By Robert Seebach
Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in 2017. It was directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac. The screenplay was written by Rian Johnson.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. We follow Rey as she tracks down Luke Skywalker and attempts to enlist his help in battling The First Order. Since it’s release at the end of 2017, The Last Jedi has polarized the Star Wars fan base. There are some who claim The Last Jedi as being the worst Star Wars film ever made. I disagree, but that’s for another article.
The Last Jedi has always counfounded me with its inconsistency of quality. Let me be clear. When I talk about quality, I’m not talking about how the film looks. Rian Johnson and his crew created a beautiful film with some stunning visuals. The quality of which I speak, are specific scenes and the decisons the filmmakers made. Some of these scenes are emotionally moving. Others simply leave me shaking my head wondering what the Hell they were thinking. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Arguably, the worst scene in all of Star Wars is when Princess Leia Organa gets blasted out into space, freezes and then uses the force to float like Mary Poppins back into the ship. This scene is horrible on so many different levels.
Leia IS a Skywalker and undoubtably has honed her force abilities to a certain extent. I think most Star Wars fans are willing to grant Rian Johnson some creative license to that point. After all, it has been nearly 30 years since the fall of the Empire and it is reasonable enough to assume that Leia has honed her force abilities during that time. Nevertheless, it is absurd to assume that she has advanced to such a high level so as to be able to pull off her Mary Poppins act. It just isn’t believable. If you are going to make that big of a jump, you had better explain how it’s possible.
Rian Johnson provides no explanation on how Leia has become so advanced in the ways of the force. Could we imagine Luke or Yoda pulling off such an act? I think not.
Not surprisingly, there is the same issue with Rey. How is she so powerful without proper training? Again, that is for another article. As I’ve already stated, the film is visually stunning, however, the “outerspace/Mary Poppins Leia scene” looks silly. There is no kinder way to put it. It doesn’t look good. What is inconceivable is that the scene didn’t need to happen. Leia could have been blasted into space and killed and that would have been that. Due to Carrie Fisher’s untimely death, this could have been a practical end to Leia’s character.
Instead, Rian Johnson chose to keep her character alive, executed in the most ridiculous manner. This of course means that all of Leia’s screen time in Episode 9 will either be CGI or extra footage from Eisodes 7 and 8. This seems to be irresponsible on the part of Rian Johnson, especially considering that there was no need to keep Leia’s character alive. Maybe Rian Johnson, like George Lucas, believes that a film can be made with over 50% CGI and still look as good as live action? So, that is the worst scene of any Star Wars film ever made. There are some other, somewhat less egregious scenes which have left a bad taste in my mouth.
Now that we’ve explored the worst scene in The Last Jedi, and arguably the worst scene in any Star Wars film, let’s examine other questionable scenes.
It is evident that Rian Johnson made a conscious decision to take his Star Wars film in a new direction. I admire his desire to take a chance at interjecting something new and fresh into the Star Wars universe. I take umbrage with the manner in which this was executed.
One of the ways in which The Last Jedi departs from previous Star Wars films is its use of humor. To be fair, Star Wars films have a history of balancing dramatic scenes with interjections of comedic relief, often executed by strategically placed witticisms from various characters, from droids to smugglers. The humor used in The Last Jedi is not witty. It feels forced and awkward.
One of the very first scenes in the film shows Poe Dameron bantering with General Hux. There is no need for this silly banter and it comes across as being silly simply for the sake of being silly. I remember seeing The Last Jedi for the first time and feeling awkward as this scene played out. It appears the filmmakers were looking for cheap laughs.
Not only does The Last Jedi force humor into inappropriate scenes, it also employs humor which distracts and diminishes the emotional weight of dramatic scenes.
Case in point: Luke explaining The Force to Rey. Luke implores Rey to “reach out”. Rey says, “I feel something”, as Luke tickles her hand with a leaf. (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 00:48:34 – 00:48:45) This is a dramatic scene in which Rey, who is hungry for any knowledge of the force is receiving insight from Luke Skywalker himself. Luke Skywalker is a legend in Rey’s mind. She is struggling with her place in the universe and finally she is receiving the knowledge she desperately craves. The dramatic importance of this scene is squashed before it has a chance to take root.
The same thing happens when Rey first meets Luke and hands him his lightsaber. At the end of Episode 7: The Force Awakens, Rey meets Luke on Ahch-To. She extends the lightsaber to Luke and the film ends. Star Wars fans wait for the next film in order to see what happens. In The Last Jedi, Rey hands Luke his lightsaber only to have Luke toss it over his shoulder into the ocean. It’s done in a dismissive and almost slap-stick manner. Rian Johnson is attempting to show the audience that Luke is disenchanted and no longer wants to be involved. There are many other ways in which the filmmakers could have shown this aspect of Luke’s character. Rian Johnson took the easy way out and sacrificed this potentially dramatic moment for a cheap laugh.
I won’t even bother discussing Finn and Rose’s subplot of tracking down a code breaker on Canto Bight. It’s as if the filmmakers didn’t know what to do with the characters of Finn and Rose and had to create something for them to do. DJ is a wasted character and the entire sublot has little to do with the rest of the film, and appears to be included simply for the sake of providing Rose and Finn with something to do while at the same time making a statement about animal rights. It’s a mess and a waste of time. The time that was wasted on this insignificant subplot could have been used to show Rey’s third training from Luke, which the audience was expecting, but never received.
It’s not all bad though! The Last Jedi has some beautiful cinematography, as well as some scenes which have the potential to be among the most iconic scenes in all of Star Wars. This is what makes The Last Jedi an enigma.
The final battle scene on Crait displays some beautiful cinematography. all the blaster and artillery fire which kicks up the red soil underneath the salt encrusted surface of Crait creates a stunning contrast. Likewise, the ski speeders of the Resistance create organic lines of red in the surface terrain.
The battle of Crait also has one of my favorite moments in the film. Rose has three Tie Fighters closing in on her. Just as her destruction seems imminent a single shot pierces through all three Tie Fighters. We see the shadow of the Millennium Falcon and the roar of its engines, quickly followed by a short snippet of the Millennium Falcon theme. I absolutely love the way this short scene plays out. We see the shadow of the Falcon before seeing the Falcon itself. This is a clever way in which to demonstrate that the Millennium Falcon, after decades of being lost in the shadows of the past is once a again a symbol of hope and rescue. This scene is reminiscent of A New Hope when Han fires on Vader’s Tie Fighter from behind, allowing Luke to fire the torpedo shot that will destroy the Death Star.
There are two notable scenes in The Last Jedi. Yoda’s conversation with Luke, while the two Jedi masters watch the Jedi texts go up in flames (or so they think) within the ancient tree was extremely satisfying.
Yoda still refers to Luke as Young Skywalker, which is so endearing. Yoda stresses to Luke the importance of failure and learning from one’s failures. All the while Luke is attempting to teach Rey about the Balance of the Force, so too is Yoda attempting to remind Luke that part of that balance is about accepting one’s failures and learning from them. Yoda’s wisdom is relevant to Luke’s tutelage of Rey, but also to Luke himself. Luke may have failed Ben Solo in certain ways, but we all have choices to make regarding our destiny. Luke did not create Kylo Ren.
The most poignant scene in The Last Jedi is Luke and R2-D2’s interaction aboard the Millennium Falcon.
Luke saunters into the Falcon taking in the familiar sights of its interior, which can only recall for Luke his loss and sadness for his now deceased friend Han Solo. Luke collects Han’s dice and sits, head down. R-2 activates and attempts to encourage Luke to return to civilization and help The Resistance. As Luke states to R-2, “I wish I could make you understand. But I’m not coming back. Nothing can make me change my mind.” (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 00:34:26 – 00:34:35 ) R-2 turns and starts playing the old projection of Princess Leia begging Obi-Wan Kenobi for help in “Our most desperate hour.” (Star Wars: A New Hope, 00:34:39 – 00:35:00)
This was the image that sparked Luke’s journey to learning the ways of the Force all those years ago. Once again his sister needs his help. This scene connects the original trilogy to the sequel trilogy in a meaningful way and is one of the best scenes in the film.
This one scene almost single handedly saves The Last Jedi from being completely irrelevant. It is by far the scene which holds the most emotional weight and has the potential to be one of the most iconic scenes in the Skywalker saga. It is difficult to comprehend how this scene can be in the same film as Leia floating through space like Mary Poppins or Poe Dameron prank calling General Hux amidst a space battle. But this is the paradox of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Works Cited
Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Dir. Rian Johnson. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2017. Film.
Star Wars: A New Hope. Dir. George Lucas. 20th Century Fox, 1977. Film.