Stop tearing The Last Jedi to shreds. It's just a different Star Wars movie
"I'm aware through my own experience that, first of all, the fans are so passionate, they care so deeply — sometimes they care very violently at me on Twitter," Star Wars: The Last Jedi's director Rian Johnson told Business Insider in a one-on-one recently. Johnson was, of course, reacting to the critical backlash that he has been receiving from Star Wars fans across the length and breadth of social media.
It hasn't been easy for Johnson even though The Last Jedi is clearly on course to become one of the year's biggest box office successes. Johnson, on his part, is playing it cool. It's a Star Wars thing you know, and fans - no matter how good a Star Wars movie is - have every reason to be disappointed. No other Hollywood franchise has set a bar as high as Star Wars after all.
That's not to say The Last Jedi is totally a lost cause. Fifty five per cent of the audience - according to Rotten Tomatoes - has liked it. That should hopefully include some fans as well. Not only does Star Wars enjoy a bar so high for excellence, numbers - and reviews - now seem to indicate that Star Wars may also be one of Hollywood's most divisive franchises. Like there was ever a doubt about that.
Every new Star Wars movie has two goals. Firstly, it has to satiate every 12-year old at heart individual across the world that lives and breathes Star Wars. Secondly, it has to be mature enough, to not end up being labeled as a Pirates of the Caribbean in space, by critics. Now more than ever, because well Disney.
The Last Jedi, although it tries to balance the both, takes way too many risks which if you've seen Johnson's past work - most recently Looper - isn't all that surprising. A lot of these risks have seemingly been taken to let go of the past and embrace the future. The problem with a franchise as emotionally caught up as Star Wars is the gazillion of fans that simply refuse to let go.
It's okay to let go
"I knew if I wrote wondering what the fans would want, as tempting as that is, it wouldn't work, because people would still be shouting at me, 'F- you, you ruined Star Wars,' and I would make a bad movie," Johnson said. "And ultimately, that's the one thing nobody wants." Wiser words have seldom been said.
The Last Jedi, for the record, isn't a bad Star Wars movie. It's just different. Fans may not necessarily like that. But I can tell you there will be some fans, who'll just hate it on the argument that The Last Jedi is a Disney product, soaring in the skies of whimsical commercialism. It is and it is not, but, more than anything, The Last Jedi is about today and tomorrow and not so much about yesterday when Star Wars wasn't technically branded a cash cow.
It is still hallmark Star Wars, The Last Jedi, which means it's preachy. In fact, it steps up the game by a notch, if you're into that sort of thing. You know the usual drill. But, it's how it goes about addressing its all-familiar plot that makes all the difference, in this HD remaster of The Empire Strikes Back and to an extent even Return of the Jedi. New rules are set, new lines are drawn; even new heights of nonsense are realized to set the stage open for the grand finale.
Although many of us who have seen The Last Jedi are in a position to connect some dots, it's Johnson's take on the franchise that leaves a long-lasting impression and a lot more to the imagination. That's a good thing. We do not know for sure what will happen in Episode IX.
For Star Wars to evolve, and continue its course, it needed to chart uncharted territory. For Johnson, the first few steps involved bidding adieu to some long-term Star Wars icons, and even some of the new emerging ones. At the same time, he has left us guessing about the future of Leia, played by the now deceased Carrie Fisher. Even hardcore Star Wars fans will agree: there couldn't have been a better farewell for Fisher.
Killing off key characters may not be a Star Wars thing of yore, but, going forward, anything can happen. It's a necessary evil that even Star Wars must embrace for characters like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) to become more relevant. It's about time they stopped playing second fiddle. That, however, doesn't mean the next Star Wars movie can't kill them off too. It can, and it must, for a certain slave boy on Canto Bight to become the next Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
The Last Jedi, many years from now, will be credited with having been responsible for letting Star Wars grow and The Force Awakens will gladly accept the runners-up trophy. The next installment will meanwhile be an epic of epic proportions. Hopefully.
The Force is not a power. So, beat it.
For decades, it was thought the Force is "a power that Jedi have that lets them control people and... make things float." Apparently, that's not true. "The Force is not a power you have. It's not about lifting rocks. It's the energy between all things, a balance that binds the universe together."
Of course, hardcore fans didn't need The Last Jedi to understand its relevance in the Star Wars universe, but then, the Force, it seems now, was never given a thorough run for its money. Nobody cared. The Last Jedi, many years from now, will also be credited with mystifying as well as demystifying the Force.
It took a long time coming but finally, finally we have proof that the Force can surprise us in ways you and I can't even imagine.
Exhibit A: The Force, for one, can somehow project a version of you onto another planet. It's more than just another elaborate Jedi mind trick that also allows the ring-bearer to actually interact and touch others at will. The interstellar projection is apparently so difficult and draining, it's to die for.
Exhibit B: The Force can help the ring-bearer survive the beyond-freezing temperatures and airlessness of outer space.
Exhibit C: Force ghosts, like Master Yoda, can physically impact the real world in the afterlife.
Who knows, we may have only scratched the surface. The possibilities, post The Last Jedi, are now endless.
Together we stand, divided we fall
Star Wars has always been about the politics. George Lucas has been more than vocal about it. The Star Wars of yore may have dealt with the battle between good and evil on the surface, on the inside, all these battles - in both the original and prequel trilogies - in fact were a complex exploration of the nuanced relationship between a state and its people, and how a democracy can slip into a strict dictatorship at the drop of a hat. While Emperor Palpatine was inspired by Nixon, "George Bush is Darth Vader," Lucas has gone on record to say. We do not know for sure about the inspiration behind the First Order's Supreme Leader Snoke yet. Now that Disney holds the keys to the Star Wars universe, chances are we may never know.
Will Disney stay true to Lucas' political influence is a million-dollar question. Something that only time will tell. What's important, however, is that the new Star Wars movie is still centred around political strife and oppression. The scale of it all — even though it’s the longest Star Wars movie ever — may disappoint many, but, that's understandable.
Long-term Star Wars fans are a spoilt lot, and Johnson has categorically said, "You're going to find very few fans out there whose lists line up." The same reason why he takes the liberty of pulling characters out of thin air and wiping them off without a thought or reason. It's true he isn't a guy who's into back-stories, but, we live in a time and age of the Avengers and the Justice Leagues. If Han Solo can get a standalone movie, so can any of the other characters.
It's still not a one man show affair, and needs every character to step up and deliver which is more important. I have to say, The Force Awakens, had got me worried. With The Last Jedi, Star Wars is right back on track. For the uninitiated, The Last Jedi may be a prolonged chase scene between the First Order and the Resistance, but actually it's about Johnson setting the stage for things to come. Prepping up for a life — and franchise — after Luke, Leia and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).
It would be sometime before the likes of Rey, Kylo, Finn and Poe get their dues, and chances are they may not even be as iconic as the ones they replace — decades from now — but that's alright. They're doing a fine job nonetheless, and I am sure they're aware they have big shoes to fill.
A new hope
I like that anybody in the galaxy far far away can dream of becoming a Jedi. I like that the Force is more than just a power you have. I like that Luke Skywalker will live on forever. So will Leia. And Master Yoda. As a beacon of hope. For one and all. You can go on and hate The Last Jedi all you want, but, you can't deny the fact that The Last Jedi maybe the only movie in the Star Wars franchise — for now — to pay a befitting tribute to all its icons. Whether it be Luke giving it all, Leia oozing in exuberance in outer space, or Master Yoda reminding us all, "The greatest teacher, failure is."
Even Han Solo is touched up in a way that should bring a tear of happiness to every fan's eye.
To be able to fit all of it and yet tell a new Star Wars story at the same time, well, I must say, Johnson has done a fine job. So have The Last Jedi's sound engineers.
In the words of the great Luke Skywalker himself, "The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi."