Upfront 2: I found The Force Awakens to be a fun movie; however, I also thought it was plagiarism.
I had some serious problems with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Essentially, it boils down to this: it was obvious that the two movies of this trilogy (The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi) had two different writer/directors (J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson). The first movie teased out future story lines that I anticipated would be revealed in expected or unexpected ways, but were instead answered in a "meh" way.
Now most critics loved the movie. And this Vox article attempts to put a hammer down on fans who criticize the movie (or perhaps a critic who is trying to justify his position). Here's a quote from the writer:
But if it’s going to keep pleasing those who love it most, then it needs to stay preserved in amber (or, if you will, frozen in carbonite), leaving Luke Skywalker as the best boy who ever lived and continuing to tell endless variations on the story of a young kid from a nowhere planet who learns he’s part of the biggest saga of them all. But that kind of fetishization of what’s come before is the quickest way to kill off a pop culture artifact.
Okay, I'm fine with moving on from the original trilogies, but I think this movie also attempts to move on from The Force Awakens, which is part of the new trilogy.
My issues with the movie (Spoilers!!!)
Example of disconnect between the two movies: The Map
If Luke Skywalker didn't want to be found, why did he leave behind the map? This Quora discussion argues that Luke Skywalker didn't leave behind the map. Okay, but in The Force Awakens the two pieces of the map fit perfectly together (the larger map that R2D2 had and the smaller map that BB-8 had from Lor San Tekka). That can't be coincidental. To me, the map was perfectly cut out from R2D2's map.
Honestly, if Luke spent so much time trying to hide his location while at the same time deciding to leave R2D2 behind, why didn't he take the simple action of deleting the map from R2D2's database?
My issue with this is debatable as can be seen by the Quora discussion, but basically within a handful of minutes into the movie I was getting irritated.
Major issue: The lightsaber
If Luke did not want the lightsaber that Rey handed to him, why did he just toss it a few feet behind him? Why not toss it into the ocean like he did with his X-wing?
Maybe it is a symbolic move by the Rian Johnson to show that we're moving on from the original trilogy, but seriously toss that lightsaber into the ocean.
Minor issue: Rey practicing with the lightsaber
Rey is practicing her skills with the lightsaber. We can see Luke walking down towards her. She puts too much of a swing into it and destroys a small rock formation. Off Luke goes, back up the mountain. Seriously, that moment pissed him off? If anything, I'd think he'd find it amusing.
Major issue: Luke considered killing Ben Solo
Would Luke really consider killing off his nephew? Okay, maybe, but wouldn't this be something you'd talk to your sister and brother-in-law about? Maybe say: Ben has serious dark side tendencies, we need to be careful or scared to death regarding this. Though, I will admit, this provides some dimension to why Luke disappeared.
Example of disconnect between the two movies: Rey's ancestry.
So Rey's parents were drunk nobodies. Seriously? Why spend all that time in The Force Awakens teasing the audience about this important fact, if it wasn't important at all? We have the moment where Maz Kanata asks Han Solo, "Who's the girl?" We have Leia walking right past Chewbacca to comfort Rey after the death of Han Solo. And then there's that brief scene where Rey recalls her separation from her parents and the mother (or the woman who was asked to help Rey disappear) looks like she's in total anguish.
I will admit my thought process when hearing that Rey's parents were drunks leaped to that episode in Breaking Bad where Jesse is having to deal with a couple who are meth addicts. They also have a daughter that they totally ignore. So maybe my problem with Rey and her parents are misplaced by my own thought process from past entertain experiences where parents who are addicts are overwhelmed to the point where they have little care for their child(ren).
I've read in various articles that maybe this is just a misdirect about Rey via Kylo Ren. Part of me wonders if this is true as if Rey's parents are of no real importance how can she be a person that Luke Skywalker recognizes as someone who can rival the most powerful Jedi ever?
And yet, Luke feels no connection with Rey so I think we can conclude she's not Luke's daughter. In The Force Awakens, you have a sense that both Leia Organa and Han Solo feel connected with Rey, but at this point in the story if she were their daughter you'd think they'd have let her know. Sure, maybe they were protecting her by sending her off to the desert world, but at this point in time there is no reason to continue protecting her.
Also, the movie made it feel that there was no doubt with what Kylo Ren said. There was no apparent tease implying that there was still a question.
So she can't possibly be a Skywalker though maybe there are connections to other pass Star Wars' characters.
Minor Issue: Why no communication
Okay, so this is also an issue I have with The Walking Dead. You spend all this time together as a team and yet important information is never exchanged. On the other hand, that's how story lines can develop. But . . .
Rey doesn't tell Luke that she's communicating with Kylo Ren? We know via Kylo Ren that Rey is looking for a father figure. First it was Han Solo. Then it was Luke Skywalker. To me, something this big would get communicated to Luke.
Vice Admiral Holdo doesn't let Poe know what's up with her strategy? Yeah, Poe was on Leia's you-know-what list and therefore Poe was on Holdo's you-know-what-list; however, this isn't a situation where there are 100,000+ solders getting ready to invade Normandy. Maybe there were a couple hundred rebels remaining at that point in time. This simple lack of communication almost threw the whole plan into disarray. Actually . . . hey, even the soldiers during WWII knew they were going to be invading continental Europe.
At the end of the movie when Luke meets up with his sister . . . he couldn't tell her, "Hey, I'm going to buy you some time to try and find a way to escape? Personally, I don't know how you'll do it, but try and figure it out."
Minor Issue: Vice Admiral Holdo's strategy
Seriously, did anyone really think Vice Admiral Holdo's strategy would work? That somehow the First Order wouldn't see a bunch of ships exiting for a planet. Sure, there was some brief explanation given that I don't recall the exact wording for, but seriously?
And did Holdo really need to stay with the ship. Even in modern real life, aircraft have auto-pilot. They don't have auto-pilot in the world of Star Wars? They can track you through hyperspace, but don't have auto-pilot?
And if she was going to stay with the ship, why wasn't going kamikaze the first option -- if you buy my argument that trying to escape unseen makes no sense.
Nitpicking Issue: The First Order being able to destroy the rebel escape ships
Weren't we told at the very start of the whole cat and mouse story arch that the rebel ship was able to stay out of firing range, because The First Order ships were too large and therefore too slow to keep up with the smaller faster rebel ship? So suddenly, The First Order ship is able to make up ground on even smaller ships?
Random Thoughts
Am I the only one who thinks Finn is the one person you don't want to trust in battle? I think Rose had him nailed: he's a coward. I think he was trying to escape and he was using Rey's beacon as an excuse for leaving the rebels behind. Sure, he acts as a hero when there is a distinct strategy/plan. But when there isn't one, he's out the door. He's a person who needs strong leadership, which I guess makes sense as he grew up under The First Order.
So seriously, Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma) signed up for two Star Wars movies for pretty much doing nothing of importance?
Part of me wishes that Leia and Luke had pass away at the same time. It just seems like it would have been an option at the end of the movie considering the passing of Carrie Fisher. To me, it'd be a cleaner way to start the final movie of the trilogy. Or maybe that would have been over-the-top.
Isn't a lightsaber the equivalent to the magic wand in Harry Potter? If Rey has no connection to the Skywalkers, why such a powerful reaction to the lighsaber in Force Awakens?
To me, the music often got in the way of the story telling. Sorry.
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