When it comes to Star Wars, no single piece of media is as divisive as The Last Jedi. The eighth film in the Skywalker saga seemed to split the fandom into two camps: those who didn’t like the film and those who were wrong.
Here’s the thing: a lot of the “fans” who hate the movie are also wrong. Confused? Let us explain.
Bad Yo Mama Jokes
There are those of the opinion that The Last Jedi is the worst Star Wars movie for silly reasons like Rey being a “Mary Sue” or bombs falling straight down in the vacuum of space (dude, space wizards and laser swords, keep up). These opinions make it hard for the rest of us with legit criticisms to discuss what’s wrong with the movie without immediately being labeled a fanboy mourning their childhood. Trust us, there is enough to dislike about The Last Jedi for people across all political and cultural spectrums.
General Hux gets hit with a “Yo Mama” joke in The Last Jedi.
Let’s start with the humor. The Last Jedi is the only Star Wars film to open with a “Your mom” joke, and we can only assume that’s because every other Star Wars director realized that it’s a bad fit tonally for the universe.
Star Wars has always had humor, and some jokes have been dumb. Jar Jar Binks steps in Bantha fodder in The Phantom Menace, and it doesn’t get lower than that.
The difference here, though, is that poop, for good or ill, is a part of any universe with livestock. Stepping in poop dumb, yes, but a universal gag. “Heh, Heh, your mom!” on the other hand, feels decidedly 21st-century Earth and pulls you right out of the film.
Luke’s Cringe Reaction To His Lightsaber
Then there’s Luke’s reaction to getting his lightsaber back. Does he get all solemn and thrust it back at Rey, saying, “That’s not who I am now,” or something similarly somber? No, he tosses it over his shoulder like a Looney Tunes gag. The scene could have “Yakety Sax” from the old Benny Hill Show playing under it, and it would fit perfectly.
Let’s try that out. Here it is…
The dismissive, comical way Luke tosses the weapon over his shoulder undercuts any tension the scene would otherwise have and sets the tone for the whole movie.
From there, you get BB-8 being mistaken for a slot machine and spitting the coins back out like a joke from the Star Wars prequels, and Maz Kanata making a joke about the codebreaker being able to do “everything.” Are we laughing yet?
Good And Evil? What’s The Difference
Let’s move on from there to Rian Johnson’s “both sides suck” attitude towards the Resistance and the First Order. Through the cleverly named character DJ (Don’t Join, get it? Eh? Eh?), Johnson pushes the narrative that both sides of the war are profiting from it and that bad guy and good guy are relative terms that are almost interchangeable.
Benicio Del Toro as DJ in The Last Jedi
If you want to make that argument about wars in real life, then go for it. The military-industrial complex deserves all the critique Rian can throw at it. But this is Star Wars. One side has actual, quantifiable evil on its side.
Yes, both sides have killed people, but only one side blew up a whole planet! In a fairytale, it’s okay to acknowledge an objectively good side and an objectively bad side. Save the grey middle ground for the real world.
Gotcha! Subverted Into Oblivion
Then, of course, we have Mr. Subvert Your Expectation. The Last Jedi is one big “Gotcha!” as far as Rian Johnson is concerned. Did you expect to hear someone say, “I have a bad feeling about this,” just like in the seven prior mainline Star Wars films? Too bad. Gotcha!
Snoke is just a red herring in The Last Jedi.
Did you expect Rey’s parents to be someone important because that’s what J. J. Abrams teased? Too bad they’re nobodies. Gotcha!
Did you think Snoke was the big bad in this Star Wars trilogy? Too bad, you plebian, the emperor had no character development in the original trilogy. He just showed up in one movie and died, too! Never mind that fan expectations for lore and canon have changed since 1983. Gotcha!
Johnson can’t even help himself in the third act on the planet Crait. We’re 100% certain that Johnson’s intention with setting the final battle on a white planet was so that initially viewers would think it was snow like in The Empire Strikes Back, only to then purposely have someone taste the “snow” and exclaim, “It’s salt!” Salt! Gotcha!
Broken Promises
Perhaps Johnson’s biggest sin with The Last Jedi was not making good on his promises. Let the past die; kill it if you have to.
Okay, fine. Luke’s the last Jedi, and Rey will start a new order. At least Star Wars will go in a new direction.
Sacred Jedi texts burning but not really in The Last Jedi.
Oh, never mind, the sacred texts were saved. Rey is going to continue the same old Jedi practices as before.
Oh, Rey and Kylo Ren teamed up. Are we going to get something new, like Rey actually taking Kylo’s offer to co-rule the galaxy? Will the third movie in the trilogy be the other good guys taking on Rey?
Wait, nope. She turned him down. We’re back to hero vs villain. Classic Star Wars.
You’re Being Trolled, Star Wars Fans
Ultimately, Rian Johnson made a movie specifically to troll fans who had understandable expectations following The Force Awakens. He filled it with ill-fitting humor that clashed with the established Star Wars aesthetic and acted like he was shaking things up, only to end the film exactly where Star Wars always ends up: a big group of bad guys in pursuit of a small, ragtag group of rebels. Cool.
Oh, and the porgs sucked.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
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