Details
- Director: Rian Johnson
- Writer: Rian Johnson
- Publication year: 2017
- Genre: Sci-Fi
- Lead cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill
After the succes of The Force Awakens we, as Star Wars fans, for the most part were really excited how Episode 8 would play out. Episode 7 left a lot of questions for us left unanswered, like: who is Supreme Leader Snoke? Who are Rey’s parents? Is there still good in Kylo Ren? And how did Maz Kanata get possession of Luke’s (and Anakin’s before him) lightsaber? How frustrating would it be if all these questions were left unanswered. It would be unthinkable, don’t you think? Well, that’s exactly what Rian Johnson, writer and director of the next episode of Star Wars did – that and something much much worse. Read along to know what the heck happened and how it all went wrong.
Premise
Rey seeks the aid of Luke Skywalker in hopes of turning the tide for the Resistance in the fight against Kylo Ren and the First Order while General Leia Organa, Finn, and Poe Dameron attempt to escape a First Order attack on the dwindling Resistance fleet.
Analysis
The narrative:
The Last Jedi opens in the middle of an escape of the resistance from the rebel base and that’s when the First Order arrives. Poe Dameron goes in an X-Wing to the First order Fleet to “talk business” with General Hux. And you immediately feel something is off. Poe makes a “your mom” joke among others, really Marvel-esque and it also feels really forced. After that a lone X-wing (Poe’s) destroys all surface cannons on one of the dreadnoughts (while no Tie Fighters intervere) followed by Resistance bombers. Let’s just say the least talked about the atrocious designs of the bombers the better off we are. Then the bombers collide with one another causing massive explosions. And oh yeah have I told you that Poe is not following orders from Command? No, he is explicitly trying to destroy a dreadnought and that is exactly what General Leia doesn’t want to happen – escape is priority. The dreadnaught is destroyed, but with many casualties on Poe’s name – this is really out of character for this specific character. A while after this we move on to Rey on the island where Luke, not even after a consideration, throws his old lightsaber over a cliff, followed by him milking some disgusting beasts for green milk and him saying that the “Jedi must end”. Later Kylo Ren says to Rey “let the past die” and that’s exactly what Rian Johnson, inexplicably, I hope, is trying to do. This is not Star Wars, this is anti-Star War. Star Wars is meant for the family, for people who liked the originals and the prequels and it is now made into Bantha poodoo. Moreover, Snoke doesn’t get a nice backstory and there is a scene where a specific character almost sacrifices themselves for the resistance while being stopped midway by another character. And the “everything you say was wrong” part of what was a very out of character Luke Skywalker, gets old pretty quick. As someone who has read Legends, this is a big no-no for how to handle the Jedi Master. Therefore his destiny in this movie didn’t feel earned. There is a quote in the movie that the force is not just “lifting rocks” but at the end the film contradicts itself by doing just that. Also Admiral Holdo: her communicating with Poe could have solved many problems.
Besides these very big downsides, there were also a few things that I personally did enjoy: the gray area of war and war profiteers was very fresh and I wish it was in a different kind of movie. The throne room scene was a visually stunning scene and the sendoff of a certain character was unexpected, but I still liked the concept of it, although not if you take the big picture. The Holdo maneuver felt fresh, but I still couldn’t understand why a droid couldn’t pilot the ship or why there was no autopilot. And my favorite scene has to be the scene in were a Force ghost returns with a flash of lightning.
The look
Visually, this movie looks absolutely stunning and is the best looking Star Wars-pic today, even after The Rise of Skywalker. But alas it couldn’t safe the narrative.
Personality types
So yeah, I would like to talk about the characters Myer Briggs personality types and if they were mostly in-character from other Star Wars Movies.
Rey is most definitely an ISFP (The Adventurer). She is driven by a strong internal moral compass and a need for belonging. She doesn’t think before acting, as is seen in the cave.
Kylo Ren or Ben on the other hand resembles most likely a very unhealthy melancholic INFP (The Mediator). He is ruled by dark volatile emotions and a rejection of the past. He grips to his Te where he becomes impulsively aggressive and demanding of order when he feels his internal values/identity are threatened.
Luke Skywalker is first and foremost out of character in this one. However he still resembles a searching INFP (The Mediator). He is in a Se-loop (his tertiary function). He is stuck in the past, dwelling on his failures with Ben Solo and isolating himself. His decision to go to Ahch-To was a reaction to his internal values being shattered. However, without spoilers, he did redeem himself in the end.
Final verdict
So in conclusion, The Last Jedi is a very flawed Star Wars movie – I say Star Wars because from a movie point of view it is actually pretty well-crafted. But as Star Wars the narrative is, frankly, blasphemy for what Star Wars should stand for. The jokes didn’t land as well. It was too Marvel. And Star Wars is not Marvel. It also upset a lot of fans. With all that said, I couldn’t do anything else than to give Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi 2/5 ⭐️.
Thanks for reading and till the next time. May the force be with you!
What did you think of this movie? Please let me know below:
Yours,
Rein
TAZÍ 
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