After a few days of seriously pondering my thoughts and overall feelings on “The Last Jedi” (yes, I do spend considerable amounts of time thinking about the Star Wars universe), I’ve come to the conclusion that this is probably the worst Star Wars movie ever made. It is essential to note that I did like some aspects of this film, but overall, I did not love it, and I rank it very low within the rest of the series.
Going into this movie, I thought it would have many elements from The Empire Strikes Back, but it didn’t even come close. Sure, there are some similarities to The Empire Strikes Back, but this movie still feels very bland. Some of my initial concerns when Disney took control of the series are beginning to manifest after watching this movie. Here is my Last Jedi breakdown:
The Evolution of the Force:
It is now apparent Disney is establishing new guidelines to what defines the Force, new narratives, and other things we used to love about the galaxy far, far away. The First Order is the new Empire. The Jedi and Sith, as we once knew them, are gone. The original trilogy established Luke as the most powerful Force-wielding Jedi in the galaxy, so it should have been only fitting for Luke to fully showcase that power one last time, and even better if it was with a lightsaber.
Nevertheless, it was still pretty cool to see Luke use the power of the Force to project himself across the galaxy. We first saw glimpses of this ability in the original trilogy between Luke & Vader and between Luke & Leia. So we can only imagine all the powerful skills Luke had learned since episode VI. But, we can always rely on the “Legends” non-canon books, especially Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn series.
People are making a big deal online about the boy at the end of the movie using the Force and the idea that Rey might not be a Kenobi or related to the Skywalkers. To some people, it means that the Force is not exclusive to the Skywalker bloodline, and just about anyone could potentially be Force-sensitive and able to use the power of the Force. But obviously, we fans already knew that. What most people are forgetting is that in the days of the Galactic Republic, there was a system in place to detect children born with the right amount of Midi-chlorians in their blood cells, which would determine if the host could potentially be Force-sensitive. Once the Empire wiped out all the Jedi, they only kept the system in place briefly to detect remaining Force-sensitive children and thus stop any potential threats to the Sith. So the Force wasn’t always exclusive to one particular bloodline; it was just that the Skywalker family was notably stronger with the Force than most Force-sensitive beings in the galaxy.
The parts I liked or hated the least:
We finally see what happened to the Jedi Academy, and we see three different versions of the confrontation between Luke and Ben. We get to Finally see Leia use the Force, although not how I would’ve written that scene. I wanted to see Leia using the Force to stop some type of tragedy to the resistance or something of that sort.
We got to see one of the coolest scenes ever when Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) turns the Resistance ship around and goes full light speed straight ahead into the First Order’s Star Destroyer. Truly awesome scene.
Benicio del Toro introduced us to DJ, one of the most interesting characters in this movie. DJ presents himself as a neutral character in the struggle between the new order and the new republic; he makes a few references to the military-industrial complex of the galaxy and the grotesque nature of all the fat cats enriching themselves with the unrest in the galaxy, which resonates with the realities of our current war-obsessed world.
The Parts I hated the most:
Supreme Leader Snoke gets killed off, and his origins are never fully revealed. That was a shock to me; I was expecting Snoke to have a more prominent on-going role in future installments.
I still don’t care much for Finn (he annoys me). I didn’t care much for Rose also. Two new movies have come and gone, and still no mention of Lando. The Porgs were way too annoying for my taste.
The future of the Force:
In the end, I can just summarize by saying that The Last Jedi pissed me off, and I feel strongly that it was poorly written, and by the looks of it, the outline for future star wars movies will no longer have the appeal that the previous installments had. I also feel that the upcoming standalone films will be a lot more satisfying for hardcore fans like myself. Perhaps tapping into Darth Vader and his adventures between episodes III and IV will be where the real power of the franchise should be placed. So until the next star wars movie comes out…..May the force be with you.
Three out of Five Popcorn Bags 🍿🍿🍿
Rod Rioja 