwan, Luke or any other named character love child.
• The intermingling of the classic score into the new score was a delight.
• There are some good action set pieces (sabers vs. Praetorians, not- Hoth but Hoth battle, first space fight, light speed battering ram)
• There is a surprising amount of comedy in the film and it wasn’t over the top or too jarring.
• Porgs are not Jar-Jar or Ewoks. Sure they are a bit of a marketing monster, but in the film they are pretty benign. Actually if you don’t chuckle at one or more of their on screen moments then you are either beyond jaded or just too cool (like hipster level douche bag cool).
• There are a few good bits of the Luke Skywalker story.
• YODA!
• Leia using the Force!

The Last Jedi- The bad stuff

• Leia using the Force. It seems really late to play that card.
• They are really phasing out the "old guard." The final film will only have maybe some Chewie, R2 and C3PO. Maybe? This was inevitable, but it is still hard to stomach.
• Casino planet and  the entire Finn and Rose story arc is useless. This could have been cut and it wouldn’t have changed the plot one damn bit. It was a waste of time and had no impact on the resolution of the main story.
• Casino planet was terrible, but there was a chance for an amazing Lando cameo that could have turned that story into not a steaming pile of turd! Seriously Casino planet is some Episode 1-3 level bad story telling.
• The war profiteering story that could have been a seed of doubt for Finn, but then is just fizzles out.
• Benicio Del Toro’s throwaway character and beyond confusing choice of a stutter.
• Snoke as another throw away villain. Felt like a big build up to get nothing.
• Rey’s journey to the dark side underwater island place. What the frak was that about? A metaphysical nonsense dream sequence bit? BOOO!
• Captain Phasma is the new Bobba Fett. A cool look but a useless character.
• A large part of the Luke Skywalker story was bad. He was going to murder Ben Solo instead of trying to save him? Really? Luke is now a murder in your sleep guy? I get the angry old man stuff, but then why not have him you know…train Rey? They give him a moment to be beyond awesome like everyone thinks he will be….and then it falls flat. He dies due to Force induced heart attack? A terrible waste of a classic character!
• This is not our Luke Skywalker!
• Was Poe Dameron out of character? Does he need to just stay in an X-wing cockpit?
• What was the wasted bit with Maz about? Who cares?
• The throwaway death of Admiral Akbar. I loved that guy and they toss him out like garbage.
• The ending left me really blah. I mean where do they go now besides the invetiable Kylo vs. Rey saber fight? As a bridge movie it kind of failed. Look at Empire's end: Han captured, Luke discovers Vader is his dad, and the Rebellion on the ropes. look at the end of Attack o' Clones: Anakin touches the dark side, the Clone Wars begin, the Emperor is getting his feet set to rule. Both these movies had me wondering and wanting what was next. The Last Jedi ends with....Luke dying, Rey is a Jedi after like two days of training, Kylo is the new leader and.....nothing else. There is nothing there to pull me toward the final film. There is no "HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENS NOW?!" like in the other two trilogy bridge movies.

There is more, but enough is enough already!

After the first viewing I was confused on if I liked the movie. I thought I really did, but I kept telling myself I did. I saw flaws, but overlooked them due to starry eyed wonder at a Star Wars movie. Then saw it a second time with the children. Then the flaws I noticed and didn’t want to believe were confirmed. There are some storytelling and character issues in this movie. It is definitely not the worst film in the franchise ( still looking at you Phantom Menace lightsaber duel and pod race aside that movie is a dumpster fire), but it pretty far down on my list of good Star Wars.

What went wrong with this movie? 
Well as I watched this with my wife and then again with the kids I realized something. This movie was loved by the casual fans. It is the diehards that have an issue. The last Jedi was made to appease a wider audience. That is the market the franchise needs. We the uber nerds  are going to see the film no matter what. They don’t need us. They already have us! They know we will devour Star Wars films when they come out. They need the "normies." They need to draw them in and convert them. That is what is happening in our home with The Last Jedi. The casual fans are loving this film. Hell even ladies I work with loved it. They only know the original trilogy and The Force Awakens. This film is appealing to the "normals" more than the legion of us. At least in my corner of the world this is the case.

This movie was also a big jump from the nostalgia of The Force Awakens. Remember when the interweb hated that it was a retread of New Hope? Remember when they wanted something more than nostalgia and a rehash? Well you got it interweb and now you hate this too! There is no pleasing you!

What do you/we want? I have no idea. Does anyone?

I am and will be a Star Wars guy until the end. Was The Last Jedi the worst Star Wars movie? No. Was it the best?  No. Did it appeal to a mass audience more? Yes that seems to be the case. Was it a divergence from the Star Wars we grew up with? Yes. Is it still a Star wars movie? Yes.

Will I see this again? Eventually. Will I love bits and hate bits of it? Yes I will. Do I still love the franchise? Yes I do.

At the end of the day this is a Star Wars movie. It might not be the best or fan favorite but be happy that they are still making films. Remember nerds.We could be Star Trek! Even a bad Star Wars movie is better than 80% of those movies!