[Spoliers below!]
I saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi with my little sister.
Her younger clients are middle schoolers who are obsessed with fan theories on Youtube and other sites. Before the previews rolled, I told her I knew I would enjoy the film no matter what and that I guard against strong negative reactions by reminding myself that it’s a movie for children about space wizards. With this attitude, even Jar Jar Binks doesn’t bother me.
The venue was Saint Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis. Our screen had an unfortunate setup where the double doors are in the back of the theater, so every time a patron went for a bathroom trip during this matinee screening the whole room flooded with light.
I enjoyed the film. There were many firsts to keep me a bit off balance. As the second film in the current trilogy, it provided echoes of The Empire Strikes Back, where the heroes are down and hope is dimmed. Details such as the wealthy commercial planet and the ice world also were familiar.
My major gripe with the previous film, The Force Awakens, was that the circumstances were all the same: there was still an Empire, there was still an evil emperor, there was still a dark lord, and the Jedi were still in hiding. In addition, there was no New Republic. Instead the Resistance was feeble and scattered. Instead of being bongo drums, stormtrooper helmets were still on the march.
This is in contrast to the expanded universe novels (written in the 1990s) that I read when I was a kid. The Thrawn trilogy and the Jedi Academy trilogy portrayed the political and governmental side of the New Republic at it established itself on Coruscant, as well as the mystical academy on Yavin 4. I guess I expected fulfillment of the balance prophecy and restoration of the Republic, with a neat variety of new enemies battling the new Jedi.
Episode VII simply continued the battle. It even included a third Death Star, which was destroyed in the same way as the previous two. Some very insightful and impassioned online commentary, from people with much greater fanboy credentials than me, mirrored my opinion.
The great strength of The Last Jedi was that Luke, the dark lord character, and even Yoda all pointed out this endlessness and pointlessness and urged a break from the past. They called for leaving the past behind very dramatically: Luke by sacrificing himself in a final lightsaber battle and promising to haunt Kylo Ren; Kylo Ren by killing his dark master; and Yoda by burning the ancient Jedi tomes. The odd code breaker character also demonstrated that the weapons dealers that supplied the evil First Order also supplied weapons to the Resistance.
This all seemed to answer the call of Kylo Ren to Rey to leave the past behind. It’s the only way to break the cycle, to make sure we are not still fighting the same battles the next time around. As for storytelling, it set up Episode IX for a major reset. The “Skywalker saga” will definitely end.
This all appealed to me: purging the past, shedding a dumb religion, highlighting moral ambiguity.
[I also have to acknowledge the words (from 2008) of George Lucas. He said, “The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn’t come back to life, the Emperor doesn’t get cloned and Luke doesn’t get married.”]
Now I’m actually excited again. If Episode IX echoes Return of the Jedi, then Kylo and Rey will kick ass with their lightsabers throughout. I feel as though anything could happen in Episode IX. The climactic battle could occur anywhere, the Force could be a major part of it or a minor part, and everyone might die. I hope the film is three fucking hours long.
pseudoisaac 