A risky and challenging film for Star Wars fans

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2017)

I decided to wait on writing my The Last Jedi review/rant until I saw the movie for a second time. I thought it was only fair to do it that way because I came out of The Last Jedi for the first time with a lot of different emotions, which is typically the case for every Star Wars film for me as a complete and utter fanboy for the Saga. I knew I liked the movie after my first viewing, but the movie was such a rollercoaster of emotions I had difficulty pinpointing the way I felt for sure. Did I love the movie? Was it better or worse than The Force Awakens? I adored nearly everything about The Force Awakens and came out of that movie instantly loving it. Upon my second viewing of TLJ, I discovered that I do indeed love the movie, despite its flaws. It isn't a perfect movie, but the shining moments of the movie are some of my favorite of the entire Star Wars Saga.
The way the movie starts works really well for me. It feels like a classic Star Wars opening and it gives time for Poe Dameron to shine, a character who simply didn't get enough screen time in TFA. I loved the opening bit of humor with General Hux and Poe. Overall, the scene is a great action piece that puts me in the right mindset for a Star Wars flick. After this initial opening, the film does have some small spots where it sputters a bit. The stuff with Finn and Rose just isn't that interesting overall. Although I found myself enjoying it a little bit more the second time around, I could see this part of the movie being cut out or being reworked so that Finn and Rose have a better place in the film. Honestly, I would have rather had Finn and Rose stay on the ship and held an intense mutiny with Poe that could have truly tested the patience of the Resistance. Instead, we get the Canto Bight stuff, which isn't inherently horrible but it's also ultimately pointless as the plans don't really pan out anyways. The only redeeming part I see coming out of this is you get to see the failures of the Resistance, especially the failures of Poe Dameron as a leader, which he ends up growing quite a bit in this film. You see him as stupidly headstrong in the opening scene where as by the end on Crait, he's yelling at Finn to not sacrifice himself. In that sense, we get to see Poe grow quite a bit from these failed plans, not so much Finn and Rose.

The strongest points of the movie are everything between Rey, Kylo Ren, and Luke Skywalker. In a sense, the movie could have almost entirely focused on this part because it really is the main chunk of development for the film. Seeing Luke Skywalker simply decide to throw his lightsaber and become this grumpy, old man Jedi is everything I never knew I wanted. We all expected Luke Skywalker to be this superhero that we remember from the original trilogy, but that isn't real. This is real, raw, and true-to-humanity Luke Skywalker, a highly flawed man who doesn't want to do anything anymore because of his failures. His resistance to training Rey makes so much sense once we learn more about the origins of Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker training together. For me, this extreme resistance is only natural on the part of Luke Skywalker. Why would he want to train another Jedi? Generally, I love everything that was done with Luke's character, from his first appearance on-screen during the film to him becoming one with The Force.

In regards to Rey, I love everything that was done as well. Rey became one of my favorite characters in the franchise after this movie. I mean, to put it simply, she becomes a badass. She has to deal with her troubled past, her origins, and her strength that seemingly wants to tip her to the Dark Side of The Force. The training sequences in the film are spectacular, from Rey cutting the rock with a lightsaber to her using The Force to see all of the life, death, and darkness surrounding her. It effectively develops her relationship with The Force in such a stellar way that only makes me more excited to see where her character goes in the next film. Another standout scene with Rey is when she goes into the weird darkness area with the mirrors of herself where we think we're going to get the reveal of her parent's origins. Initially, this scene pissed me off. It gave me so much anxiety while watching it for the first time because I thought we were finally going to get the answer us fans have been contemplating, debating, and arguing about for over two years. Upon second viewing, this scene is far more impactful. Rey is Rey. Her parents don't matter. She's an independent and strong female who's origins do not define who or what she is. She has all the power to do what she wants to do. This message is so wonderful for not only the kids watching this film, but even for the adults watching it. You have the freewill to become the thing you want to be, to not be defined by the past, what you were, what your family was...it's in your hands. Of course, this message isn't totally realistic to some of the circumstances of real life and getting out of some terrible situations (poverty, racial discrimination, etc.), but it doesn't change the fact that a message like this MATTERS. In cynical times such as these, it matters even more. Optimism and not being defined by your past matters.

Let's talk about Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren is also one of my favorite characters of the Saga now. He's one of the most conflicted characters that has ever been in Star Wars. The conversations he has with Rey through their weird Force communication thing are just great and work so well to develop their characters. But the truly defining moments of Kylo Ren in this movie are when he refuses to kill his mother and when he seemingly goes to the Light Side for a moment but switches back to the Dark. When he refuses to kill his mother, we realize that Ren does have an ounce of empathy within him. He can have some level of redemption, although I doubt he will in the next movie, especially after what happened toward the end of the movie. When Kylo and Rey have one of the coolest fight scenes ever in the franchise and it seems for a slight moment that Kylo may switch over to the Light Side, our expectations are instantly subdued. Instead, he pulls a Darth Vader in Empire move and asks for Rey to join his side to rule the galaxy, not under The Dark Side, The First Order, The Resistance, or anything, just them, together, ruling. Rey obviously refuses and Kylo forces the truth out of Rey about her parents. She knew all along, they were just drunks who sold her off. They were nothing. In this moment, I'm not sure Kylo has any chance of returning to the Light Side. But the fact that he is such a conflicted character makes it possible for redemption.

I've seen some people be frustrated by the fact that Snoke was killed. Personally, I don't see this as a problem. Why do we need to know his origins before he dies? Why does it matter? Snoke's death isn't about Snoke. It's all about Kylo. It's about Kylo flipping to the Light Side, even if it's for a brief moment. Maybe we'll get some origin story in some novel or maybe it'll be in the next movie but I don't really care. Was The Emperor developed in the original trilogy before the prequels? Even in the prequels, we don't get his complete origin story, in fact, it's quite limited compared to what is in certain novels that aren't canon anymore anyways. The point is, Snoke dying and not getting developed isn't some 'plot hole,' it's telling you that he wasn't important in the first place. He wasn't the main villain and he never was. It's all about Kylo.

Luke Skywalker died. After my first viewing, I wasn't ready to let go of Luke. I felt really frustrated that he died. We just lost Han Solo in the last movie. I thought, if anything, they would kill Leia because Carrie Fisher had died. Yet, the way he dies is perfect. He dies to help the Rebel Alliance come alive once again. Isn't that only appropriate? The hero and legend of the Rebel Alliance sacrifices himself to help the Rebel Alliance live once again? It's just perfect. The way we get to see Kylo rage out on Luke is also impressive.

Broom Boy. So yeah, a Star Wars movie ended in a way that wasn't typical at all, with this relatively unknown Broom Boy character. Some people have a theory that the next movie will take place nearly a decade later to allow Princess Leia to die of natural causes and because Broom Boy could grow older. Broom Boy is irrelevant. He's simply there to show that the Force is in other normal people, like Rey. That's his only purpose. I'm nearly 100% sure we will never see Broom Boy in another film. If we do, it sure won't be in this trilogy. I do think some time will pass in-between TLJ and the next film, but probably the typical amount of Star Wars time between films. The Broom Boy scene gives me absolute chills and I love that The Force has now become a concept that normal people can have it. It isn't about the elitist Jedi culture of the past or the sinister ideas of the Sith, it's about normal, everyday people who can have the Force. That's what Star Wars is all about at its core.
Even though I spent most of this review raving about TLJ, it isn't perfect. Finn and Rose barely have a place in the film. A lot of the stuff outside of what's going on with Kylo, Rey, and Luke feels sort of like filler at times. Some of the humor isn't perfect in the film, although most of the humor worked for me personally, some of the jokes don't always hit. Regardless, TLJ is a breath of fresh air for the Saga. It took bold risks that paid off. It did things with characters like Luke, Rey, and Kylo that I didn't expect. Almost any other director besides Rian Johnson wouldn't have done what he did with Luke. They would have went the typical route. I'm so grateful that Johnson directed this movie and did what he did.