Date: 9/21/18

Recently I watched The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi in close proximity to one another. I have always liked the former, but the latter was initially considered Bantha fodder to me. However, now that I have seen it a second time and taken notes over its strengths and weaknesses, I have a new perspective on it, which will be shared today. Comments and counterarguments are welcome, with respect included.

My good comments for The Last Jedi far outweigh the bad. I liked the cinematography, the acting, and the story of Rey and Kylo Ren. I thought it was a different structure of story than most other Star Wars films, focusing mainly on the spiritual aspects of the Jedi rather than the combat aspect (if that makes any sense). There were scenes that I found very touching, such as the Luke/Leia scene toward the end:

Initially I disliked the movie due to the Canto Bight subplot (although even that was not as bad as I initially thought). I think that it was actually a clever move. Because Poe was an idiot at the beginning of the movie, Amilyn Holdo didn't trust him and therefore didn't tell him her plan to save the Resistance. Because Amilyn didn't trust him, Poe decided to improvise, thinking she was out to get him.

Finn and Rose failed at Canto Bight and almost got the Resistance destroyed because of Poe's actions, and this uncovers a theme that was not prevalent in the original trilogy of Star Wars: actions do have consequences. It was an interesting thing to add, and I liked it.

....And then there's some bad too. My least favorite part is the shaky beginning. The script is the most damning part. I disliked Poe's banter with Hux immensely and, while I like trolls *looks at Anakin and Obi-Wan* I don't like trollery that is reminiscent of Kung Fu Panda's cringey sense of humor. I also disliked much of the humor throughout the movie and found it quite slapstick, especially with Luke.

I stand by my statement that Luke was out of character in the film. I don't believe that 30 years will tamper with your life philosophy or the basic workings of your personality. I'm no fan of how Luke gave up on Ben Solo when in the original trilogy he was willing to try to save Vader, who had committed multiple genocides and was far, far worse than Kylo Ren ever was.

However, I don't think that it is out of character for Luke to be a harsh mentor to Rey. I actually believe that it could be an asset. First, just because you are a kind friend doesn't mean you can't be a harsh mentor. Obi-Wan is a good example. We've never seen Luke teach before, so it is up to conjecture to figure out his teaching style.

Those are my thoughts on The Last Jedi. Some might disagree, and that's okay! Let me know what you think of the movie. May the Force be with you!