Rian Johnson Remixes Star Wars To Frustrating Results In "The Last Jedi"
In December 2015, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opened to rapturous critical and commercial success, kicking off the newly Disney-owned franchise’s post-George Lucas life with a bang. And yet, for some, its ruddy reception was met with serious skepticism. Moviegoers in search of a rebirth for the series following Lucas’ wobbly prequels found in J.J. Abrams’ film something between spec script and corporate swill; less a bold, new statement than an unconvincing tribute act. Such is the peril of a 150 billion dollar company commandeering a franchise that once belonged to one man.
Garbled 2016 one-off “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” unceremoniously taken away from talented “Godzilla” director Gareth Edwards during post-production, announced Disney’s intentions for at least one Star Wars movie a year forever. Never mind seeing filmmakers’ visions through or creating value through scarcity. Now the much-hyped follow-up to “The Force Awakens” is here, a guaranteed billion dollar grosser before film even rolled. It doesn’t have to be any good. It isn’t.
Writer-director Rian Johnson (“Looper”) deserves a modicum of credit. His “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” looks more like Lucas’ original trilogy than Abrams’ film did (read: it looks less like a TV movie), delivering some inspired design choices to go along with its relative narrative audacity. But “The Last Jedi” doesn’t so much take risks as it backs into them, utterly stumped by the banalities of the new characters established in “The Force Awakens.” It is the focus-grouped version of a dark, edgy blockbuster, only as adventurous as shareholder memos allow.
Cruelest of all, Johnson repeatedly shows an inability to build to moments. His screenplay’s biggest beats come off as self-defeating and lifeless. Case in point: as soon as one of the pic’s lead characters thrillingly saves the day and is revealed to have survived, he dies. Just like that.
Johnson picks up right where Abram’s left off. Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) is on an island on an oceanic planet called Ahch-To, returning something lost. She hands a lightsaber to a hooded, bearded Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who immediately tosses it away. Luke has evolved into a regretful old man doubtful of his and the Force’s place in the galaxy – seemingly out of character but plausible nonetheless. It’s even understandable that Rey might have to spend an extended period of time on that same island, attempting to persuade the old Jedi Master to join her and the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher), in their fight against the evil First Order.
Less understandable: how frequently Rey and Luke are made to cede the screen to a bevy of characters and occurrences that amount to time-sucking opening acts.
The brilliance of Lucas’ original trilogy was in his juxtaposition of Luke’s plainly simple hero’s journey with hordes of idiosyncratic characters and locales. The 1977 original remains at once startlingly simple and astonishingly weird. Johnson willfully muddies those waters, setting the whole universe off balance. The characters and their motives are more dense than the last time around – a good first step in subverting audience expectations – but many of them only serve to distract from the Skywalker saga. When Luke and Rey aren’t on screen, the movie dies on the vine.
Johnson attempts to remedy this in two ways. One, with a delightful mid-film cameo that’s admittedly little more than nostalgia button mashing. Two, by having the murderous Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo (Adam Driver) unwittingly communicate with Rey telepathically. Driver is one of the great actors under the age of thirty-five (see: the resplendent “Paterson”), but Ren’s talks with Rey amount to little more than telephone conversations; labored exchanges transparently laying groundwork for their inevitable meet-up. It should surprise no one that their ultimate rendezvous results in a thudding non-reveal concerning Rey’s parentage that defies scrutiny because Ren is a known liar and manipulator.
But the worst distraction “The Last Jedi” has to offer involves erstwhile Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) and a Resistance maintenance worker named Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a subplot every bit as visually and narratively inept as Lucas’ prequels were taken as.
Finn’s development from “The Force Awakens” is stopped dead as soon as he appears, while Rose is a blank, almost entirely defined by her sister, a fighter pilot who dies early in the film after no more than thirty seconds of screen time. While Rey is with Luke on Ahch-To and bubbly Resistance operative Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) engages in a power struggle with Leia’s mysterious Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), Finn and Rose abscond to a casino planet in pursuit of a woefully misused Benicio del Toro. The “Sicario” actor plays a human codebreaker named DJ who would mark the pic’s most useless character if not for the return of the villainous Snoke.
If the empty presence of the vague Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) was a hilarious footnote in “The Force Awakens,” here he’s a hilarious part of the text, his brassy disdain for Kylo Ren amounting to less than zero. The duo’s on-the-rocks relationship is meant to be a tweak on that of Darth Vader and Palpatine, but those were beautifully voiced, deeply intimidating flesh and blood characters. Snoke is a CGI void, Ren an underdeveloped brat, their affiliation proving good for nothing but a nifty lightsaber fight sequence that suggests Ren might actually be joining forces with Rey – only for Ren to immediately revert to whiny, preening form.
Another would-be climactic moment gone to waste.
Thank heaven for Mark Hamill. Even though Rian Johnson’s take on Luke Skywalker is frequently a shell of what we remember, Hamill commands the screen with ease, begging for an even bigger role in Episode IX – one that almost certainly won’t come. Johnson repeats Abrams’ biggest gaffe: sending off a classic character definitively instead of ambiguously, as if the galaxy isn’t big enough for our beloveds to go off and partake in other adventures.
If the filmmaker’s intentions for Luke and the arc of the franchise are purer than Abrams’ – there’s never a doubt that he aspires to uniqueness – his film is still hopelessly fractured, cordoning off the stars of the show, the Jedi, from the real action. For fans that waited thirty-five years to reunite with Luke Skywalker, “The Last Jedi” can’t help but sting with disappointment. Seeing the franchise’s flagship character receive such an ignominious send-off – amidst a 150-minute, 200 million dollar movie no less – is memorable in all the wrong ways.
There are fleeting licks of inspiration in Johnson’s movie, but they’re routinely boxed out by a feeling of filmmaking by committee – of characters and creatures designed to be marketable instead of meaningful. Together Johnson and J.J. Abrams have convincingly steeled the argument that The Walt Disney Company lacks both the verve and the vision to make the first great Star Wars movie in three decades, not to mention the absence of one key ingredient: George Lucas.
-J. Olson
Rating: ★★ out of ★★★★★ (Not So Good)
Release Date: December 15, 2017
Studio: Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Rian Johnson
Screenwriter: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Anthony Daniels
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi action and violence)
I’ve waited so long for this review, but but boy was it worth it. I think The Last Jedi is the strongest Star Wars film since the original trilogy, but this is a fantastic analysis nonetheless. If “Solo” ends up being bad, your review title should be “Star Wars Weak Streak Continues With Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story”.
Love this: “It is the focus-grouped version of a dark, edgy blockbuster, only as adventurous as shareholder memos allow.”
Perfect review of the movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Indeed, the movie has some positive highlights (Kylo Ren and Rey light saber battling dark side villains). However, the main character of this highly anticipated movie remains Luke Skywalker. Many Star Wars fans waited a long time to experience Luke back on the screen. We wanted (and prayed) for Luke the hero to train his daughter the ways of the Jedi (even if begrudgingly) and swoop in (physically not through some meditative state of mind) to save Rey from Kylo Ren and ride off into the Jedi sunset. Instead, the movie focuses too much and too long on Luke’s ambivalence. Luke should have possible looked cautiously at his light saber and then stated to Rey, “How did you find this?” A powerful statement Rey could have replied with is, “It called to me.” Training segments with Luke and Rey could have been bested those sequences involving Yoda and Luke…without a doubt. Unfortunately, the director of the Last Jedi chose instead to ruin this possibility. It seems the director was attempting to prepare Star Wars fans to go on without their hero at the helm. However, he failed at his attempt, and only caused us to want more from the character that is Luke Skywalker, that we dearly missed in this film. Imagine the Empire Strikes Back with a totally ambivalent Yoda. That would have been very disappointing. That is what makes this film disappointing. The bond between fathers and daughters can be very endearing. the director of this film failed to form that bond between Luke and Rey, which would have won over audience’s hearts and minds. Some day in a galaxy far, far away, someone will eventually remake the Star Wars’ 9 sets of movies. The original movies will remain intact, while I am sure a better director will correct the mistakes that Rian Johnson made throughout the Last Jedi.
Just making a correction to my comment above: The training sequences between Luke and Rey could have been even better than those witnessed between Luke and Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back.
Finally, some unabashed truth.
Thanks for some real thought, analysis and truth!
This says it all:
“visually and narratively inept ”
Very disappointed and saddened with this movie.
Totally agree with the main points. I felt myself struggle to maintain interest about 2/3 through despite the bombastic visuals. The hacker/casino subplot was a complete waste of time. Would have much rather seen more character development for Po. Also, Rey and Kylo fighting Snoke’s guards was more unnecessary fighting. By the end, I was just exhausted from back-to-back-to back battles. Too many scenes jammed together rather than building and better pacing. Rogue One remains my fave of the three new ones.
I am not sure how directors are chosen, but choosing a director who is not a TRUE Star Wars fan would be like the Yankees selecting a Boston Red Sox fan to manage their team. How well would that go?
Rian Johnson definitely did a great disservice to the franchise. Someday someone will correct his major errors in a film re-make.
Thanks for telling the truth about this movie. Everything you said is exactly how I felt after watching the movie. So many pointless side stories, when they could have focused on Luke and Rey which were the best scenes, but there was still so much more to explore with them. Not that I think they will do it, but I hope they find a way to bring Luke back and give him a proper farewell.
What a letdown this movie was.
Who says Luke can’t return for Episode 9? Both Yoda and Obi Wan used the Force to reappear to others after their physical death. And Luke used it to momentous effect in Episode 8.
I can rest easy now. Your asinine hipster shtick has proven once again that the world is turning exactly as it should. You really would wank a tramp for that Slant gig, eh?
your review is right on the button. Can someone out there explain the RT score of Critics 90 and Audience 50?
Thank you for an honest, accurate review I’m bewildered how so many other reviews give this corporate schlock a nod. Meant to be provoking it only is in one hilariously unintentional sense for Disney… Exposing the sheer divide between haves (90% critic score) and have nots (50% viewer score).
Agree completely. I watched them all and have a depth of knowledge of SF since the 1950s. There were a few great scenes … then crap. I knew I was in for Sxit when the scroll up at the beginning had “brave heroes” . Heroes is off off putting in itself , but “brave”? Are there cowardly heroes. And then we had the new cute animal characters to boost Disney toy sales. Maybe Star Wars X – Toys Strike Back.
Slaughter and Banter don’t mix.
Let’s see … The Resistance lost about 98% of their forces … including families and children trying to escape … blown up in ships and on the ground. Many must have died a horrible death blown into space.
Still we have to have the quick jokes and cute animal laughs right after the freaking slaughter. Maybe the next film about the Holocaust should have the few starving survivors crack jokes with the GIs who liberated them and also some banter with the Nazi imprisoned guards.
When you let a Writer Direct a film he can’t cut all the crap out.
Let’s bring Lucas back if we have to endured this excrement.
New Story Line … How about one where Jar Jar Binks becomes a Stormtrooper! Or … the Emperor? Or we find he is to become, with training, a Jedi! Hell we will have a new line of toys!
Well said. “For fans that waited thirty-five years to reunite with Luke Skywalker, “The Last Jedi” can’t help but sting with disappointment.” Ain’t that the truth. I, like others I spoke to immediately after the viewing, were confused. Sort of numb. Visually so impressive. But it only took a few hours of thinking it through to realize what a colossal disappointment it is. the three core characters from the original trilogy completely wasted. New characters confusing and muddied up by an impatient, cynical script that seemed intent on frustration of expectation and a singular mission. I don’t remember ever being so disappointed in a movie.
Thank you for the genuine review of this movie that we have waited (Luke) for years! And we unfortunately ended up in disappointment and despair (me).
To be honest, I don’t actually mind with all the basic premise that mister Rian have on his mind, Luke dies, Han dies, Leia eventually will be told dies I’m sure (RIP), rebel dies, snoke dies, and creating new force generation in Rey/Ben….but it’s all should be told in a “Make-Sense” and “Believable” way….
Not just simply write a story like; the First Order said they can’t pursue the rebel ship for whatever reason, then the whole movie revolves in that nonsense situation from beginning to end…Luke felt a dark force on Ben, then want to kill his nephew on the spot? doesn’t make sense! Luke go to Ahch-To to demolish the very root of Jedi because he feel sad, then helped by Yoda? doesn’t make sense! Snoke who bridge Rey and Ben telepathy across unknown galaxy, dies in a matter of seconds because he can’t read Ben’s mind which stand in front of him? doesn’t make sense! Holdo hides important run-away tactics to Poe? doesn’t make sense big time! Leia fly in space? doesn’t make sense! to write animal freedom arc with finn and rose instead of introducing Knights of Ren? doesn’t make sense! Luke won’t come himself to rescue his sister and do a tele-force? doesn’t make sense! soo many doesn’t make sense writings that makes the whole movie felt doesn’t make sense too!
Sorry i sound frustrated, because i am…this movie can take simpler but satisfying route, but no, mister Rian take a more complex route just to to be seen as a ‘depth’ movie, but it goes on too many route before ending it somewhere else that not so many fans happy…even a casual fan like me isn’t happy, i can’t imagine how a big fans feel…
This rewiew is cowardly avoiding the core issue. Luke and Rey are the two big problems of this movie. Rey never really gets Jedi training any other than to swing a lightsaber around but still turns out to outforce Kylo and Luke. There is a name for such lazy written god like characters I expect to read then. Be fearless! And Luke is “A new Hope”. He cannot(!) become this hermit. He is THE hope in Star Wars! It’s impossible for him to end up like this. Wasn’t the dark side defeated and his father redeemed? Hope brought him there. Ah yes…he tried to murder Ben in his sleep… That’s supposed to be “plausible nontheless” too I guess? The point is you watched this movie because of those 2 characters. And Johnson butchered both of them until you loose any interest in them and the movie. The rest, the battles, Rose, Finn and Poe, the tasteless jokes…Yoda…are just (aweful) extras. Good to point them out but not enough to understand this trainwreck of a movie.