If THE FORCE AWAKENS has my heart, THE LAST JEDI has my head. It's the richest, deepest and wisest in all of STAR WARS. It's the first of Disney's STAR WARS George Lucas might be really proud of.
Watching both back to back makes each movie better and clarifies the broader shape of the Sequel Trilogy. Rey's journey of ascension, Poe's of leadership, Finn's of belief, Han's of paternal sacrifice, Luke's of hope, and Leia's of stewardship.
The central threat of the Sequel Trilogy is also reveaeled: a coup d'etat in real time. The First Order are the white nationalists of the STAR WARS universe, as if the Aryan Brotherhood attacked the White House & seized power. In TLJ they're eliminating their final threat, Leia.
This is one of the many reasons THE LAST JEDI is absolutely fucking vital.
Peace, purpose and pacifism are three messages rarely found in mainstream blockbuster storytelling. I've said this before and I will continue saying it.
Peace, purpose and pacifism are three messages rarely found in mainstream blockbuster storytelling. I've said this before and I will continue saying it.
When The First Order or Resistance fight, loss begets loss, not only for the enemy but also themselves. Poe, Finn and Rose recklessly get half The Resistance (or more) killed, while Kylo Ren's obsession with killing Luke allows the rest to escape unharmed. Many miss this.
Luke is the only Jedi to embody Yoda's iconic words: "The Force is for knowledge and defense, never for attack."
Or Obi-Wan's famous phrase "there are alternatives to fighting."
Luke in THE LAST JEDI is one of the greatest heroes in cinema history.
Or Obi-Wan's famous phrase "there are alternatives to fighting."
Luke in THE LAST JEDI is one of the greatest heroes in cinema history.
It's a lesser sequence, but this is also why Canto Bight is critical to THE LAST JEDI's message. It shows the state of the entire galaxy in microcosm, an isolated and disinterested elite ignore galactic peril as easily as they ignore the child slaves living below them.
It's necessary for our heroes to be tested. Bad disguises get you caught, parking conspicuously gets you arrested, & not following orders has consequence. Rian uses irony to satirize what always works and weaponizes it against the heroes. Why? So they learn. We have to learn too.
This is one of the many ways Rian deconstructs mythic storytelling to the point it borders on meta-fiction. The images are rendered in glorious tableau and aid the deconstruction. The iconic eternal struggle between Empire and Rebel synthesized into a slow-motion chase in space.
ALSO: the 2 biggest controversies, Rey's parentage & Luke, are both explicitly announced in THE FORCE AWAKENS. Han says Luke walked away from everything while Maz tells Rey she knows the truth and her parents aren't coming back. THE LAST JEDI simply pays off THE FORCE AWAKENS.
Like THE FORCE AWAKENS, I don't love everything in THE LAST JEDI. They're imperfect but very personal movies. I am so happy both exist, and frankly more satisfied with the Sequel Trilogy than I could've imagined back when Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Don't fuck up Episode IX!
