I Understand Why People Didn't Like 'The Last Jedi', I Just Think They're Wrong

A movie such as this has a certain set of expectations to live up to, it being the eighth movie in a series and the ninth of the franchise, including Rogue One. With most franchises it would be easy to understand the expectations of the fans and play to them but with Star Wars, everyone's expectations are different. Some of us grew up with the original trilogy, others with the prequels, others with both equally and there is a generation of new fans that are growing up with the new trilogy as their first Star Wars experience. Rian Johnson, in my opinion, managed to balance the best parts of all three eras in this film and manages to improve upon The Force Awakens by a lot. I'm going to be talking about this movie in some detail, as there are controversial moments I would like to discuss, so if you still haven't seen it and don't want to know what happens I'd recommend you read this after seeing the film. The movie opens on an intense space battle between the Resistance and the First Order. This is where we get our first quality leap from The Force Awakens. Don't get me wrong, I loved The Force Awakens but it really had trouble establishing any real sense of character in a certain character. In The Force Awakens we have no idea who Poe is even by the end of the film, he's a quippy shell of a man, and that's fine because that was his purpose in that film. In the first scene of The Last Jedi

though, we see that Poe is hot headed and reckless, he gets results and is respected but if he carried acting the way he does in this battle, there'd be no Resistance left by the end of that week. This is great because it means we now have three well rounded characters to follow through the trilogy, as is tradition with Luke, Leia and Han, and Anakin, Padmé and Obi Wan.

Also in this scene we get the first glimpse at how this movie has improved upon the First Order and given us a context to put them in for a more satisfying rewatch of The Force Awakens, in which the First Order just seemed like the Empire the sequel. Johnson makes it clear that these people are not hugely competent, especially Hux, but that they can do some serious damage when organised, similar in a way to Poe's reckless behaviour still getting results. The only thing that puts the First Order above the Resistance in strength is their superior technology and their pet Jedi. This makes them so much more interesting and it makes so much sense because it becomes clear that they are the alt-right to the Empire's nazis, they're not as competent, they're not running the country directly anymore but they idolise the most evil people in the history of the galaxy and that makes them scary as all hell. Then we meet Luke for the first time since Return of the Jedi and it's brilliant. He's handed his lightsaber by Rey, he takes it and he chucks it away like it's nothing. This action is the symbol of everything Luke has become, he's given up fighting because he's realised the hypocrisy of the Jedi, how they fight against the Sith only for more Sith to emerge from their own ranks to fight them. He sees the cycle and decides to end it by cutting himself off from the Force and going into hiding. This is the perfect evolution for Luke Skywalker and makes perfect sense when we see the moment that broke Ben Solo. We see three different versions of this story, one that Luke wishes had happened, one from Ben's point of view and one that is presented as the truth or at least what Luke sees as truth. The idea that Luke would even think about

murdering Ben doesn't sit well with some people but if you look back at his actions in the original trilogy and the history of the universe, it makes complete sense. Luke has always acted out of emotion, he never went down the prequel Jedi path of letting go of things you hold dear. He also knows that the previous Jedi Order was wiped out by one of their own who was corrupted by the dark side of the Force so seeing that vision of Ben burning his new Jedi Order to the ground would naturally make an emotional man like Luke consider putting permanent an end to Ben's turn to the dark side by ending his life. However Luke is still good and instantly regrets igniting his saber. This leads me on to the subject of Kylo Ren. Adam Driver's performance in The Last Jedi is superb, the conflict within him is seen through everything he does from his refusal to kill his mother to his team up with Rey and even in his ordering to destroy the man who essentially pushed him into Snoke's arms. He and Rey's Force conversations do so much for both characters as Kylo opens up to her about his conflict and Rey becomes more sympathetic towards her nemesis, which causes some beautiful tension between her and Luke. The idea that Ben turned because he felt betrayed by Luke is great too, when he tells his

version of the story to Rey you feel the betrayal and continue to feel it within his performance for the remainder of the film. It makes his conflict all the more understandable too as it highlights his lack of commitment to the dark side because deep down it all stems from one moment of betrayal. My favourite scene in the whole film is the Throne Room scene, not just for the Kylo and Rey team up or the fact we got to see Snoke be actually threatening but because it discarded my least favourite thing about The Force Awakens. I really didn't care about Abrams' stupid mystery box and this is why: if Kylo had told Rey that she was a Kenobi it wouldn't have mattered because she wouldn't know who Obi Wan even is, her being a Skywalker wouldn't change anything because she already has a very father/daughter relationship with Luke as with Han and Leia too. The fact she comes from nothing changes Rey's outlook on everything as she's been told and thought all her life she's special and has proven it through her natural Force ability but it turns out that she's just no one and that's brilliant because that then means something and changes her world view and motivations. It mattered that Luke was Vader's son because it changed their dynamic not just because it was a shock. The same goes for Snoke, there was nothing interesting he could be that would alter the dynamic at all and the dynamic they had was the same as Sidious and Vader so the only option was to dispatch of him so that we couldn't end up with something boring and predictable. The side plots I also loved, though I understand why some deemed them pointless, I very much disagree and think they are integral to the film even if they are not so to the plot. The Last Jedi is a film about themes and characters, which I think is much more in line with the original trilogy than the prequels, Rogue One and even The Force Awakens that were much more about the plot of the film. The subplot about Finn and Rose on Canto Bight, reinforces the movie's themes of neither side of war being completely squeaky clean and also added more context to the First Order, showing them as very wealthy people or at least people who rub elbows with very wealthy people. It also gives Finn some development as a character from the last film, stepping up as a true resistance hero and introduces Rose, a character who served the movie's idea that you don't have to be a soldier or a dashing smuggler or a Jedi to be a hero, you can be an average person and still help save the day. People have argued that their mission was pointless because the failed but again the whole movie was about failure and learning from it, Yoda even says something to that effect to Luke. Rose's admiration of Finn sets up a nice little love triangle between the two of them and Rey that I'm very excited to see resolve in the next one. Poe and Holdo's subplot was a great exploration of what it means to be a leader and every plot managed to tie up at the end, culminating in the battle on Crait and the reunion of Luke and Leia before Luke's perfect, heartbreaking send off. This movie was fun, it was emotional, funny and inclusive. It appeals to me as a fan of the original trilogy and of The Force Awakens and as someone who doesn't hate the prequels as much as many do. It was a great send off for Leia and for Luke, although I hope we get to see him as a Force Ghost in the next one. It developed the characters that The Force Awakens made us fall in love with and merged the good parts of the prequels (the world building and fun romps) with all the goodness of the original trilogy. Boy oh boy does this goose have teeth.