Countdown to 'Star Wars' Day: 'The Last Jedi' was the Skywalker saga's one chance to be something new
Whether you loved or hated it, 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' remains the most controversial 'Star Wars' project in its long and glorious history. Directed by Rian Johnson, the film took the series in a wild new direction but with mixed results. In some ways, it is perhaps the least 'Star Wars' film ever made, but on the other hand, it was an admirable attempt to move on from restrictive ties to the original series that threatened to make the franchise feel stagnant. It's a fascinating film, causing the 'Star Wars' legacy to be questioned in a way that it never had been before, and whatever your feelings about the film, it was certainly one of the series' most gorgeous.
After the near-universal derision of the prequel series, 'The Force Awakens' had a lot of pressure riding on its shoulders to be a good movie. While it certainly managed that, it did so by playing it safe - including the original cast and by playing out beat for beat nearly identically to 'A New Hope.' Its sequel, 'The Last Jedi,' goes in a completely opposite direction, taking huge risks with the franchise as Rey (Daisy Ridley) tries to bring the legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) back to the war against the First Order, who are about to crush the Rebellion once and for all.
The movie forces a closer examination of the legacy of the Jedi and whether or not they are worth bringing back. Luke is a disillusioned old hermit, who has abandoned all hope and believes the Jedi tradition should be lost. At the heart of the film is the idea that the glorified past is something that should be left in the past and the nature of hope. The underlying message of the film seemed to be that hope lay not in worshipful devotion of the past but by a willingness to embrace a new way forward - in whatever form that would take.
In a fandom that's built on its love of its history, it's easy to see why the notes the film struck were so problematic to its audience.
Nevertheless, 'The Last Jedi' is a highly enjoyable film. It's got a lot of fresh humor, moments of grand spectacle, and some of the most visually breathtaking shots in 'Star Wars' history. It is not, however, an entirely smooth film. While its examinations of legacy and hope is a story expertly explored, the film also splits off into a tangent with Finn (John Boyega) and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) that at best distracts from and at worst undercuts, the rest of the movie.
The scattered plotlines don't come together in a cohesive way, making the movie feel a bit like a fever dream of a film. At the heart, however, is the 'Star Wars' franchise's most radical attempt to shake itself up. It is a great film on its own, but it's one that vastly misunderstood its audience - leading to a strong course-correction in 'The Rise of Skywalker.' Moving on from the movie just before it, and almost entirely undone by the one after it, 'The Last Jedi' is almost entirely cut off from the rest of the franchise, which is a shame. When all is said and done, it's a beautiful movie, and the themes it set up deserved a better chance than it got.
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is available to stream on Disney+.