Neither Great, Nor Terrible, The Last Jedi is Oddly Anti-Star Wars

Rating: 5/10 (29 March 2019)

I have written about my absolute disdain for Disney's Star Wars on the basis that I find it immoral to highjack an author's story for the purpose of building a brand. There is no getting around that. But I'm open to viewing Disney's fan-fiction as just that. And there is nothing keeping me from judging them as films, and not personifications of corporate greed and creative bankruptcy. And so, I sought out The Last Jedi. What I found was a film that was neither the masterpiece some claimed it to be, nor the failure others did. Instead, Episode 8 left me feeling a dull indifference about a property I thought I loved. Much like the latest Pirates of the Caribbean misfire, I walked out wondering if I actually did love Lucas' movies. Because The Last Jedi is prefixed, 'Star Wars', and it does follow familiar characters, but it felt alien. Like it was trying not to be Star Wars with the same transparent effort that The Force Awakens had trying to imitate it.
I don't find the story worth discussing in detail. This is, after all, written and directed by a Star Wars fan, not its creator, but I'll give an overview. So the Rebellion 2.0 is running from the Empire 2.0 while Luke, Han, and Leia 2.0 learn to bad together for the common good. That's the formulaic stuff. But The Last Jedi is not simply a retread of the original trilogy. The most interesting thread comes from Luke, Rey, and Kylo Ren as a triangle of force users, each trying to pull another to their side of the force. There is a lot of philosophy about the shades of morality, about the power of hope, about self-validation, hubris, religion, and more packed into this plot. Not to mention the secrets haunting their pasts. It is unexpectedly thought-provoking material to come out of a Star Wars movie. On the other side is the main thrust of the picture, a low speed chase between the Empire and Rebellion 2.0. Here we have large chunks of story time devoted to getting away from a Star Destroyer. No political intrigue, no mysteries, no creation of lore, not much drama at all. Only a throwaway casino detour to mix things up. It's almost shockingly low in stakes and small in scale. The thing is, even though one storyline is interesting and the other isn't, neither comes from the same DNA as Lucas' Star Wars. And that's not a good thing.
The problems I have with Episode 8 are not the micro-complaints that some Youtubers have peddled. I don't care about plot holes. I don't care about space physics. I don't care about fan theories that didn't come to pass. Honestly, I don't mind big issues like the way Luke's character is handled or the liberties Rian Johnson takes with the Force. I took almost every internet complaint in stride. The issues I have are macro. The tone, the essence, the feeling of The Last Jedi. This is a heavy, serious, philosophical, artsy science fiction film. Heavy, serious, philosophical, artsy science fiction is great. Heavy, serious, philosophical, artsy science fiction pretending to be a chapter of the Star Wars Saga just feels wrong. Star Wars is George Lucas' creation. It's rooted in child-like naïveté. An archetypal myth wrapped in earnest Saturday matinee fun. Its "feeling" is shaped by the bits and pieces of George Lucas' cinematic inspirations (Kurosawa, John Ford, Flash Gordon), as well as the special quirks of his mind (A goofy sense of humor and an ear for silly dialogue). Rian Johnson doesn't have this. He has his own stylistic impulses, his own inspirations, his own "feeling". Great. But his movie claims to be part of Star Wars. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
This is where we run into an argument I have made before. Franchise movies that are labelled "More than..." are usually "less than". "Casino Royale is more than a James Bond film", "The Dark Knight is more than a Batman movie", "The Last Jedi is more than a Star Wars movie". The conceit is that a genre film that is serious or grounded is better than one that stays within the framework. I think the opposite is true. The best James Bond film is the one that uses the formula best, not the one that strays farthest from it. And so the best Star Wars movie is the one that most successfully captures the magic of the series (I'd say Episodes 1-6 all do a good job of this). Episode 7, as deplorable as it is, at least made the attempt. Rian Johnson's film proudly tries to be "more than" a broad, kid-friendly myth. It goes for textured characters, and subtle allegory. It's less space opera than space art house. If it was its own thing, and if it dropped the awkward cutesy comedy shoehorned in, it might be great. However, when you call your film, 'Star Wars - Episode 8', you enter into a contract with the audience. You have a responsibility to justify your film as a part of the same fictional universe. On that front, The Last Jedi fails. For all its directorial flair, world class special effects, action, set and creature design, the movie doesn't work like it should.
When I walk into a Star Wars film, even a Star Wars fan-fiction film, I want to be swept up by bold visual storytelling. I want to enjoy a story that nestles big themes in a bright, fun, adventurous exterior. The Last Jedi kind of resembles a Star Wars movie (space battles, lightsabers, and all that), but it feels anti-Star Wars. It's strange to complain about subtly drawn characters or nuanced themes about letting go of the past, but plopping those things into a Star Wars movie is odd and misguided. The more Disney fan-fiction that comes out, and the more it strays from the special Lucasian quirks, the faster the magic fades. Star Wars was a special Hollywood outlier; an original, independently made, unique piece of modern myth. Disney seems to want to ignore this. They want to treat Star Wars as a genre itself. A universe where directors can play around as they like. I say, if you are really interested in letting directors do their thing, then let them create their own universes. The Last Jedi has plenty to admire, some to enjoy, but nothing to justify that lofty title.
59/100