JJ Abrams' 'meta approach' remark about 'The Last Jedi' has fans and detractors locking horns on Twitter
"...it’s a bit of a meta approach to the story," said JJ Abrams, in an interview with the New York Times about 'The Last Jedi'. "I don’t think that people go to ‘Star Wars’ to be told, ‘This doesn’t matter.’" He also said 'The Last Jedi' laid the groundwork for “The Rise of Skywalker” and “a story that I think needed a pendulum swing in one direction in order to swing in the other.” It was a small part of a much larger interview, but it was enough to get the hive buzzing furiously, as both fans and detractors of 'The Last Jedi' feel Abrams may have just thrown the film under the bus.
"I don’t hate JJ Abrams! I’m actually a big fan, but I don’t like this backhanded “it’s not what *I* would have done but ya know...” sort of approach. It feels so disrespectful!" said a user on Twitter, which is one of the tamer stances taken on Abrams' comment.
Another user was a lot harsher on JJ Abrams as a director, saying of 'The Force Awakens': "I'm absolutely blown that people think JJ Abrams made a better Star Wars movie than Rian Johnson. "buT hE mAdE a WeLl sTRuCtuREd sToRy--" its Episode IV. You just like Episode IV. The Last Jedi was new and unique while paying tribute to the old." "Not a huge fan of the new STAR WARS films in general, but it’s really shitty for JJ Abrams and members of the cast to turn on one of their own. Stay classy." said another.
Fans who hated 'The Last Jedi' with a passion find vindication in these comments, with one fan saying, "Let @jjabrams shade #TheLastJedi!!! @rianjohnson wrote a terrible *** star wars movie. The worst ever made. It deserves all the shade." Another fan said, "The Last Jedi will ABSOLUTELY go down in history as the worst Star Wars movie ever. It LOOKED spectacular, but Rian Johnson's disgusting cynicism sucked the life out of it, with Krazy K's blessing," referring to Kathy Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm
Many are quick to point out the hypocrisy of people's vitriol towards Abrams when they so passionately defended Rian Johnson against similar toxicity. "Funny to see many of the same people who called out SW fans for being too toxic towards The Last Jedi and Rian Johnson, are now being exactly as toxic themselves toward TFA and JJ Abrams," said a user.
It should be noted that JJ Abrams spoke highly of the 'The Last Jedi' overall, praising it for being "full of surprises and subversion and all sorts of bold choices."
'Star Wars' fans have always been amongst the most vocal fandom on the internet, and with 'Rise of Skywalker' bringing nine films of 'Star Wars' stories to a close, things are under tighter scrutiny than ever.
'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' releases in cinemas December 20.